A Shy Breeze: 01

Life never ceased to surprise me. I couldn't believe who was knocking my door in the middle of the night for no good reason.

- Are you nuts?

Through my screen I could communicate with the security system of the apartment, transmitting my voice live anywhere.

- I need to talk to you!

- Why? - I was still under the Torii, incredulous watching the live footage of my front door.

- It's important, Sato.

- I'm not home. - every cell in my body was irritated, I didn't care if it was coming out in my voice.

- Where are you?

- In the city. - at this point she was looking straight into the electronic eye, staring right at me. If only she knew how much I wanted to hang up on her.

- Where? I'll come meet you. - she smiled sideways in a grimace of incertitude and hope. For as much as I wanted to stay away from that woman, she just made me so curious about so many things. Her job, her attitude, herself.

- Restaurant section, Torii entrance.

Of course I had no idea of what I was doing, that damn woman confused me but the fact that she risked her neck going all the way to my apartment got me very intrigued about this talk she wanted to have. Sometimes my brain just did stuff. It didn't think, just responded to situations instinctively. Most of the time these reactions got me in very tight positions but in others it was quite profitable. Just like gambling.

Since I had no idea how long it would take for her to get there, I just went ahead to my previous destination. Posed my order with an extra portion to take away and waited in the restaurant, breathing in all the incredible smells of delicious food.

Took about twenty minutes for my order to be ready. I picked it up with sorrow. My plans had been ruined and I really wanted to stay and eat like a person for once. Instead I had to leave into the cold again to wait on the sidewalk, watching my precious spaghetti freeze slowly.

Under that high red and bright Torii, I remembered I had no dignity left so I sat my ass down under some restaurant marquee, picked up my plastic fork and bit down on those meatballs. I was frustrated and hungry but damn that spaghetti was good. Didn't even notice how time went by fast when you eat on the sidewalk. Reminded me of my teenage years, grabbing food from anywhere anytime I could and sitting on the back of restaurants to eat. Sometimes with company, but not always, it didn't matter as long as I had something to fill up my stomach.

- Sato?

Someone called out from a lowered white car so we'll polished that it reflected the pink and blue lights from the signs, making it look psychedelic. I got up after picking up my stuff, spaghetti still in hand, to approach the car.

- Nice ride for a cop. - I checked the panel, it was all modernized with blue back lights and seats all in black leather.

- Come inside. - she said with a calm voice.

- Yes, officer Abrom. - couldn't help but to grin at that sentence.

- Must be very important the subject of this conversation, to make her drive all the way from the slums to downtown just to pick me up. At least the car was sick, looked vintage, from like a hundred years ago, probably older. The remodeling was massive, the engine was quiet as the countryside, when I passed by the front and touched the hood.

She unlocked the doors and I got in holding my spaghetti half eaten. After I fastened my seatbelt and looked at her to check why she was so quiet I found her watching me.

- What?

- Were you eating on the sidewalk?

- Yes? - by her tone I didn't know if she was judging me or just asking - I got some extra for you.

- What is that? - she leaned down a little towards my lap.

- Spaghetti and meatballs? - I wasn't sure if she was playing me, sounded a bit unthinkable that somebody never had spaghetti and meatballs.

- Smells good.

Without any explanations she took off. It wasn't the same car she drove me home that time, that one was a disguised police car. The white vintage was her personal vehicle. She was off duty, probably that was her night off and she used it to go to my house. Something very urgent must've come up, maybe somebody in command found out where she spent the night in the slums and they wanted to question me.

- So, where're we going?

- Somewhere private.

- Don't get me wrong, I love when pretty ladies pick me up in their cool cars but I get a little concerned when they happen to be cops.

- You're not being arrested. - she grinned, showing all her perfect white teeth and high cheekbones. I was starting to think she enjoyed messing with me, just as much as I liked to tease her.

We were heading further downtown. The traffic was better at night, still packed but you could at least move a little faster. Cars weren't very practical in the city, the traffic was terrible, parking lots were expensive since parking on the streets was prohibited. Car owners had to rent a space in massive underground parking lots because garages didn't exist anymore. Fuel wasn't a problem though, most cars were either electric or solar powered, automakers stopped producing fossil fuel engines over ten years ago.

A few minutes drive on the highway, in deep silence, thanks to the electric engine and no music, she took an exit close to the port. A few turns on one-way streets squeezed between buildings and we were at the edge of the city, under a train station just like the one we met. This time the ocean was by our side.

She parked the car but kept the headlights on, pointing towards the vast black sea. It was a very pretty and unsettling view.

- This is a perfect place for an assassination, officer.