Jakub sat still, and kept silent as he watched Dirk come to terms with the situation. It wasn’t that he had nothing to say, or that he didn’t feel a substantial need to push things along - after all, it was his neck in the loop, and Dirk was his only hope of getting ahead of the situation - He just lacked the words to say anything remotely appropriate to console Dirk. He figured that he should just give him some time.

There was no outburst of rage, no visible sadness, no tears, nothing to indicate Dirk had even understood what was said, just silence. Then Dirk rose, put on his coat, took his gun out of the drawer and into his pocket, stared at Jakub for a moment too long, seemingly deciding what to do with him, gave him a nod and turned toward the door.

Dirk had nothing. But that would change soon. He went through the case and his current situation. He was the closest thing to a relative that Ruth had had. The police might be inclined to let him see the body, or at least hand him an autopsy report. He could talk to the Don, any information circulating the streets had a high probability of reaching the Don, and given their mutual interest in solving the crime there was a high chance the Don would be more than willing to lend a hand. There was also a chance the Don was directly involved, and Jakub and by extension Dirk himself, were being played. The only facts so far were; the body, and killer on the loose.

“What are we waiting for?” Jakub impatiently asked as they stood on the pavement just outside Dirks flat.

“We?” Dirk retorted.

“Yes, we. I’m coming along. This might be about your dead girl, and I’m sure you are mightily upset about that, but it's my fucking neck on the line for this!”

“What d’you mean, it's your neck on the line? That’s the first I hear about it.”

“Well… you see, the Don made it very clear to bring him a suspect, or he would see to it that, in the interest of his and everyone's business, someone was apprehended. And that person, as the only witness to the deed, is me.”

“Hold on. So you are saying you saw the whole thing happen?”

“Not the ‘whole thing’. I saw her fall and went to check on her. But I have no idea what hit her. There were some others trying to sell that night, but they weren’t close, and I didn’t see anyone leaving the scene. I just assumed she fell, or something, and went to see if she needed help. The stair is not a place you want to fall unconscious at.”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Dirk believed what he said. The kid didn’t seem the type to outright lie to him, he did have a habit of not mentioning important details, though.

“Anything else you should have told me by now?”

“Nah, I think you got the gist of it. What are we going to do now?”

Dirk sighed.

“I am going to the police and see what they have, take a look at the body as well. You, for obvious reasons, are staying low for now.”

“Uhm. I would rather not.”

“You are. Meet me at Stannis Bar at 7. Until then, you keep your head down. If something happens, call me immediately.”

“I could just come with you and wait outside. The bullies would never know.”

“Kid. You don’t seem to have realized what kind of shit you are in. Let me spell it out for you. You are the only live witness to a murder, and the killer is still at large. You are a loose end. Go to Stanni, tell him I sent you, and that you can drink on my tab, give him this - Dirk handed him a card with his name on - and stay the fuck in the bar.”

Jakub chuckled, it had been quite some time since he last had heard someone talk to him with such concern. It used to be a daily thing back when he was still living in the orphanage, but he was a man now. He had coerced, beat, humiliated and subdued men for a living, for the last three years now, and was at a point in his life, where he seriously considered quitting selling drugs for the Don, and go solo. Because, he was the bad bogey man.

“Stanni is a class 3 cyborg, fully equipped for war. You will be safe with him for now.”

It dawned on Jakub that perhaps Dirk had a point. He hadn’t even seen the Killer commit the crime, and obviously the Killer must have had sufficiently high-tech augmentation to scramble the various camera feeds that the Don had set up in his territory, for him to pass through completely unnoticed. Who was to say what other gadgets he had in store. In comparison, he, Jakub, was just a pure blooded boring old human.

“Ok. I’ll go. But you better be there, on time, or I will start investigating this on my own, and the Don won’t be pleased…”

“Kid, the Don is the least of my worries. Now get going.”

Dirk left him where he stood and started walking, and arrived at the Davidswache a few minutes later.