Shade didn’t know why he believed Tomás but he did or more likely he had no other choice. But he saw the pride well in Tomás’ chest and the conviction in his eyes when he said he would protect the package with this life. Shade noticed when Tomás referenced the package and not Shade himself and it made him think that the rock was important enough for everyone to lose their lives over it. Tomás would surely protect the rock, everyone else be damned. Shade could respect that mindset even if it was a little unsettling but it gave him confidence that Tomás meant what he said. Shade worked by a similar M.O. He’d do just about anything to get the job done and nothing could deter him from his goal. He took pride in delivering on time and was one of the few Couriers who guaranteed their work, Shade had dealt with his fair share of obstacles over the past few years but he didn’t plan on being late or dying on a job so far away from home.

The drive into the city was quiet, giving Shade time to take in the city lights. The freeways rose above even some massive apartment buildings, giving Shade a view of the ocean of lights. Trinity was beautiful at night but the lights didn’t sprawl out into forever like they did in Buenos Aires. He couldn’t wait to get his delivery over with. He still had two extra nights to explore after the delivery was over and was hoping that Tomás could give him a few pointers on where to go and what to do. Someone had told him the ice cream was really good but he wasn’t much of a sweets person.

Shade had never left the Trinity City limits. Growing up, his family wasn’t well off so a trip to the beach, an hour away, was usually the big family vacation. They drive down early, stay on the beach all day and then pile into a small, cheap, motel room and then spend the second day on the beach, having hotdog sandwiches for lunch and getting sunburned while playing with other kids. The water Shade played in had a green tinge and he wondered where on earth someone could see blue water like he saw on tv. Shade loved hotdog sandwiches and even as an adult, craved them every now and then.

When Shade got older, he got into editing video and soon had the opportunity to edit and produce holographic productions for art and film studios in Trinity. His favorites were reimagining old plays and musicals into modern day horror stories. Mary Poppins takes on a whole new life when she’s fighting to protect those children from a coven of vampires. He loved when the final product came out and he got to show the world, really the cult following the studio had. What he didn’t like was drowning in the environment of said production world. Shade was in it because he thought it was fun but most other people were in it to make it to the big time, to Hollywood or Albuquerque or even the art houses in New York. Everyone was always gunning for everyone else’s job, killing any collaborative, creative, spirit that Shade sought. So when the studio that Shade worked for was merged with a larger studio, Shade dropped out of the business completely. A year later he was making his first delivery as a Courier. He had heard the people could make quick money as a Courier and Shade had also realized that while quitting a regular paying job on principle was fine, he didn’t have much in the way of savings. Creative jobs don’t pay much unless you make it to one of the bigger companies and even then, editors are still fairly low in the overall hierarchy. He had to do something and he figured he’d only be a Courier until he figured something else out.

The first year of being a Courier was pretty boring but the pay was decent and the clients tipped well. Young couriers usually take a deep dive into the night life because the money’s good and they can stick around doing the easy jobs and live pretty well. Shade wanted to excel and save the money so he could take time to reevaluate what he wanted to do with his life. In year two, Shade found that he really enjoyed being a Courier and meeting new people and finding out more and more about the world that he had jumped feet first into. He was making better money because he took his job seriously so the better paying gigs started coming his way. He was starting to meet shady characters like a man everyone called Luther. He was supposedly the leader of an underground group of computer hackers posing as a SecOps group. Luther had an impossibly wide smile that crept halfway up to his ears at its zenith. His teeth were long and thin and it seemed like he had a million of them when he smiled and Luther, it seemed, liked to smile. There was no light in his eyes when he did smile and Shade could never look directly at him when he did but Luther paid well and was a regular client and seemed to take a liking to Shade as he requested him often for deliveries.

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At the closing of year two, Shade had made a lot of connections to the so-called underground society that only came out at night. When the sun went down, a whole new world awoke and functioned at night in Trinity. Shade wondered how so many stores and restaurants stayed open so late or operated on a 24-hour cycle and when he became Courier, he understood that the people who belonged to “The Night” kept these late night businesses profitable even throughout the early morning hours. He became a regular at the Deep Blue Diner and made friends with one of the waitresses, Dona. Shade guessed she was around ten years older than he was by the stories she told and the references she made. Shade was a little too young to remember half of the references she made but she liked to talk and he liked to listen. He enjoyed having someone to talk to most nights. She also made sure that when the diner took the grilled chicken salad off of the late night menu that Shade could still get one. It wasn’t his most valuable connection but it was his favorite.

At the start of year three Shade had received a high paying job. The Courier Guild boss suggested Shade for the job but before assigning it to him, the boss requested a meeting with Shade. The boss had only spoken to Shade twice; once to welcome him into the guild and the second time to thank him for moving his motorcycle from behind his car. Shade wasn’t sure he knew the boss’ real name as everyone just called him “boss” and even in their first meeting the boss didn’t let on to his real name. He didn’t even have a nameplate on his desk.

“Kid,” the boss started in his voice that sounded like he had been a life-log smoker, “this client is, how can put this delicately, well he’s a real asshole.” Shade spit out a surprised laugh.

“Ok, I mean, we deal with Luther and that guy’s got real issues,” Shade said, tapping a finger to his temple.

“Luther might be a head case but Mr. Vaughn is something else. I’ve had some of my best Couriers threaten to quit if they ever had to deliver to him again,” the boss said, the gavel in his voice growing quiet.

“So why do we keep dealing with him?” Shade asked.

“Because he’s powerful and he’s not the kind of person you mess with. We don’t have to deliver for him often so he’s a headache that I’m willing to put up with once in a blue moon because he pays well and even the other Couriers who won’t deliver for him will tell you that he tips well too,” the boss lamented.

“What’s so bad about him?” Shade asked, genuinely curious why a person who paid so well was so widely hated. Shade shifted in his seat. The boss took a sip from his coffee mug and let out a sigh.

“Well, one time he got into a fight with a Courier when he didn’t like his tone of voice. When the Courier got the upper hand, Vaughn’s guys stepped in and worked him over and Vaughn still expected him to make the delivery. He threatened him, his family, his pets, and his pet’s children if he didn’t go through with the delivery. Said Courier nearly put me in the ground after the job was done and he got out of the hospital,” the boss shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“The freaking hospital? What did you do about it?” Shade raised his voice.

“Couldn’t do anything. I told you, he’s powerful,” the boss said softly. The boss was a big boisterous man. People could hear him laughing from two floors up in the office building. Shade always wondered if that was just poor insulation. He never thought he’d hear his boss’ voice lower than the purr of a kitten.

“Why didn’t you go to the people who oversee this stuff for us? I mean, even the police would have been better than nothing,” Shade leaned forward, elbows on the boss’ desk. He clenched his jaw.

“I did. Nothing happened.”

“Bullshit,” Shade said as he threw his hands up.

“I know but this needs to get done.”

“And why me? This is the kind of job for someone more experienced than I am,” Shade said. The boss sighed again.

“Because no else will take the job. Look, you take the job and you do well, I’ll bump you up on the client list. You’ll be getting the choice jobs like the elite Couriers around here,” the boss said, trying to negotiate. Shade leaned back in the chair and thought about it. He knew this could lead to bigger things for him but he was already on his way up. He could just keep his nose to the grind and graduate to the bigger jobs on a regular timeline without having to deal with possibly getting sent to the hospital. But that timeline would be a minimum of two years.

“If things go sideways, I’m coming for you first,” Shade said, pointing a finger toward his boss.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”