The Detective and the Contractor

Chapter 3: The Friend You Don't Know You Have

Oz woke up at quarter to five, merely ten minutes before the first light of dawn. He slowly got up and started to stretch, decompressing his spine and making sure his blood was circulating well. Then, he went to have ablution, cleansing himself a little before performing the dawn prayer. A little over five minutes later, he was done and he changed.

He walked out of his room at the same time that Red did. They greeted each other a good morning before going out the front door. The sun still had not risen even though the sky had become brighter. The door was locked behind them and they started their run.

The pace was quite relaxed, more of a quick march rather than a fast sprint. It was really just a long warmup for when they arrive at the local fitness center less than two kilometers from home. They used their membership cards to sign in and were greeted by the receptionist.

"Hey, you two!" she said.

"Morning, Talia," Red said, "You look cheerful."

"Don't I always?" she said.

"Well, you look extra cheerful," Oz said, "More than usual, so what's up?"

"Not a whole lot," Talia said, "Just that I'm getting a bit of a raise. Just a little bit, though."

"Oh, so that means you'll have more spending money for your parties, then," Red said.

"Hey, I prefer my parties to be, um, subdued," she said, "Besides, I'm putting my money on better snacks for my study and tutoring group, maybe even some replacement tech."

"Well, good luck with that," Oz said, looking down at the textbook on the desk in front of Talia, "Don't study too hard, okay?"

"Right," she said.

They were the first ones there to use the machines and the weights for their routine. Both of them knew their routines by heart that all they needed was a timer and some way to note down what they did rather than using the trainer assistant AI. Instead, Oz and Red became each other's trainers, using their alternate rest times to make sure their form was good.

After half an hour of intensity, they used an open area of the gym to cool down, stretching their muscles. Then, a total of 45 minutes elapsed before they headed out of the fitness center.

"Bye, guys!" Talia said as they went out the door.

"Later, Talia!" Red said.

It was a quite casual run back home. Then, they immediately head to the showers. They changed for work, and because their line of work did not require any specific dress or uniform, they wore casual clothes. However, they kept it smart.

They each packed a compact backpack with everything they would need for work. They locked up the house then greeted the sun and the bright morning. The glimmer from the solar collectors was a surprisingly reassuring sight.

Oz and Red walked to the grocery store and went straight to the coffee shop inside the main entrance. Red ordered coffee while Oz ordered some tea, both asked to fill their insulated tumblers. After they received their order and paid, they headed straight for the tram stop.

While it was busy, there were still plenty of seats left onboard. Oz and Red sat near the back corner and pulled out their workpads. One of the great things about their work was that they did not really require a permanent office to do their jobs, especially if they only needed to do the administrative things.

It took nearly 40 minutes for them to arrive in the city center. Oz sat there, almost in a meditative state, sipping his tea as he was done with his work halfway through his trip. He had set up his work so that much of it can be automated or be done in a procedural order. Furthermore, there were no clients or meetings for today, so all his work in the morning was just housekeeping.