Karan stared at the screen; it had been showing "Connecting…" window for a while now. And he had been patiently waiting to make a call.
Abruptly, the connecting window was gone, replaced by a dialing tone. Immidiately Karan pushed on the voice modulator.
"This is Papa's Meat. What can I do for you this evening?" came a very tired voice.
"I want to lodge a complaint with the owner," Karan said with a huff, emulating an irritated woman's tone.
"Was there something wrong with the order, ma'am?" asked the worker. "Is there something that I could help you with?"
"You listen to me, you piece of shit!" Karan said with a stoic face, while maintaining the tone, "I just had it with you lazy rats, spoiling the food for normal people for your pleasure. I dont want to talk to you or your supervisor. I dont want a refund as well. I want to lodge a complaint withthe owner. RIGHT NOW,"
"..Well… Okay, I guess.." The worker said. "Can I get your…"
Before he could finish, Karan jumped the gun, "My customer ID is 1120."
"..Okay… Transferring the call…" the worker said.
Karan started hearing the dialer tone once again. And within a few seconds, someone picked up the phone, "This is Papa's meat owner. How can I assist you today?"
"I got the meat," Karan simply said. He didnt use the tone from earlier, but kept his modulator on.
"Okay… What is wrong then?" the man asked.
"This is the wrong meat. This is not the one I was promised."
"Fuck." The man on the other line said, "How much of a loss will we have to bear?"
"A lot. I am ordering the burning of the bridge. Right this instant," Karan said firmly.
"Wha.." The man was confused, "Are you sure?"
"Let's never meet," Karan said, disconnecting the call.
Usually, the jet's communication system is not secure enough to make calls anywhere in the world. Chances are that someone out there could be listening. But the current situation had left him with no choice. He had basically ordered the man to cut the loose ends.
That means his friend needs to clear their digital footprint from the job. From the start, Karan had made sure nothing could be traced back to him. Or his associates.
But one can never be too sure. At the top of his mind, he knows at least two people who could name him for these transgressions. But the thing was, those people had never seen his face or heard his real voice.
And if someone does find a link to him, they all would be hunting a person named Darius Kincaid…
***
Karan has a lot of bases throughout the world. And one of them is located near his home, District 3. After chucking the two crates down the sewer grates of his underground base, he started getting ready for his real life. He wore clothes, not anything fancy, just old and dirty enough to make him look bottom-line poor, yet clean enough to tell the world that he did have some money.
His car was a small front-wheel drive commuter. It was a beat-up that still worked because of some miracle engineering from the pre-war period. He loaded some carton boxes in the car and started driving towards his house.
After a grueling 6 hours of driving, he finally reached his final destination.
District 3 is known throughout the world as the largest district in existence. It is the only District big enough that it is controlled by four families. It is the only District which has a semblance of the old world, as it is governed by laws and has a proper judicial structure.
Though the judicial system openly favors the rich and powerful, it is still there…
In the northernmost corner of District 3 was a border, a sewer canal that cut off the slum area from the city area. On the city side of the border was a clinic named Dr. Ahuja Hospital, located on the ground floor of a public building. Karan parked his car in front of it.
As he got out of the car, his whole demeanor changed. He was not Darius Kincaid anymore. He was now Dr. Karan Ahuja, a run-of-the-mill doctor, who was known in the area for being quite generous and a bit of a coward.
Slowly, he was unloading the cartons when he heard two footsteps approaching him. The sound of their steps and the sole of their shoes made him realize that they both were Metalics.
He kept on working, as if nothing was wrong. Eventually, he heard someone clearing their throat behind him. Karan turned around to be face-to-face with two officers of the District 3 military.
"Heloo there.." the one named Kazuma said, "Doctor,"
Karan bloomed a nervous smile on his face, "Mr. Kazuma.." He started acting nervous, "What can I do for you this fine afternoon?"
"Do not act coy, Doctor. Where is my money?" Kazuma asked.
Karan chuckled nervously, "I dont understand.. Sir. I paid you.. Around a week ago. I can show you transaction history if you want…" he then abruptly stopped as he saw the other guy had put his hand on the pistol on his belt.
Kazuma then leaned forward and showed Karan his right mechanical hand. "Let me show you something doctor.." The steel plates of the arm opened, and the loaded spring blade came out, breaking the passenger side glass of his car.
While Karan flinched as he saw the blade, Kazuma smiled with pleasure. He really liked scaring Karan. "This puppy right there is made of titanium, but the edge of the blade is made from some sort of alloy of steel.. It has circuitry inside. If I switch it on, it starts to heat up the blade." And sure enough, the edge of the blade started to become red.
Kazuma then touched the blade to the roof of his car, and the blade started cutting it as if it were made of tofu. "I am cal,m reasonable person, Doctor. I need you to bump up the protection money now. Otherwise, with this blade, I will carve your skin out. Do you understand?"
Karan nodded furiously. Kazuma put the blade to sheath and smiled, "I should get the money before I reach home," And then he and his buddy went away.
Acting powerlessly, Karan slumped down on the ground, as if his legs had become jelly. And before he knew, the whole building came down to help him. Someone helped with the cartons, someone offered some food to him, while someone even offered to repair his car for free.
Those people came to help because Ahuja was a pretty famous name around the place. Before him, his mother used to handle the clinic. And she used to always open their door to anyone who needed help. He had also continued the same practice throughout the years.
Due to his work, people adored him.
While Karan was being helped by everyone, he couldnt help but think about the irony of his situation. In front of them, he was an angel, while for the outside world, he was a ghost, a devil that never leaves any witness behind…
After dealing with everything, Karan finally came to his small apartment. Without changing his clothes or shoes, he just slumped down on his bed, and he went down like a log.
Once again, he found himself floating away in a dark, endless abyss. And a window popped open before his eyes.
___________________________________________
Do you want to enter Dreamscape?
Yes (Won't be able to log out for 9 hours)
No (You will sleep normally)
_________________________________________
Well.. Why fuck not?
And before he knew it, Karan found himself in a very familiar square of a village…