Why Me? [ONC 2021]

3. The Photograph

I sighed the heavy sigh of a long and tiring day as elevator carried me to my apartment on the twenty third floor. The garish light of the fluorescent bulb started to grate on me as it flickered and buzzed. The building manager, James Hech Esq., was barely interested in the basics. He was more inclined to berate residents for the smallest of misdemeanours. Coughing in the corridor even when wearing a mask or re-breather, being outside your apartment without a mask, or possibly a health band not being visible within the public spaces of the apartment block, small things. Things not against the law. The light in the elevator, or even the graffiti on the walls were ignored. As was the cleanliness of the public spaces.

When the doors opened on my floor, the the last thing I wanted to see was Hech. He was standing there with his mask in one hand and a half-chewed, pink nicotine stick in the other.

"Mr Twist," his smarmy voice made my skin crawl. The look-you-up-and-down eyes he always gave me made me shudder. He swallowed and took another bite of the nicotine stick and started to chew.

"Mr Hech. How are you?" I asked as I stepped past him.

"Fine. Fine. Just running my rounds," he smiled again. His breath stunk of the strawberry essence the nicotine stick had been flavoured with, but it was mixed with something stale. The stench was strong even through the filters on my re-breather and I struggled to hide my revulsion. Thankfully my mouth was covered so it was made easier.

Hech stepped in to the elevator. "You keep wearing that mask now," he said. I nodded. "Oh," he said and I turned around to face him. His tattooed left hand holding the doors of the elevator back. "Someone came round to see you earlier. An old guy. Told him you'd gone to work." He smiled that awful, knowing smile of his and then retreated in to depths of the elevator again.

I watched in horror as the doors closed. I stood there a moment longer as the floor display counted down to zero.

It took a force of will to make my feet move. Walking to my front door was a challenge. Thoughts of Dead Guy pointing at me dominated my thoughts so much that I barely recognised that my front door was ajar.

Before I properly touched the fingerprint lock the door swung gently away from me. There was no chance the lock mechanism had time to register my touch. I pushed the door wider and looked gingerly inside.

"Hello?" I called. There was a nervous wobble to my voice. No answer. Hech had done his 'rounds', so it was hard to believe he'd not seen this. "Hello," I called again. This time with more confidence, or at least I hoped. Still no response. I pulled out my tablet and called the emergency services.

A robotic voice responded. "Policing. What assistance do you require Citizen Twist?" There was no screen image, just an oscillating, animated line when the responder spoke.

"Someone has broken into my apartment, my stuff has been gone through and disturbed all around," I said as I looked about at my broken things and the clearly ransacked living room.

"Please stay still, and do not touch anything. An Auto Investigator officer has been dispatched. It will arrive in a moment," said the voice.

The call was disconnected and I stood there in stunned silence. A creeping dread came over me and I could not shake the feeling that Hech was involved. He must be; there is no way he didn't see the open door.

My phone app buzzed, and I was startled by the noise in the quiet of my turned-over living room. It was Samar.

"Hey, man. What did you find? Anything?" I said. I kept the camera focused on my face, hiding my living room.

"Where are you?" he said. No preamble as ever.

"Home?" I said.

"Not good. Get out of there. Soon as," he said.

My confused look was enough to prompt him to share his screen. "Does this guy look familiar?"

It was a photo of Dead Guy, sure he was a few years younger, but it was unmistakable. He was there with four other people. They were coming out of a large, municipal building. I didn't recognise the building. "Who is he?" I asked.

"No idea, but I reckon you know the man behind." Samar zoomed the image to the blond-haired man standing behind Dead Guy. It was my Dad. My Dad was smiling, obviously having shared a joke with Dead Guy and the other three in the photo. "I can name the other three on this pic," he said.

"Don't tell me-," I started, but Samar was not finished.

"Yes, their names are on the list you gave me." He returned the image back to his face, his eyebrows were raised high. "Come on, man. Go! Get here. Fast."

"I can't, I am waiting for the autocops. Someone has-" I began to say.

"Someone has turned your place over?" he asked.

"Yeah," I showed him round with the cam on my tablet.

"Crap. Not surprised. Okay. Play it cool with the autocops. Let them in, then get here," he said.

We ended the call just as the autocop knocked on my door.

"Citizen Twist, are you available," squawked the autocop at my door.

"Please enter," I replied.

The autocop hovered into my living room. "Please give me your statement of truth," it said as it proffered the TruthTaker.

I placed my hand on the sensor plate of a TruthTaker for what was not only the second time today, but the second time in my entire life. It disquieted me with the way my day, and my life, was going.

The autocop was motionless while I recounted the events of my day. I started with leaving for work, my dull day at ZenTech reviewing run logs and inspecting load manifests, I mentioned all the people I interacted with, the event at the bus shelter, and then my trip home. I mentioned meeting Hech and his claim of doing the rounds, his odd reference to Dead Guy and I finished with describing my apartment. I particularly left out the conversation with Samar; I felt that was not relevant to how my apartment looked right now.

"Thank you Citizen Twist. Do you have somewhere to stay for this evening while the investigation is conducted?" said the autocop.

"I do, I will call my friends," I said trying to sound casual about it.

The autocop nodded. "Your dwelling will be secured once the investigation is complete and a full report will be submitted with any findings detailed. You will also receive a copy of that report," it said. "You may return to your dwelling once you receive the report."

I nodded and left as soon as I could. However, I waited until I was in the elevator before calling Samar.

"Yo, on my way," I said as soon as I saw his face on screen.

"Cool. Stay safe but get here quick. Don't tell anyone," he said. "You didn't tell the autocops did you?"

I shook my head, "Ten minutes," I said and we ended the call.