Shoes

Then my office door pushed open and she walked in.

A tall statuesque blonde with sad, but clever eyes. You can tell so much by looking into someone’s eyes. What was going to be her story?

I sat up a little straighter. Time to go to work.

“I was told you might be able to help me,” the woman said softly. This seemed out of character for her.

“Depends what you might need help with.”

I gestured for her to sit down and pulled out my black notebook and pen.

“Typical story, my husband has been staying out later and longer over the last few weeks. I want to know where he goes… who he goes with.”

I nod. Yes, I hear a version of this story all the time. Our world was ravaged by war and we’ve spent decades trying to rebuild, but monogamy still hasn’t taken roots.

“Name?”

The woman pushed a small piece of paper across the desk.

“No name. You’ll know him when you see him.”

I looked at the paper. An address. Somewhere along the docks. I’ll know him when I see him. Great, one of those cases.

“There’s the matter of payment.”

Money somehow survived the war. Some say it’s the very thing that started it.

She nodded.

“Of course. I can pay you, pay you well if you can give me proof. The sooner the better.”

“If you’re requesting that I use my polaroid, that’s extra. Film is very expensive these days.”

“Extra won’t be a problem.”

There was certainty in her voice. My night just got interesting.

“I’ll meet you here tomorrow morning for a debrief.”

“No.”

That softness was gone.

“At the old train station. Vendor section 12.”

With that she got up, walked toward the exit.

But, she paused and turned to look at me.

“Is it true, do you always wear those shoes?”

There’s a glitter in her eye. A glint of trouble.

I looked down at my vintage Converse. I nodded.

She smiled. A beautiful, intrigued smile.

Interesting night, indeed.

I pulled my hat down tighter as another gust of wind blew by. What a fun night to be out strolling through the deepest part of the Have Not. I have my “friend” tucked safely in my pocket should anyone feel desperate enough though. That’s always a comfort of sorts in these parts.

Have Not. How creative of us. The poorest, most crime ridden section of our city. The part time seems to have forgotten about. Half demolished buildings, rusted hunks of metal too heavy for anyone to carry off line the streets. The air seems worse somehow, thicker. Some swear it still rains down ash from time to time courtesy of all the burning.

And there it was. The warehouse I’ve been looking for. What a place to be meeting your mistress.

Maybe I waltz right in, polaroid raring to go. Surprise worked on occasion. Then I could go home. Do some reading.

Or maybe I don’t have to. Female giggling, always a good sign for getting paid.

I crouched down. No sense getting caught before I get the money shot.

There they are, arms wrapped around each other like giant squids trying to jumpstart their population.

Too dark for a good shot. Go back inside lovebirds. It’s too cold to get naked out here.

Opportunity strikes. Light flooded the night as the door opened.

One quick snap of the camera.

I ran after the open door. Number one rule in my line of work, wear comfy shoes.

I slipped in, ducking behind the first piece of broken furniture I saw.

Pools of light. Metal and cables everywhere. Sounds of grinding metal. Not typical Have Not stuff. There were men hunched over tables. What the hell did I walk into?

Focus. Just needed a clean shot and then I was out of here. Maybe I could have fooled myself with those thoughts. If I hadn’t of seen them.

Metal men sprawled out across the tables in various stages of completion. Robots. Heartless assassins. Remnants of our old world, thought to have been all destroyed.

A deep chackling interrupted my thoughts. My eyes found the source – Theodore Farmer, the “husband” I was tailing. But Teddy Bear, as his friends like to call the brute of a man, had no wife. The plot thickened as the crooked Sheriff pulled his lady friend closer.

A metal arm fell off a table.

The room froze.

The Sheriff’s face started to turn red as he glared at the man responsible.

“I’m sorry, Teddy Bear. It was an accident. I swear. It’s fine.”

The man quickly scooped up the arm, setting it gently back on the table.

The Sheriff shoved his lady to the side, as he headed for the man.

I got my camera ready.

He quietly stared down at the man.

“Please. Please, Teddy Bear.”

Teddy Bear turned into The Bear. He grabbed the metal arm and whipped it across the man’s face. Blood splattered as the man collapsed.

I took pictures as quickly as my camera would allow. My window was small and this was all gold. I needed close ups of the metal men.

He gave him one more whap on the back before putting the arm carefully back on the table.

“Clean him up. He ain’t done yet. Now, he’s got to fix what he just made me break.”

There was a moment of silence in the room. My camera chose this moment to glitch.

Guns drawn.

“What the hell. Who’s there?”

This is why I wear the shoes. Deep breath. Run!

The train station is a great place for information as long as you have things to trade. The rails don’t work, so what would people do here other than turn it into a giant black market. Humans, always finding a way to survive.

“Come here often.”

She jumped. Good.

“More than I should. Shoes. Do you have what I asked for?”

I gave her a slight nod. It’s always good to keep your cards close.

She led me to a back corner where old, ratty Persian rugs hung. Cover from prying eyes.

Her eyes glittered again. I handed her some polaroids.

“My cheating husband.”

She tossed the photos.

“Is that all you got. I expected more out of the infamous Shoes.”

“Payment.”

Our eyes locked and a battle of wills began. After the night I had, there was no way she was going to win.

She broke first, pulling a small envelope out of her jacket.

“Down payment.”

I took it, replacing it with more photos. Apparently, the real photos she wanted.

“Just as we feared. There’s a war coming. The Haves and Have Nots want different things.”

There was a commotion at the other end of the station. Concern clouded her eyes as she grabbed my arm, pulling me further along the rug maze.

“The Haves want order. Peace. To keep things as they are. Our world is unstable still, why tilt it further on its axis. The Have Nots want to change the order of things, tip the scales, create a fairer world.”

“And Sheriff Teddy Bear is their savoir.” I was no fool. Life was not fair and then you died. Hopefully, you had a few good meals and a warm body on occasion in your bed before it happened.

She chuckled.

“He’s happy to play the part as long as it gets him what he has always wanted – power and chaos. The world they want doesn’t exist. It never has, so why destroy what we do have for some false hope.”

There’s screaming. She looked up sharply.

“Our time has come to an end.”

She shoved a thicker envelope into my hands.

“You can float between both worlds easily. We need you. If they got the old world bots up and working, our city is gone. We need info on their progress and movements.”

I barely registered the envelope. She pushed me through the exit, my sneakers splashed through the puddle of water runoff.

“How did they get those bots?”

She paused, looking almost guilty if someone like her could.

“They stole them. From us. We found them buried across the ocean. They hijacked our ship. We were only interested in their potential as bots of law and order, not violence and chaos.”

Sure, lady, whatever you say.

“There’s more where that came from. If you’ll help us and save the world as we know it.”

She gestured at the envelope before running off into the dreary morning.

Now it was my turn to run away before the commotion inside found its way outside.

A stocky man rushed through the back door, cold steel in his hand. He looked down at the ground, where I had just been seconds ago.

I should have stayed home last night.

I couldn’t sleep. Just paced around and sat at my desk. I hadn’t slept in 36 hours. It’s amazing how quickly one’s life can blow up.

I could take the money and just leave. There had been twenty thousand dollars in that envelope. That was enough to restart everything. Could I just leave? War doesn’t just end. Clearly. Here we are again on the precipice.

But which side was right? Did I play both sides, see who wins while lining my pockets?

Maybe I could stop it from the inside.

I didn’t even know her name. Maybe that’s the first thing I did, figure out who I’m dealing with.

BOOM!

“That’s where it ends, Teddy Bear.”

A stocky, balding man flips through the few remaining blank pages in a small, once black notebook. Bright red blotches bleed through the cover.

“Hmmm. Did you guys find the money?”

“No sign of the money, just her notebook. Must have stashed it somewhere.”

“Keep looking. Are we sure this is Shoes? Her face is blown off.”

“Red hair and…”

He points to the converse shoes on the slumped, faceless body sprawled out on the floor.

“They match the shoe prints outside the train station.”

Teddy Bear nods his head.

“The body?”

“Burn it in the Have Not. No one will notice.”