Ouroboros

Dark Waters

.........

     Hey buddy,

     If all goes well for you, I'm hoping to hear back from you soon. It's been so long, and I don't know how much longer I can take. It's unbearable to not know where you are, or if you're even alive...

     An alert popped up on Jim's computer screen before he could finish the message.

     CODA-9994 HAS LANDED ON OUROBOROS ALIVE

     Jim leaped up from his desk. Elation coursed through him as he ran out his office door. Immediately upon exiting, he wrinkled his nose. The hallway smelled like rancid cat food. Someone was microwaving fish in their office. He gagged, then sank back against the wall, laughing like it was the funniest thing ever. Coda had made it to Ouroboros. Now was not the time to be bothered by poor office microwave etiquette.

     He took his phone out and dialed Amelia's number. "Hello, Amy. Did you get the news? Coda landed! He made it!"

     "Wait! Slow down. What's this?"

     Jim repeated himself a little slower.

     "Fantastic! Let's give him a few days before asking about his findings, though. Sound good?"

     "Great! Bye!" Jim hung up returned to his office. The stink of reheated fish wafted in as he took a seat behind his desk. He was back in his tiny office, but that had been the least of his problems in the past year and a half. Jim wiped the algae off the front glass of his shrimp tank, then checked his computer again. No new messages. He took his phone out and texted Ice Five's current number.

     His flight arrived.

     Three dots appeared at the bottom of the screen. Fiver spent an excruciatingly long moment typing a response. Come to L's tonight. If questioned, request Vitamin K and sildenafil.

     Jim nodded and put his phone away. The clock on his wall read four-thirty PM. Only half an hour left for that day. If he had to admit to liking anything about not working with Coda-9994, it was that he could go home at five o'clock on most days, and there was far less variability in his schedule. However, he did find the consistency somewhat boring.

     When he left his office, it was, somehow, already the thick of rush hour. Cars, buses, motorcycles, and pedestrians swarmed the streets like ants around a drop of spilled syrup. By the time he finally got his car out of the parking garage, what should have been a ten-minute drive to Larkin Variety and Pharmacy took twenty-five minutes instead. He arrived fuming with suppressed road rage.

     The person behind the counter wasn't Linda, but an unfamiliar employee with earbuds shoved in deep and turned up high, blissfully unaware of Jim coming up to the counter. Finally, he smacked the counter to get the employee's attention. "Sorry about that," Jim apologized quickly, "but may I speak with Linda?"

     As if on cue, Linda came out of the bathroom. "Hey, what'd I say about them earbuds? Take those out right now! Oh, hello Jim. How may I help you?"

     "I'm looking for Vitamin K and sildenafil," he said.

     Both she and the other employee burst out laughing. "Oh, Jim, you really have no clue. I know what you really want, but it's still hilarious."

     "What's so funny about...?" Jim started.

     "Great! It means you've never had to use it! Sildenafil's the generic name for...you know what? Don't even think about it too hard. And don't look it up, either. Blame Fiver for that one, 'cause I had nothin' to do with it." Linda blotted at her eyes and tried to stop laughing. "Follow me."