Liquid Cool (Liquid Cool, Book 1)

by Austin Dragon

  Run-Time looked like he hadn't slept in five days. "Let me ask you," he began, "do you understand what has been set in motion?"

  "You mean, what I started."

  "You said it."

  Run-Time warned me, but I didn't listen. I acknowledged that he understood the politics of things better than I ever would. However, I knew that fact profoundly, now. I was the cause of the chaos. All because of ego. Would I ever be able to sleep if people died because of my ego?

  "The Mayor and the Chief were going to destroy my life. They were going to let a kidnap victim die. They were going to let a psycho cyborg criminal get away to kill more people and do more violence."

  Run-Time shook his head. "You don't know that."

  "Is this one of those 'see the big picture' speeches? Run-Time, you've known me practically all my life. I don't care and never have cared about the 'big picture.' I'm a simple guy. Did you scratch my car or not? I don't care about the socio-economic forces that led to your father losing his job and your parents turning to a life of crime and beating you up and you becoming a bad person. I don't care. Did you scratch my car or not? Did you kill that old man or not? Did you run down that girl in your hovercar and flee the scene of the crime or not? If people spent more time with the 'little picture,' then the 'big picture' wouldn't be so screwed up."

  Run-Time was always Mr. Optimism, even as a child. But the man who stood in front of me was so far from that, it scared me. He stayed quiet for a moment. I don't know if he was trying to think of the best response or was just plain tired.

  "I'd like you to meet someone."

  "Run-Time, they want me to meet some police widows and widowers."

  "I know, but this is important. The big picture shouldn't trump little pictures, but the little pictures shouldn't destroy the big picture either. Where will we be if Metropolis goes up in flames? You and I live here, you know."

  "Who do you want me to meet with?"

  "The Vice President of the Police Watch Commission."

  "Ah," I said. "The people who probably orchestrated the murder of Easy Chair Charlie, but definitely, the cover-up."

  Chapter 58

  Exe

  RUN-TIME IGNORED MY comment. For a second, I wondered if he had even heard me.

  I was now in a foul mood. The least of which was the fact that a lifelong friendship was on the verge of dissolution. Friends were hard to come by in Metropolis, and friends you could count on were even more rare. Losing Run-Time's friendship would be a serious blow. However, I couldn't quite figure out what his involvement was in this whole thing. As a businessman, he had to be friends with everyone—uber-governments, megacorporations, multinationals, the Average Joe and Jane—that's how you not only grew your business in the City, but kept it. But there was a deeper level of involvement here behind the scenes. He didn't tell me, and I couldn't guess. That was what annoyed me. Obviously, he'd have friends in the city that I hated. That was life, but some of the players in the city would try to destroy my life. That's what gave me pause. How friendly was Run-Time with them? Was he going to allow them to crush me?

  His third VP, Mr. "Mick," joined us. I figured I'd be seeing a lot more of him and a lot less of the Lebanese and West Indian female VPs, going forward, if Run-Time and I continued any relationship. The Mick had refreshments brought in, and Run-Time and I moved to the lounge area of his office to wait for our guest.

  Exe (pronounced EX-EE) was brought in fairly soon afterward. She wore a crimson pants suit and matching beret on her head, with a sheer white and yellow scarf around her neck. She had been a member of the Metropolis Police Watch Commission for decades. The lead members rotated through the official titles, and this term, she was the Vice President of the body. She had been its President before and would be again. She was a very gregarious woman and greeted me with a vigorous handshake and small talk as if we had been friends for ages. I don't think I ever saw her before, and surely, I wouldn't recognize any Police Watch member by sight.

  The Metropolis Police Department was the largest and most powerful in the world, but the civilian Police Watch Commission kept them in check. Supposedly, they were the ones who monitored every single transaction of the police with the public, suspects, and criminals.

  It was a strange fact, because they were powerful civilian members of government. Technically, they weren't part of the government at all. But who were we fooling? You hang out with government for so long, even as watchdogs, no matter how aggressive or antagonistic, you become de-facto part of the government yourself.

  Exe was one of those natural story-teller personalities. They could sit and entrance you with a tale for hours, and you wouldn't once look at a timepiece.

  "I remember saying 'shoot him.' I was very disturbed by my feelings, later on. Spit, curse, then spit and curse again. This big, burly crew-cut cop told me, 'Oh, it's nothing. People do that all the time. Would we talk that way to the public? Never, even if we were in a rotten mood. The disrespect is all one way. Towards us. But we see it as a game. Their one time to feel as if they have power over the system; talking crap to us, because we're the only part of the system that they can do that to and get away with it.' Wow, I said. Someone spat at me or called me a name, I'd beat them ugly, no matter how many cameras were watching. At that moment, I realized what my late mum meant by her crack, all those years ago, when she started calling me 9-1-1, when I first joined the Citizen's Police Oversight Commission, which became the Police Watch Commission. I was a rabble-rouser, back then. I had an afro to the sky, and I was going to get those police brutality, po-lice goose-steppin', black booters. You think you know so much from outside of the system, but then, you get inside, and you see things how they really are. My late mum didn't think I would become a sell-out. But she knew, long before I did, what would happen. You sit there in the Watch Room, hour after hour, day after day, and year after year. You see what they have to go through on the streets to protect the City. Someone, like me, never goes from not loving the people and the community, but after a while, you get to not liking a lot of them. The community and the police organized into one force. We merged into one entity. They weren't the police anymore. They were my people, and I wouldn't hesitate to protect every last one. And they would do the same for us. Cops say, 'I got the community on my shoulder and watching my back.'

  "Wow. Metro Police were so violently opposed to body-cams and Police Watch. I remember. We thought we'd get assassinated. We were scared." She laughed. "All our 'Power to the People' rhetoric, and we were actually hiding under our beds, because we were that scared. Now, we've gone full circle. The community says, "You low-life criminal punks better not mess with our cops, or we'll stomp your teeth in and down to your ankles. Now the cops say, 'We won't go into the field on the streets, unless we're body-cammed with the Police Watch watching our backs.' Full-circle. Before us, nearly 100% of the police brutality cases against the City were settled unfavorably, because they knew, if any got to trial, the payout could be a thousand times more. Now? You have to go back thirty, forty years to find a police brutality case that got a penny. Actually, I think that was the actual settlement—one penny." She laughed again.

  "The trial lawyers were also our very best friends, back then, and all for body-cams. Now, they hate our guts. Body-cams ended their gravy train forever. You gotta laugh. I remember when the trial lawyers tried to sue us—the Police Watch Commission—for encouraging police brutality. Us, the people.

  "You see, Mr. Cruz, I was one of those pioneers in creating this coalition of community and police against the criminals. The City is far from crime-free, and many parts are extremely dangerous, and there are plenty of gangs, psychos, and cartels out there. But, I was alive, back then, when you could have ten thousand murders in one weekend. The Average Joe and Jane can't even imagine the level of violence on the streets, back then. We ended that all with our community coalition of the people and the cops. But all coalitions are fragile, as these past days have shown us. Poli
ce rioting, with people backing them up, against the Mayor and City Hall. We could even have a war—damn, we haven't used that word in centuries—a war against Earth and Up-Top. That's how it's being spun. Accomplishments are oh so fragile. Mr. Cruz, that's where we are. Run-Time told me what you said to him. Based on the look I got from the Police Union leader earlier today, it seems you've been sharing. All I ask is that you give me a chance to prove you wrong; a couple of days is all I need, before you make up your mind. I have a legacy that I can't bear to see shredded before my eyes and more importantly, if such a thing were to get out, and people were to believe it, the damage would be catastrophic to the city. It would be a return to those ten-thousand-killed-in-a-weekend days, trial lawyers getting the most vicious criminals off, victims and their families getting no justice, judges afraid to convict crime bosses, people refusing to serve on juries..."

  Exe had weaved a very, very bleak story for me. How was it I was in this situation? The fate of Metropolis was in my hands? I was a small-time, newbie private detective. How was this even happening? If I could have seen the future to this point, even with all my business cards printed, I would have chosen a different path. At least, I think I would have.

  "What do you say, Mr. Cruz?" she asked.

  "Are civilians allowed to visit the Watch Room?"

  "I don't see why not."

  "Why don't I see what goes on in this Watch Room and meet all your colleagues at the same time. We can shoot two birds with one laser."

  "Excellent," Exe said with a broad smile.

  Chapter 59

  Flash

  AS THE MICK ESCORTED me from Run-Time's office—Run-Time and Exe remained behind to talk. I hoped they weren't afraid of me. Not me, specifically, but what I could do. The only problem was I didn't know what I would do. I was not pleased with the situation I found myself in.

  "Our limo is yours for the day," The Mick said, when we exited the elevator capsule.

  "Thank you," I said. "Who's driving?"

  "Flash. I believe you know him."

  I managed a smile, which I hadn't done in, I couldn't remember, how long. "Flash is good people. Thanks."

  "You're quite welcome. However Let It Ride Enterprises can help a friend."

  I wasn't sure if his use of the word "friend" had some special meaning. That's what sucked about politics—people never meant what they said and were always playing an angle. However, I had to admit it was no different than dealing with anyone in Metropolis. "Everything is politics," Run-Time once told me. Maybe that's why I was content being a house mouse for so long in the Concrete Mama.

  Flash was waiting at a hoverlimo in their landing bay. He saw me and immediately opened a door for me. "Thanks, Flash." I hopped in, and he closed the door. Flash was my main guy at Let It Ride. He had guarded my Pony so often that I requested him by name and arranged my own personal schedule for him whenever I ordered mobile hovercar security services.

  "They've moved you up to limo duty," I said.

  He drove the hoverlimo out of the bay and, in moments, we were ascending into sky traffic. "I told them there was no way you were going to drive your vehicle anywhere with all this madness going on. I told them I was on permanent on-call status for you."

  "I appreciate that, Flash."

  "You've given me a lot of business, so this was the time to give back."

  "What is the madness going on out there? I've tried to avoid as much news as possible."

  "Do you know anything?"

  "Cops rioting around Metro Police One, and they have all walked off the job. The Police Chief met with top generals, and it ended in a shootout. Interpol spaceships are stationed above City Hall. Is that basically it?"

  "You got the main points, but there's a lot more."

  I leaned forward as I moved my hoverseat closer to his compartment. "You can never have too much street intel. How do you see the situation?"

  "I did something I never thought I'd do. I got my lady a piece of her own, and we've kept the kids home from school."

  "It can't be that bad."

  "It is. There's no police. The entire 9-1-1 system is down."

  "I just thought that buildings would band together and protect their own until the crisis is over."

  "We're banding together, but so are the gangs. They're consolidating to exploit the situation, so that means they're killing each other. I have never seen the level of intra-gang violence going on. All of us, taxi drivers, are talking about it. A lot of us are not driving most of the city. Once the intra-gang violence is over, then the gang violence against us begins."

  "This will all be over before that happens."

  "Mr. Cruz, I've known you a long time, not as long as Mr. Run-Time, but a long time. I've never known you to be an optimist."

  He was right. I wasn't one. It made me realize that it wasn't optimism; it was avoidance. I was the cause of all the chaos.

  "Mr. Cruz, can I be a bit forward with some advice. I never tell a client his business, but..."

  "Sure, why not. It's the times we're in."

  "Mr. Cruz, I'm not passing judgment, but you started this chaos with that interview, and only you can bring us back to order. Only you. You may not want to hear that or accept it. You're saying 'Hey, I'm a private detective just scraping by in life,' but you need to get wise to the reality fast, because a lot of other people already have."

  "What others?"

  "The cops, the politicians. Up-Top. The gangs."

  "The gangs?" I was nervous now. "Why would they care about me?"

  "They all know your name, Mr. Cruz."

  "Yeah, but why would they care about me?"

  "Because you're the only guy who can bring Metropolis back to order."

  Now I was scared.

  "What do you think they'll do?"

  "If I were them," Flash said. "I'd kill you any way I could."

  Chapter 60

  Monkey Baker

  I HAD THREE STOPS TO make. PJ was back at the real office, and apparently, we had both civilian and police security everywhere, so according to her, it was safe. She told me I had some "high-level" clients waiting. I didn't know what "high-level" meant, and she wouldn't tell me on the video-phone. Then I had to meet with the cops, courtesy of Wilford G. Jr. Then, it was to the Watch Room to meet the city's Police Watch Commission.

  But there was a cloud over me. Would gangs really want to hurt me? I was in Flash's hoverlimo. No one in the public knew I was inside, so at least, for the day, I would be safe. Then, Flash told me that the hoverlimo was bullet and laser-proof. Good.

  Flash and I realized that if we flew up in the hoverlimo and I got out, it wouldn't take long for the media and everyone else to know how I was traveling around the city. Everyone was looking for my red Ford Pony, not a Let It Ride hoverlimo. We did a combat-drop two miles away—he dove above the ground, I jumped out with a black hooded slicker over my clothes, and he flew away.

  I walked through the rain towards my office with my head down and my hands in my pockets, but neither hand was empty. I had my main piece in my right hand and my back-up piece in the other. I had been shot at so many times, that I was betting on it happening today. Surprisingly, I wasn't as nervous about walking through the streets with no bodyguards. It was raining hard, and I blended in with the crowds.

  Across from my office tower was another tower, fifty stories taller. I stood on the roof, wearing Punch Judy's jetpack, started it up, and let it lift me up, hovering. I was up and over. On the roof of my building, I could see the army of sidewalk johnnies. One of them pointed at me as I flew near, and then they all were looking. I could tell they were Phishy's people—all of them were wearing fedoras. Good grief! Now Phishy, the franchiser, would have everyone wearing my trademark fedora.

  I landed, removed the jetpack with their help, and quickly made it to the roof-top exits, with a bunch of johnnies following me.

  "They're waiting," she said as I walked through the door.

  "My
high-level clients?"

  "Take advantage of the pandemonium. Get all the paying clients in now. I've been offering a free official Liquid Cool t-shirt for all new clients."

  I threw the jetpack and my slicker on the floor. "I don't want to hear about it. Take care of these for me."

  My sidewalk johnny escorts were shooed out of the office by PJ as she closed the door. I walked in and opened my office door.

  Him!

  I instinctively drew my piece and pointed at his head. The seven other police officers around him drew their guns and pointed them at me.

  "No, boss!" PJ yelled. "This is your client!"

  "What? He's my client?"

  "Yes."

  I looked at him again.

  "Lower your weapons," Police Chief Hub directed.

  His men complied, and I did the same.

  "I could have shot you!" I yelled.

  "I couldn't say his name on the open video-phone," PJ said. "He has the entire cop police force looking for him."

  "And you invite him into my office?"

  "I didn't invite. He came."

  "Why didn't you tell him to leave?"

  "He wouldn't leave!"

  "Why didn't you throw him out? You have two bionic arms. Use them!"

  I realized why she let him stay.

  "How much?" I asked.