Red

Red slouched in his Naples Yellow 1977 Cadillac Coupe DeVille feeding himself from a large bag of Skittles. Parked under the shade of a mangled tree clinging to life in the parking lot of a nondescript strip center, he worked on his crossword. Sandwiched between the tinted windows of an Indian restaurant and a Vietnamese nail salon, sat Chuckey’s Electronics store, a known fence for illegal ESH tech. ESH, which stood for Extra Special Human energy, could be wielded by humans or technology, and it was highly illegal to have ESH-Tech outside of designated zones.

Red rubbed his bushy blonde-brown mustache trying to figure out a five-letter word for hot, but his eyes grew heavy. He removed his mirrored sunglasses to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He had the sensor trained at the entrance of the store and it chirped whenever something with ESH came or went. But so far only low powered items had passed by, nothing worth interrupting his crossword.

He might as well get some shuteye. Red put down the crossword puzzle and closed his eyes. The Indian restaurant smelled good, maybe he should get a Dosa? Or an order of Pakoras. Or a mango Lassi…

The sensor screeched, jarring him awake. He snapped his head forward and looked around bewildered for a second before slapping the mute button.

A man wearing a torn blue t-shirt with a large duffle bag slung over his shoulder skulked into the store. Red rubbed his eyes and considered going back to sleep. But he was here for a reason, even if he didn’t want to be. He might as well check it out. He let out a grunt of defeat before flipping the sun visor down and looked in the mirror. His thick curly brown hair had taken an interesting shape while he slept. He patted it down as best he could. A big stretch and a handful of Skittles later and he was out of the car and headed in after Blue Shirt.

As the bell above the shop door announced him the phone in his pocket buzzed. After a quick glance he shoved it back in his pocket, annoyed. Blue Shirt was talking to a bald man with a scraggly grey beard behind the counter. The duffel bag sat on the counter between them with its contents hidden from Red’s view. Baldy frowned at the interruption. In a voice like a broken muffler, he said, “Can I help you?”

“Looking for a new cellphone.” Red replied.

“Over there.” Baldy pointed and then continued his conversation with Blue Shirt in hushed tones.

Red pretended to examine the cell phones while scanning the store when he noticed large metal panels mounted on the wall behind the counter. They were a military grade Active Denial System (ADS), designed to inflict intense, debilitating pain on anyone caught in its waves. If nothing else, it was a sure sign he was in the right place. Red slipped in an earpiece which allowed him to hear the conversation on the other side of the store and pretended to browse the cellphones, while watching them in his peripheral.

Baldy shook his head. “Ten is as high as I can go,”

Blue Shirt put his hands on the counter. “It’s gotta be worth at least thirty.” His voice grew louder. “Do you know what I had to do to get this?”

“Keep your voice down,” Baldy hissed, glancing over at Red. “Do you see this?” He pointed into the bag. “It’s a Mark five assault rifle. Very unstable, nobody is going to want it. And it’s damaged. This crack in the housing, one false move and this whole place is gone. You should be paying me for disposal, but lucky for you, I know how to strip it down and use the parts. I’ll go fifteen but that’s it. Take it or get out of my store before I call the Wreckies.” Baldy’s eyes darted back to Red who immediately looked down at the demo phone and started tapping the screen.

“Fine,” Blue Shirt said in a hurry.

When Baldy disappeared through a ribboned door to the back, Red took his opportunity and strolled over. He slapped Blue Shirt on the back. He jerked around in surprise.

“Fifteen Gs isn’t enough,” Red said, under his breath, “Mark fives were banned because they’re rare, don’t go any lower than fifty.”

“Seriously?” Blue Shirt’s eyes widened. “Wait, who are you?”

Baldy was back with an envelope in his hand. “Yeah, who the hell are you?”

Red yawned. “I’m the guy who knows these things, and so does he.” Red jabbed a thumb at Baldy, who scowled.

“I suggest you stick your nose somewhere else before it gets hurt.” Baldy turned to Blue Shirt. “Besides, no way anyone gives you more than twenty for that, I promise you.”

“I’ll give you twenty-five,” Red said stifling another yawn.

“Hold on,” Baldy said louder, stabbing an angry finger at Red. “This is MY store. You can get the HELL out of here.”

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Red patted Blue Shirt on the back. “Fine. I have the money in the car, come on.”

Blue grabbed the duffle bag, but Baldy put a hand on it to stop him. “Whoa now, hold on. Let’s not be hasty, now that I think about it, this unit is in almost mint condition other than that crack. I could probably go say, thirty?”

Blue Shirt stared open-mouthed as Red and Baldy bid back and forth until Baldy ended up at sixty thousand.

“I’m out,” Red said, stepping back.

Blue Shirt now had a huge smile on his face as Baldy scurried to the back to stuff more cash to the envelope.

The doorbell jangled as a petite young lady marched in holding a fountain drink as big as her head. She wore a fuzzy lime green halter top with Nina written out in bold glittery letters, black skin-tight shorts, and red suspenders. The short, jet-black bowl haircut and sour look on her face gave the impression of an angry China doll about to go to a rave. “Are you Red?” her voice full of scorn like someone had just stolen her last glow stick.

Baldy returned from the back. “Hey, what’s going on here?”

Red pointed to Nina and then the door. “Wait outside.”

“How about you all wait outside.” The Baldy levelled a sawed-off shotgun at Red and Nina. Blue Shirt started to head for the door before the Baldy yelled, “Not you idiot, those two.”

“But you said—”

Nina smirked. “I’d put that down if I was you.”

Red repeated through gritted teeth, “I said, wait outside.”

Nina laughed. “What? You’re scared of a shotgun? Here, let me help you.”

Red yelled, “no!”

Nina flicked her wrist sending a burst of ESH knocking the shotgun from Baldy’s hand. He lunged forward towards the counter. Red, realizing what was about to happen, focused and the warm fuzzy sensation of ESH wrapped him in a protective barrier an instant before a low hum resonated from the wall panels. The ADS came to life, flooding painful radiation into the electronics store. Gentle pressure buffeted at the barrier around Red, but it held. While the waves were normally aimed away from the back of the counter where the controls were located, they were now bouncing off Red in all directions. Consequently, Blue shirt, Nina, and Baldy fell to the floor shaking and moaning in agony.

Red stood for a few seconds not sure what to do while he waited for the system to complete its cycle. He walked over to Nina and stood over her. “I told you to wait outside.”

She twitched and mumbled something unintelligible while continuing to twist in pain. Red shook his head. There was a refrigerator to the left, and having some time to kill, considered his options.

“What do you think? Is it too late for caffeine?” he said, looking down at Nina again. “I could use a pick me up.”

A little drool came out of her mouth.

Red reached in, pulled out a soda and took a few sips before glancing at his watch. His phone started to vibrate again. He looked at it before shaking his head and shoving his phone back in his jacket pocket. He sauntered up to the counter and leaned over. Baldy still writhed around on the floor. Foam started to come out of his mouth.

“How much longer?” Red asked, over the hum of the ADS, as he was starting to get a little impatient. The man didn’t respond, but amid his writhing motioned towards the counter. Red began talking to him loudly and slowly. “Yeah, I-know-you-hit-a-panic-button, but-how-long-does-it-last?” The bald man shook his head and let out a loud grunt causing foam to spray out of his mouth. “This is way too long.” Red took another drink. “Someone could go into cardiac arrest under this much.”

Again, through fits, he motioned towards the counter. Why was he repeating himself? He knew where the controls were. Tired of waiting, Red peaked over the counter to see what he was pointing at. Instead of a panic button, there was an on/off switch. “Oh,” Red said, under his breath. He flipped the ADS off.

Groans of relief came from the three unfortunate souls.

Red stuffed the envelope it in Blue Shirt’s pocket and hefted him up off the floor.

“Stop dealing in weapons, you’re going to get yourself killed,” Red said, helping him out the door.

Nina sat up and scrunched her face up. “You’re letting him go?”

Red held a dismissive finger up to her on his way to the counter to retrieve the duffle bag.

Baldy slowly stood up, still panting. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

Red flashed his Wrecht Order badge and glanced around at the shop. “I count multiple major infractions, dealing ESH tech in public, not displaying a license, attempted purchase of illegal arms…shall I go on?”

Baldy gritted his teeth. “God damn Wreckies, I should have known. I’m doing you jack-booted thugs a favor by getting this crap off the streets, you know.”

“Considering I could close your shop and take every last piece of ESH material in here, you should think of me as your guardian angel.” Red turned to the door, the duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

“The noble Wreckies, always protecting the peace and taking what doesn’t belong to them.”

Red paused and pulled a five-dollar bill out of his pocket and tossed it on the ground. “For the soda.”

Nina stomped after him and started to yell, “While you’re letting petty dealers off the hook, you know we have a real emergency, right?”

Red popped the trunk on his car and tossed the duffle bag into the back. “Yeah, my phone won’t shut up.”

“The Colonel ordered us to respond immediately.”

“Nope.” Red said, climbing into his DeVille and starting the engine. Nina darted around the car and jumped into the passenger seat.

Red grunted, “Get out.”

“The Colonel ordered us to—"

“You tell Karen if she wants me, she’ll have to call me herself.”

“You’re joking right?”

“Nope. Now get out of my car before I make you.”

Nina rolled her eyes, pulled out her cellphone and started typing feverishly. A moment later Red’s cellphone began vibrating. He looked at it. Again, he ignored it.

Nina looked at him expectantly. “Well? Are you going to answer that?”

Red counted the buzzes and at the last possible second, he answered it. “What, Karen?”

Karen barked in his ear. “Look asshole, we have an emergency. I need you and Nina onsite ASAP.” She was always the charmer.

“You know the deal was no partners, and you demoted me to watch petty dealers, so send one of your other lackeys.”

“Since when do you care about rank?”

“I don’t. I just want my parking spot back.”

“God damn it, Red!” He pulled the phone away from his ear as she continued to yell. “Now isn’t the time. This is a class ten event!”

The words chilled him.