"Marcus," the man called out to him from behind a copy of the Capital Tribune.
"Sir?" the kid stifled through a yawn.
He had been out late plenty of times before, but few times under such emotionally trying circumstances. Never mind the fact he felt as if he had come dangerously close to breaking a promise he had made Naugus; and he had learned plenty well by now that he was not a man you broke a promise to.
Don't screw the pooch, he scolded himself both in a literal and metaphorical sense.
However, Fiona was far from a pooch, but she was still Ixis'. The vulpine was truly something else. When she was around, Marcus found himself forgetting about consequences, about perceptions, about reality.
"I need you to run some errands for me today," the man requested in a tone that bordered on a command.
It was his boss' way of being polite.
"Of course, sir, anything you need."
He had always figured there would be more to this job than just chauffeuring a crime lord to and fro. Naugus certainly seemed the type to get his money's worth out of his employees.
"I've been doing a bit of restructuring lately. We've had a lot of early retirements recently, so I may need you to fill in until I find suitable replacements."
Somehow Marcus doubted anyone was soaking up sun on the beach of Coastaries. If they were lucky, they got shown the door like Harry.
If they weren't… fish food perhaps, the kid mused, trying his best not to let the thought distract him.
Marcus quickly nodded in his boss' direction, letting him know he understood.
"Since you're already familiar with the place," Naugus continued from behind his ink strewn fortress, "I'd like you to pay that dingy little den another visit. They're expecting you this time."
Not that place… everything about it gave me the creeps.
"You'll be picking something up for me. It's of the upmost importance to my future plans. It goes without saying I'm relying on you to get this done."
"You can count on me, sir."
I don't want to retire yet.
"Good," Ixis grunted as the car rolled to a stop in front of his hotel. "Hurry back here as soon as you have it."
Perhaps it was because he was in a hurry, or perhaps because he didn't want to talk any longer, the man let himself out of the car before Marcus could even unbuckle his seatbelt.
"Have a good day sir…" the kid said to no one but a door snapping back in his face.
This time of the day the drive would take the better part of an hour, never mind finding somewhere to park.
"Not like I have anything better to do," he reminded himself as he shifted the car back into gear.
Marcus had thought he was getting used to the underworld, less fearful, but this place had an effect on him that was hard to forget. His feet staggered as if they had minds of their own, determined to carry the rest of his stubborn body anywhere but back into the shadows.
"Well look what the cat dragged in," a creature chuckled in an overly friendly tone.
The rabbit was taller than he would have expected for a Mobian, her ears topping out well above his. She idly tossed a baseball into the air, catching it with her paw as he approached.
"Naugus mentioned he'd be sending someone new, but you look as green as a field full of sweet corn."
The southern bell accent was as thick as he had heard this far north. Needless to say she wasn't from around here.
"You're quite tall," Marcus managed as he met the creatures' eyes head on.
"Awe shucks, that's real sweet of you, hun. I imagine it's on the account of these new legs," she retorted before lifting a pant leg of her jeans and giving her shin a good knock.
A cool metal gleamed in the afternoon sun.
He couldn't help but look, are those real? What is she?
"Didn't your mama teach you it's impolite to stare?" the rabbit retorted with half a smile.
"Uhh, sorry, just never seen anything like that before."
"Arm too," she added removing her left hand from her pocket.
This time when the ball fell, she caught it with the metallic arm, squeezing it until it was little more than leather scraps and dust.
Okay, so definitely don't mess with her.
"How'd you get those?" he asked curiously.
The rabbit shrugged, "don't remember, just woke up this way."
"So are you like a cyborg or something?"
"I prefer the term rabbot, sugar."
Marcus couldn't help but laugh, it was as good of a joke as he had heard in a long time.
She smiled a big smile, letting her ears bend down, "Name's Bunny, on the account of me being a rabbit and all. Well that and I don't remember my real name."
"It's nice to meet you Miss Bunny Rabbot. I'm Marcus," he replied, "on the account of that's what my parents called me and I was too dumb to change it before I got into this mess."
It was Bunny's turn to giggle, "what a mess indeed. C'mon," she waved him down into the den.
He inhaled deeply before taking the first step.
"Not a fan, are you?" the rabbit asked.
"Not really. The Johnnies are not the most welcoming."
"Give me the creeps those, two," she replied.
"So it's not just me?"
"It's not just you."
In mere moments darkness had swallowed them up and he found himself in place he had hoped to never return. Blindly, the kid reached out to feel his way through the darkness for anything that might help him get his bearings.
"This way," the mobian guided him into a booth tucked away from prying eyes.
"Found him," the rabbit began has she took up a seat next to him.
"Excellent," a new stranger replied.
What felt like a minute of silence passed between the three of them.
"So, uhhh, Naugus said I'm supposed to pick something up… I'm guess you're the guy I'm getting it from?"
"Hmmm," a man he couldn't see contemplated aloud. "Johnny."
With a whisper of wind the racoon appeared, "how may I be of service?"
"Does this kid know the rules?"
"I suspect not, I don't believe we got a chance to educate him the last time he was here."
"Rules?" Marcus gulped.
"No names," the Mobian began, "no violence, no lies. Follow these three simple rules and this is the safest place in the city. Disrespect them and you will find it to be the most dangerous."
"Got it," Marcus swallowed the knot in the back of this throat.
And like that the green orbs were gone, blinking out of existence as the racoon wondered off.
"Let's start again," the man began as he leaned closer to the middle of the table. "I know why you're here, but do you?"
For just a brief moment Marcus could make out the edges of his complexion.
"Ix… err, right no names, I'm picking something up from you."
"Do you even know what?"
"Not a clue."
The rabbit next to him giggled, "we could literally give him anything."
The man's teeth appeared as he smirked, "we could."
"You could," Marcus agreed, "and while I might not know the difference, my employer will. And I thought one of the rules was no lying? Isn't cheating me out of whatever was agreed to pretty much the same thing?"
The man's smile vanished in a disappointed fashion, "Well he's a quick study, isn't he?"
"Here," Bunny said as she slid of a silver brief case across the table in his direction.
"What is it?" he felt the need to ask.
"Five hundred doses of my very finest nightshade. You can count them if you want."
Marcus felt around for the latches and flipped the case open. Organized neatly inside were hundreds of what appeared to be cough drops. He had run into the name nightshade before. Some kids back at his school had bragged about getting their hands on some. It was some kind of designer drug derived from a plant of the same name.
"I've heard of this stuff," the kid confessed as he picked up one of the lozenges. "Supposed to send you on one hell of a trip, right? It's all types of addictive."
"Not exactly, at least not in the traditional sense…" the man began, "Have you ever had a dream that you were so certain was real, only to wake up and have it turn to a wisp of color in your head?"
"Sure," Marcus allowed, "plenty of times."
"This stuff," the man hesitated, clearly trying to find the right words, "This is like living your dreams. The memories of them don't fade. Everything feels real even if it isn't happening to you."
"That sounds kind of scary, actually."
"It can be. Or it can be tormenting because no matter how hard you try at this life you'll never be able to find your way back to that moment."
It was starting to make sense now. The man meant what he said. It wasn't chemically addictive, it was emotionally addictive, and with no experience to speak of Marcus had no idea which one would be worse.
"The lines between what has actually happened and what you thought happened tends to become blurred. Memories of fantasies and nightmares sitting right alongside what you had for breakfast this morning."
"So you can't control what you get?"
The man shrugged, "the more you take, the more you disassociate, the better the dream, the longer it lasts."
"But?" Marcus asked knowing there had to be one.
There always is.
He smiled, even in the bleak, the man's teeth cut through the darkness, "take too much and you'll find yourself in one of those nightmares. Of course, if you have a good chemist, they can mix in some other ingredients that make that less likely."
"So you're a good chemist?"
"I like to think so."
"Huh, how does it work? What about it makes you dream?"
"How does it work?" the man laughed. "Never had anyone ask me that before. Couldn't really tell you."
"I thought you just said you were a good chemist?"
"I am, but that doesn't mean I can tell you how it works. Kid," the man sighed, "you ever take a Tylenol?"
"Sure, who hasn't?"
"The chemist who made that can't tell you how it works either. It just does. Sometimes people discover things by accident. Once we know what something does, even if we don't know how it works, we can begin modifying it, combining it with other things to change or amplify the effect."
"So you took away the nightmares?"
"I've got as close as anyone ever has."
"And if I take one of these, you're telling me I would have the best dream of my life?"
"Probably," the man allowed.
"Between you and me honey, don't." the rabbit interjected.
"Speaking from experience?"
"Yes, but it wasn't by choice. I told you I woke up like this. Nightshade… it's what they used to drug me. I had nothing but nightmares… they're the only thing I can remember from before."
The thought of having one's life replaced by nightmares seemed hair raising.
"You mean… someone did that to you?"
"Woke up in a lab chained to a table. Don't think they anticipated my strength. Pried off the restraints and ran. Now I work security contracts on the account of half of me is bullet proof and I can break bones with my pinky."
"So you're the muscle and he's the brains?"
"Something like that," she replied.
"Here," the man said as slid a gloved hand across the table. As he unfurled his fingers there was another lozenge. "Something special, just for you. The mixture is very different, it tones everything way down and virtually eliminates the risk."
"The risk?"
"No lofty dreams, no nightmares, no addiction. Consider it a trial run for a skeptic. Take this and you'll sleep like a baby while dreaming of a day that could feel as boring as tomorrow. May as well know what you're peddling."
Does he think I'm the one who's going to be selling these?
Reaching out, Marcus took hold of the wrapper, holding up into the nonexistent light.
"I could use some sleep," he confessed to the two of them before pocketing it, "but don't get the wrong idea, I'm no dealer, just a driver."
"Then why in tarnation did he send you?" Bunny inquired.
"We're uhh, short staffed?" Marcus shrugged, unsure of the answer himself. "There's been some recent layoffs and retirements."
The man across from him chuckled, "and your boss wonders why I won't come work for him directly."