Liquid Cool: The Cyberpunk Detective Series (38 page)

"That man was soon killed in the shoot-out by police. Those were the reports carried by this channel and every other. But that is not what happened.

"That shoot-out was a well-orchestrated murder of which Easy Chair Charlie was the least of the victims. Up-Top agents illegally came to our planet and allowed a psychopathic gang leader, on their payroll, to kill five Metropolis police officers, leaving behind five sets of spouses and children, and kidnap a child witness--"

"The Lutty girl kidnapping case," the reporter interjected again.

"Yes, your station was there. Well, the entire op was done with the full kno
wledge and consent of Metropolis's police chief and its Mayor."

Holly Live cut in, "You know what's going to happen. People are going to say this is the wild rantings of a disgruntled person with a score to settle."

"You're right, Holly. That's what they'll say. But then you say back to them... 'No, go to the surviving widows and widowers and families of these slain officers and ask their union rep too, to demand all body-cam video footage of that night from all officers and cruisers on scene and see what happens."

"What will happen?" Holly was genuinely asking me.

"Thirty police cruisers and fifty-seven officers responding to the shoot-out.
They will tell you, there are no tapes."

Chapter 56: The Peanut Gallery

In all the pictures you've seen of mass protests or riots, were there ever any in the pouring rain? Never. People were not interested in exercising their right to civil protest in inclement weather. However, I heard something from one of the Concrete Mama sidewalk johnnies that made me think barricading up in my own place was not such a safe prospect after all.
I heard that the police were rioting at City Hall
. There were 500,000 police in Metropolis!

We had left the real world and had entered the world of surreality.

"I don't know where you live," I said to Punch Judy.

"We've lived in the same building for over ten years. How can you not know where I live?"

"I just don't."

PJ's place was going to be my safehouse. While my place had a meager helping of furniture, every square inch of her place had some piece of modern deco, neon or fancy something. She may have been an ex-posh gang member, but she was firstly all posh.

She had turned her living room into a version of her Liquid Cool work-area. She thankfully hadn't forwarded the phones, but she had to check, listen, and clear out the voice mail every half hour or we'd completely run out of message storage. It was crazy. She could barely keep up.

One of her guest rooms was my space. I had locked myself in there going on day two, sleeping. I purposely chose the smallest room she had. It was a decent size with no outside windows. It was more of a closet than anything. I had destroyed my mobile--they can track you with that. Before my fateful "secret" interview, I had Flash load my Pony into a hover-car transport and ship it out of the City.

PJ didn't watch the news. She only read it on her mobile computer. I know she was always reading it, but said nothing to me about any of it.

Phishy, with his crazy self, had every sidewalk johnny friend he knew and all their friends descend on the Concrete Mama like a swarm of ants. They had the lobby and PJ's floor filled to the rim with people--my own civilian security force. Too bad none of them were armed, but it was the gesture that mattered.

"Cruz!"

I told her not to yell but just knock on the door when she wanted me. When I opened the door, there was Dot. That put a smile on my face. Her parents were with her. That took the smile off my face. I came out of my sanctuary anyway.

"How are you holding up?" she asked as she gave me a hug.

"Me, I'm fine. I have no idea what's happening out there, but that's good. I'm in here safe and comfortable."

There was a knock on PJ's front door. If I hadn't seen what I saw, I would have thought I was dreaming. Mr. Wan pulled a .357 magnum shooter from his jacket and Mrs. Wan pulled a smaller version with a silencer from her purse. Did all it take for my psycho parents-in-law to be on my side was our joint stay at the local jail?

Dot yelled at her parents in Chinese and they yelled something back but kept their eyes on the door. PJ approached the door carrying her favorite shotgun. She pressed the button on the door display and gave out a huff as she turned to all of us. "It's stupid man." She opened the door and there was Phishy, smiling.

Dot's parents put away their guns after PJ closed and locked the door again. Phishy strolled to me.

"It's crazy out there, Cruz."

I held up my hand. "I don't want to know. For me, ignorance is bliss."

"You need to know what's going on," Dot said.

"I can't do anything about anything so why know? Wait, did something happen at Eye Candy?"

"No, everything is fine. The reporters leaked that I was your girlfriend and then so many people showed up there looking for me that I had to leave. I couldn't work with all those people and reporters staring at me through the windows."

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry? It's great. Prima Donna is signing up everyone as clients and Goat Girl and Cyan are signing up everyone for our new anti-robot union. Everybody is happy. And Prima Donna says thank you."

"She's welcome."

"What's the plan?" she asked.

They had all encircled me now; PJ too.

"Plan? We wait it out."

"This could go on weeks or months," Dot said. "You really don't know what's going on."

"No."

"Then how can you have a plan?"

"The last I heard was that the police were rioting at City Hall. That's it."

Dot's parents started shaking their heads, along with PJ. Phishy was grinning. "It's a lot more than that," Dot said.

"More than rioting?"

"Cruz, you're not an ostrich. Get your head out of the dirty mud, look up, and know what's going on around you."

"As long as they leave you, my Pony, and my place alone, I'm good."

"And the office!" PJ interjected.

"And the office."

"You listed me ahead of the Pony so I guess I'm good."

I smiled at her.

Now there was frantic knocking at the door. Both PJ and Phishy ran to the door.

"Don't touch my door," PJ yelled at him as she grabbed her shotgun again. "Okay."

Phishy pushed the display button.

"Phishy," one of the sidewalk johnnies said standing in front of the door.

"You can't be in and out of my place," PJ scolded Phishy.

"I may need to come back in after I see what they want."

She unlocked the door for him. "No. Stay out."

The door opened and Phishy stuck his head out only. He pulled it back in and ran to me.

"Cruz, there are police downstairs."

"Where?"

"They're pushing their way into the lobby. A lot of them."

"Oh no," Dot said with a scared look.

Her parents had their weapons drawn again.

"Cruz, get your guns," PJ commanded.

"I can't," I said. "They took away my gun license and I can only use them in my place, not someone else's."

"Stop being foolish," she said. "They're coming for you."

I ran into my room for my gun case.

"Phishy!"

As I pulled my gun case from under the bed and opened it, I asked when he appeared, "You know places like Mad Heights?"

"Mad City? What about it?"

"They got those animal gangs there."

"And lots more too. Much more dangerous."

"Are there people that just hang around in the darkness?"

"Darkness where?"

"Like in the back alleys."

"Ghouls? How do you know about them?"

"What are they?"

"Night people. They're gangs that hang in the dark with their night-sight."

"What do they do? Just hang out in the dark?"

"No, they get people."

"What does that mean?"

"How do you know about them?"

"Never mind. We'll talk about this later."

"Cruz, your parents are here!" Phishy peeked in the door to tell me.

"What? My parents? Where? Here or on the mobile?"

"Here!"

The notion that my parents would fly all the way here to Metropolis didn't make any sense to me, but it was them. My mother came in holding her little purse in front of her like she always did. This one was dark brown; she had others. Both of them had matching black slicker coats and black boots over their pants instead of under. She smiled at me. She never wore much make-up but had a perfect complexion, her black hair was always pulled back in a braided ponytail. They were practically the same height--shorter than me by an inch or so. My Pops came in, his graying mustache and beard, wearing a fedora that looked suspiciously like my own, but he hated hats. In his hand was a sheathed sword. Now I knew it was really him. My father was a prime example of the negative effect of Japanese samurai culture on the general public. He carried that sword everywhere.

"Ma, what are you doing here?" I stopped myself and did the son thing and gave her a hug and a kiss.

"Pops," I gave him a hug. "When did you get here? How did you get here? It's dangerous out there. You shouldn't have come here."

My mother smiled and spoke to me in Spanish.

"Yes, Ma, but it's even more dangerous out there than usual."

My Pops had unsheathed his sword and was swinging it around.

"And no sword is going to scare away any street punk or whoever it is after me. Put that away, Pops, before you put your eye out."

There was a bang at the door and everyone jumped.

"Who's banging my door!" PJ yelled at and pointed her rifle at it.

The Wans were poised with their weapons. My Pops was looking at the door, holding the samurai sword as if it were a bat and he was about to swing, and my Mom...

"Mom! Why is your hand in that little purse of yours?"

She looked at me sheepishly.

"I know that you're reaching for a piece of that candy and not for some concealed weapon?"

She smiled at me and nodded.

I looked at Dot and we both shook our heads.

"I say we elope and leave the four of them, and everyone else, behind."

"I agree," she said and then yelled something at her parents in Chinese. They just smiled at her and she threw up her hands.

There was a knock at the door this time and PJ went to look at the door-cam. My Pops was swirling his sword around again with one hand.

"Pops! You're going to put your eye out. And what are you going to do with that? Someone shoots at you, you're going to whack the bullet back at them?"

The door opened and there was a bunch of sidewalk johnnies there. A man behind them pushed through them.

"Cruz!"

He fired a gun at me!

My father swung at the laser blast and hit it back right at the gunman. The round hit him in his face and he yelled out as one of his eye sockets began to illuminate. Every sidewalk johnny in the hall jumped him and took him down to the floor. Phishy was in the hall too and reached to close the door, but PJ just kicked it closed.

"Why are strangers always trying to shoot me?" I yelled out. I looked at my Pops. "You whacked that laser bullet at that guy."

He grinned and began swirling the sword.

"You've been tricking me all these years."

My Ma pointed at him and said in Spanish-accented English, "Kendo master."

"Oh, snaps," I yelled out. "Phishy!"

I ran to the door and everyone around me followed me.

"What's wrong?" PJ asked.

The door opened and Phishy peeked in. We could see the sidewalk johnnies kicking the stuffings out of the downed gunman on the hallway floor.

"Phishy, a gunman got right up to me! I thought you had the place secured. I thought all these were your guys."

"Cruz, I'm taking care of it. We're checking everyone now."

"Phishy, I got my parents in here."

"I know."

"Dot and her parents are here."

"I know, I know."

"Stupid man," PJ said to him.

"Phishy, I need your A game."

"I know. I got it covered."

He disappeared back out the door and began to close it.

"Wait," I yelled.

He popped back in.

"What's he wearing?"

I pointed to one of the sidewalk johnnies who stopped his kicking and stood up straight. Under his jacket, he was wearing a T-shirt of me! My face and wearing my tan fedora.