The afternoon sun brightened Lurie's family park. Children hurried through the playground. They jumped and laughed; two boys at the other end swung their legs for momentum on the monkey bars. It would've been a good day to bring Maggie here if Brenda wasn't Brenda. I could've had just one more afternoon with my child.
But the park wasn't why I was here. The playground with happy children and chitchatting parents was just in front of my destination; I wouldn't have brought my baby girl here. Too dangerous.
Bruno's Car Shop was a small mechanic joint between two apartment buildings across the street. "You said I go in through the front of the side? There isn't one." I tapped into my communications and spoke to Kimi.
A minute passed. The quiet in my head turned into static, and I hissed. I rubbed my ear as a little girl ran past me to see her father seated on a bench. She jumped into his arms, squealing about strawberry ice cream. Her father grinned. And I frowned. Maggie, I should have brought you here; spent more time with you.
"Gio?" Kimi's voice sounded in my ear. "Sorry, I was getting coffee. Did you make it to the shop?"
My brows lifted. Coffee, huh? A little café con leche would be good right now. "I've been here for 'bout five minutes, Kim. Did you get my question?"
"Oh, um..." As I listened to Kimi clicking around with her mouse and keyboard, I kept my eyes on the father-daughter duo until I couldn't. I walked away. Nothing was normal in my life, and I wish I could fix that. Maggie deserved that.
Reaching the side of the street, I waited to jaywalk; I stared at Bruno's front door. "Well, I'm looking at the shop, Kim."
"Hold on. I'm tapping into Bruno's security cameras. Give me a second."
I snorted. A shitty place like this had cameras? Well, that wasn't good for me. I didn't want to be seen. With the footage, I couldn't be the dangerous, vengeful shadow they wouldn't see coming; no one needed to know that I'd laid hands on one of the boys who helped destroy my life.
"Fine." I eyed the streets and patted my pockets. Something clinked. I'd forgotten about the small gift Maggie gave me; I took it out of the bag, pocketed it, but in a rush, never opened it.
"Okay, so there are only three people inside, Gio," Kimi's voice echoed in my ear as I pulled Maggie's gift out of my back pocket. With a tug, I undid the ribbon that secured the box. The top fell off. Once I saw what was inside, I smiled.
"Ruben is inside getting his car looked at. It looks like he knows the cashier. The other person, the mechanic, doesn't seem to talk to him. Just business, I guess. Also looks like he's going to lunch."
I let the other half of the box fall as I pulled a small necklace free from pink tissue paper. On the golden chain was the left side of a broken heart. With cute bubbly letters, it read "always." I knew Maggie had to have the other half. I wondered what it said. As I crossed the street, I put it on. The chain picked up all surrounding light, and I smiled.
"Did you hear me?" Kimi asked.
"Yeah, one guy on lunch, Ruben, with the cashier, got it" Giving the necklace one quick pat for luck, I turned right on the sidewalk so I wouldn't stand in front of the shop. No one needed to see me. Not yet. "But what door do I go through?"
"Front door. Sorry, there is nothing on the side. I read the blueprints wrong."
I stopped. I looked at the building beside the shop, an apartment complex with an open lobby. There were mailboxes inside with a couple in front of them. The man slammed the little door as he dipped his head back with a deep breath. The woman behind him slapped his shoulder.
"You're a piece of shit!" I heard her even with the closed doors. When the man turned and faced her, my computer picked up on his adrenaline. He was furious. They'd probably been fighting all morning. They remind me of a couple I know.
"I've already keyed in and scheduled an appointment for you inside their computers," Kimi said. "Just say you're Anthony Robles."
Turning away from the arguing duo, I walked towards the shop's front door. I put my hand on the glass and pushed. "Good shit."
Thinking of my little bratty cigarette friend, I asked Kimi, "You couldn't think of a different name?"
***
Bruno's shop smelled like oil and cheap car fresheners. At least twenty green trees were displayed by the front register, on sale for one dollar.
When the door shut behind me, the tiny bell overhead dinged a second time. The cashier, a slender woman with dark brown skin, waved politely at me. "I'll be with you in a second," she said.
I nodded. Then gritted my teeth. I didn't want to hurt anyone innocent, nor did I want witnesses. When Kimi first told me about the shop and Ruben, I figured it was a hideout for his drug shit; not a legitimate business. Before doing anything, I needed to ensure this cashier went somewhere.
Turning towards one of the shelves on the left, I touched the canisters of window cleaner. I lifted one, pretended to read the label on the front, then put it back. To Kimi, I whispered, "I'll need a reason to get this chick out of here."
There was movement on Kimi's side. "I'll try," she said. "If it helps, she's his girlfriend."
Well, shit. I didn't know how Kimi got that information, but I wouldn't be surprised if she knew for a while and didn't tell me.
"Thanks, Kim. That's something I can work with." I looked back at the register. The cashier finished the transaction and gave the man in front of her a receipt—Ruben. She slid her hand over his when he took the paper. Cute. Won't be for long, though.
As I approached, I looked at Ruben. He'd changed a lot in just a few years. He was always the skinny, scrawny kid in the group with the strength of dollar-store water balloons. He was nothing back then, like Mark. Now Ruben had some muscle—broad shoulders. When I stood next to him, he kept his eyes forward. He was still too scared to give the tough guy, "Why you so close?" look. Hm.
"How can I help you?" The cashier smiled at me as she pressed her hands together. One of her eyes was dark brown, the other a yellow-gold. That was both beautiful and cool.
"Anthony Robles." I didn't reach for my wallet because there wasn't an ID to pull out. But because Kimi tapped into the shop's computers, I synced in with my own. I quickly scanned the information that passed over my mechanical eye before widening my smile. "I had an appointment for someone to look at the breaks on my car."
"Oh!" the cashier exclaimed. She quickly turned to her computer. Next to me, Ruben grunted. I gave him a side-eye and a smirk.
"Okay, so I see you here, but" the cashier frowned, "there wasn't a car listed. What's the make and model? Where'd you park it?"
Fuck. How'd Kimi miss that? How did I? Pretending to have an appointment at a car shop required a vehicle. I don't drive. I needed to act like I did. "It's over there." I turned around and pointed outside the shop. With the park so close, there were plenty of cars outside. I'd pretend one of them was mine. I just needed to pick one.
I settled on one parked under a large tree. My computer scanned the car so I knew the plate number, VIN, and anything else wrong with it. It needed a brake check. Who knew? "That Chevy Malibu right there. The red one."
The cashier followed my finger. So did Ruben. He narrowed his eyes while she widened hers. "Oh, that one's pretty."
"Yeah, it is." I looked back at her. Right when I turned my head, Ruben and I locked eyes. His random irritation was perfect. His heart fluctuated, and electrical sparks went off in his head. Was he trying to figure out where he knew me from? I hadn't changed. At least not on the outside.
"Hey." Shaking my finger at him, I knew now was as good a time to start a commotion and get this innocent girl out of the shop. "Don't I know you?" I asked him.
Ruben tensed. With his hands flat against the counter, he leaned back. The cashier did, too, curious and wanting to listen.
"Yeah, I do!" I laughed and looked back at the cashier. It was time to lie. I hoped she wasn't in love or anything. "You know this guy picks up all the girls at Lisa's."
Lisa's was a poppin' club just a few miles north of here. Everybody went to Lisa's. It was like Vegas; what happened at Lisa's, stayed at Lisa's, except for today.
"Lisa's?" The cashier cocked a brow. Both hands grabbed her hips. "I thought you don't do that."
Oh, no questioning the story. I hadn't even gotten to the good stuff. Probably best not to say them, though. Not that I knew what it was yet; I hadn't thought that far.
"What?" Ruben shot me a hard, angry look before turning to the cashier. "Man, I don't even know this dude. Tiana, I swear, I—"
"No, it's fine." Tiana, the cashier, tapped a few buttons on the register. Why? To distract herself? She cleared her throat. "This isn't the first time I heard this."
"What?" Ruben slammed his hands down.
Ha! He did the freak-freak, and other people gossiped already? I made up the story on the spot. Until yesterday, I had no idea where he'd been, what he did, and who he did it with. I just needed to get the cashier out; I wasn't even worried about the mechanic on lunch.
Tiana gave him the fakest smile before looking at me. "I'll be back in a few. I need to look at your car and make notes for the mechanic."
"Sure thing," I said. The cashier turned, and I smiled as she walked away.
Ruben followed her to the front. "Tiana, wait, wait, wait—"
Tiana went out the door without saying a word to Ruben. He stood there, fuming. I stood behind him, reached around, and turned the lock on the door. Ruben slapped my hand and moved enough to grab my collar. I grinned as he glared at me; he bared his teeth. Saliva pushed out the corners of his lips with each hard puff. "Man, I don't know who the fuck you are, but—"
He looked me over. Up. Down. Weird. The experiment hadn't changed my face; it only affected my insides. And my left eye, but no one looked close enough to notice that. Had Ruben forgotten the one guy he threw under the bus to save his ass? The same guy he convinced to join him on a botched robbery?
Nah, it couldn't be. He knew me. It took a few minutes, but the second the realization hit, and he recognized me, he loosened his grip. His eyes widened as he dipped his head to one side. "Gio?"
I smirked. Every sensor in my body powered on. My left eye outlined him, immediately detecting his heart rate, high blood pressure, and the electrical pulses shooting out from his brain. He was scared. Rightfully so.
Grinning, I reached behind him to switch the 'WE'RE OPEN' sign to 'OUT FOR LUNCH.' "Hey, Ruben." The mechanical sounds of my eye whirred in my head as I zoomed in on his fear. "Miss me?"