When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

41. A Fistful of kervers (part 2)

He hadn't expected to fall asleep but he actually did even though he only managed to go for a couple of hours. He woke up around seven. The empty box of bagels he'd scarfed down last night was on the nightstand next to the second can of coffee that he'd decided against drinking.

Luce went to the bathroom, splashed some water on his face and rinsed his mouth with some mouthwash. He gargled several times because he didn't have his toothbrush and he didn't want to use the one that was already in the bathroom of his room.

He came back to his room, put on his shoes, draped his blazer over his arm, the can of coffee in its inner pocket, his wallet full of money in another and walked out of his room. He wanted breakfast.

Even though it was just half past seven in the morning, the dining area of the inn was already active, though there weren't many diners. The breakfast was all-you-can-eat buffet. Luce scoffed. The woman had called this place a 'cheap lodge'. Maybe she had tricked him–it cost three hundred hundred kervers a night, breakfast included. Luce didn't really care as long as he was getting his money's worth.

He served himself to a generous amount of scrambled eggs, six strips of bacon, four slices of bread and a cup of espresso. He sat down at a table and dug in. He was halfway through his scrambled eggs when he received a text from Tracy on his phone.

I'm gonna reach Sector 25 soon. Will call you in a bit to tell you what I find.

Luce nodded. He'd just started working on finding Mist the previous morning. It had taken him roughly twenty hours to get as far as he'd gotten. There was still a chance of the entire investigation being a mistake. Erik Koehlwin might not be the man he was looking for. And this whole operation might turn out as a failure. But there was his gut instinct again. Something told him that he was on the right track.

He was almost done with his breakfast when the woman and her son from last night sauntered into the dining room. She took triple the portions of what Luce had taken and the two of them joined Luce at his table.

He rolled his eyes. "You know you could've sat at another table?"

"It wouldn't have looked nice," the woman said.

Luce frowned. "Wouldn't have looked nice to whom? Who the heck is even watching you?"

"I am!" The little boy raised his hand.

Luce groaned.

"Also, I wanted to thank you for paying for our stay," the woman said.

Luce shrugged. "You don't have to. It was an act of trade. I got the bagels and you got the room. Whether or not that trade was fair is a different story. But you don't have to pretend like what I did was out of kindness."

"Do you have a problem with someone being nice to you, mister?" the boy said.

"Elliot!" his mom said in a hushed voice.

Luce let out a sigh. "Never mind, I guess."

They ate in silence for a while before the woman asked, "Are you from around here?"

Luce was about to sigh again. He was really going to be the asshole in this situation if he acted like he didn't want to make small talk. It would be worse if she or her kid, Elliot, started crying from his rudeness. That wasn't something he wanted to deal with so early in the morning.

He shook his head. "No, I'm not from here," he said.

"Oh, then where are you from?"

"Kingsville."

"It's really expensive to live in Kingsville!"

"It can be."

"You work for the government don't you?"