by Logan Jacobs
The entire rest of the shop was a whole other beast. It was like an antique shop mixed with a flea market mixed with a junk yard full of everything you could think of throughout Earth’s history, but mostly focused on the Twentieth Century forward.
There was a stuffed wooly mammoth next to a mid-nineties era projection screen TV that played a mid-eighties episode of The Price Is Right just as you walked in. Beyond that I saw Roman shields leaned against a bookshelf full of skulls of every kind of creature imaginable. There was a full section of the wall that had nothing but swords mounted on it. On the floor were boxes full of CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes, trashy romance novels, and an entire set of pristine Encyclopedia Britannica.
Another section of the wall held neon beer signs and an ancient cigarette vending machine sat under them. Next to that was a giant display case full of TV’s from the Fifties onward, each with a different time specific show playing on them.
Towards the back were about ten mannequins all dressed in garb ranging from animal pelts to chain mail to Georgian ball gowns. For some odd reason the mannequins held instruments; a violin, an alto sax, a trumpet, sousaphone, and finally a keytar.
I turned and smiled at Grizz, but my smile faded when it seemed like he was going to pass out.
“Grizz, are you okay?” I asked, concerned.
“Oh my god, Havak,” he replied and wiped the sweat from his holographic bow, “your planet is so full of inanity that it has made my head spin. How have you all survived in this madness?”
“We’re an inane race,” I replied with a shrug.
“By the Great Crossbow of Cronan the Confused, this is sheer insanity,” he marveled. “Although, I like the wall of swords very much.”
“Oh me, oh my, oh dear,” a pleasant, breathy, voice came from behind the donut counter. I turned, and there stood JoJo. He was a four foot tall alien that looked exactly like a light brown Teddy Bear complete with eyes that looked like sewn on buttons. He also had on a new bright red shirt. But no pants. He was totally shirt-cocking it Porky Pig style. “Champion Havak and Champion Grizz in my humble shop at the same time. I don’t know if I will be able to stand it.”
“Calm yourself little fuzzy animal, while we are indeed impressive, we are humble and very easy to converse with,” Grizz said with pride. “We are here for the delicious nuts of dough.”
“Grizz, that’s not, oh, never mind,” I said, slightly exasperated.
“Oh, but of course,” JoJo replied. “I have much anticipated the arrival of holographic customers and have many delicious digital selections for your discerning palate.”
“Really?” I asked, kind of surprised.
“Oh, yes, very much, yes, Champion Havak,” JoJo replied excitedly. “Your very most beautiful attache, Artemis came in a few weeks ago and gave me the program with which to transfer my wares into digital form.”
“I love that girl,” I said mostly to myself.
“She is a marvelous and spectacular woman, Havak,” Grizz corrected me. “You are one of the luckiest males I have ever encountered to have so many powerful females at your side.”
“Grizz, you ain’t saying nothing slick to a can of oil,” I grinned up at the big guy ‘cause he wasn't wrong.
“Champion Havak, I assume you would like the usual?” JoJo asked.
“Yes, please,” I replied and sincerely hoped that I would be able to eat one this time. “And, um, let’s say two dozen assorted digital donuts for my friend here.”
“Marvelous, coming right up,” JoJo replied with abject glee.
“Oh, and a triple espresso please,” I added. “I noticed you added some coffee machines.”
“Yes,” JoJo smiled up at us pleasantly. It made me think of soft blankets and warm cookies. “I had heard that you were a fan of the filtered, highly caffeinated Earth beverage so I installed a few. They have been incredibly popular. Apparently the beverage is very addictive. Which is good for business.”
“I bet it is, JoJo,” I said and waited eagerly for my donuts.
A few minutes later JoJo handed over two real life boxes to me and two holographic boxes to Grizz who didn’t even wait until I had paid to start devouring them.
“By Faltor of the Furious Feasting!” He yelled very loudly in the small shop. “Havak, this is the greatest taste my mighty mouth has ever ingested. I take back all that I said about Earth. It is all erased by this glorious food.”
“Compliment accepted, Grizz.” I grinned up at the big idiot who was shoving the digital donuts in his face as fast as he could.
“Oh, me, my, oh,” JoJo bounced behind the counter. “I am so very very pleased that you like them, Champion Grizz.”
“Thanks, JoJo,” I said over my shoulder as we walked out of the shop. “See you next time.”
“I literally cannot wait,” JoJo said ebulliently with a big wave.
Grizz and I had just come out of the shop when a black and white CDPD cruiser came to rest on the street just in front of us. Before the doors opened, I flipped open the box of donuts, grabbed two of them, a chocolate glazed and a raspberry jelly, and shoved them both into my mouth at the same time.
“Uh huh, nauh ooh-aay ahhh-hoes!” I mumbled through a bursting mouthful of donut. JoJo’s donuts were absolutely delicious even though they were a giant, doughy mess in my mouth that I almost choked on before I poured hot coffee into my face hole.
“Classy as always, Havak,” Officer Staar’Ski of CDPD said with a smirk as he got out of the cruiser. His partner Officer Huh-tch got out of the driver’s side and just stared at me shaking his head slowly back and forth. I’d met the two big, burly, green skinned CDPD cops a few weeks ago when there had been an assassination attempt on the President during his visit. We had a love hate relationship. More hate than love, really.
“Good morning, officers,” Grizz said with reverence. “To what do we owe the honor of your presence on this great day of ingesting nuts of the dough? Would you care for some? We have plenty.”
“Thank you, Champion Grizz,” Staar’Ski said.
“Don’t mind if we do,” Huh-tch echoed and began to reach toward my box of donuts.
“No way, nope,” I said and shook my head vigorously back and forth. I’m sure I looked like a toddler but I didn’t care. “Mine! My precious!”
“Don’t be juvenile, Havak,” Grizz started to say and then stopped himself. “What am I saying? You simply cannot help yourself. We have plenty of the nuts of the dough. Give some to these fine officers who work hard to protect the good citizens of this district.”
“Fine,” I said, pouted, and handed the box over to Huh-tch’s greedy green mits. “I’m guessing the good Captain needs to see us?”
“You should be a detective, Havak,” Staar’Ski snarked and took a big bite out of a Boston Creme.
“Maybe I will,” I shot back churlishly.
“Come on, Champions,” Huh-tch said with authority. He’d clearly had enough playing around on the sidewalk at seven o’clock in the morning. “The Captain will have our hides if we don’t deliver you ASAP.”
Grizz and I got into the back of the cruiser while the officers climbed back into the front. Safety belts automatically strapped me in, much more comfortably than the last time, thankfully, and the cruiser rose into the light weekend traffic.
We rode in silence for a bit but my curiosity couldn’t hold back any longer.
“You guys know what this is about?” I finally had to ask.
“Not really, Champion Havak,” Staar’Ski said. The donuts must have buttered him up a bit since he didn’t just call me “Havak” like he was spitting a hair out of his mouth. It was progress. “She just assigned us to go get you and Grizz and bring you to the station immediately.”
“Me as well?” Grizz said with a confused look on his face.
“Those were the orders,” Huh-tch replied. “And, can I just say, that I’m a big fan Champion Grizz. My grandfather met you once years ago and bragged about you until the
day he went to the great beyond.”
“Was his name Mak-garit by chance?” Grizz asked thoughtfully.
“Yeah!” Huh-tch replied, surprised. “Wow, I can’t believe you remember that.”
“Of course,” Grizz smiled. “He was assigned to a protection detail that I worked closely with when there was a plot to try to destroy the games. Mak was a great cop, and a better man.”
“Yeah, he sure was,” Huh-tch said with fondness. “He’s the reason I became a cop. Thanks, Grizz.”
“No, thank you,” Grizz replied.
I looked over at my normally gruff trainer with newfound respect. He could be harsh, brutal, and unforgiving during our training sessions but he clearly had a depth to him that I hadn’t even begun to have scratched the surface of.
The ride was a short one and soon the cruiser descended into the parking garage of the gleaming Champion District Police station. It was an older building vaguely reminiscent of a turn of the century gothic revival structure in New York only made from an opal-like stone that shone brightly like a beacon of justice.
The cruiser set down gently, and the officers let Grizz and I out of the back and led us into the precinct which was bustling with activity. More so than the couple of other times I’d been here. There was an air of urgency.
Staar’Ski and Huh-tch led us to a conference room, not an interrogation cell, which had a coffee machine and some bottles of water.
“The Captain will be right with you,” Staar’Ski said. The officers nodded to us and then closed the door as they left.
I refilled my coffee cup and sat down at the table. Grizz set his considerable holographic form down in the chair next to me.
“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask,” I said as I turned and looked at his butt that seemed to rest comfortably in the chair. “How the hell does your hologram work? Like, sometimes you can walk through walls and shit, and now you’re sitting in a chair but I can still run my hand through your body?”
“I was a slayer of foes, Havak,” Grizz said and shrugged at my question. “Not a computer whisperer. Half the time I am as surprised as you are. I believe Artemis would be able to answer the question better.”
“Fair enough,” I said and mimicked his shrug.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, and I was about to get up and get another cup of coffee, which for police station coffee, wasn’t half bad, when Captain Har’Gitay walked in. I had a witty quip ready to fly, but it died in my throat when I saw the grim, serious look on her face.
The Captain was five foot nine and had light blue skin with hair such a deep navy blue it was almost black which was tied back into a businesslike bun. A pair of black-framed glasses sat on the delicate slope of her nose and added to the take charge attitude she carried herself with.
Har’Gitay kind of resembled a young Charlize Theron in looks and demeanor. She had on a tight, pencil skirt that came down to just above her knee, and a tight CDPD blazer that showed off her more than prodigious breasts.
Truth be told, I thought the Captain had a killer rack, but I certainly wasn’t going to tell her that any time soon. She held a clear holo-screen, sort of like a large iPad Pro only completely clear, in her hands and was reading over some information that played across the screen as she came in and sat down in front of us.
“Champion Grizz, Champion Havak, thank you so much for coming in,” she said. Her voice was low and full of some type of concern. For what? I had no clue.
“Come on, Captain, we fought terrorists together, you can call me Marc,” I said, trying to lighten the somber mood.
“And please, I am just plain old Grizz these days,” Grizz added with a small smile meant to put her at ease.
“Okay, Marc, Grizz, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you,” Har’Gitay said. “And I wanted you to hear it from me before the media got a hold of it.”
“Shit, now you’re scaring me, Captain,” I admitted.
“Yes, please, whatever the news, it is better to just say it,” Grizz said, and I could tell he steeled himself for what was to come.
“Alright,” she said and then took a deep breath. “Darry Dar’Tor was found dead in his workshop early this morning. It appears that he took his own life.”
Time seemed to slow to a snail's pace as my mind reeled at what she had just said. I understood all the words that had come out of her mouth, but my brain struggled to put them together. Surely she had not said what she just said.
I turned to look at Grizz and could tell he was struggling with the same feeling. To his credit he shook it off faster than I did and fixed the Captain with a look I’d never seen on his face before. It was part concern, part sadness, and part fury.
“With all due respect, Captain,” Grizz said, his voice measured and collected. “That is not possible. I have known him for his entire life, and Darry Dar’Tor would never take his own life.”
“I know,” Har’Gitay replied. “I have known Darry for a long time as well, Grizz, but the preliminary crime scene investigation seems to confirm what the officers who responded to the initial call thought. He left a note.”
“What did it say?” Grizz asked.
“Here, you can see for yourself,” she replied and handed the holo-screen over to him. Grizz took it and a pair of reading glasses materialized in his other hand which he set on the bridge of his nose.
“‘I have lost inspiration for my work,” Grizz began to read. “The Crucible has become a shadow of its former glory, and I am disgusted to have been a part of it. What once began as an honorable and noble arena to prevent a greater loss of life has devolved into a commercialized spectator sport with money being the only thing that matters. I am sickened by it. As hard as I try, I cannot find a reason to live any longer. Goodbye.’ This is utter nonsense. Does that sound like the Darry Dar’Tor you knew, Captain?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Har’Gitay replied. “But I am an officer of the law, and I have to go where the evidence leads. As improbable as this seems, it appears to be the only conclusion.”
“We spoke to him just yesterday, Captain,” I added. “He was in a great mood and wanted to see how his upgrades to our gear were working for us. In fact, he said he’d have more time just for Team Havak because he’d fired a client. That doesn’t sound like a dude disgusted with the games.”
“I agree with you, Marc,” Har’Gitay said and took her glasses off to rub the spot on her nose where they dug into the flesh. She looked tired. She also looked sad. Very sad. “Look, I can only do so much with this. When the coroner comes back with his determination of suicide, which he will from the evidence I’ve seen, the case will be closed.”
“But…” I floated out.
“But,” she sighed and then looked around her as if to make sure no one else was watching or listening, “Darry was more than just an acquaintance. The force used him as a consultant for new armor and crowd control methods. We grew to be good friends. I don’t know, maybe I had another reason for calling you both in. You aren’t bound by the same rules as I am. What I’m saying is, I think Darry was murdered, and I’d like for the two of you to try to get to the bottom of it.”
“Wow, okay, really?” I sputtered out. That was not what I had been expecting by any stretch.
“Yes,” she replied and met our eyes with a look of quiet desperation. “I will help as much as I can behind the scenes to try to get you all the info I have but we have to be very careful. I could be removed if anyone found out, but I owe it to Darry. He saved my life a long time ago. His memory deserves better.”
“Olivia,” Grizz said and put his holographic hand over hers. I hadn’t noticed, but they were shaking ever so slightly. He couldn’t touch her but the motion seemed to calm her a bit. “Darry spoke of you as if you were one of his own larva. I swear to you, we will find out who killed him and why… and then we will make them pay.”
“Thank you, Grizz,” Har’Gitay said as tears brimmed in her eyes. With a great effort she pulled the
m back, and her Captain’s face settled back into place. “Take the holo-pad with you. It’s mine and will give you the latest updates. I’ll have Staar’Ski and Huh-tch bring you back to your apartment.”
“No need,” Grizz waived the offer off. “Havak and I could use the exercise.”
I was going to say that I got plenty of exercise on the daily and that he was a freaking hologram but he waved me off under the table.
“Okay,” she said and stood to leave the room.
“Captain?” I called after her before she opened the door and moved over to her. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise.”
“Thank you, Marc,” she said and actually leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “I know you will. And if you tell anyone I just did that, I’ll lock you up and throw away the key, understand. Now get the hell out of my police station.”
“There she is,” I chuckled as she left. I turned back to see how Grizz was doing. “You okay?”
“Havak, I have experienced much loss in my life,” he said quietly, emotion bubbling under his stoic demeanor. “Pain is nothing new to me. This however, this is more than that. We will find out who did this. And may the gods have mercy on them, because I will offer them no such thing.”
“I’m with you, big guy,” I said and looked him dead in the eye. “All the way.”
“Let us go,” he said and stood, full of purpose. “I wish to go to Darry’s shop before we go back. It is nearby.”
“Lead the way, big guy,” I said and motioned for him to go first. I was more than happy to be Watson to his Sherlock. “The game is afoot.”
Chapter Seven
Darry’s workshop was only a mile away from the CDPD station house. Grizz and I made the walk in just over ten minutes. About a block away Grizz held us up so that we could see the shop from just around the street corner.
The building that housed Darry’s shop was a low-set warehouse style building set amidst a small industrial district with various factories, mechanic shops, and even a textile mill. On a Saturday morning this part of town was all but deserted. There was nothing to distinguish Darry’s shop from any of the other buildings and, had I been alone on any other day, I would have never been able to guess which one was his.
