Myth Gods Tech - Omnibus Edition: Science Fiction Meets Greek Mythology In The God Complex Universe (37 page)

Chapter
18

The man in
uniform was wearing rubber gloves. “So you object.”

“
Yes! I object to having my cavities searched! Why would
I
ever
agree?”

The man
looked disappointed and took off the glove with an audible snap.
“I’ll have to file you as non-cooperative with authorities.” He
sighed. All that preparation and rude old me didn’t let him stick
his fingers inside me.

“
I honestly don’t care,” I told the police officer.

He sat
down and wrote things in his report. I made a mental note to
actively not look intimidating like that when I wrote things down
myself.

“
We have found suspicious substances and injection needles in
the hotel room,” he read out loud.

“
They have little red stickers on them, that describe their
contents. Hardly suspicious.” I tried to keep my cool and be
polite.

“
And the needles?” he asked while raising an eyebrow at
me.

“
Vaccines are injectable.”

“
Why do you carry around these whatsyoucallem rabies
vaccines?”

I smiled
as I thought about playing it clever. “I admit I’m in training, so
I suppose they are in case someone has a category III exposure to
rabies, which is a bite or a scratch that bleeds. Instead of
looking for an emergency ward at the hospital we have them at hand.
We are going in a rabies positive area to investigate, you
know.”

The
police officer had a perfect poker face. I had no idea if I had
succeeded or not. He jotted things down and let me wait for a few
minutes.

The
silence was making me wanna fill the void with words, but this was
exactly what the man wanted. I bit my tongue and looked around. The
police station wasn’t much, in a town this small. I looked outside
into the night. It was made yellow by sparse streetlights, the old
kind, the ones you only saw in older movies. For some reason I
wasn’t sure about, city people’s nights back then were black and
yellow. It gave an eerie glow to the night streets. Not much going
on either, a car now and then, nothing like the busy nights of
Athens.

The
police officer sniffed loudly. “We are charging you and your
girlfriend with drug possession charges. The suspicious substances
will be tested tomorrow. It says here that your girlfriend is in
charge as a senior contagious diseases investigator,” he raised an
eyebrow and eyed me as if I was doing the house-cleaning in the
relationship, “and she will be kept in custody until the matter is
resolved. You are free to leave.” He paused and shut the folder
closed with a slap. “For now.”

I
pointed at the general direction of the door and stuttered. “Can I-
Can I talk to my supervisor?”

“
You may. Ask the night shift officer for an application
form.”

I walked
two steps, looked around the dead-empty police station. I looked
again. Then turned back.

“
Where is the night shift officer?”

The
police officer smiled crookedly. “I believe he is doing his wife
doggy-style at this moment, back in his bed.”

I didn’t
reply.

“
They are trying to have a baby,” the police officer explained
with the tone of casual small-town gossip.

“
Good for them,” I said, and stepped outside into the chilly
yellow night.

Chapter
19

They didn’t
offer me a ride back of course. I didn’t have my jacket, so I went
into a slight jog to get myself warm.

Kilkis
wasn’t a big town, but it was spread out. I tried to remember where
the hotel was, but everything looks different at night. Especially
if its illuminated yellow.

I know
it sounds weird to make such a fuss about yellow streetlights, but
to me it’s as if you walked outside and stepped into a black and
white night, like those very old films.

I could
hear TV sets blaring some muffled words as I walked by the houses.
I didn’t feel in danger, I was certain that if anything happened
people would come to help, unlike in the city. A few eyes followed
me from half-closed aluminium shutters as I walked down their
road.

I
thought about Zoe, and instinctively tried to call her. I cancelled
the call and told myself I was an idiot. They don’t let you keep
your phone in holding.

I
thought about before, at the police station. I could have looked
around quietly and found Zoe, after the middle-aged police officer
let me go. The station was actually small, just a couple of floors.
I decided it was for the best that I didn’t push my
luck.

It
didn’t make any sense. They had come in the middle of the night
with drug charges. Zoe had mentioned that Mr. Epiktitos had come up
here years ago to inform people, and the police officer I talked
with was certainly old enough to remember and pay attention. So the
suspicious substances thing was bullshit.

Zoe was
certainly looking like a drug addict to them. Her style wouldn’t
even make a city person bat an eye, but here, in the countryside,
she was demonised. I briefly imagined terrified country mothers
shutting their son’s eyes to protect them from the temptation of
the flesh.

The cops
knew it was bullshit as well, but it would work for the town-folk.
She looked like a drug-addict hence, she was one.

Why were
they doing that?

I looked
around. Yup, I was lost.

I sat
down in the middle of the empty road, bathed in faint yellow
light.

Chapter
20

So, this is
how it feels like getting fired. That was fast.

It was
five past eight in the morning. This was as long I could reasonably
delay the call. The boss, Mr. Epiktitos would be at his office now.
The only course of action I had was to come clean. Waiting would
only make things worse.

I
gathered up my strength and picked up the hotel room phone. Then, a
tang of stinginess hit me and I put the receiver down. Hotels
charge a lot for phone calls, and Zoe had forced me into a
penny-saving mindset.

Yes,
she’d get mad if I spent money on phone-calls for bailing her out.
I just knew.

I picked
up my cellphone and called the home office. I reviewed my situation
mentally and couldn’t help but laugh at myself. No wonder they call
us Tramp Division.

Irene
picked up. “Hello? This is the Rabies Division, how may I help
you?” Her tone was simply cordial.

I shut
my eyes and just spat it out. “Irene, listen. This is Polybios. We
have a problem, police thought we were carrying drugs and raided us
which of course we don’t. Zoe is in holding since last night. I
called first thing in the morning, so that our boss can maybe sort
it out. Is it bad? I know it’s not even a full week that I’m
working there, am I gonna get fired? It’s not Zoe’s fault, these
policemen have it out for us, dunno why really. It’s not Zoe’s
fault, did I say that? No drugs involved whatsoever. I don’t wanna
lose this job, I’m really starting to like it but I’m not sure what
to do. Irene? Can you hear me?”

The
cordial tone stayed intact. In fact, it was as if she was speaking
louder so she could be heard clearly. “Yes Polybios, that’s OK. Let
me talk to Mr. Epiktitos and I’ll call you back dear, OK? Bye
bye.”

I sat on
the bed and awaited punishment.

Chapter
21

I allowed
myself another hour or so of sleep at the hotel room. After the
arrest and all that wandering around last night, I felt I deserved
it.

Our
stuff was thrown around the place, the cops had pulled what little
we had and managed to littler the whole room. The hard plastic case
was confiscated of course. I didn’t even bother, I just picked up a
clean shirt from the floor and went down to get a cup of
coffee.

I seemed
to be the sole visitor to the hotel. The owner, that nice
middleaged lady who we met at the reception the day before, was
brewing a hot Turkish coffee pot. I normally had cold frappe, but
this one smelled splendid.

“
Here you go young man,” she said and didn’t even bother to
tactfully leave me to my loneliness. “How is that metal lady doin’
huh?”

“
It’s not metal, it’s…”

“
You look like a nice young man, didn’t expect to have the
police storming the place for drugs after you…”

“
There are no drugs!” I said that a tad too loudly, and then
adjusted my voice. “They are medical supplies for rabies treatment.
Vaccines.”

“
Uh-huh…” She looked me in the eye. Critically. It dawned on
me that she was the one who had called the cops on us. Must have
went to our room to clean and tidy up.

“
Vaccines require needles, madam.” I drank a long sip of the
scalding hot coffee. There was a platter of cake, so I picked up
the whole thing and began munching.

My arm
actually hurt from the vaccine Zoe gave me, the reaction was making
the flesh around it warm to the touch. I decided to be strategic.
Gossip was gonna be the currency here.

“
I tried to speak to my partner last night, but the night
shift policeman was nowhere to be found,” I said as if it was
casual conversation.

Her
attention was tangible. “Oh, really? Well, that young lad Stavros
is a fine police officer, I’m sure it must have been something
really important for him to be away from post.”

“
I heard they are trying hard to get pregnant,” I said and
sipped coffee.

Her
expression shifted, it was as if she’d mentally moved me to the
pile of people she likes. She came near me and sat at the next
table. In the emptiness of the dining room it was as if she had sat
rubbing elbows. Her coffee cup clinked. “Yes, they’ve been married
for over a year now. They say they’ve been to the doctor’s and
everything…”

“
Well, there are many treatments to try. I’m sure they haven’t
gone through them yet.”

“
Oh I hope so. Hope so…”

I turned
around to face her. “Miss…”

“
Soula.”

“
Miss Soula, I’m here to find out if there’s a rabies
outbreak. I’m not here to stir things up or accuse people about
Emma’s case. You have a lovely son, that goes to the same school
Emma did. I’ve seen kids here play in the woods. Your son could
have been in Emma’s place, he still can be. The danger is real.
Don’t you want to protect the kids?”

There
was a moment of silence, followed by a long sip.

“
You should talk to that young lad Athanasiou, the science
teacher. They’ve been best friends with young Lefteris since they
were peeing their beds.”

“
Thank you Miss Soula,” I said and kissed her on the
cheek.

I
stormed out the door.

Chapter
22

Police Officer’s Report

Lefteris Oikonomou

That
girl. Every night, she lunges at me and I try to do it different,
to do it right but something primal in me pulls the gun and points
it at her. She hisses at me, blood is dripping down her thin little
arms and she tries to bite me, foaming in the mouth. Little square
teeth that are not meant for biting, missing teeth that are
supposed to be cute but they are not.

I get
the call. The radio hisses. The girl hisses. I drive to the
military camp. Not the gate, the other way, the side way. The bars
are low. The bars are blue. Soldiers go out and make trouble all
the time. I don’t even need my gun. They don’t even let them carry
ammo anymore.

I pull
the car over and leave the police lights on. Everything is
crimson-blue, crimson-blue, crimson-blue. Makes it hard to see into
the night. I grab my flashlight. Whack it a bit, never
works.

Look
around, bushes all around. Crimson-blue. Walk around the fence,
doors are crimson, bars are blue.

I check
the perimeter. Yell to be heard, ears are deaf.

Check
the house. Left is wild, right is home.

Hissing.
The girl hisses. Her face is crimson-blue, crimson-blue. Blood
dripping. Saliva bubbling.

I said I
couldn’t tell, but I can tell. It’s a girl. Crimson and blue, but
it’s a girl. Not an animal.

I try to
do it different this time.

She
lunges at me.

I
shoot.

Oh God
I’m so sorry.

Chapter
23

“
This is
your fucking fault,” she said and gave me the finger through prison
bars.

“
How is it my fault?

“
We could have stayed home. But no, Mr. Poly wants to be a
good man and come all the way to this shitty town to get arrested
by shitty cops and sleep in shitty holding cells!”

The
shitty cop next to me shifted in his place. I looked at him with an
apologetic face.