A Curious Tale... 11

She was beautiful. She was dark, curved in all the right places, and had a monster of a smile. She just promised a treat. I wondered what the girl would think when she was picked up in it.

Yes, the reason (or at least one of the reasons - he was also paying me a really neat packet) I’d agreed to Martin’s proposal was parked outside his ridiculously small house on Arbuthnot Road. She was a custom MG XPower SV. We’d always called her the MXT. She looked a bit like a Batmobile, especially with the aerodynamic side grills. And she drove even better. She didn't have a choice really, seeing as she'd cost Martin a quarter of a million credits. I got green just thinking about it. Damn he was rich.

I went down into Martin’s den and saw him painting. He was a really talented painter, but even Da Vinci would have thought twice before buying a C250,000 overcraft on a whim. Martin had simply thought he needed something nicer than his Saab and had somehow gotten in touch with MG, drawn a redesigned XPower, and gotten them to make it somehow.

Maybe I should tell you what Martin did for a real living. He painted incredible forgeries and sold them to less scrupulous art collectors, mostly deposed dictators who Interpol had allowed to keep their assets in return for their abdication when the entire world had gone strangely democratic. Those African and Arab bastards kept Martin well paid and in the lap of luxury. My job so far had been to move the paintings to the international carriers, and that's how I'd become reasonably wealthy in my own right. I still wasn't the tiniest scratch on Martin though.

Enough of my envy. It won't tell the story anyway. So in short, I got the keys from Martin, hopped into the MXT and started driving. New Cross to Peckham. The plan was to pick Alizé, the girl, up from Argos in Peckham and take her to Argos in Lewisham. Which to me was just the silliest idea I'd ever heard. Brilliant for a kidnap, because no one would ever think to take a hostage INTO Argos if they hadn't been there before, but silly because there's always a ton of people in Argos, anyone of whom could become a hero. Whatever. That wasn't my concern. I was going to pick her up at Argos and take her to Argos. Simple.

I was thinking all this as I was driving, and by the time I focused on the mission again I was already in Peckham. I stopped and looked for an unobtrusive place to park the eye-popping car. I decided on a side road opposite a shop selling brandless ancient Italian shoes. I walked into Argos and looked around. The normal queues, some people buzzing around catalogues wondering what on earth brought them into the store but determined not to leave until they'd bought something utterly useless.

Then I heard someone call my name and turned around and stared into the very composed stare of a girl in her late teens. She asked me if I was ready to leave because she was tired of waiting in the store. I didn't say a word and I'll tell you why.

She was beautiful. She was dark, curved in all the right places, and had a monster of a smile.

A Curious Tale... 10

It’s weird how criminals can spot one another. We both knew the other had done something crooked in the past, it just kind of showed.   
Anyway as you might have guessed I soon started driving for him. I told him it would only be a short term thing, and I meant it in the beginning, but I'm not that smart. I'm not being self-deprecating or humble or anything silly like that. I just am not as smart as a lot of people think I am. I've always been good at getting people to believe what I tell them. I don't know what it is, they just do. Most of the time anyway. And I had Dante around for far too long. I miss her. Awesome, amazing Dante.
Anyway when Martin told me he had something legal he wanted me to do I took it with several pinches of salt; a whole cruet in fact. I’d been driving for a couple of years and I hadn’t made a single completely honest taxi run yet. There was always something or another that someone or another would pay massively to obtain. He started off by assuring me that it wasn't criminal, just had to be kept intensely secret. That raised an eyebrow. He also said it was vitally important.
He said he needed me to help him pick up a young girl somewhere in Peckham, and get her to Lewisham.
"But that's hardly worth my time!" I said, incredulous. "She could just hop on the bus!"
I didn't work for him any more. I now had my own fleet of taxicraft. I wasn't rich, nowhere near as wealthy as Martin, but I was doing well on my own, and he didn't begrudge me my independence. He was a good friend. The only one I had really, now I didn't have Dante any more.
"I know," he said, his voice smooth. Too smooth if you ask me. But you won't and he didn't, so my opinion counted for nix right then. Unless I said I wasn't gonna do it. But he knew I eventually would.
I did make him sweat for it though.
"I ain't doing it." That's what I said next.
"Why not," he said, pretending to be taken aback even though he knew I wouldn't be fooled, just like he knew I couldn't refuse him.
"Because if it were that simple, you bloody well do it yourself, wouldn't you?"
"Yes I would," he said.
I shut up. I hadn't been expecting that. I thought he would make up all kinds of excuses and give reasons why he 'honest to God' couldn't go. But he'd admitted without much fuss that I was probably getting myself into something more than it seemed or just downright dangerous or worse. I paused, waiting to hear what he'd say next.
"You can take my car."
"The Rolls?"
"No, not the Rolls. The MXT."
"For real!?"
"Yes for real."
So I agreed.

A Curious Tale... 9

I landed at the shuttle port with a gym sack. I’d arranged for a courier to transport the rest of my things. I realised I would never get them because the transaction would never be carried out. I was far too poor to pay the freight costs, and I’d hired the most expensive dudes possible. Daft as a cucumber. Depression started to set in again.
I walked through the arrivals section and frowned as the many cameras, biometric scanners, x-ray machines and good old fashioned customs officers deciphered exactly who I was and what I was carrying. It was boring, but at least it didn’t take up much time.
As I walked into the arrivals lounge I realised I had no idea where to go. I’d hustled my way into school, and crimed my way through it. The friends I’d made in school were quite frankly the only friends I had. I was lost, and the guy that walked up seemed to realise it.
“Hi” he said.
“Hi” I replied.
“You look like you could use some help.”
“No thanks. I’m fine.” Damn your foolish pride Tosoye! You’re not fine.
“I was only gonna ask if you needed a cab lad.” And he started to leave.  I was in England by the way. That’s where I’m from, I think. Anyway the little reason I still had left kicked in.
“Excuse me!” The man turned.
“I don’t have any money…” The man turned to walk away muttering something about him not getting enough to live on anyway without people looking for free rides.
I went to a row of seats and my phone buzzed just before I sat down. It was a message from Silas.
I’ve instructed that 2000 credits be paid into your account. I felt it wouldn’t be fair if you didn’t get a head start. Good luck.
I had to smile at the nerve of the man. Stupid cocky bastard. I went out and hailed a real taxi, not a crummy overcraft, but one of them old fashioned taxis that run on wheels. It was a stupid thing to do as it cost triple what a cab would, but I couldn’t care less. I had a little leeway.
The taxi driver was incredibly loquacious, and had told me about his entire family before asking me where I wanted to go. His name was Martin. He was probably in his late thirties, extremely fit, and if I was a girl or gay I’d be screwing a taxi driver, to state it succinctly. He looked very well to do though, and I had to ask him how come he wore a Hublot chronogram.
“I’m rich,” he said simply. “I only drive a taxi when I feel like.”
He looked in the mirror and saw how deeply I was concentrating.
“You want to know how I got rich enough to make taxi driving a hobby, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well that’s one thing I can’t tell you. What do you do, by the way.”
“I just graduated,” I said honestly.
“Oh, new to the job market. Have you ever worked… erm… what did you say your name was?”
“Tosoye.”
“Tosoye. Hmmm. African origin I’d say.”
“How would I know?”
“Oh I wouldn’t expect you to. So back to the question. Have you ever worked lad?”
“No.”
“Hmmm...”
I was getting rather peeved, but he was obviously as rich as I was broke so I had to keep listening.
“Could you do deliveries?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Got a driving licence?”
“Yep.  All craft.”
Good. Come over to see me.

A Curious Tale... 8.

There are some things that you just can’t take in. That was one of them. Drake had snitched, and Jason had played me. And Dante had left me. I was broke, and I was alone. I was about  to call Dante and tell her I wasn’t going anywhere anymore when I noticed a familiar face sitting a little further down from me. He stood up and walked towards me.

“Silas?” I said, a terrible thought springing to mind.

“Hi graduate,” he said. “Travelling home alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Sad. I thought you’d at least have the company of that attractive female I used to see around you.”

I shrugged, so he continued.

“Can I sit down?”

I shrugged again. He sat down.

“Your friend Drake led us right to Jason, who has a cybertrail as long as… what’s that longest river called again?”

I didn’t say anything. I heard the doors close and almost got up to leave, but thought better of it. There was nothing to go back to. I’d lost this battle and I’d probably be better off far away from this place.

“Anyway, I was determined to catch you actually committing a crime, so I made him reverse all his transactions and I know you’re now broke as fuck and confused about what to do next.”

“Yeah, happy now?”

“Actually no. The idea is to get you to commit another crime so I can catch you.”

So the plonker thought I was the brains. Sure I had he occasional bright idea, but it was Dante who always turned my ideas into viable plans. I was lost. I’d have to get a real job. Me! Work!? I wanted to cry, I was so upset. But I couldn’t give anyone the pleasure of seeing me weak and vulnerable.

“I’m going straight.”

He coughed.

“I mean it. I’m not doing all that anymore.”

“You will,” he said. “You’re a criminal, and it takes more than one reversal to stop the operations of a criminal mind.”

I almost laughed outright. Sure I would love to go out and commit more crimes, but now I’d have trust issues and I hate working alone. I was tired of this discussion, it was depressing.

“Do you have anything to read?” I asked him.

“I have a puzzle book, if you do puzzles.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Just make sure you wipe it clean when you’re done. Don’t want anyone taking the credit for my puzzle solving.”

I smiled.

“Cocky bastard,” I said beneath my breath, though I’m sure he heard it to because he smirked as he went over to sit in his former seat.

I got busy solving Sudoku and Kakuro. I was broke, I was alone, but I was quietly hopeful something would turn up.

You haven't answered the question! Will you have non-committal coitus with me!?

You haven't answered the question! Will you have non-committal coitus with me!?

Answer here

A Curious Tale... 7.

I was more relieved than anything else. I wasn't ready to give Blake any pleasure whatsoever. I was supposed to leave London in a week - the week following graduation. Today I'd graduate, tomorrow I'd leave. I'd only told Dante, and I told her because I wanted her to come with me. She'd refused of course. Said she had to 'find her own way.' That upset me a lot, as I had no idea what I'd do without her. She had single-handedly taken me through school, and I was sure I'd be totally and hopelessly lost without her. I told her so. She looked at me, a slight sadness in her face."I know. That's exactly why I have to leave you""What?""If I don't leave you'll never discover yourself. You've grown so reliant on me it scares me."She was right. That didn't make it any easier for me to take. She was always right, that's why I needed her.

I went through graduation in a daze. I told myself it was just the impending change of environment. I hadn't seen my parents in seven years, and I didn't expect to see them again any time soon. Therefore I didn't have anyone to go home to.I was top of the class. I got a mass of job offers and prizes and what not, and I supposed I smiled graciously as I accepted all the plaudits for the work of Dante's amazing mind. I was really going to miss her. I was going to start a new life with the money I'd saved form all the swindles I'd gotten involved in. I'd always believed that new life would include Dante, and now it seemed a bleak prospect. A sedentary life and no one to share it with. Somewhere deep down I knew I was just being silly, and that I'd find someone new, but it still hurt. I didn't want someone new. I wanted Dante.At least we were together throughout the graduation ceremony. She was the only one as Jason was also graduating, and I was no longer sure how much I could trust him. Drake had dealt my confidence a cruel blow. I knew I wasn't the real brains of the group, but I'd always thought I had the measure of my team, and to be proven so horribly wrong was... well, embarrassing to say the least.

___________________________________________________

Getting on the shuttle out of town was probably the hardest thing I'd ever done. Dante hadn't come to say goodbye, she said it would have been too painful for her. At least I was reassured that she did feel something for me. I had begun to feel very insecure. It had never been a problem for me before, even when I'd just been an average student, before I'd met Dante. She had completely changed me, and already I felt slightly adrift without her. 

As we pulled out of the shuttle-port I thought of the direction my new life would take. With the money I now had I would buy out a small legitimate company with a guaranteed profit stream. Then I'd invest more into it and eventually make it a big company. I'd try not to interfere too much, just offer suggestions on how to make things better, more efficient. This train of thought was helpful. Dante was still at the back of my mind but I was able to break through most of the pain when I focussed on the future instead of the past. I went into the cloud to check out the kind of figures I'd be dealing with in the purchase of my prospective company. Then my eyes fell upon a sentence at the bottom of my statement page and my jaw dropped to the floor. 

"Student credits are not valid outside the institution catchment area."

I was sure I had never seen that before, which could only mean one thing.

Jason had played me.

A Curious Tale... 6.

Blake hadn't been lying. There was a squad of officers outside my apartment, and they were all for cuffing me there and then. I told them there was no way I could run so they should just let me drop my stuff. Blake told them to let me. I changed into threads and a comfortable tee and went with them. They pushed me into the back of the craft and I saw my friend the Tackler from the other day. I said hi.
"You're going down criminal" he said, and was about to burst into a brilliant oratory about how crime never goes unpunished when a look from Blake silenced him. The cop craft was pretty classy. Blake had to travel in style I supposed. He told me not to say a word, and I was happy to do so.
The station was again abuzz with activity, but there didn't seem to be any bad guys around. It looked like neighbourhood watch day. So many regular citizens in summer clothes two sizes too small and with little kids trying to pick their noses without their parents noticing. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing. The Tackler took me into a little cubicle with wood walls, a tiled floor and a great big light bulb on swinging from the ceiling. He started his tirade as soon as he got the door closed. He was one of them goody-two-shoes who never made any arrests but loved to come in guns blazing. I bet he hoped to go out in a blaze of glory, taking down a multitude of the hardest criminals ever in the process. I let him talk and didn't answer a single question. It must have driven him crazy. I didn't care.
Blake was as good as his word. Within an hour, and without interrogating me (Tackler obviously didn't count), Drake was led in cuffed and I was set free. I almost felt sorry for the poor bastard, he was sure to get what passed for his brains chopped up for stem cells. Oh what the hell. he was a snitch.
I went back to my apartment. Dante had let herself in and was lying on the bed waiting for me. I poured myself a drink and went over to her. Say what you like, but I've never been a fan of beer. Too bitter, in my opinion. I like my drinks sweet, so now I was downing a large mojito. Dante took it from me and asked how my exam had been. I had to laugh.
"I just got out of police custody and you're asking how my exam went."
"Well..."
"It was brilliant", I conceded.
"Good. Now how did you get out of that?"
I told her everything I could remember of my conversation with Blake, and to my surprise she didn't seem at all surprised at what she was hearing. I mentioned it.
"You don't seem surprised", I said.
"Well it is a bit odd, but it's not surprising really."
My eyebrows threatened to join up with my hairline.
"Well look at it this way", she started, "He's the son of a decorated hero and he has a lot to live up to. He'd much rather make a  huge killing than just catch someone on a case he doesn't even have evidence of yet."
She was right. But that made something spring to my mind.
"How come we weren't caught on camera?"
Now she smiled. No scratch that. She grinned broader than the legendary Cheshire cat.
"We were caught on camera, but I have all the discs."