Manny worked the joysticks and triggers on his controller, mindlessly absorbing the splashes of color on the screen. Splatoon was a staple for him on his days off. Salmon Run. It was frustrating at times, but the mind-numbing repetition helped clear his mind, and he needed to unwind after this nightmare work week.

Except it wasn’t working today.

His thoughts kept going back to Aurya. When he’d checked her Twitter this morning, she’d gained over two thousand followers. People had interacted with her post, mostly with shocked GIFs. Sal Black had said, Huh… interesting. Whatever that meant.

It seemed Aurya was more popular than he’d thought. Perhaps she was an ex-celebrity or model who’d gone into hiding to escape the demands of the high life. Or he watched too much TV. She hadn’t posted anything else, and according to WhatsApp, hadn’t been online since the night before.

Why wouldn’t she respond to any of it? Unless she didn’t know how. Nah, she was smart enough to figure it out. Empirical data, and all that. The post may have blown up even more now. It had been a few hours since he’d looked at it in the Laundromat. He could check again without feeling like a creep.

Manny unlocked his phone and met twenty messages and five missed calls, all from his coworkers. Had the place burned down? Or maybe he’d gotten decent shifts for once and they wanted to switch with him. He checked the messages from Amie first, the only person he trusted to give a level-headed explanation.

Cops were here looking for you. Call me as soon as you get this.

His heart slammed into his ribs, and a ripple of cold washed over him. Cops? Looking for him? What for? The bank wouldn’t send the police after him for his loan payments, especially when he’d been on time and making the minimal these past few months.

Unless… Aurya. Shit. He should’ve listened to his instincts. He’d sensed something off about her, something dangerous, but her pretty smiles and immaculate manners clouded his judgment. Manny fumbled with the phone, but managed to punch in Amie’s number. It rang and rang for what felt like hours, and he got up to pace the small space between the couch and the sliding glass door.

“Hey, Manny, are you okay?” Amie’s voice was a whisper, and he guessed she had to sneak away from the floor to answer his call.

He couldn’t keep the quiver from his voice when he spoke. “Amie, what the fuck is going on?”

“Shit, Manny, the cops were here this morning looking for you. Two detectives or something. They asked for that girl you were with, too. And… I’m so sorry, I tried to distract them, then Marcie came out.”

Manny sank back down to the couch, his legs suddenly too weak to hold him up. He’d thought about worst-case scenarios last night; now fate was bringing them to fruition. Cops in the restaurant, looking for him. There was no way he’d have a job after this.

“Marcie gave them your fucking address. They could be at your doorstep any minute.”

He wanted to curse, to scream, but only a choking noise escaped his mouth. This was it for him. A month from now, he’d be homeless, living on the street, drifting from food bank to food bank while the interest on his loan piled up.

 “I’m so sorry, Delgado,” Amie continued. “I’m sure none of this was your fault. Who is that woman?”

“I don’t know, Amie.” His voice was a hoarse falsetto that raked his throat raw. “I was just doing some work for her. You know about the gig I put out on Marketplace. She just had me watching some accounts. Then I made a Twitter for her. It wasn’t anything illegal, I swear.”

“Okay, okay. That’s good. So, when the cops get there, you keep your cool. Don’t let them intimidate you, or trick you into confessing some crime you didn’t commit, all right? You’re innocent until proven guilty.”

Manny nodded even though she couldn’t see him. “Right. Thanks, Amie. I—”

A knock on the door cut his words off.

Shit. He stumbled from the couch to the door and peered through the peephole. A man and a woman in plain clothes stood on the other side. That had to be them. “I gotta go, Amie. I’ll call you later.” He hung up and set his phone on the breakfast bar.

The cops knocked again, louder this time. “Mr. Delgado?” the woman of the pair called.

Manny set a shaking, sweaty hand on the knob and swallowed the bile pooling in his mouth before pulling the door open. The male cop had his fist poised to bang on the door again and barely caught himself before he banged on Manny. He moved his hand to smooth his windbreaker instead.

The guy was huge, towering over Manny like a tree, and russet-skinned with a buzz cut. He could probably break Manny in half. The woman flicked her brown eyes up to him. She caught her partner just below the shoulder and wore slacks and a turtleneck with her dark hair down over her shoulders.

“Can I help you?” Manny asked, his voice steady despite his fear.

The woman stepped forward and flashed a badge at him. “Mr. Delgado. My name is Detective White, this is Detective Carson.” She gestured to her male companion. “We have a few questions about the woman you were with yesterday.”

So this was about Aurya and not him. He doubted that little factoid would be enough to save his job. Marcie had been gunning for him for a while.

“Okay.” Manny leaned against the door. “Shoot.”

“Ah… may we come in?” She smiled and when she spoke again, her voice took on a lighter, more sing-song quality. “This may take a while.” 

“Sure,” Manny said without missing a beat. His fear evaporated, replaced with glee that stretched his mouth into a grin. He’d love nothing more than to have the two wonderful police officers in his home.

They brushed by him and stepped into his living room. Detective White took a seat on the couch, while Carson leaned against the breakfast bar.

“Can I get you guys anything? Water? Beer?” He had two Rolling Rocks left in the fridge that he was saving for the rougher times ahead. But the cops went through rougher times than him every day, fighting crime. They deserved them more.

Detective White shook her head. “We’re fine.” She leaned forward, hands clasped together. “Delgado, what is your relationship with the woman you were with yesterday?”

“You mean Aurya?” Manny sat on his laundry. “She’s just a client. I was doing some open source intelligence work for her. Is she in trouble? Am I in trouble?”

White exchanged a glance with her partner. “Not if you can help us. That woman’s name is not Aurya. She’s Khadi Sauda and she’s a very dangerous criminal. Wanted on multiple counts of grand larceny and money laundering.”