Reflection, page 23
part #2 of The Infected - Mirror Man Series
It was close enough to what the truth was.
Interestingly, even if he worked with Ronaldo at times, Scarpetti seemed fine with the news of the feds coming.
“Yeah? I’ve never had any real problems with them. The IPB. Solid operation from what I can tell.”
That wasn’t what the Infected people there thought, clearly. The three men who were sitting on the floor didn’t speak, though one of them moaned a bit more than was strictly needed. Sure, he probably had a broken arm and a concussion but it was the man that had tried to stab one of their patrons. That meant Gary wasn’t going to worry over his well being too much for the time being.
When the IPB got there, it was Sally who walked the men, four of them, all in black suits with uniformly short hair, back to them. Her faces wore concern on them. She also searched them all closely first thing. Her people, at any rate, looking for injuries. At least Gary took it to mean that.
So he waved at the agents, then her.
“We’re all fine. The men on the floor there are the attackers. I’ll let everyone else go over things?” Not that he was getting out of his turn on that. Still, the three men were finally bound, being cuffed and left on the floor there.
Then he was taken to the side by Agent Glade. That meant ten minutes of going over the story from his perspective, as the white man in front of him wrote it all down, triple checking everything. The rest of them had to go as well, before the IPB Agents even decided what to do as far as calling in the regular police.
Glade waved a bit at the men on the ground.
“We’ll pull them outside. You might have to answer more questions for the local PD. We’ll stay here with you for all of that. No one is near a cop without one of us standing less than ten feet away. Everyone understands that?” It was nearly cute but one of the men on the floor nodded.
No one corrected him. After all, it was impossible to tell at a glance who was Infected or not. As long as powers weren’t being shown, odds were that no one would mention it, either.
It was getting late, though they had five fights that night. Looking at the IPB man, Gary shrugged.
“We need to get everyone back to work, unless you need us for the moment? We’re losing money on this already.” That was certainly the truth, since they had Sally in the back with them, instead of taking bets. Part of the concessions crew as well.
Interestingly, Agent Holland nodded at the words.
“That’s a good work ethic there. Not a bad job on the takedown, either. We can find you if you stay on the floor here for now. Thanks, everyone. Remember what we said about having one of us nearby if the police want to speak with you. It will save on problems.”
Jelana didn’t seem convinced of that, though Price nodded. Then, he would. He was too friendly for real life in a lot of ways.
“Thanks. Gary’s right though. This is the big money night of the week and we’re back here instead of doing our jobs.”
That was enough for them all to get free. Even the bodyguards, Leer and Scarpetti.
Those men all went back to their seats, with Gary instantly getting them new drinks and burgers. The things smelled wonderful, even if he wasn’t allowed to really have one. The same as they always had to him, which was interesting.
After all, he’d been changed into an alien. The world looked different to him, having a lot more color and vividness. At the same time, it felt, sounded and smelled pretty much the same. The scents were stronger. Not different though.
He tried to keep that in mind for his report to the Noram people, later.
It could be important, to some of them.
Chapter eight
He’d missed the entire second fight. From the sound of it the thing had gone three rounds and had, for some reason, been a lot more bloody than the first one had been by a good clip. There was no time to listen to the chatter about it, since they were halfway through the third fight when they all got back out onto the arena floor.
Gary had to snap at a few of his people to get them back onto task. Not Price, of course. The man was just as locked on as always. Silver wanted to chat though, instead of making the food and drinks they needed for their marks. She actually flinched when he did it, even if his voice was a bit too high pitched to be truly menacing.
He didn't apologize. After all, he meant what he was saying.
“Keep it together and work. We have to make up for lost time here. It’s going to get intense for a bit, so get ready for that.” He didn’t glare, just locking eyes with the silver haired lady for a moment. Then he hit the floor like a mad man.
“Dollar off soda and beer for the next two rounds! Show a losing bet tab for the third round and get a beer free!” The words were almost screamed, since all of the floor people had to hear it. After about twenty seconds the call went up from everyone. Including the people that were trying to sell food.
That took longer to make, except the peanuts.
“Free peanuts with two beers! Buy’em fast, this round break only! Get your beer and a snack now, while the hot deals still last!” It was a risk, offering things like that, though not a huge one. They were behind in sales at a guess. Getting people buying, even for a few minutes should help the overall flow of things.
True, it wouldn’t if everyone was really being a penny pincher. On the good side, the more they drank, the more likely they were to both spend and gamble. Unwisely, even.
Hence giving free beers to the losers. As they got drunker, betting more would seem like a good idea. Plus, it gave them a bit of a consolation prize when things didn't go their way, which should help people be a bit happier.
He started his own battle then, even if it wasn’t the one in the center of the ring. Both fighters in the third match of the night were decent looking. Not really better in skill than Peg or Sansosa. Flashier though. One had a nifty sound effect thing going on. If it helped in the fight was impossible to tell. Some Infected people had powers that didn’t really do much. Most did, in fact.
The fighters they had there were good that way, over all. They mainly had some kind of trick or gimmick that made a difference in a real fight. The average Infected person was kind of like he was. Able to do something interesting, like walking into mirrors, or make the room feel warmer by ten degrees, without being a danger to anyone. Not power wise.
The other fighter, who was a woman that stood at least six-five or six and had snakes for hair that shot lasers was pretty interesting as well. She was called Medusa, naturally. The light beams weren’t exactly a big deal, being used to blind and confuse her opponent for the most part. That meant both fighters were flashy about what they were doing, while still relying on skill. When they went to grappling it was clear that snake lady had an edge there. Her hair bit and fired lasers, at the same time.
The other man was being bloodied enough to the crowed was clearly turning toward Medusa by the fifth round.
In the betting break, Jelana called out to him.
“Gary! Brad here wants to know if he can get a combo deal with a hotdog and beer for two bucks off?” She was, clearly, just asking him. She had a man by her, Kevin, since he was the red skinned one, who had a tray of hotdogs right there. Jelana had beer, so it seemed like a likely match.
Rather than wave that it was okay, he put up two of his hands, then stripped his magical red and blue ballcap off and waved it.
“House special! House special! Get a hot dog and a beer for two bucks off, good to the end of this fight!” They all started calling that out again. Even when he kept going. “Pass the venders a ten and leave’em two bucks for a lucky tip! The more you tip, the better the luck!”
It was the kind of thing that some gamblers believed in. As if doing a good turn would actually increase their chances of winning. It didn’t work that way. Reality was rarely that kind.
Then again, the people that worked there knew a lot of the fighters. That meant they had at least a bit of insider information. Gary was out for this particular fight that way, being too new. It had worked for the first one. Kind of.
On the good side, Scarpetti and his people weren’t blaming him for getting one of the guards to head over to the betting window. That could look like a set-up, if you thought about it too hard. A thing that hadn’t been intended at all. The man still looked nervous and was glancing around constantly. At least in the few seconds that Gary could afford to let his attention drift from the task at hand.
In the last round, Medusa just pummeled the hell out of her opponent. It got so bad that Nancy jumped in and pulled her off. Tossing her into the corner. That didn't set well with the woman, who foolishly tried to rush Nancy then, as if she were doing anything more than officiating. Her dark leather coat was long enough to hide her bikini, though she flashed that a bit as a new fight broke out.
With her. That didn’t last long.
Medusa tried to kick her in the knee twice and Nancy hit her once, with an odd overhand blow. It was big, powerful and took the other woman all the way down. The snakes still moved, so she was alive. Then, as Ronaldo called the winner, which was Medusa, Nancy picked up the fighters one at a time and jumped out of the ring with them. Virtually flying over the eight-foot-high fence. Carefully cradling them on the landing. The audience stopped making noise for a bit, then cheered. All on their own.
The very attractive woman didn’t even bother trying to wave at anyone. When they started selling again, before the fourth match, the police got there. That was annoying, since people were actually buying already. He expected to be taken outside, with an IPB man standing there to guard him from the evil police. Instead Scarpetti and his entire crew walked over, spoke to the police and the chubby would be victim waved to the IPB. That got papers waved around by a man in black.
Those looked to be the reports that had been taken already.
Then, instead of being run outside, they were waved over, one by one, with Scarpetti presenting a new gentleman to him when he walked over. The guy was black, seemed tired and had on a suit.
“Gary! This is my law partner. Glen Robest. Glen, Gary here saved my life. I want to make certain that’s noted in the reports, officers. The people involved here are legally employed salesmen and women, who risked their lives to protect people. If there’s any legal trouble from this, Glen here will represent you. All of you.” There was a look at the other fellow.
A thing that got a nod and a hand to come out, being held downward for Gary to shake.
“Pleased to meet you, Gary. I’m certain that there will be no particular problems here. Not with hundreds of witnesses like there are. Don’t you think that’s right, Officer Bryant?”
The man in question didn’t seem to be particularly worried or intimidated by the Infected people around him. His uniform was real and he was the only policeman in the room with them, for some reason.
Which probably meant he was the one with training to deal with Infected people on the force. That or the one brave enough to come in and talk to people without fingering his handgun the whole time in fear. Either way, it kind of worked.
“Sounds about right to me. Even the use of force seems to have worked out pretty well. Can you go over that for me, Gary? First, Gary what?” It was a normal enough question.
Also one that he didn’t have a real answer for. Not that would hold up for the police. That meant scrambling, to come up with a cover identity that would both hold up and not screw him over, later. The one he had, Richard Drake, was official enough to hold up. It had been set up by Brie, who was probably one of the top fake I.D. people in the world. It was, essentially, simply real, it was so good.
The thing there was that it was potentially linked to the IPB. Rather than worry too much, he just went back a few. To one he remembered everything about, that had been lying dormant for a while.
“That’s the name I go by. My real name is Howard Selznick. I stopped using it when…” Gesturing downward, he snorted. “Well, when this happened one painful day. That was a while ago. I tried to get new I.D. but it was remarkably hard to prove who I was for some reason. That was… Oh, a long while back.” It was also a new story. One that was at odds with his cover.
Then again, if it became an issue, he could just tell everyone that he didn’t want the police to know his real information, so had lied. That was a dicey step to take, even if no one was going to easily bust him on it. Not unless they had real contacts in the government that even cops didn't have most days. People willing to go into paper based files to find out if his story was true. Which it would still be shown to be, more or less.
The name just got written down as if the information was correct.
“Date of birth?” The man looked at him like it was the normal thing to ask.
So he gave it, everyone there staring at him suddenly. As if it was abnormal to be nearly a hundred years old. That, or they thought he was lying. The cop seemed to be in that camp, even if he didn't question Gary on the idea too much.
Scarpetti went a bit extra wide eyed though. Whatever he was thinking stayed behind his pursed lips. After that information was provided and where he was staying, which was the building he was standing in, even if he didn't know the exact address, he got to cover the whole story. Yet again. The officer double checked everything, then smiled down at him.
“Thanks. We can get in touch with you here, if we have any follow-up questions? You might have to testify in court. Um, that won’t be a problem for you, will it? Eh… First Modality and all that?”
That the policeman was informed enough to even ask that was impressive. Really, it likely confirmed his idea that this was the cop with special Infected training. That and how polite he was being.
Gary shook his head.
“Yes and no. I won’t have to brutalize the court and don’t get stage fright or anything to prevent me from telling this story to a jury. On the other hand, I have total face blindness. I can’t tell who is who. I mean, if one of these gentlemen walked away and took their jacket off, I’d think it was a new person when they came back. It’s horribly annoying. It also means I can’t identify anyone. Not for certain.”
That got written down.
“That shouldn’t be a problem, given they were all apprehended at the scene and there were a lot of witnesses. Thank you for your time, Gary.” Then the officer, looked over at one of the black suited IPB agents and waited.
Gary was waved away, with a smile.
It sounded like Agent Holland that spoke.
“I know you want to get back to your work here. We’ll be in touch if anything comes up.”
Glen Robest handed him a card and got his cell phone number. Interestingly, so did Tom Scarpetti. The man actually looked at him funny and touched his shoulder.
“Howard Selznick… You didn't know a man named Joe Scarpetti, say, oh, forty years ago, did you?”
That was Tom’s father, of course. It would have been easy to make a denial and he intended too, until large red letters flashed in front of his eyes. They told him to tell part of the truth. That he had known him. Also, to get the other man to talk to him later.
“That’s right. He was an art collector. I sold art back then. Part of the time. We could talk about old times, later? I hate to run off here but we need to shake up the sales again. The kids are doing good work out there but we need to get the audience engaged a bit more.”
The man was a lawyer, so clammed up instantly when a hint seemed to be given and nodded.
“We’ll set that up. Perhaps tomorrow, mid-day? I’ll call then, to confirm. That or get my secretary to. One of the perks of being a founding partner in the firm. I don’t have to share a secretary with everyone else.”
That anyone did sounded a bit cheap to him. Rather than judge, since he’d never been in the work world at all, he nodded.
“Sounds good. I don’t sleep, so we can do that whenever is good for you. I need to be here for work, six to close…” Not that anyone had claimed those were his hours. It was just when the money could be made. Seeming like he didn't care about that, being a fairly poor Infected person that needed to make his way in the world, was foolish.
He shook hands with everyone, then bustled off, taking almost half an hour to get the crowd into the idea of buying things at a proper rate. They were also getting properly smashed, so the bets went up a lot. A few people had to be tossed out, for fighting, as well. That was done by Mick and Price, without the need for the police to be involved. At least as far as he knew.
It was going to be a ticket trap out front, if people tried to drive themselves home, given the police presence that was still there. That meant, when it was time to set that up, he got everyone to push water and to offer to call cabs for anyone unsafe to drive. Most of the drunks didn’t take them up on it. About twenty out of the several hundred too drunk to drive did though. It took a bit of time but the cab company he looked up was actually more than fine with having the extra work.
Which meant they had a bunch of cars left in the parking lot after closing. A thing that wasn’t a big deal to anyone at all. After getting everything cleaned up, Lannie smiled.
“Should we just make up the food that you’re all planning to steal anyway? I need to do the receipts up.”
Gary knew that he could eat and that some of the others would have to.
“Great plan, we can do that, then clean up in here so we don’t have to do it twice. I really need to make a run to the store. That or send someone. It’s hard to find vegan options, you know?”
That got the woman to look at him funny for a bit, then nod.
“You don’t eat meat either? I thought it was just me and Sally, here. I have some veggie burgers that aren’t too bad, if you want to try some?”
That actually sounded delicious, since it wasn’t just a bun with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles on it. That and fries. He could have those just fine, it seemed. It was just meat products that got to him. Possibly dairy, which he hadn’t tried yet, either.
“That sounds wonderful. Thanks, doll. It’s been a while since I’ve had a proper meal.” Which was true. Really, he’d been in Noram, in a different world, when that had taken place.
