Rhythm

Chapter 2 – Lenny

Ethan Choi hated working at the mall, especially his job at Circus Dogs in the food court. But, he hated being broke a lot more, so he tolerated the part-time hell and reminded himself that college was less than a year away. Oh, he’d probably be selling corn-dogs then as well; his pop’s life insurance payout wasn’t that big, but even the local state university was a huge upgrade from high school.

His work apron in hand, he jogged up the last flight of stairs and headed for his car. Across the parking lot he noticed several cops and a bunch of people in suits, and sighed. The police were a pretty common sight at the mall, usually taking the details on a car theft or some gang vandalism, but only one kind of ass clown wears a full business suit by choice in 101 degree weather… a Fed.

He slowed slightly and did a quick personal inventory, deciding that he had nothing on his person that could get him in trouble if he were searched. They weren’t anywhere near his own car, but it only took one overzealous Fed to ruin your day. One of the police types was standing off a bit from the others, and Ethan recognized him. Lenny was a mall cop, and was okay in Ethan’s book. They’d talked on occasion, each being an avid fan of the martial arts. Ethan was a fan of the actual arts, Lenny was more of a movie type, but he didn’t hold it against the guy. Going on forty-five, Lenny was pretty much happy just to have a job doing something he liked.

Lenny was also a fan of Circus Dogs, so they had shared more than a few lunches chatting about Aikido, or Ninjas, or whether Kung Fu would ever be taken seriously in America.

He was about halfway to his car when Lenny saw him and raised a hand in greeting, so Ethan detoured and met the guy.

“Yo, what up, Lenny? Looks busy.”

The mall cop seemed a little more nervous than usual. “Had a jumper earlier. Some guy took a dive into an SUV down on the ground lot.”

“No shit? Oh man, that’s gotta be a paperwork nightmare… What’s with the suits?”

The older man looked over at the crowd. “Beats me. Someone shoved a DEA badge in my face and told me to stay clear, but I ain’t never seen no DEA with the kind of hardware these guys are packing. Fuckin’ scary shit, man. Military grade.”

“Was the dude a drug kingpin or something? What would the DEA want with a mall suicide?” One of the suits was watching them. After a moment he started walking in their direction.

“I got nothin’.” Said Lenny, also noticing the man.

“Excuse me, this is a Federal crime scene. Can I see some identification, please…” Demanded the suit. Ethan thought he looked awfully built for a Fed. His clothing was straining at the seams.

“He’s a mall employee. I’ll vouch for him.” Said Lenny, trying to look impressive. The suit glanced at him as if his insignificance was palpable, then back to Ethan.

“Stay out of the way.” He replied, and turned away, heading back to the others.

Ethan’s brows rose slightly. The thing was, Lenny was impressive, at least as mall cops go. At six-foot-four and about a hundred kilos, they had both joked that he was one “big-ass black dude”, which was just what you wanted in a mall cop. Most of the time he just took stolen item reports, or helped frantic mothers locate their spoiled children, but once in a while there would be a fight or some type of gang activity, and for that, Lenny was exactly the right guy for the job. He often had to work alone, arriving smack in the middle of things, and nothing slows down a conflict faster than seeing an “authority” that looks like he could pick you up and literally toss your ass out of the mall.

Not that he was ever actually that physical. Lenny was a softy who could look tough when he had to, and could be tough if he needed to. He took his job seriously, and that’s all that mattered.

At that moment, though, as Ethan stared at the back of the suit walking away, he got the impression that Lenny wouldn’t have lasted ten seconds in a hand to hand conflict with this guy.

“Wow, what a prick.” He commented, when he was sure the man was out of earshot.

“No kiddin’. And did you catch the earpiece? Top rate, and expensive as hell.”

Ethan frowned. “I missed it. What do they need ear-coms for? These guys look more like ex-military than DEA.”

“Yeah… I donno, but if I were you, I’d get in my car and blow this place before they decide to close off the whole top level. It’s like they’re lookin’ for something, and I don’t think they’ve found it yet.”

“Good advice. Take care, man.” He bumped knuckles with Lenny and then jogged to his car. He had to explain his presence again at the exit, but was waved through by the police. He was just turning onto the freeway when he noticed a little black obelisk sitting in his passenger seat.