Don’t think I’m a heartless guy because of Dunce’s death, I have dreams and feelings just like everyone else. It’s not like you’ll see your local barista being present at a regular's funeral. You might know his name, his likes and dislikes, maybe even his last name, but not to the extent where favors are given. So where is Dunce in all of this you might ask?
The sound of the radio receiving another frequency brought my attention to it.
“Co-workers like him are the reason this shift doesn’t get bumped up to prio”
If you thought that Rob was the mastermind of this operation then you're dead wrong. Rob is only street smart, something that can only get you so far. This man on the other hand. Let’s just say, you don’t want to be on his bad side.
“If you wanted him off the plan, why not just tell Rob to cut him out? Now that you killed him, I'll have to take care of both sides of the street.” I complained.
Silence stretched once my complaint went through. It wasn’t until I turned the corner onto my side of the street when he finally spoke through the radio.
“I didn’t kill him, I thought it was you who did.”
My eyes rolled at his comment, this guy seriously doesn’t know how to joke very well.
“Dolion, you know as well as I do he was mugged. I'm just surprised you didn’t expect it to ever happen eventually, I mean, he was always one to flaunt,” I said.
“I'm not dumb like you Rowan'', Dolion said in a monotone voice. “I had to call another van and in doing so I had to keep my eyes off you idiots. I just can’t believe you both couldn’t kill yourselves any faster then you already did. Well, one of you that is.”
This guy…Dolion. He just can’t take even a sliver of jest, I thought. I don’t know who got Dunce but he did us all a favor. Even if Dolion doesn't want to admit it.
“On that note, I’ll be sending someone over to pick up the body. Where did you place it?” Dolion continued, speaking in a calm manner.
“Sure thing, It’s at-“ Walking closer to where I placed the cones and tape I saw something that would make any transgressor uneasy.
“I’ll tell you later, I got to go”
“What did you do this time?” I could already see Dolions eyes rolling.
Looking past the heavy rain, towards the far corner of the block where I had placed my props, glared two colors of Red and blue.
“Trouble. it's the boys in blue”
I quickly tidied up my rain poncho and placed the walkie-talkie in my back pocket, But not after Dolion’s voice came through one last time.
“Keep them busy. I already told everyone to keep off the channels.”
With that said I headed off. I already had a half assed story, but with any luck I’ll be able to improvise my way through.
As I walked closer I saw two police officers walking around the tape while another stood over the manhole, shining his flashlight in. Behind the tape were two of their parked vehicles, colors flashing and in full display.
“Hello, is there a problem?” I said, walking along the sidewalk with a friendly wave.
Hearing my voice, they all faced my direction and started walking towards me. Once they were within a normal talking distance did one begin speaking. “We got a call about workers blocking the road” One said.
The veteran of the group no doubt. I looked past his shoulder taking note of the female officer taking out a notepad and writing underneath her umbrella.
“I'm really sorry for the inconvenience sir, we just got an urgent call ourselves. This part of the sewage system really needed our attention”
“Really?” He scoffed, “In this weather?”
Thinking quickly I spoke my answer. “We thought that due to the rain and being so late at night, fixing the problem wouldn’t trouble anyone. I mean, This road isn’t a busy one around this time.” I shrugged.
It’s true. Rob, Dolion and many others surveyed this street for weeks. Watching and analyzing on what days and times were the least busiest, including the normal patrol routes of local law enforcement. Tonight, presently a rainy night, was just a cherry on top. Sadly, my excuse wasn't cutting it for these officers.
”We?” Where are the others?” a junior officer asked.
I felt myself pale a bit before responding, “They went off on break, they should be back soon.” I said, a bit too quickly for my liking.
My questioner crossed his arms, pondering. He then looked me over before making a decision. “Mike, can you go back to the car? Check for any CSE permits given in this area”. Confusion must have shown on my face since he gave me a rough explanation of what it was. “When doing sewer maintenance in the city you would need a CSE permit, but you should know that already. right?” The veteran officer asked with a smirk. I watched as the younger male officer walked quickly to the vehicle.
The veteran officer brought his attention back to me. “You’re a bit young to be working, huh?” He mused, quickly bringing up and blinding me with his flashlight.
“I, um, was tasked to make sure nobody falls in while everyone is away.”
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “Is it now”.
Movement caught the corner of my eye, I was surprised that the female cop who was just behind the veteran was now on my right. She was no longer taking notes, But had a hand on her belt. Umbrella at her side.
“This is something similar to an internship but for high school students, I'm just watching and-”
“You don’t look any older than 16, son.” The officer cut in. “Plus, I’ve never heard of such a thing. On top of that, even if it were true, there is no way someone your age would be allowed out this late for a school activity”.
Slowly but surely my whole scheme was falling apart. Now, my only hope was that I had stalled long enough for Rob and Dolion to have finished the job.
“Look officer, hear me out.” I said, nervously. “My Dad is a sewer maintenance worker. He, along with his coworkers are out taking a short break. I just came along to give a hand” I shrugged. “I'm more than willing to go get them so we can sort this out.”
Giving me a hard stare for a few seconds he gave in. “Fine, hurry up.” He said, waving me off as I turned back. “But first, can you hand me your card of identification.”
The short sense of relief was short lived as I struggled to find an excuse on why I didn’t have it on me. The card in question was a one to one copy of identification that every citizen in this country must carry. It was water, fire, and tear proof. That way, no person could possibly have an excuse on why they didn't have it on their person. But to my horror my situation was about to get worse. The radio under Rob’s frequency turned on, echoing the rainy street with its annoying static.
“Rowan, we got everything loaded up. Where did you leave Dunce’s body so we can go pick it up?”
I froze. The junior cop who I had just heard walking to her vehicle froze too, along with the veteran officer facing my back. For the next few seconds nobody moved. Even the heavy rain moved to the background. It was a stand off on who would move first. Tension was in the air, and I for one can't wait to get away from it.
“Look kid, all you gotta do is walk towards me. Nice and easy.” The Veteran officer said. “Nobody is gonna hurt you, so all you’re gonna do is turn towards me on the count of thre-”
Once again Rob spoke, interrupting The cop. “Alright boys, meetup is OakMont 1031. It’s paynight. Hahaha”
I want to die.
