Souls & Spirits | ONC 2024

Job

Miss R gave him an order; to procure the bottled spirits that was located on the southeast side of St. Louis, a quick shortcut that was a half-hour that far off from Old Man River as a starting point to search for the coordinates where the cargo was buried. The umber sky was a backdrop for a tranquil ambience in the summer air, cool and refreshing amidst the ungodly hours.
It nearly roused him to utter a poem as he deciphered the article with a red marker. A squiggly doodle on the edge of the article of his face, then concluded that the site was 68 steps south, 12 feet ahead, buried 6 feet under. The tombstone had an inscription; "Howard Reynolds", faded and unkempt as the tom in blue folded the article and tucked it in his front pocket before he grabbed a shovel and dismounted from the vehicle.

He dug for a few minutes until the shovel smacked against hardwood, unearthed the coffin, then opened it with a crowbar and inspected the contents. Bottles of rum, four score in total as he transported it to the trunk without any complications. The night was going swimmingly, Aster had gotten hold of the cargo without any difficulties so far; no rumrunners in sight, no bootleggers lying in wait to rob him, no problem.

All he has to do is drive back to the Dandy Cafe and the coast is clear. A row of street lamps illuminated his path towards victory, cruising in style as he drove around town on his way to the establishment. He could see it now, a satisfied smile on Miss R's face congratulating him on a job well done as the band played an upbeat musical number and the patronage celebrating with the procured drinks in hand.

Aster's smirk widened before his reverie was cut short when he spotted a police car following him in the rearview mirror. His good mood got spoiled and his thick eyebrows lowered in contempt.

Aster turned the steering wheel to turn around, made a U turn to ensure that he wasn't being followed, to his bad luck they were after him.

Bastards.

He needed to prevent the cops from finding his workplace at least, the worst that they could do is check the trunk for alcohol. He parked the car and instinctively put a hand on the magazine of the pocket pistol before one of them got out of the police car. He eyed the silhouette approaching the trunk, Aster held his breath, holding a firm grip on the gun just as he leaned his head by the window.

“Is there a problem, officer?” Aster's tone came out dry before he cocked an eyebrow, surprised to see a familiar face.

“Aster?”

“Begorrah! I thought you were at the Police Academy.” Aster wasn't sure if it was a good sign to see his cousin wearing a uniform. On one hand, he was happy for him that he got to be a productive member of society despite having a baby face; on the other hand, he was concerned that his own cousin could pose a threat to his profession and livelihood the longer he stayed.

“Step out of the vehicle.”

Aster opened the door very slowly and did as he was told. Once he stood on the asphalt, face to face with his cousin he could already see his cousin had extended his arms to search him, patting h leather straps of the im down from his sides until he felt a tap on the leather straps of the holster. “All clear.”

“I'm surprised that you came out so soon.” Aster commented as a means to distract his cousin from searching the vehicle. The orange tabby peered at the front seat of the car.

“I can't talk now,” Allen stated, “I have to work.” Aster laid a hand on Dimple's shoulder, that made his cousin tear his gaze away from the interior to look at his cousin, the streetlamps illuminating a side of his face, making Rocky seem shadier than he actually was, though his posture was misleading.

“Settle down, cousin. It's been ages since we've seen each other.” As much as he would've liked to catch up with his cousin, he had a job to do.

“Show me your license.” Allen ordered, Aster blinked as he registered what he just heard.

“What?” Allen furrowed his eyebrows due to annoyance and second hand embarrassment before Aster complied. “Oh, wait, that. I left it in the glove compartment.” Dimple's gaze flitted towards his superior then back towards Aster's backside before Aster sat back down at the driver's seat as he reached in to open the glove compartment, rummaging through it to buy time.

Allen's superior watched as he picked up a clipboard to evaluate the disposition of his intern, clearly showing disappointment as he jotted down the report.

Allen tensed as he urged Aster to hurry.

Aster ran out of options so he passed his wallet to his cousin. Allen opened it to search for Aster's driver's license and hadn't noticed Aster turn on the gas, the muffler blew puffs of smoke as the engine purred.

“There is no license he-” but before Allen could finish speaking, the tires screeched as his wayward cousin already drove off, leaving an empty wallet behind.

Allen shrunk as his superior had jotted down the report, most likely an unfavorable result that could cost his chance to graduate from the Police Academy.

Aster not only had left his cousin in the dust, but also risked himself from getting caught with the bottled spirits.

He took another route to get back to the Dandy Cafe and parked the car at the back of the garage and raced to the trunk to haul the cargo. As much as he loved his cousin, he didn't have the luxury to lose his livelihood after he managed to find a place to stay even if his payment wasn't consistent. It wasn't much, but at least he wasn't wandering from place to place like a vagabond.

Aster met up with Ender at the cellar as he greeted the guy with cadence. The burly bartender hauled the crates with bottles of alcohol to restock, he bared his teeth while Aster kept pestering him, either ignoring his threatening glare or was too engrossed in his own curiosity to take caution.

“I could take one of the bottles to Miss R. Maybe Zib would like one too.” Aster's musings were cut short, Ender's remaining eye leering at him.

“No.” Ender responded before Aster pouted on his way back to the car to pick his violin case and headed to the stage. The band was playing an upbeat rhythm while Aster was backstage, opening the case and took out the instrument, an old fiddle and tuned it accordingly with a few seconds to spare before the song ended.