Chapter 8: In South Mall
Valerie Mitchum was standing outside the music store in the South Mall with several other people when she heard the announcement of the first lift. As she did she wondered how she could get on the lift to Home. It had to be better than living on the streets of Trenaport. A few days before Lottie’s death she helped a family pack up their apartment, after it had been packed, the family had given her the access codes to the place. She had been staying in the abandoned apartment ever since. She saw the shop keeper of the music store and knew it was time to move on. He didn’t like her around. She left the area of the music store and found a place where she could sit. She bought a drink at one of the kiosks with one of the few crowns from her last pay check from Lemay’s and was sipping it when she saw the two police officers who had rendered justice on Lottie’s behalf walking the mall. They saw her and came over to her.
“How are you Miss Mitchum,” L’eam, and F’rena asked in unison. Mitch smiled a bit this was not the first lifemated Thonians she knew, often they would speak in unison and with the same vocal qualities.
“I am fine,” the seventeen year old answered.
“We were worried about you,” the female thonian said, “When you disappeared from Lemay’s.”
“Why,” Mitch asked.
“That was bad scene,” the male thonian replied “We wanted to make sure you were okay,”
“It was a bad thing,” Mitchum admitted. In truth she had never seen anything like that in her young life. She had seen many things in the five years she had been on the boat; but nothing that bad.
“How are you coping with it,” the male Thonian asked sitting down beside her.
“I don’t know,” Mitchum replied, she really didn’t know how she felt about it. “Lottie was a good friend.”
“We had been told that,” the other one said, “That’s why we wanted to talk with you. We wanted to speak with you at the memorial for her.”
“Couldn’t. I had to get home.” The young girl lied as the Thonian’s communicator spoke up.
“Patrol 29 what is your status?” The communicator called.
“In service at South Mall,” F’rena called into the device.
“Respond to a disturbance in the residential section of the mall.” The device called.
“On the way,” F’rena the female thonian called as her lifemate stood and they started to go to the residential section.
With nothing better to do and since she was staying in an abandoned apartment on the residential floor, she followed the companions to the residential section.
“Give me back my notice!” someone was yelling as she came up on the group behind the companions.
“It is not your notice,” another voice yelled. The crowd noise was getting loud. Mitch saw twenty or so people surrounding the two who were arguing. They were a young man who was wearing a tool belt and an older over weight guy. She thought knew him as the guy who ran one of the cafes on the ground floor of the mall. As they got closer, the older man pushed the younger man, who fell to the floor. He jumped back up and was about to swing on the fat man when the male thonian simply picked the young man up by his collar and turned him around. His partner moved in on the fat man and cut him out of the crowd. Soon both men were separated.
“What’s going on,” L’eam asked the young man.
“I got my notice this morning and had printed it off and was showing a couple of the guys, when Jonathon took it and said it was his! Said I got it out of his printer. I sometimes use his printer to print out my stuff. When he saw what it was he went crazy and wouldn’t let me have it. I tried to print out another and he wouldn’t let me,” The youngster said in a rush.
“Can I see it,” the thonian asked.
“He still has it,” the young man said.
“F’rena can you scan the notice please.” The thonian asked his lifemate. He had heard the overweight man’s side of it as his lifemate interviewed him. F’rena scanned the hard copy of the notice. A holograph of the young man filed the air over the scanner.
Turning to Jonathon the thonians said in unison, “Sir if you wish to continue to challenge this we will take you down to the station house where you will be interrogated by agents of the crown and should you be mistaken about this document, you will be arrested. The Marshal and the evacuation command are taking a dim view of identity theft.”
They let it sink in and then asked, “What is your desire citizen.”
“That’s all right.” The man said, “I guess I was mistaken.”
“Do you wish to press charges,” the male companion asked the young man.
“No.” the young man said, “everyone is getting desperate. Just so he doesn’t do it again.”
“If you cause any more trouble,” both thonians spoke again to the man named Jonathon, “we will arrest you.”
“Yes,” the man said.
“Come on folks it is all over.” They said, “Move on now.”
Taking the hint Mitch left for the apartment she was squatting in. When the thonians tried to find her she was nowhere to be found.
Every Last Mother's Child Page 91