When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

41. A Fistful of kervers (part 1)

An Electronic Finance Pass helps you withdraw money from your bank account if you get the pass scanned from a three foot machine in a 24×7 kiosk outside a bank. All you had to do was put the pass in the machine, enter a security code and money comes out of a slot.

Luce had limped his way to a kiosk in Grifftown to withdraw twelve thousand kervers–that was one month's worth of salary in the V.S Diagnostics department. The truck ride from Kingsville had cost him all his money. He would need some for a ride back home. Also for dinner.

His stomach grumbled as he slid the twelve thousand in his wallet. He grimaced.

The thrill of uncovering Mist's identity had got him drunk on adrenaline. The last thing he'd eaten in the last twenty four hours was a cheese sandwich he had before the phone call with Foss.

I should really eat something, he thought. But it was already quarter to two o'clock in the morning.

Luce grumbled and just started limping again, hoping he would find one of those round-the-clock convenience stores. Most of those businesses had gone bust–thanks to the inflation--which was thanks to the public money going in funding wars. (Money was already low in the economy. But things to buy with that money was lower which made everything more expensive. When nothing was sold and bought–the businesses closed down. The bankruptcy was spreading like a disease all its own. If the war went on for another five years, there would be nothing left to feed the Ardvenian soldiers.)

He hobbled around for thirty minutes. He didn't find any of those stores. But he found a vending machine outside a supermarket. A vending machine for cold drinks.

"Beggars can't be choosers," Luce muttered as he slipped a twenty kerver bill into the machine and bought himself a can of cold-coffee.

Then he shrugged and bought another one for the road. He slipped the second can into the inner pocket of his blazer when he felt the grip of his service pistol--it was still in his shoulder holster. He'd almost forgotten that he still had it.

He started down the road again, sipping on his cold coffee. He was looking for a place to sleep. The gun under his armpit might keep him safe under a bridge but after spending five hours in a truck bed with sheep, he felt a longing for an actual mattress and a pillow. An air conditioner on the wall would certainly be appreciated too. Heck, a warm meal before he closed his eyes would be heaven.

He walked for another fifteen minutes but realized a can of cold coffee was all that Lady Luck would offer him tonight. "That bitch."

By the time he was halfway through his first coffee, he found himself at a bus stop. He settled down on the bench under the bus shelter. He wasn't alone. A woman sat on the far opposite end of the bench. A boy, who might've been her son, was asleep with his head on her lap. Two backpacks lay by her feet on the ground. One of them probably belonged to the kid. Her right hand was gently petting the boy's hair as he slept. Her left hand was holding a small shopping bag with the logo of a local convenience store. Luce wondered if she had any sandwiches in there. He wondered if he could buy it off of her.

He decided against the idea. He was too tired to be polite with anyone. He took another sip of his cold coffee. It tasted sickening. The caffeine didn't seem to kick his nerves back to life.

He looked at the LED display board suspended by the roof of the shelter. There were no buses to Kingsville. They were probably overbooked anyway.

Eli Hodges' rally poster was mounted on a billboard on the building opposite to the bus stop. Story of Ardvenian victory told by the man of the people! See Eli Hodges in person in KINGSVILLE!

Luce scoffed and took another sip of his coffee. He considered asking the woman if whatever she had in the shopping bag was from a convenience store nearby. He realized he felt too numb to even do that.