People Like Us

Chapter 1

''...reports say that the offender was a tall, middle-aged man wearing a tailored dark-blue suit and black bowtie. He was seen in one of the smaller, lesser known alleys of the city; Cutscratch Lane. The police found the victims of his onslaught 1km from the alleged crime scene. Authorities believe this man to be highly capable of striking again and say not to under any circumstances approach him, but to call the police immediately if you sight a man fitting this description."

'Ah, another one? How many has it been this year already?'

'Twelve. They really can't name their alleys well around here. Would you mind passing the milk?'

'Here you go. So what are we going to do about it? This is turning into a mass murder case!'

'What makes you think I want to get involved in another idiotic case, Carla? I'm busy enough as it is.'

'Well...' She mumbled. 'Once we know about a case, we don't leave it until it's solved, right Andy?'

'I don't enjoy those "cases", if that's what you're thinking,' he scoffed. 'There's nothing for me to gain from getting involved.'

'Don't lie to me, sir! You totally love them- Hey don't fold your arms like that, it's soo true! You might be an amazing info broker, but what you really love to do is solve weird cases.'

'I didn't realise it was "Blatantly Tell Your Boss What They're Good At" Day, Carla.'

'So you do agree!'

'Never said I wasn't any good at info brokering. I just dislike the cases about those petty criminals who think they own this city. Leave a piece for me at least.'

'Keep telling yourself that, Andy.'

'We've been through this before Carla; stop calling me Andy! The readers can obviously tell what my name is by now so call me Mr Redsten, Mr Andrew, sir or even just Andrew- but don't call me Andy.'

Carla rolled her eyes. 'Ugh fine, Andrew. You and your meta-references, I swear...'

'Better,' Andrew said, satisfied.

'Anyway, it's not like you can ignore any information you find if it means someone might pay you for it later.'

'Where did the respect go?!' He exclaimed, receiving giggles in response from Carla.

[It's at times like this you wish the city was as peaceful as it appeared.]

The doorbell rang as someone opened the door to the office.

[That doorbell ringing was the signal for the start of something very big.]

Andrew turned around in his desk chair and sat up expectantly.

[Something that would definitely destroy the peace.]

Soon enough, a man came around from behind one of the many bookshelves in the front of the office.

The man sighed in relief when he spotted Andrew behind his desk.

'Pardon me for intruding upon your time. But I need some information,' he said. His voice sounded even, but it was almost like it was on the verge of collapse. Something had clearly startled the man recently.

He wore a black suit covered partially by a long dark brown winter coat, which he wore over his shoulders but hadn't put his arms through the coat sleeves. It was strange attire to be wearing since it was spring and rather warm outside the last time Andrew checked.

'Of course sir, you've come to the right place,' Andrew replied, standing up and opening his arms in front of him wide to send him the message that he wasn't a threat.

Maintaining the utmost respect for possible clients was top priority. But it was also something Andrew could easily fake if he needed to.

'I wanted some information about the attacks last night. Mainly who the man is and what he was after.'

Carla scowled from behind the potential client, and Andrew hid his grin behind a thoughtful smile as he sat down again.

Carla and Andrew had a bet: When a potential client came through the door and asked for information about the top trending news story on the radio/tv it meant that Carla had to pay up, but if it wasn't information about the latest news story then he would have to pay her. The amount was usually twenty dollars, but it had been known to be more, especially when one of them was feeling particularly lucky. The likelihood of the customer needing information that was recent compared to old news or secret information was about 50/50 since the public didn't often come in off the street to ask for information- or know what the office was for. Therefore, they both had an even chance of winning.

'Uh, I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?' the man asked uneasily, looking back and forth between them to read their faces.

Andrew smiled before he spoke. 'Of course not, sir! My assistant is feeling unwell today, so she might scowl a bit if she feels the pain of her sickness increasing.'

'I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better soon, miss,' the man replied solemnly, turning around to dip his head at Carla in acknowledgement.

Carla laughed nervously and waved off the man's concern, scurrying off into another isle to avoid bringing any more attention to herself.

Andrew continued, 'Under normal circumstances, I would be able to answer your questions straight away, but considering this is breaking news, it will take me two days tops to obtain the information you seek. Will that be an issue?'

The man's eyes widened. 'Uh, no- I mean, that most certainly will not be a problem. I am actually quite surprised that it would take so little time for you to get the information I need!'

Andrew chuckled. This man had obviously not been to an info broker before, or he was exceptional at faking ignorance. If he really had had prior experiences with brokers, then he would know it'd take less than a day for Andrew to gather general information he needed. Andrew was using a well-known bargaining technique between customer and broker, with the broker usually upping the price for a faster collection of information. Since he also hadn't asked for a particular topic involving the recent news, perhaps the man was some new errand boy for a local gang? Or for a businessman involved in some shadier deals?

'His skills are far beyond anyone else's comprehension. He is a genius in his field!' Carla called from behind some bookshelves, startling the man. So much for not drawing more attention to herself...

'Oh, stop it Carla! You might actually make me blush,' Andrew replied teasingly. He almost laughed at his own acting. Refocusing his attentions on the current situation at hand, he brought the man back to his attention.

'So, how will we go about payment, sir?'

The man started rummaging in his inside coat pocket. 'Let me uh, leave you with my card, so you can call me when you find out something. I'll pay you some in advance as a gesture of goodwill.'

'Of course, sir. Thank you.'

He walked right up to desk and passed a card to Andrew. It was a black card with white cursive script. The man then paid his advance and left soon after that.