The Adventures of Mark Spinner - The Detective

by I. T. Eren

  The driver said, “Actually, I’ve just disabled that function. It drains the battery.” Mark thought this was a strange answer, but he didn’t dwell on it.

  A little later, they veered left on the dusty road. Mark said, “I thought the hamburger place was on the main road.”

  The driver replied by saying, “My cabin is over there. I have to stop by shortly. I’ve left my wallet home.” Mark felt uneasy.

  When they reached the cabin, the driver got out and went into the little building. A few minutes later he returned with a rifle in his hand. “Get out, kiddo!” Mark thought that all the warnings he had heard from adults about strangers had to be true. He got out of the truck in fear. The man shouted, “Mark Spinner, you won’t be my rival anymore! No one can prevent me from changing the world!”

  Mark was thinking that in every action movie, someone always says something explanatory at this point so the audience can understand what’s about to happen. However, this wasn’t one of those statements. How could Mark be this grown-up man’s rival? He was kind of assertive at fastball in his own school. He was also good at some computer games. But this? How could be an opponent to someone he didn’t even know?

  CHAPTER 6

  Fifteen years later...

  Mark buried his head under his pillow, pretending not to hear the alarm clock that informed him it was already 6:30 am. Two minutes later, the alarm clock repeated, “It’s 6:30. Time to get up.”

  He had always struggled to wake early in the morning. He believed that his addiction to sleep prevented him from fulfilling his true potential. If he slept less, he could have changed the world, he thought. And yet, he was not being completely fair to himself—he could still change the world.

  When it was 6:40, the gentle voice of the clock changed to the harsh voice of a mother reprimanding her child, “It’s 6:40. It’s already too late to wake up!”

  From time to time, Mark had considered throwing this clock, which had been a birthday gift, against the wall and crushing it. Instead, he controlled his anger and sufficed with swearing at the friend who had given this gift to him.

  Mark Spinner was a twenty-seven--year-old man now. Although he still had his boyishly mischievous spirit, he had achieved great success in his academic life. And after that, he had been accepted into the government’s special training unit, which admitted only the most talented and successful university graduates. The people who participated in this program received special training in different levels of the government, and after completing the training, they were promoted to higher positions.

  The point system that was used starting from the beginning of one’s university education was used in this program also. Although some of the points that higher-ranked officials gave to their subordinates were somewhat subjective, this report card system was often criticized for being too harsh.

  Mark had not seen Ally for quite a long time, as they went to different schools after elementary school, and he had chosen to put his interest in her into the freezer. Because Mark preferred to go to college in another city, they had also completed their higher education in different locations. At that point, he lost track of her completely. When Mark returned home to get a job, he had rented a small apartment studio in the city because he thought he was too old to go back to living with his family. Two years passed before he found out that the owners of his apartment were, in fact, Ally’s parents.

  When Mark was on a business trip, Ally’s father had to unlock Mark’s apartment door for some repairmen who had work to do in the building. And when Mark went to the landlord’s place to complain about the way his privacy had been violated while he was away, Ally had opened the door. And thankfully, Mark had managed to stop before saying really unpleasant words to the girl’s dad.

  Ally’s mother recognized Mark at once and invited him to join them for dinner. This invitation turned into invitations, and Mark visited Ally’s house a couple of times. In the years that had passed since they were kids, Ally had stayed with her family, attending college in the same city. Apparently, the years had been good to her. She hadn’t lost any of her beauty, and her face still reflected the innocence of childhood. Mark, on the other hand, was no longer that shy little boy after so many years. Nevertheless, he found himself chatting with Ally as if they were two old and good friends. Despite her shyness, Ally also felt at ease with Mark now.

  After visiting the family for the third time, Mark thought that this much chitchat with the entire family was enough and asked Ally out to dinner. When Ally accepted, his heart began to flutter—the heart of a man who had found his childhood love again.

  He thought that it would be better for him to pick up Ally from her home for their first date. He knocked on the door, and Ally’s father answered it, saying, “Young man, don’t expect me to give you a discount on the rent just because you’re taking my daughter to dinner.”

  Mark thought this joke was rather cheesy, but he put an overblown smile on his face all the same, acting as if he really thought it was funny. Thankfully, he heard Ally’s voice from her room before this awkward conversation resumed.

  She said, “I’ll be there in a second!” Mark thought that he would never like Ally’s father since the day the man entered Mark’s home while he was away with a spare key.

  After a few more minutes of strange small talk with her father, Ally appeared, saving Mark. She looked fantastic in a tight, pastel-colored dress; Mark realized her beauty once again. Although he made an effort to conceal his feelings in front of the girl’s father, his eyes revealed how much he was impressed.

  When they got in the car, Mark waved good-bye to Ally’s dad and hit the gas right away. He said to Ally, “I’ve reserved a table at an Italian restaurant for tonight.”

  Ally asked with excitement, “At Il Padrino?”

  Mark replied shyly, “No. The place across from it. It’s like a bistro.” Unfortunately, he felt he started the night a point behind.

  The restaurant he was taking her was a somewhat ordinary place that was frequented by young people. Mark had wished to refrain from overdoing it on their very first date. However, he soon regretted his decision. The waiters in the restaurant were nonchalant, and the food was only average. Still, they had a great time talking about their friends and teachers at elementary school.

  After dinner, he tried to make up for the restaurant by taking Ally to a nice bar. Now Ally looked even more beautiful to Mark. After downing a few drinks, Mark said, “I’m going to confess something to you.”

  Smiling, Ally said, “What’s that?”

  Mark said, “Do you remember that night you kissed me on the cheek when we were still in elementary school? That night I promised myself that I’d never, ever wash my cheek again. I had such a big crush on you that when you came near me, I couldn’t even talk out of excitement.”

  Ally felt shy a little now. And her cheeks got a little rosy. Drinking the rest of his drink in one gulp, Mark gathered his courage and said, “In fact, the only thing that has changed since then is that I’m able to talk to you easily right now.”

  Ally was unable to remain indifferent to this compliment. She drew closer and put a kiss on Mark’s cheek, just like she had at camp fifteen years earlier. Mark had made good use of that night and had stolen Ally’s heart. After taking her home that evening, Mark thought he wouldn’t wash his lips again, either...

  *****

  In the last year, Mark had been working as a process improvement engineer as part of a project that aimed to make the intelligence and data collection unit more efficient. The data collected was used with the goal of making finer decisions for governing the society in a better way. Mark still had another year to complete the project. He thought that he would have the chance to develop his experience as an information engineer during this process. When he went to work that morning, he read the messages that had accumulated in his inbox, replied to some of them, and had a long phone call related to one specifically. He wished to complet
e all the busywork as soon as possible so he could get to the real work waiting for him. He had to finish writing a report related to the project until midday.

  The videophone rang and broke his concentration, but the person on the other end of the line astonished him beyond belief, “Is this Mark Spinner? Please stay on the line. I’m going to connect you to the Councilor of the Department of Security.”

  What would a person as important as the councilor of the Department of Security have anything to do with Mark? He arranged his tie again. He knew a first impression was crucial, even if it were only made on the videophone.

  The man on the line was around sixty years old and had gray hair. He looked just like the person who would be responsible for security. “Mr. Mark Spinner, we’d like to invite you to our headquarters today. Your supervisors have already been notified. You don’t have to ask permission, as they have already approved of your visit.”

  Mark wasn’t expecting this conversation, and he was surprised that they had already talked to his supervisors. He wondered what was going on. Trying hard to conceal his astonishment, he asked, “Could you kindly give some information prior to my visit? I would like to be prepared.” However, it didn’t work.

  The man answered, “We’d like to talk to you face to face about something.”

  Without being able to do the slightest bit about writing his report, Mark headed for the security headquarters, whose address he had taken from the secretary. When he got to a building that looked like an ordinary business center, he told the security guards the password he had been given. Upon hearing the code, one of the men made a call, using his wireless device. A few guards in different uniforms arrived and took Mark to the K-level on a special elevator. After Mark completed a DNA check, they took him into a windowless waiting room.

  About ten minutes later, the councilor arrived. He looked more vibrant than his image on the videophone. He sat across from Mark and started talking about the topic without even asking how Mark was doing, “Mr. Spinner, thanks for coming here. Let me tell you in advance that what I’ll be telling you in a few moments is a state secret.”

  Mark nodded. “Mr. Spinner, people believe that there is no crime in our world, but crime and criminals do exist. It is our responsibility here to eliminate crime, so people keep believing it doesn’t exist. Has anything I’ve said so far astonished you?”

  Mark said no, with a grim expression, fitting of the atmosphere. In the past, he had come across rumors of unpleasant events in the newspapers. However, now he realized that he didn’t know much about them.

  The councilor continued, “Maybe in the future we’ll have the chance to explain to you how we prevent crime. But first of all, let me stress once again that what I’m about to tell you is a top state secret and sharing it with anyone else will negatively affect your personal report card.”

  Although Mark didn’t feel nervous, he felt a little upset about the way the man repeated the same thing over and over again. But he kept listening to the old man anyway, “You probably don’t know that we have five active and very valuable detectives in the world that we’ve assigned special authority. Although you’re not aware of the existence of these detectives, they play a huge role in enabling all of us to live happy lives. At the moment, we are giving you the opportunity to become one of these detectives, who do significant work for humanity. Your supervisors reported to us that you might be a very good candidate.” Bending toward Mark, he continued, “Mr. Spinner, are you aware how important this is? Just imagine having a position that contributes so much to humankind. If you’re successful, a future full of unimaginable material and spiritual riches will be awaiting you. Now, I’m curious about your thoughts about this.”

  Mark was totally taken aback. He just couldn’t get how this had happened. He was an adventurous guy, but being a detective had not the slightest bit to do with the kind of work he had accomplished up to this point. It also didn’t have anything to do with what he was planning to do in the future. On the other hand, he did like adventure, and the mysterious nature of this work could, perhaps, make it enjoyable.

  A little unsure, he asked the councilor, “Can I think about it for a while?”

  The councilor looked offended by this question. “Sure,” he, said as he got to his feet rather abruptly. “I’m expecting an answer from you tomorrow—at the latest.” Then he left the room.

  Mark though the man’s behavior was a little rude, but he didn’t dwell on it and returned to his office.

  When he was at his desk again, he decided to research this topic. But first he thought, Did I have to do anything important today? Hmm... Actually, I can postpone many things to tomorrow.

  Starting with the word detective, he researched many things. Although his search yielded hundreds of thousands of results, most of them consisted of useless information about detective novels from long ago.

  “Let me try to find out how crimes are solved,” he thought, “or I can try to run a search on juridical events.” It looked as if information related to the present times had been “cleaned” on purpose. He couldn’t find anything substantial about being a detective. The worst thing was that he wouldn’t be able to discuss the subject with anyone. In fact, his department manager would probably know about the topic since his manager’s supervisors had recommended Mark. But should he really talk to his manager? That could mean violating the rule of confidentiality and could be put on his report card.

  As he was driving home in the evening, it occurred to Mark that he had to discuss this subject with the woman he hoped to marry someday. He gave Ally a call, while he was still in the car. “Ally, I know you were planning to do some work at home, but I have to talk about something really important with you. Could you come over to my place, dear?”

  Ally was intrigued. She said, “Sure I will but give me a few hints, or else I’ll be too curious!”

  Mark felt pleased that he had the chance to make the girl curious. He said, “We’ll talk about it when you arrive. Keep getting curious! See you at home.”

  Half an hour later, they met at Mark’s place. Not caring about keeping things confidential, Mark started explaining the situation to Ally, “I suspect you won’t believe what I’ll tell you, but you can be sure that this time I’m not going to play a trick on you. Today I had a call when I was at work from the Department of Security. They invited me to their headquarters, saying that my supervisors had already been informed. Of course, I went. Their headquarters turned out to be located in an ordinary building that hadn’t captured my attention before. After many security checks, they let me into a room where I talked to an unfriendly man, who was the councilor of the Department of Security. After unloading lots of stuff I had never heard before about crime and criminals, guess what this unpleasant man offered me?”

  Ally thought for a while, and then she said, “Did they offer you to be an informer? Don’t you accept, if that’s what they offered to you!”

  Mark shook his head. Ally kept thinking. “What can it be about security? Is it an advisory position or project engineering?” Mark shook his head again. “What is it then?” she asked, out of ideas.

  Then Mark said, “Okay, I’m telling you! It’s a position as a detective!”

  Ally was totally surprised. “I thought detectives existed only in novels. Why did they choose you? What do you have anything to do with being a detective?”

  Mark said, “I’ve thought about that too but couldn’t come up with an answer. I’m dwelling on the possibility that having a very good career and high wits are more favorable for becoming a detective than having a background as a cop.”

  Ally smiled and said, “You’ve always been so modest! But do you know what you have to do when you become a detective?”

  Mark shrugged his shoulders. “It’s silly, I know, but I don’t know that yet. The councilor only said that it’s a very important job and that the conditions are swell.”

  Mark and Ally brainstormed about the situation
for quite a while, trying hard to cover each and every aspect of the issue by studying the meager information they had. Eventually, Mark made a decision, even if it were a transitory one.

  “I guess this can be really interesting,” he said. “If it’s true that this is an important opportunity, I think I should listen to what the councilor has to say and find out more details. In the end if I don’t like what I’ve found, then at least I still have the chance to say no.”

  The next day he made an appointment with the councilor, and two hours later, he returned to the headquarters. After waiting for ten minutes in the same room again, the sulky councilor appeared.

  “Good day, Mr. Spinner.” He poured himself some coffee, “I’m glad you wanted to continue our conversation.”

  Mark, however, was thinking how rude the councilor was for taking coffee and not offering him any.

  “Listen Mr., Spinner,” the councilor said, “there is a substitute detective, or a detective candidate, who aids the five global detectives I had told you about yesterday. One of our existing five detectives will be retiring in six months. Thus, our substitute detective will be promoted to a primary position. And you’re one of the candidates for this soon-to-be-vacant substitute position.”

  Mark listened while feeling surprised that he knew nothing about any of this before.

  “Mr. Spinner, if you decide to continue tomorrow, you’ll become one of our four candidates. We already have information about each of you, gathered from your report cards. In addition, we’re going to do further tests to measure and assess your skills. This process will take about three months, and during this time, you’ll leave your current job for a transitory period. At the end of the three months, two of the candidates will be eliminated and will consequently return to their jobs. Your current supervisors will be informed that you’ve been sent away for a special rotation training, so if you happen to be eliminated and do have to return to your job, you won’t have any problems. If you happen to be one of the two candidates who are not eliminated, then you’ll receive a theoretic education for three months and a hands-on training for six months.”