Snafu

Sucker Punch - Part 1

The sun warmed the brick sidewalks and pale concrete sides of the circuit court building, an imposing five-story building with columns in front of the heavily guarded entry. The sun felt nice on Cole's face, but a cutting wind whipped down the street, making the flags that towered above the small memorial garden in front of the courthouse flutter. He huddled in his jacket and hopped quickly up the steps, bedroom slippers slapping against his heels and raising eyebrows.

The two goons, who would not tell Cole their names no matter how much he pestered them on the drive over, looked far more professional and intimidating than the actual police officers manning the security check. They were all business suits, sunglasses, and chiseled jaws, moving with the surety that they were completely aware and in control of their surroundings. Cole would never be able to tell that one of their sleeves was damp if he did not already know it.

As they went through the metal detectors, the police eyeballed their whole party suspiciously. Maybe they recognized Gideon or the goons from the pictures of all the Barta affiliates that were probably posted on a wall somewhere in the precinct for dart practice. Or maybe they just thought that their party looked strange. Cole in pajamas and slippers, Gideon looking like he stepped out of a men's fashion magazine, and the two goons straight out of a mafia movie. 

Cole put the jacket in a little plastic bin to go through their scanning machine. The lady sitting behind the cave into which the conveyor belt disappeared looked at it with a sigh in her eyes.

"No phone or anything else that might set off the metal detectors?"

"No ma'am," he said.

 The thick plastic flaps lifted over his bin and slapped back down.

"What are you here for?" she asked casually.

Gideon put his coat and phone in a bin after Cole's. "We're getting married."

The lady's eyes shot to Cole, who smiled wanly at her and pulled the collar of his t-shirt back over his shoulder from where it had slipped down when he stripped off his jacket. She made no further comments. They made it through security without a hitch. Cole honestly thought that the two goons would surely set it off somehow, but apparently, they left all their illegal firearms in the car. Dang.

The halls of the courthouse were wide and echoey, made of hard shiny surfaces punctuated by bulletin boards and various offices. The walls opened up to large stairwells that shone from daylight spilling through skylights in the ceiling. Maybe because it was so echoey, everyone they passed spoke in hushed tones, leaning into one another with grave expressions. The loudest sound was women's heels clicking against the buffed floors. 

Everyone else seemed to be dressed in business clothes, aside from the cops in uniform. Despite being notorious criminals, neither Gideon nor the goons seemed to give the abundance of police officers a second thought. But Cole certainly felt out of place - as usual - in his slippers and sweatpants. Which had been his goal, but he had not realized how surreal it would make the whole experience for himself. 

He shuffled along  like a little kid because the slippers were much larger than his feet, felt kind of like one of those people wearing a mascot costume, not really like himself. None of this actually felt real. It was like one of those weird scenario dreams where he kind of knew he was dreaming, but was not sure enough to actually change the trajectory of strange evens and just had to be along for the ride.

The marriage licensing office was tiny. Chairs lined the walls around a desk which had a layer of plexiglass between them and the lady manning it. She looked less than impressed with Cole's appearance as she stuck two wads of paperwork on clipboards and passed them through the cutout in the glass. Cole picked up one of the pens and twirled it in his fingers. There was a bright purple plastic flower taped to the end.