Dream Light City Chapter 6: Trust

Read chapter 6 of Dream Light City by jensrichard on NovelPedia.

The ugliest face in history enters my office. Mr. Bix. The biggest name in the underground. The gangster, the pimp, and the biotech drug lord. How dares he? "Howdy, Sheriff." He says with a narrow smile. "Bix…" I answer and get visually disgusted. "I see you suffer from some side effects," he says with a curious smile. "You did not come here to check on my well-being, Bix." "My gift is a prototype. I wish to know its effects, and congratulate you for being trendy again. What a performance you displayed at the bank." I need him to get out now. I feel sick looking at him. "I will give you a report on your prototype’s effects in a week." I wish to vomit all over his face. Why do people transform themselves at that level? All that biotech and surgeries just to look weird and ugly. He observes me. "I see you are not quite at your peak. I might have other products to help you with that." "I need no other stupid products from you. I need rest and solid food." He changes his voice: "I can't say I like your tone." Fuck. I'm upsetting the most powerful evil in town. "Sorry, I respect you came to check up on me, but unless you want…" That's all I can say before I throw up in my paper bin. Twice. He smiles curiously at me again: "Feeling better?" "Yeah…" I lie. "Can we talk business now?" That's his keyword. Decline, and you disappear from existence. "Sure. What do you need?" "I need a clean street next week." "You want me to remove all patrols?" "And ignore random citizens' emergency calls. I need my street for myself." "And what if YOU have an emergency?" "Then YOU show up alone." Great. He created a monster, and now he wants me as his plaything. "Sure, I will be your bodyguard." I feel my neck with my new installation. "Or a dog on a leash." He sees I'm not happy. "Oh, and do trust me, John. I am not connected to your tech. I can not alter your thoughts or make your head explode with that. I want to build our relationship on trust." He might be telling the truth. Maybe he got tired of manipulating people via tech and wanted to see if he could manipulate without it. He wants trust? I can play that game. "Then I trust you can handle your street without the need to call me." He did not expect a backtalk like that. "Cute John. Maybe I should buy this street too and handle my territory from this building." I better crawl back and play puppet again. I don't want this historical building to end up in private hands. It belongs to the city. I may have corrupted this office, but the citizens see this building as a beacon of hope. I know the Mayor would be greedy enough to sell. And that case will end up on the government's desk, and they will start asking questions about why we are selling historical buildings. I don't want nosey officials snooping around. I smile at him. "You call, I show." "Good boy, John. And I have no interest in your building. It smells awful." I look at my paper bin. I better clean that shit and go for a solid lunch. … Walking home later that day on the streets of Dream Light City. I like to walk. It gives me a feeling and a touch of the city. I feel better, and my biotech has adapted well. I have been on my phone with my wife most of the day. I miss her. Mostly, she talked about her and Sally’s hero retiring from the Astro Games. Gilga I think, is his name. I’m not following that sport of chasing asteroids in small space shuttles. They are crazy. Some punks are dealing on a corner. They see me. They drop everything they have in their hands and flee. I pick up the drugs. Toss it in the sewer. Case closed. I look up at my building, where I live on the 10th floor. It looks like my daughter is holding a party with too many people on the balcony. Someone drops a bottle from up there. I catch it. I sit on the staircase, taking a sip from the bottle. Too strong for my taste. I’m not that much into alcohol. I will give her some time before her dad closes the party.