JULIUS
1033 Words
Discord sent its regards as a jolt of pain that traveled the length of Julius Martin’s spine. He wanted desperately to dismiss the sensation as one of the usual aches that accompanied surviving several life shortening injuries. But instincts honed by those experiences told him to expect the worst.
It was barely seven am when Julius entered Edie's Attic. The cozy decade old establishment was his haven; especially in these hours just before many of the city's motorists dared to navigate the notoriously congested roads of downtown.
During the year-long renovations that had changed the identity of the corner where Edie's was located, the sports bar had remained open and afforded Julius a daily ritual. Unfortunately, his current sense of dread robbed him of his usual peace of mind. Someone would answer for that.
Upon entering, Julius immediately surveyed his surroundings with eyes accustomed to seeking out details that escaped the attention of most people.
Despite the early hour of the day, balls clacked noisily together on one of the four pool tables set to the right of the counter where food and drink orders were placed.
A baby faced hustler sank one of the striped balls into a corner pocket. His older opponent wore his dismay on his face and Julius guessed the man was at least two drinks south of sober.
As the two men continued their game, Julius' eyes tracked the graceful movements of the waitress a table away from his.
PRINCESS G was penned in elegant black permanent marker strokes on her name tag. The caramel hued beauty with full lips and dark brown ear length hair approached Julius carrying a glass of pink lemonade. With each step, she restored a bit of his normally laid back disposition. Her smile was the perfect mood elevator.
“How’s it going?” she asked then set a straw into his glass. It bobbed rhythmically in time with the subtle bounce of her chest as she leaned forward and teased the older man with a hint of her cleavage.
“Better now that I get to see you.”
“Can I get you anything else?”
“Your phone number would be nice.”
“You already have more women than you can handle.”
“And I’d trade every last one of them for you.” He offered her a smile then drained half his drink with one suck.
“Play on playa. You’re too much. I’ll see you later.”
Julius’ eyes followed the generous curve and heft of her backside then shook his head in an attempt to silence the various naughty thoughts taking residence in his mind.
With his gaze seemingly held hostage by the condensation on his glass, he watched as the younger man led his older opponent towards a booth.
The pair stumbled and Julius rose to assist them.
"Sorry about that,” the young man offered as they sat the other man into a seat.
"No worries. Just glad he didn't hit the floor. Wouldn't want to give the pretty lady any extra work.”
A moment later they shook hands and Julius took his leave.
*
Julius flashed his visitor’s badge at the security guard manning the desk at the Institute for Paranormal Studies’ Resource Center.
The Resource Center was the largest building on the main campus; second in size only to the Advanced Combat Simulator a mile away where he had spent many painful months turning a scrawny research student into a noticeably more muscular research assistant.
Once he passed the guard, Julius took the north corridor and walked for several minutes until he found the room he needed. He entered the door marked PRIVATE STUDY 2 and took a seat at one of the six terminals.
Julius bypassed the guest log-in screen and submitted an administrator’s password. He then reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone.
After unlocking the screen, Julius tapped an icon. A minute later the data transfer was completed and the terminal had decoded the information.
What he found as he waded through the files did not sit well with him. The discord he had felt earlier in the day intensified.
Images of several buildings were separated into four files. He recognized three locations. There was an overhead view of the kingdom’s largest 3D printer supplier. Strangely enough the second location was a television studio he had taken his nephew to on numerous occasions.
Lastly, there was the lab that had recently extended him a generous employment offer.
Julius next opened four audio clips. The first three were innocuous but the fourth arrested his attention.
"How many were there?" The words were spoken by a female.
"One guy," answered a male voice. The female expressed her disbelief with a two syllable curse.
“That's what they're saying,” continued the male. “Called him a man of considerable talents.”
Another minute worth of audio followed, but that description momentarily paralyzed Julius' thoughts and he had to replay the file again.
The other minute consisted of the two individuals speculating about who this man of considerable talents was but Julius knew. Life was about to get complicated.
*
It was nearly eleven pm when Julius returned to his home. He popped his head into his nephew's bedroom. The young man was snoring and half covered by a light sheet.
Julius closed the door then stretched joints that he wished had even a year less strain on them.
Once inside his bedroom, Julius warmed up his computer and blinked away the sleep trying to subdue him. He waited a moment longer then opened a folder on his desktop.
He skimmed through the pictures of several men and women before stopping at a photo of a pecan colored woman with a mass of curly black hair wearing thin framed glasses.
Embedded in the picture's file name was a link to her instant messenger identity. He clicked it then left an off-line message for her that stated he missed her. Fifteen minutes later he received a reply.
"Long time no see stranger."
- Writer
