Dead Fish
an excerpt

The cars lurched into motion as the train pulled out of the station. Spann shook his head as he grabbed a steel pole. “I’m not talking Facility. You know. Top-side.” The ragged man was jostled about, but his smile didn’t disappear.

“Not much of a world.”

“Pretty damn good world.”

“So - Why you still down here?”

“Because: you know what? I don’t feel like walking.”

The ragged man shrugged in agreement. It was almost as if to say – I have to hand it to you, that was a really good dodge. Some really heroic evasiveness, what with, you know, the leg and all. Good thinking. Spann was rather thankful for the silence, all considered. It seemed respectful of him, as if giving him a respite for that talentless onslaught of questions. Maybe it was all for the best that he made that original slip-up. Apparently, it made his interrogator think he was an idiot.

“So, you really think all the records are still going to be down at the lab?”

“What?”

“You know them. Experiments like those... if word of those got out, it’d be bad news.”

“That’s pretty specific for a leading question.”

“So you say.”

“Is this about the human testing case? I turned that one down.”

“You… turned it down?”

“Yeah - I don’t do science. Not really my specialty, you know? The bidder probably moved on, got somebody else. I ain’t the only auditor in town, you know. There are just too many secrets for one man, even before I got my leg torn up.”

“Damn.”

“You only had time to trace one call before you got kicked off the system?”

“Shit.”

“You know, you’d have saved a lot of time if you asked me if I was on the case. I mean, yeah, if I was I’d lie, so I guess that wouldn’t quite work, but damn, what a waste. You douse yourself in cheap scotch for this?”

“Hell. You… you know what, Spann?”

“Pretty sure I do. It’s my stop.” Spann said, as the train lurched to a stop. He stepped out into the station. A wave of people entered, streaming around him, filling the car. The door closed. Spann laughed, and laughed, and laughed.