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Chapter 10: Saturday Still
Jason
Hawke felt like he was on the right track. He left Charlotte Avalon with the
police. He had tried to ask her questions, but she passed out before he could
get any information from her. All he had to go on at this point was the word
Montebanque and the strange dark suit.
He looked
up at the building in front of him. It was shabby, built in the austere style
from the late 20th century. Five stories in total, it was one of the
smaller buildings on the mostly abandoned street. The area had once been a hotbed
of technological innovation, and ground-zero for the city’s battle against the
technologists. It now represented a sort of taboo for those living in the city.
Most who remembered the war were not eager to find themselves in this
neighborhood. Today, it played host to any number of inventors. The
neighborhood kept its reputation as a center for innovation, now typically
within bounds.
He knocked
on the door and a friendly face came to open it. “Sorry Jay, guess I forgot to
unlock the door this morning. Funny, you’re the first one to stop in.” the
middle-aged man waved Hawke into the shop.
“How’s
business, Erasmus?” Jason asked as he picked up a trinket from a nearby table.
It was some kind of wristwatch device with a small brass nozzle under the
wrist. He turned it around in his hand and couldn’t figure out what the purpose
of the nozzle could be.
“That’s an
auto-perfumiere. There is a tiny vial of perfume inside, you set a timer and it
applies perfume to your wrist at the defined interval.” Erasmus pressed a
button on the side of the watch and a small puff of musky cologne sprayed out.
“It’s not terribly useful, I’ll admit. Probably why business is not good at
all.”
“Clever
though.” Jason set the watch back on the table. “I could use your help. I’ve
got a client looking for someone, and I thought you might be able to help me
get moving in the right direction. Does the word ‘Montebanque’ mean anything to
you?”
Erasmus
laughed and said with mock pomp, “Doctor Everton L. Montebanque.”
“So it’s a
person.”
“Yeah, you
could say that.”
“And you
know this person?”
“Well, I
wouldn’t go that far. Let’s just say that he and I are in the same line of
work. Difference is, I try to run my shop like a business. I try to make things
people might be willing to buy. Ol’ Everton’s the type who makes stuff just for
stuff’s sake. His shop is full of his ‘creations’ as he insists on calling
them. Bunch of useless widgets if you ask me.” Erasmus’s voice told Jason that
he’d hit a soft spot.
“I see.
Would you say he’s the type of guy who would get involved with a criminal
enterprise?”
“What,
like the Digits? I wouldn’t be surprised at all. His trinkets fall awfully
close to the technical demarcation line.”
“Interesting.”
“Something
you’re not telling me, Jason?”
Erasmus
seemed eager to hear that his competitor was in some kind of trouble.
Sometimes, schadefreude was the best motivator of all. Jason wasn’t about to
stop him from telling him more. He decided to show him the boot from the suit
he’d found in the hotel room. He pulled it from his shoulder bag. “Know
anything about this?”
Erasmus
took the boot, turned it over in his hands. Inspected it a little closer.
“Looks like something Montebanque would make. What’s it from?”
“Eh, I’m
not at liberty to say, Erasmus. Sorry.”
“Yeah. You
got your job, I got mine. I understand.”
Jason
tried to learn a bit more. “I didn’t recognize that material; do you know what
that is?”
“Yeah,
it’s carbon fiber.”
“Huh,
never heard of it.”
“Yeah,
it’s not technically illegal, but it’s not exactly mainstream. It’s an old
material made from woven carbon threads, which are then bonded with a material
that makes them stiff. It can be done legally today, but it’s obscenely
expensive to do with current machinery. I’ve heard that the Digits make the
stuff all the time. Now see, this example uses some kind of glue to bond to the
fibers, which means it was at least designed to look legal. Can’t say for sure,
but I know who could tell you.” Erasmus got a boyish smile on his face.
“Montebanque’s shop is just up the street, you can ask him yourself.”
“Thanks
Erasmus, you’re invaluable as always.” Jason started to walk out of the shop
and then stopped at the table by the door. He picked up the perfume watch. “I’d
like to buy this watch.”
“Nah, you
don’t have to do that, Jason. I’m happy to help regardless of whether you buy
anything.”
“No, I
really want the watch. I think it may come in handy.” Jason paid for the watch
and left the shop. He stopped to wind the watch and fill the reservoir before
heading down the street toward Dr. Everton L. Montebanque’s shop.
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