I’ve seen enough plain-clothed police officers to tell them from sight. I’ve seen more conspicuous outfits before, but the pair before me wasn’t dressed far off from them. Someone has to remind the force that dress-shirts with tight long pants or jeans aren’t usual outfits worn by the masses, especially in a cinema. If someone were to wear those, they’d bring along a blazer or a sports coat with a backpack or a briefcase, or something else to make it seem like they’d just got off from work. These two seemed like they meant business wherever they went. Commendable qualities for work attitudes, horrible attributes to have in this specific line of duty.

Even then, their outfits weren't the worst part about their cover.

“Woah,” one of them was a blue-skinned demoness who knocked her foot on the wheels of the cart, “I’m so sorry- You alright, Mister?”

I had a split second’s worth of hesitation before answering, “O-Oh, don’t worry much. You, uh, you okay, Miss officer?”

The demoness’s partner, a sharp-eyed elf with a blonde bob cut, who managed to stop just before colliding with the cart, chimed in, “How’d you know she’s an officer?”

I kept my head low, letting my cap shield my face as I pointed towards the badge affixed to the side of the demoness’s dress shirt, “I could’ve seen that shining ways ahead if we'd been walking straight, m-ma’am.”

The elf turned towards the demoness, “I told you to keep it in your pocket.”

“It makes things easier,” the demoness shrugged as she smoothed her dress shirt, “Don’t have to pull it out for clearance every time.”

The elf was displeased by that, “This is not a standard search, we’re supposed to be underco-”

The demoness shot out a finger over the elf’s mouth, “Not now. Not in front of a civvie.”

“So, uh, ma’am’s,” I took a timely cue for an excuse to leave, “I’m on the clock, you see. I’ll let y’all officers continue your-”

“Hold on,” the elf gripped onto the front of the cart.

Shit.

“We just got some questions,” the elf held a firm grasp on the cart with no intention of letting go, “They’ll be fast, if you cooperate.”

I held myself from speaking too fast, “S-Sure. Shoot ‘em.”

The elf squinted her eyes, “What?”

“Means I’m alright,” I steeled my nerves; saying the wrong things would spell instant trouble, or worse, “But make ‘em quick.”

With professional efficiency, the elf pulled out a small notepad and a pen from her jeans’ pocket while the demoness leaned over the cart, her elbows resting on the rims of the plastic bin.

The demoness asked, “You’ve seen any suspicious individuals in this establishment?”

“I just clocked in on my shift, officer,” I shrugged, “Plus, this the cinema. We got all sorts of characters in here, all the time.”

“Specifically today,” the elf added.

I shook my head, “Can’t say I do, ma’am.”

The demoness asked, “You see anyone carrying a bag in here?”

I faked out a chuckle, “All due respect, officer, this is a cinema. We’ve got every flavour of people you want, bag or no bag.”

“We want one that’s big enough to carry a considerable package,” the elf knocked on the broom handle sticking out of the cart with her notepad, “Something luggage sized. The kind you’d take on a plane.”

“As I said, ma’am, I just clocked in,” I shook my head, “Plus, it ain’t my job to look at people. I just get down and sweep the seats, is all.”

“Did you find a bag like that getting left behind? Doesn’t matter if it’s empty or in the trash,” the demoness pressed on, “Have you seen it?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I didn’t see nothing like that, I apologise,” I rubbed my fingers against my chin for a moment, pulling my head down, “But I did pick up a bag somewhere-”

Both police officers’ faces lit up as soon as I mentioned the bag.

The elf was fast to react, “Where? And do you have it with you now?”

“Well, you’re leaning right over it, ma’am,” I pointed towards the front of the cart.

The elf shot away from the broom handle she was leaning on, only to find the small backpack I’ve picked up from Screen E dangling off from one of its straps. The demoness too peered over for a look. There was an unmeasurable disappointment shared between the two.

“I ain’t prodded in there too much but I don’t think those sort of stuff would, uh, interest you, ma’am,” I shook my head as I spoke.

The elf and the demoness looked at one another for a moment before the former opened up the zip and checked for herself. She rummaged through the contents with her notepad, keeping her prints from contaminating the bag. Sure enough, she wasn’t happy with her findings.

“If I may, officer,” I inquired, “Don’t mind me bein’ a busybody but if I could know what you be looking for, I might be able to help, even for a lil’ bit.”

The demoness gazed at me for an inquisitive moment, “If you say so, Mister, we’re currently in the pursuit of possible smuggled narco-”

“Hey,” the elf snapped her finger from behind, catching the demoness’s attention, “Not in front of him.”

The demoness tried to reason with her, “Who knows? He might help out some when we’re not look-”

“No,” the elf shut her down fast, “No civilian involvement. At all.”

Much to her chagrin, the demoness found sense in the elf’s words, and turned back to me, “Sorry, Mister. Classified information. Can’t risk intel going out in the wrong hands. Nothing personal, just business.”

“Understand, officer, I do,” I gave a quick nod and put my hands back on the cart’s handle, “If there’s nothing else, I better get going. I wish you ma’ams the best of lu-”

The elf stuck her boots against one of the cart’s wheels, “One more thing.”

I looked up to meet the elf’s face, though just low enough where I couldn’t see her face from the cap, “M-Ma’am?”

“We’re also looking for a beastkin,” the demoness inquired from my side, “We don’t know about their sex, but what we know is that they’re canine, tall, have light brown fur, and those sort of floppy, triangle ears.”

“Button ears, they’re called,” the elf pressed on, “Have you seen any beastkins matching such descriptions.”

“Like I said, ma’am, I-I just clocked in, didn’t see many people,” my hair stood up for a brief moment, growing hyper-aware of the restrooms behind me, “Plus, you’d be describing almost half the dog beastkins in this here cinema. Have ya’ checked with the Great Size section? You said she’s tall, right?”

The elf raised an eyebrow, “She?”

A splash of cold chills rained down my back.

The demoness put a hand on my shoulder, “Mister? You know someone like that?”

I fucked up bad. I had my tongue tied for a second.

The elf was pressing on, “Sir?”

“P-Perhaps,” I let my tongue roll with my instincts, “Great Sized people usually stand out. Might’ve seen, uh, someone like that before.”

The two officers kept their focus on me, silent.

I held my breath.

The elf leaned in, “Are you certain?”

“C-Can’t say for sure, ma’am,” I played it cool, maintaining indecision in my prose, “But if I was looking for, uh, bad characters, I’d go for the Great Sizes. They’re usually the troublemakers, see?”

Both officers traded looks with one another for a moment. They didn’t talk.

“Sorry for taking your time, Mister,” the demoness then turned towards me, drawing a card out of her pants pocket and handing it towards me, “If you see anything suspicious today, call me here, or come down to the local precinct. Tell the receptionist you’re looking for me. If not, ask for Miss Stu here.”

I took the card from the demoness’s hand. From a glance, I could tell this wasn’t a printing job. She just grabbed a blank business card and scribbled her name and phone number onto it. Lin was her first name; her last name was too long and complicated to read at such short notice.

“W-Will do, officer,” I stashed the card away into the jumpsuit’s pocket, “I only got a, uh, pager with me here, but you’ll definitely hear from me if I see any of those beastkin characters.”

“Much thanks, Sir,” the elf nodded, stashing her notepad into her jeans’ pocket, “We apologise for taking your time. You’ve been of great help.”

“Don’t mention it, ma’am,” I waved to the two officers as they broke away from the cart and went in the opposite direction, “Thanks for your service! Us the community thanks ya’.”

I stood by the cart and watched as the officers left.

The elf, Stu whispered to the demoness, Lin with less prudence and more audible frustration in her voice, "Can you keep that badge away now?"

"Later," the demoness stuffed her hands in her pocket, her priorities differing from the elf's intentions.

I waited until Stu and Lin made a turn around the hallway where they disappeared from my sight. Then I waited for a few seconds more, just to be sure.

They were gone.

I checked my back, looking towards the corridor leading towards the restroom.

I made a mental note to reconsider my meetings with the bitch.

Without further complications, I broke into a sprint, pushing the cart with me, looking for the nearest service elevator to Level 2.