The Fence Mender

Chapter Four

He sat by the window reading a book with his back turned to the view of the city as the sound of military chatter came through the radio. Though he didn't realize it, Xander spoke the words quietly aloud as he read them.

"It was at that moment he realized...," he said, turning the page, "that the murderer was none other than Colonel Wilhelm's butler."

He paused, going back and rereading the sentence, an incredulous look on his face as he attempted to work out the faulty logic. Then he turned the book around to see the cover of Midnight Train into Darkness with the accompanying pulp image of a fedora-wearing gumshoe holding a gun and a scantily clad woman clutching him from behind.

"Garbage," he mumbled as he tossed the book onto the 'read' pile.

By the time he finished, the sun had started to set, and he moved over to the desk and turned up the volume. He adjusted the frequency and pulled the microphone closer while he waited, then looked to the only other item on the desk: a chess board. The parts were a combination of proper pieces and a handful of other items to fill out the set. The rooks were thimbles, the pawns were made up of everything from matchboxes to wine corks, and the black queen was a tin soldier with a missing head. It looked as though the game had been stopped halfway through. He studied the board carefully, scanning each side with great intensity. Then, the silence was broken as the radio began to crackle.

"Liberty checking in," said a female voice.

"Aberdeen checking in."

"Cade Valley checking in."

"Fawcett City checking in," said Xander.

"Anything to report?" asked the voice from Cade Valley.

"No," responded Aberdeen. "Nice and quiet."

"We had an incident last night." Xander leaned back in the chair and kicked his feet up onto the desk.

"What kind of incident?" asked the voice from Liberty.

"There was an attack at the fence. Tore a nice little hole in it."

"Did they say how many?" she asked.

"No, but it couldn't have been more than a handful."

"Stay safe tonight. We'll talk again in the morning," said the voice from Aberdeen.

"Night all," replied Cade Valley.

"Fawcett, go to Frequency 122," said the voice from Liberty.

Xander smiled. It was what he had been waiting for all day. He quickly leaned forward and changed the dial. Once set, he pressed down the talk button then pulled a coin from his pocket and wedged it in the gap to keep it on.

"Xander, you there?" she said.

"I'm here, Anna," he replied, leaning back into his chair.

"Did the shipment come yet?"

"No. Not today."

"I thought it would be there by now," she said, sounding a little disappointed.

"Have you ever known a shipment to be on time?" he asked, reaching over to a corked bottle on the floor.

"Good point. Get your hands on anything good lately?"

"Traded two books for a couple of bottles of homemade wine," he said, popping out the cork and taking a swig.

"Nice," she replied. "How is it?"

His face told the story, wincing as he forced it down. "Strong. Very strong."