Mr Midnight's Prodigal Nightmare Pt 2

Posted on Thu 4th Apr, 2024 @ 1:56pm by Renato Solis

1,882 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: O' the Cardiff Rose
Location: Ullian Relay Vessel URV-1136
Timeline: MD2

Previously... https://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/write/missionpost/2293/view

-And now…

{URV-1136 Cafe}

-18 hours to arrival-

Renato had almost finished his letter when an argument in the cabin took his attention and sober mind away. He tried to reclaim the swirl of emotions that had compelled his writers hand but the firm block of a crying child robbed his focus immediately. Alas, serenity seemed a distant luxury, but felt perhaps positive actions on his part could resolve the scene.

A short walk saw the voices carry and get louder, the cabin was alive with the heated dispute between two passengers seated nearby. An incessant argument over a missing item had escalated, disturbing the tranquility of the people trying to rest or pass time silently.

Renato rubbed at his eyes, his mind registering the details in the conversation despite his fatigue. He observed the scene in the cabin he had left earlier. The yellow dressed lady next to the man in a disheveled suit and the steward with a perturbed expression were red in the face. The hubub had awoken a blissfully cooperative baby to everyone’s chagrin.

With a sigh, Renato intervened, tapping on the stewards shoulder.

"Pardon me," he interjected, his voice commanding attention. "Might I be of assistance?"

The Bolian had a beige and red uniform with a single slash embroidered on the shoulder. It was a low rank and the young man didnt have much fire in his belly.

“Sir? No please uhh take your seat Ive got this under control.” His bluster was not believable and was also keenly overshadowed by the scuffle of Yellow Dress trying to snatch and search bags and jacket pockets of Purple suit next to her.

With a sigh Renato bypassed the overwhelmed purser, “Excuse me, but I work with Law enforcement to solve cases as a consultant, I am not an officer but I’d like to help out here?!”

The man in the purple suit turned to Renato, eyeing Yellow Dress with a mixture of frustration and desperation and pointing her way. "This lady here claims I've taken her necklace!”

“Where is it? Give me your bag!”

She was trying to get to his side bag, a zippered pouch which likely contained food judging from the remnants of crumbs and small paper debris at his feet. He was holding it away from her as she reached.

“Get her off of me!”

Renato had noticed her necklace earlier, it had looked nice, with a large clear stone possibly diamond. She wasn’t wearing it so he presumed that was the one in question.

“Hey! Can we agree that we are on a long flight and nobody is going anywhere, space is all around us right? So please lets all stand up here in the aisle and have a good look.”

“He stole it” - “Preposterous accusations, I assure you..." They were not listening and the steward shot a look at Renato so say “Thanks for nothing.”

Renato used the same voice he had used on people toeing the line for years. It wasn’t aggressive but it was like ricks grinding in his throat.

“Stop fighting now, sit down and we will find it. Now!”

It cut the din, and the Yellow Dress slumped into her seat.

“I gotta move seats, this lady is crazy-“ The man in purple began to say, but was cut off.

The lady shot back sharply, "He's been eyeing it since boarding!”

Renato held up his hand, “Hold on, start from when you last saw it. Tell me what you did, only what you did. Nobody else.”

“I was sitting here, listening to my programs, I fell asleep. I haven’t gone anywhere or taken any jewelry off I know he took it-“

Renato nodded and held his hand up to hold her off, “And you noticed it missing when…”

She didnt like the redirect, but answered, “I noticed it missing just now after he sat down like a lumbering Bison and awoke me”

The man in purple scoffed at her insults, "You lie! And how could I have taken it off of your neck?”

Renato stepped over them vocally, “And you sir, she was asleep when you got up?”

He blustered exactly as an innocent person would when falsely accused, “I only left to go have a drink!"

Renato couldn't help but assess the situation, observing the passengers' behaviors and scrutinizing their belongings, "Your names please?"

"Jolya, you may call me Jolya Massers."

"Ok Jolya, I'm Renato, I do consult for police regularly, so might I ask some more questions?"

She looked afraid immediately, the man looked happy to oblige. Renato asked him as well, "And you, may I call you...?"

"Berdin Onoir, thank you for your help. I sat down only a moment ago and she started shrieking-"

"I wasn't shrieking!" Jolya rebutted fiercely, the baby stirred at her volume and everyone implored her to hush.

"Berdin yes thanks, but I already got this worked out most of the way."

Jolya took that to mean she was right, but Renato raised a finger and wagged it, "Hold on..."

He glanced around the seats one last time and got a good nod going before talking.

“Mr Berlin you do have the necklace somewhere I believe, but not purposefully. Have you searched everywhere in your seats?”

He became incensed, “I do not! I am no thief!”

Jolya looked relieved, and that was a the clincher for Renato. Jolya was uncertain of what happened and realizing her accusations might carry real legal trouble. Berlin was acting exactly the way an innocent person would. Unless there was a third party involved, which no other passenger had suggested in their observations than the necklace was in one of these two peoples vicinity. Since Jolya was able to search all of her belongings successfully that left one choice, Berdin. Berdin had it, but didnt know it.

"Berdin, can you show me your shoes, the soles specifically."

The large man was again, happy to oblige, it made what came next hard but it was the truth and that was the only explanation.

His eyes darted around, catching the glint of something metallic barely visible from within the man's ample posterior.

In a swift motion, Renato retrieved the object—a shimmering necklace concealed beneath the seat cushion.

Berdin stuttered, taken aback by the discovery. "I... I have no idea how that got there!"

Jolya exclaimed in righteous anger, "Thief I told you!"

The surrounding people gasped but Renato kept his eyes on Berdin. The man truly had no idea it was there, and had been eager to cooperate all along. Jolya had experienced true anger and indignation at Berdin, before that it had been uncertainty. An older woman traveling alone losing a necklace would potentially fear she was responsible.

Renato examined the necklace, noting the peculiar clasp and a faint residue of solder. His deductive faculties clicked into action. "Your pardon, madam," he addressed the lady. "When I inspect the clasp of your necklace this clasp is a different material from the body?"

With hesitation, he unclasped the necklace too easily revealing the clasp didn't fit perfectly.

Holmes explained, "Your necklace's clasp seemed loose, susceptible to detachment. You had to grab it when you sat down during boarding I remember. It's a repair job done by an amateur without knowledge of soldering, the carbon scoring is everywhere inside. During the flight's turbulence, it must have come undone as your head was resting on Mr. Berdin's shoulder and then falling unnoticed between your shoulder and Mr Berdin."

Jolya was outraged, "I was not resting my head on this mans shoulder how impertinent-"

Renato was bored of it and just spoke over her, "Your makeup smudged onto the shoulder pads of his three day old rumpled suit says otherwise."

She stopped talking and glanced sideways at the mans shoulder where there was indeed a streak of color impressed into the regal faux silk.

"Neither of you moved for many hours afterwards, until you, Mr Berdin went to have a drink. I presume you didn't get up from your seat prior to that as your leg is injured? The necklace slipped, landing between the cushion he uses and the seat itself. Mr. Berdin here unknowingly sat atop the misplaced jewelry."

Over a dozen sets of eyes blinked at him. Renato smiled, "I have to get back to an important letter, so feel free to use my seat if you need more space."

-10 hours to arrival-

His letter had turned into five, one to each member of the family he expected to still be around. True exhaustion had dawned now, the travel lag and in between modes taking their toll. A stroll back to the cabin showed his seat occupied by Mr. Berdin. Jolya scowled at him for some reason, presumably to ward him off from taking the seat next to her. Renato figured it made no difference and sat in the corridor with his head between his knees.

"There's a gym on board you know?"

Renato could tell the words from outside his eye line were for him. He did not expect to see a middle aged young looking Ullian male standing over him.

"Names Fanvo Zyrr. You're the first Ullian I've talked to legally in fourteen years."

Fanvo then shocked Renato again, but holding his hand out to shake.

-9 hours to arrival-

Fanvo was a bright young man, but had fallen to the same Taboo. Their return and meeting on this shuttle was not a coincidence. Ullians found guilty of violating the psionic laws were exiled and even other exiles were supposed to shun them. That was to prevent a colony from forming of the exiles who dared to use their gifts. Renato experienced the tale of woe in a handshake, when the Taboo lifted, nearly a million sentences were rescinded, leaving only those which constituted an actual crime. Fanvo had freely used his ability to interact with a lover with total consent, he had restored memories from those who the state had erased them, he had fought back when they came for him. He was called one of the worst names in the book for that, and exiled.

"Has she contacted you?" Renato hoped to hear of a happy ending after all.

The young man shook his head, "No, she's.... married, kids, happy... which sucks. For me."

Renato sipped his fifth tea of the trip, the menu had but three choices so the orange peel clove was back, and he didnt enjoy it. "Are you taking them up on the offer?"

"I don't have the talent to hold my end up I think. You do, I saw as much."

"Thanks, You'll develop into a steady hand if you practice. Without development as a child the adult learning curve is so much steeper."

Fanvo wasn’t saying something, and the two telepaths hadn’t relaxed their shields to each other as usual. For both of them a constant wary defensiveness wasn’t suspicious but Renato was keenly gifted with smelling out a rat. Talking to another Ullia especially one like him was so nice it was almost worth it to ignore the intuition telling him to keep his distance.

-TBC-

 

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