Liquid Cool: The Cyberpunk Detective Series (28 page)

"Will hang in the waiting area right next to the main elevators. Anyone suspicious coming my way, I want to know."

"You expecting suspicious people, Mr. Cruz?"

"Dangerous people, Mr. Cruz?"

"I have no idea what to expect. That's why I need you. Okay, that's the job. Go and get to your places."

"Yeah, that would be funny if a whole bunch of suspicious people came up here at the same time while we're standing here talking about suspicious people."

The three sidewalk johnnies began laughing.

"I can see why you're Phishy's friends. Okay, get to your places." I shooed them away and two went one way and third went the other way down the hallway.

They were gone and I could see the three other people in the waiting area looking at me.

"You a detective?" a man asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

"You got a card."

"Yeah."

I had to remember that I was a businessman now and that meant "good customer service." I got up, whipped a card from my jacket, and handed it to him.

The woman sitting next to him, leaned to look at it too.

"That's a cool name," she said. "Liquid Cool. You must have paid a whole bunch of money to get that name."

"I came up with it on my own, sitting in my office with several empty pads, a pen, and few hours."

I was about the return to my seat when the other man in the waiting area reached out his hand for a card. I gave him one and returned to my spot.

With all my sitting and watching, I started to piece together who among the hospital staff were in charge. The head nurse came out from the doors and it was the one time she wasn't surrounded by other staff. I jumped up from my chair and ran after her.

"Excuse me," I said.

She stopped and turned to me.

"Is a Mr. Jim Box or Mr. Petrov Rexx able to see visitors?"

"Who are you?"

"Family."

"Of?"

"Mr. Box."

"Why are you asking about Petrov Rexx the
n?"

"They were...shot at the same incident. I do understand though. I'm sure they have an officer posted, which is why you're asking me the additional questions."

"Go to the nurses' station and you can see Mr. Box, bu
t as for Mr. Rexx, yo
u need to take that up with the policeman."

"Thank you. Nurses' station?"

She pointed me the way.

Box looked like hell. Laid up in the hospital bed with all kinds of wires and electrodes attached to his head and chest, and an IV from his right arm. His eyes were half-closed when I entered his room, and opened slightly more with a groggy expression.

"You told them you were family?" he asked.

"Of course," I said and sat down. "Here's your chance to return the favor by answering all my questions."

"You didn't take any bullets for me. What favor am I returning?"

"For calling the police and not leaving you to bleed out in your dark, dank, dungeon office."

"I bet someone else did that and you're trying to take credit for it. You're a detective. Detectives lie."

"I got the guy who shot you," I said emphatically.

"I don't believe you."

"Chased him, shot him down, and he's lying one door down from you. So will you return that favor?"

"What's his name?"

"Petrov Rexx. Mr. Peri's brother."

"Christ, it was him?"

"You know him then."

"He called me on the phone last week to tell me he was coming to kill me for getting his brother killed."

"Well, he almost did just that. So does that earn me a favor?"

"You have all the makings of a real low-life detective."

"Coming from the likes of you, I'm not sure how to take that. Peri worked for Ergot and Mr. Ergot hired you to do what?"

"Why do you want to know? Why are you even involved in this? You're just a car guy."

"I was never a car guy. I was...I am a classic hover-car restorer."

"If you say so. Why are you involved in this? I don't understand you at all. Were you bored with life? You won't be bored anymore. And you probably won't be alive too much longer either, if you keep involved in all this."

"Involved in all what? What am I involved in?"

"Leave me alone. I'm not telling you nothing."

He turned his head away from me, lying on the bed, and closed his eyes. I knew he was done with me...unless I reset the situation.

"Well, if that's how you want it," I said.

"That's how I want it."

"Okay."

I watched him a bit, then slowly walked out the room.

Box was wide-ey
ed when I appeared again pushing in the bed of Mr. Rexx. He glared at Box with such an intensity, if eyes were lasers, Box would have been vaporized.

"What the hell are you doing?" Box yelled at me.

When I had Rexx situated, I closed the double doors. "I thought it would be nice if the three of us could sit and chat awhile. Three detectives shooting the breeze, together."

"He's a detective?" Box said.

All Rexx did was glare at B
ox with the look of murder.

"This is the guy who shot you and I shot him. As I said before that earns me a favor from you."

"And you roll him into my room?" Box yelled.

"You killed my brother!"
Rexx yelled out.

"I told you on the phone. I did no such thing. That crazy rabbit did."

"I don't even know what that means. You did it!"

Rexx was about to throw his urine bag at him when I intervened. "Okay, we won't be flinging bags of urine at people we tried to murder today. Gentlemen, if we can talk calmly and clearly we can figure this all out."

"I've done figured it out and you're dead!" Rexx pointed at Box with the arm hooked up to the IV.

"Based on the fact that everyone you shot is still alive, your threats don't worry me none."

I walked closer to Box. "Will you answer my questions?"

"Why? Why are you involved in this, car guy? Who's your client?"

"I am the client! It might be hard for you to understand, but I liked Easy Chair Charlie. I can't say he was a friend, any more than you can say the guy at the food market or the mail delivery guy is a friend, but I'd be pissed if I found out someone gunned them down in the street."

"He wasn't gunned down in the street. Easy shot it out with the cops. Everyone knows that, detective. People go gun-crazy all the time."

I leaned forward to him. "Stop treating me like I'm stupid. People who go gun-crazy bring their own guns to the mayhem. The only thing Easy had with him was two boxes of fine cigars."

"He must have stashed the weapons in his hover-car outside."

"He didn't have a car," I said, "He walked or took public transportation wherever he went. But you know that, Box. Are you
going to answer my questions? Mr. Rexx may be busy with the courts and jail for a while, but you and I both know that when he's done, he'll be back at you. So answer the question and clear yourself. What's the harm in that? Your clients are dead." I turned to Rexx and said, "No offense."

"No offense taken. You didn't kill them."

"So?"

I stared at Box. Rexx stared at h
im. He tried to resist, but he wavered. "You two should be cops. All I'm missing is the beat down."

"Police don't beat down people anymore."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're body-cammed up every which way, with the friendly Police Watch Commission watching on the other end for the good of people. You believe that and you are nothing but a doofus."

"Mr. Ergot, Box!" I yelled.

He gave in. "Ergot hired me to find out all about this guy known on the street as Red Rabbit."

"What the hell is a Red R
abbit?" Rexx blurted out.

"A member of one of those animal gangs, or I should say in this case, one of the made men in the Animal Farm crime syndicate."

"Animal gangs?" Rexx asked and chuckled.

It was my turn to jump in. "There are all kinds of criminal gangs. Think of dogs. There are a 1001 different dogs from a chihuahua to a Great Dane. There are 1001 different kinds of gangs. Go on, Box. It's your story."

"These animal gangs wear these stupid animal masks--cats, dogs, pigs, monkeys. Rabbits. All kinds of animals. If they weren't so dangerous, it would be funny. Red is obviously with the rabbit gangs. He runs their crew. He got to run their crew by killing their leader, Follow the White Rabbit, and putting Blue Pill Rabbit in a coma."

Rexx started chuckling again. "You're not serious. This sounds like a bunch of nonsense. Rabbit gangs. Animal gangs. White Rabbit. Blue Rabbit. Red Rabbit. Are we little kiddies?" Rexx shook his
head, incredulously. "Is this how things go, in your low-class city?"

"There's nothing kiddie about these animal gangs. And this Red Rabbit is a real psycho. He just likes to kill people, even his own people. He's nothing but violence."

"Why is he called Red Rabbit?" I asked.

"His favorite weapon is some kind of laser lightning rifle. Supposedly before it discharges, his rabbit mask turns red. The saying is, 'You see red, then you're dead.' I told Ergot and your brother Peri not to mess with this guy. Supposedly his entire body is cyborg. You can shoot him 'til hell freezes and he'll still keep ticking."

"Why did Ergot hire you to investigate a gang leader?" I asked.

"I don't know."

"Box, you've already told most of the story, why not finish it? Remember, I tracked you down."

"Yeah, how did you find me?"

"Maybe if you weren't so busy trying to also find out why Ergot was interested in this gang leader, you wouldn't have been seen. I know you know."

"He didn't say, but I knew why. He was going to blackmail him."

"Blackmail?" Rexx asked. "What did he have on a gang criminal to blackmail him with?"

"Exactly," Box said. "That's what I wanted to know, so I did some poking around."

"And?" I asked.

"I didn't find out anything. All I knew was Ergot ended up stuffed into his own office piranha fish tank half-eaten with his eyeballs hanging out of his head and his main guy thrown out the window. Then I heard that two sidewalk johnnies were nearly vaporized at the scene of some building lobby fire. I knew it was all Red's work. Violence follows that guy wherever he hops to."

"Lobby fire?" I asked. "Then I rephrase my question," I said. "What do you think Ergot was trying to blackmail him over?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. It had something to do with the night Easy Chair supposedly went gun-crazy."

"If you know, why ask me?"

I ignored him. "Red was there that night?"

"I believe so."

"Based on what?"

"A guy wearing a rabbit mask with big pointy ears tends to get noticed, even in this city."

"How far away was he from the scene?" I asked.

"A hop and a skip away."

"He was there," I said.

"He was," Box said. "But he wasn't seen with Easy so I don't know what the blackmail could have been about."

"Someone did see him with Easy," I said.

"Who?"

"Never mind. That person has been made to disappear. Where's Red now?"

"Why?" Box asked. "Are you going to trade carrots with him? Cruz, I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Ergot and Peri, stay far away from this psycho. No good will come from any encounter with him. He shoots you and you're dead. You won't get the luxury of being able to lie up in a bed like me and him."

I looked at Peri's brother, who was listening intently.

"I'd listen to him if I were you," he said to me.

"So you and Box are friends now?" I asked.

"My brother was no slouch, so if someone offed him, then they had a decent amount of skills. And no offense pal, but you look like you'd be more concerned about getting a speck of mud on your nancy-boy tan coat and hat."

"My hat and coat are cool," I said to him. "Like my classic Ford Pony. You're just jealous. But..." I turned back to Box. "I have no intention of getting killed anytime this century, especially by a gang member in a rabbit mask."

"Don't laugh. These animal gangs are animals."

"I know," I said. "I need to know where this Red is hanging out now."

"You're not going to listen, are you?" Box said.

"I may not have pointy rabbit ears but I'm listening real good. I really don't want to know where he hangs out, but I have to. Did you track him to his...?"

"Lair," Box answered.

"I'll tell you, but before I do, I'll tell you why I'm going to tell you. You may be a car-guy detective, but you seem to have decent skills, and I don't want any more competition out there than necessary. I'll tell you and you'll go there and you'll find Red and he'll bunny-stop you or blast you to death and then no more competition."