Maxis groaned as the sunlight struck him. Despite his best attempts to wake up early and be as much a part of the business as his father, there were some days he felt he was designed for a different lifestyle.
Ren snored beside him, his lip twitching and a thin line of drool pooling out of his mouth and onto a pillow. The stain was large. Maxis smirked, then cricked his neck side to side and shook Ren's shoulder. "Bro, it's time to get up. There's work to do."
"Yeah, yeah," Ren said, rolling over to the opposite side. "Just five more minutes."
"This was your idea. Get up. We could've gone yesterday, but you got cold feet."
Ren snored louder. It was so obviously an attempt at faking falling asleep. Well, he asked for this. Maxis leaned back, arched his legs, then shoved him.
"Uwahhh!" Ren cried as he rolled across the floor in his sleeping bag. He crashed into the wall, hissing through his teeth as he sat up and scratched his head. "What the fuck was that for?"
"This is not a good look for you. Come on. If you want to get this done, then we need to start now."
Ren frowned, and Maxis ignored him as he walked over to the bathroom to brush his teeth.
To Ren's credit, he could jump out of bed and be perfectly fine in whatever he was dressed in. Pants, T-shirt, boxers, it didn't matter to him. He could fall asleep in his clothes if he wanted. Maxis liked to do things the proper way, just as his dad had taught him, but Ren was a bit of a wild card at times. By the time Maxis exited the bathroom, Ren was waiting by the front door, ready to go.
"Now you're the one holding us up," he grinned.
Maxis rolled his eyes and plucked his keys from his pocket. "Let's go."
---
Vanille was a shining example of human-Denizen architecture. Beautifully paved roads, sparkling blue water, and box-shaped buildings made up the majority of the district. It was an expensive place to live, but one that brought in a significant number of tourists. Maxis made the drive on occasion to collect provisions for his father, and each time he did, he reminded himself to take a moment to breathe and enjoy the scenery.
"Have you ever seen this place glow at night?" Ren asked.
Of course Maxis had. Numerous times. In fact, the district was so spectacular, so majestic, that those who lived in adjacent districts would find nearby mountains and hills and prop up scopes to get a better view. Their photos filled the pages of magazines and online news articles, citing it as a wonder of civilization and a shining beacon of hope and love. On occasion, Maxis would thumb through the magazines, waxing nostalgic on how adamant Terra was about living here. Maxis had promised to bring her here one day.
"Yeah," Maxis said as he made a left turn at Golden Wind Ave. Even the drivers were polite. Nothing like the dredge he had to deal with back home. He found himself daydreaming momentarily, then shook the thought away. He could dream later. They had a job to do.
"Ahhh, man. I'd kill to live here someday," Ren said, perching his feet up on the dashboard. "Get a couple of their MELO-MELON popsicles on a hot summer day. Maybe have some of their world-class pasta for dinner." He groaned. "Shit, that sounds good."
Maxis frowned. He liked to believe he practiced a fair balance of work and play, but sometimes Ren seemed to do nothing but play. "Let's stay focused," he kindly reminded him. "You do remember that you roped me into this, right?"
Ren clicked his tongue. "Of course I do, bro." He tapped his elbow nervously, then put his hands behind his head. "Doesn't kill ya to take it easy once in a while, though, yeah?"
Maxis refrained from rolling his eyes. The beauty of Vanille was striking, sure. Its food and populace, astounding. But there was a time and place for this sort of thing, and this wasn't it. A smirk tugged at the corner of Maxis's mouth, and he jerked the car to the right, causing Ren to squeal and flash away.
"Whoa," Ren said from the back of the car.
"Just tryin' to keep you on your toes," Maxis chuckled.
After some playful banter and jabs, Maxis drove his vehicle into the parking lot of the apartment building that Vinny supposedly lived at, then turned off the ignition. "You got your ammo?"
Ren patted both of his pants pockets. "Locked and loaded."
"Good," Maxis nodded before exiting the car. Ren got out the opposite side, and as Maxis stepped up to the front door, he frowned. He rang the doorbell, then moments later the door clicked open.
"Damn, I feel like I'm gonna catch something just looking at this place," Ren said as Maxis pulled the door open. The door squeaked at the joints. Dirt and indents decorated the bottom half of the make, suggesting someone had kicked it in at some point. The hum of electricity emanated from the lamp above. This place was falling apart at the seams.
"Just keep your head on and we'll be fine," Maxis said. "Come on."
"I've got your six." Ren said, following closely behind.
Vinny, and by extension, anyone associated with the Vitriani, were dangerous and most likely had people after them for one reason or another. If not Bruno, then a rival gang of miscreants who'd like to see them dead or worse. With that in mind, Maxis elected to take the stairs instead of the elevator. With how filthy and dilapidated the place was, it seemed the safer option. Some may have called that paranoia, but Maxis felt no such thing. He was careful, observant, and did his best to anticipate the moves of others.
The carpet was thin and old as they ascended the steps, and for a moment Maxis was baffled. He'd never visited an apartment or hotel in Vanille, but with it being the shining example of what a city should look like, he imagined most of the hotels would at least be somewhat clean. He shook his head, kept his hand away from the railing, then paused as they approached the third floor.
"Anything up there?" Ren asked.
Maxis shook his head. "Not that I can see." He walked up the remaining steps and looked down the hallway to his left. Rows of doors lined both sides of the corridor. The style resembled a hotel more than an apartment complex. As he traveled the length of the hall, he noted how quiet the floor was. Not a single peep could be heard from any one of the rooms. "It's weirdly quiet," he remarked.
Ren chuckled. "Yeah, I don't like this. At all."
"Breathe in and out, bro. You said it was 303, right?"
Ren nodded. "That's what Rudy's paper says, yeah."
As Maxis came up to the door labeled 303, he noted several documents and letters hanging out of the mail slot. There were so many that some of them had piled onto the floor or slipped under the door. He kneeled down with a frown, plucking a pink letter out of the bunch. "Eviction notice," he mumbled.
"Can't believe the guy's still getting letters."
"Me neither." As Maxis moved to turn it over, Ren snatched it out of his hand. "Hey!"
Ren turned it around in his hand, then slipped his finger under the seal and tore it open.
"You can't open other people's mail," Maxis hissed.
"I just did," Ren snickered. "The guy's long gone, anyway. I don't think his eviction letter is going to bring him back." He tore the letter from inside, shuffling each paper to the back as he glossed over it. "Boring."
"Let me have that," Maxis said, stealing the letter back. He looked at the top-right corner and noted that the letter was old. Quite old. "This letter was sent over a month ago."
"Yeah. Like I said. Long gone."
Maxis grunted and let the letter fall from his hand. He peered through the keyhole in hopes he might see something. It was much too dark, however, and he pulled away, shaking his head. "I can't see anything." He stood and tried the handle, but unsurprisingly it didn't budge. "Do you think you can get in?"
Ren pocketed his hands and stared at the door. "I'm trying."
Ren's teleportation was the very definition of unreliable. To date, Ren was still unsure how to make it work in a way that didn't risk life and limb. He'd noticed certain aspects of his ability, such as its inclination to follow light, or teleport him away from harm when his emotions got out of control. But for the most part, it was like playing the lottery, and he rarely won.
Maxis could tear the door down, but he didn't want to leave too much evidence of their intrusion. He imagined that Vinny couldn't have very many people looking after him anymore. But those who did were unlikely in their right mind, considering the men Vinny associated with.
He squeezed the handle, and the brass knob began to buckle. The wood whined, and as splinters frayed from the edges of the knob, the whine grew louder. "Damn it," he said, letting go. He turned to Ren, only to find that he wasn't there. "Ren?"
A bang from inside the apartment put Maxis on the defensive, and he fell onto his back foot, his arms raised into a fighting stance. The door lock clicked, and the door squeaked open to reveal Ren. A banana peel was perched atop his head, and something had stained his left shoulder.
Maxis sniffed the air. He smelled awful. Rotten, even.
Ren sighed. "I flashed into the fridge." He turned to leave, when Maxis caught him by the forearm.
"You got something on top your head."
Ren frowned, patting his head for the rotten peel. "Eck!" He plucked it with his pointer and thumb fingers, then tossed it to the side. "Oh man, now it's got its slimy goop all over my hair. Damn it."
"I think it adds. Made you more appealing," Maxis chuckled, shutting the door behind him, locking it.
"That was so fucking lame," Ren sighed, turning his head to a stack of papers and documents on the coffee table. "Guess we just start digging?"
"Pretty much."
"Wonder what we're looking for?"
Maxis shrugged and entered the kitchen to his left. "Anything? Everything? Something that'll give us a clue as to what's going on with this NEON that keeps showing up."
"Think it's got any connection to what happened with the bar?"
Maxis opened the fridge, gagged, then shut it and waved the smell out of the air. "I doubt it. That's kind of a leap."
"Well, I mean, weird shit's been happening a lot more often than usual. You gotta admit that."
"Yeah," Maxis said, opening an old book on a nearby shelf and thumbing through the pages. Weird that Vinny had something like this in his home. He didn't picture him the type to read. "But I don't want to jump to conclusions without any evidence." He put the book back on its shelf and turned his attention to other things that stuck out.
The carpet was brown, pocked with cigarette burns and stains. Maxis kneeled down to have a better look, taking a quick whiff. He couldn't smell anything in particular, which wasn't surprising considering how long Vinny had been gone. The remains of a wine glass rest on a table beside him, glass scattered across the carpet.
"Hey, be careful," Maxis said. "There's glass on the carpet."
"Yeah, I got one of the stupid shards stuck in my shoe on the way to the door," Ren snapped. "Man, what the hell was wrong with this guy?"
A lot, from the looks of it.
For someone who dealt with Bruno on a frequent basis, Maxis had expected more of the man's home. Instead, it looked no different than some of the delinquent homes close to the seedier areas of his town.
He pushed his way into the bathroom next, noting a large crack across the mirror. The basin was stained with all manner of brown, and a large needle with droplets of NEON in the casing floated in the water. At least, he hoped it was just water.
"Hey—"
"Dude, look at this piece of junk," Ren interrupted.
Maxis turned around and returned to the living room to find Ren pushing aside stacks of magazines and documents. Underneath was an old message machine. Maxis hadn't seen one of these since he was a kid. In a way, it was kind of nostalgic. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and—
"Who has such an ancient piece of tech like this?" Ren balked. He pointed to the landline phone next to it. "He's even got one of those cord phones. What year was this guy living in?"
"The present, I'm sure," Maxis chuckled. He flicked his head toward it. "The light's blinking. See what's on it."
Ren pressed the button, and he and Maxis crossed their arms as a woman's voice came on the line.
"Vinny, this is your mama. I just wanted to give you a call and talk for a bit. I miss you, you know? I'm sorry if I did anything to upset you, but you didn't come to the last family dinner, and you haven't returned any of my phone calls." The woman paused. "Please just give me a call back, okay, sweetie? Mama loves you. Bye bye."
The recording finished, and Maxis hummed. "What's the date on it?"
Ren leaned forward and brushed his finger against the panel. "Uhhh, about a week ago?" He shook his head. "Dude, I can barely read this hunk of junk. Could've at least retrofitted it with a backlight."
"Probably too old for that," Maxis reasoned. "A week, though. I wonder—"
The front door's knob jiggled, and a familiar pop song sounded from beyond. "Vinny! Open the door!" came a man's voice.
Maxis and Ren glanced at one another, eyes wide.
Oh shit.