Anarameha

Chapter 10

It was the fourth night since meeting Jiro, but tonight Ana wasn't meeting up with him. Ana told Jiro that she had to go grocery shopping at the capsule market, which didn't sound thrilling to Jiro.

Ana would buy a month's worth of capsules using the bulk vending machines. It was a time-consuming process because she'd have to be careful to avoid drawing attention to herself. She'd go in, buy a couple of things and then move around to ensure that no one noticed how much she purchased. It was not common to buy so much, but Ana always planned for the worst-case situation. She planned ahead in case there was a need to hide in her apartment for an extended amount of time.

She could shop weekly, but Ana tried to avoid any regularity with her movements. It was bad enough that most people shopped throughout the day.

The bonus of capsules was that they did not have an expiry date. Her supply could last a while if needed. The only issue was storage. The cabinet was temperature-controlled to ensure that it was at the perfect level. Storing the capsules outside the cabinet was risky but possible, provided Ana kept the room at the right temperature.

Ana was grateful that there was hardly anyone in the market tonight. She managed to get everything that she wanted without an issue.

Most of the markets were on level six, though there were a few high-end markets in the upper levels. Ana stopped by and picked up a few things occasionally, but it was always a drain on her credits.

Ana's favourite market sat on the border between south and west Geniprea. It was always well stocked with various different foods, which included a lot of international dishes. Ana would always look at them with intrigue, wondering what it was like to travel. It was something that was not in her future, not when she didn't have legitimate identity documents.

Garlet had done her a solid, created the fake persona but warned her that flashing it around was not a good idea. Ana took the warning seriously and avoided using her fake identification as much as possible. Naturally, it was not entirely possible. To get her apartment, she had to prove who she was.

As Ana stepped out of the market, she nearly ran into a woman that passed the entrance. The woman kept going, too busy talking to the man next to her. Ana shrank into the darkness, watching as the detectives kept going.

They were often hard to recognise as they were not in uniforms like the beat cops. The standard detective uniform was a Kevlar suit with a leather jacket that was long enough to hide the guns at their sides. The only identifiable thing about them was the neon chartreuse strip along their legs. It was registered as a police colour, and anyone caught using it in clothing would be in trouble.

When they were far enough away, Ana stepped out of the market and began the journey home. Unfortunately, she was also following the detectives. She hoped they would turn off, but they kept moving on the same ring path.

When she reached the stairs to descend to level five, Ana stopped. On level five, in the area where she waited to meet Jiro yesterday and the day before, was Marama. She was on the other side, almost hidden by the darkness.

Ana's eyes narrowed. She knew what this was. Marama was waiting to catch Jiro meeting up with her. It was seven pm, the time when he usually made his way to this level.

A man approached, and Marama called out to him, gesturing for him to hurry to her side. She had no idea who he was but figured that he was probably a private detective.

"Ana,"

She turned to the soft whisper, seeing Jiro hiding in the darkness of a nearby building. Ana moved as quietly as she could, hoping to avoid Marama seeing her move. It was entirely possible, considering the path was made of metal grates.

"Your girlfriend is down there ready to spring us."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"What happened?"

"Well, she said a few rather terrible things and said that she definitely knew you from somewhere. I tried the clothing model excuse, but she said you weren't pretty enough to be one. For the record, I don't agree."

Ana rolled her eyes.

"Great, thanks. What else?"

"She said that it would be in our best interest that I did not come back to see you anymore and that if she caught me, she would tell our leader."

"That guy down there?"

"No, I don't know who he is. She definitely thinks that I'm cheating on her. Which, I suppose I am, in a way."

Leaning on the wall, Ana nodded. It didn't have to be physical to be considered cheating. Internally, she tried to reason that they were friends and believed that's how they both saw it, but this was not about how they interpreted it. This was about Marama's views.

"She's vindictive, and she's determined. I don't know who that guy is, but I'd happily bet that he's an investigator of some sort."

"Yeah, I thought he might be a private detective. There's a lot of detectives that leave the police force to set up their own business because it's a lot better pay. Which means that he's got contacts and is probably really good at his job. This is a problem, Jiro."

Ana lifted from the wall and pulled her bag off her back, and opened the zipper. She stuffed the bag of capsules into the already tightly packed bag and then returned it to her body.

"Look, I'd like to think that this is going to end well, but I can see the worst happening, and for me, that means death. I know that you don't understand because I haven't told you everything, but if Marama or whoever that guy is, puts the pieces together and figures out who I am and tells the authorities, I am dead. Literally. So, I guess this is it. I'm sorry, Jiro. It's been a fun couple of days, but I can't keep going with the knowledge that at any moment, she's going to take me down. As much as I don't want it to end our friendship like this, it has to be this way. Self-preservation and all that. Goodbye."

Ana backed away, giving Jiro a grim smile. She turned away before he saw the tears forming in her eyes. It had only been a few days, but the connection was already there, and it was intense. Walking away was not easy.