No Sleep

10

Xander clicked the lighter on with a shaky hand. He inched it closer and closer beneath the list. The flame was dancing and pecking at the paper, but never set it afire. Xander took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then clicked the lighter shut. He hit the lighter against his thigh to shrug that attempt off.

Okay, again. The flame clicked on with a tiny woosh. He brought it up to the list with more force but still hesitated to set in on fire. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the growling top of the main S.A.S.S. Console. Xander cursed under his breath and looked at all the spots he felt there was a camera.

Well, that was smart. Why don't you try burning the entire apartment complex down on camera next time, Xander? He looked for a textbook, a manual, some sort of technology for dummies before almost typing the question in on his computer. How incriminating could he look? He imagined trying to claim not guilty after attempting to burn the list in his house and then almost looking up "How to erase security footage history." It was a string of actions Detective Shaw was sure to laugh at once she saw it.

Xander paced in his room until he saw a trashcan bonfire outside his window. He folded the paper up, grabbed a jacket and scurried his way down the stairs. Xander must've looked crazy hobbling out of his apartment at two in the morning. His eyes were bloodshot and darting and his 5'o'clock shadow probably just beginning to show just like the other people huddled around the bonfire. He only unfolded the list a little before he was interrupted.

"Kid!" Cooper greeted Xander with a powerful pat on the back. "Aint it your bedtime, boy scout?"

Xander smiled and rubbed the back of his neck before he said, "Just a little fresh air, you know."

"Doing a little house cleaning?" Cooper gestured to the list in Xander's hand.

"Oh, yeah. Yup. Just cleaning up some clutter and stuff. It's not really important, so."

"You know you can just use a fireplace? Or a lighter? You don't have to stand out here like a crackhead." The other people around the fire dispersed after that remark.

"Yeah. Yeah, I could but you know. I don't have a fireplace and I'd have to sweep the ashes up. This is so much simpler." Xander wondered what Cooper was doing in this part of town at this late at night himself. He couldn't seem to shake him off. Everywhere Xander went, Cooper was too.

"Can I see?" Cooper reached for the list.

"It's nothing cool, really." Xander pulled the paper out of Cooper's grasp.

"If it's not so important," Cooper emphasized, "then it shouldn't be a problem."

"Why do you care?"

Cooper tilted his head and smirked. "Why are you being weird, kid? Lemme see it." The two wrestled for the paper like a bully and a nerd in grade school. Of course, Cooper overpowered Xander and snatched the paper out of his hand. It took a few seconds, but the smirk on his face fell. Cooper flexed his upgraded hand's fingers and reread the list over and over.

"Who else knows?" Cooper asked.

"You, me, and I don't know who knows at KaiHue," Xander explained

"So Lupita? Akan? Have no idea?" Cooper asked as he nodded, chuckled, and waved the paper in disbelief. "Here I thought I was the first. My hand looks like a fucking kid's toy compared to the Lupita's. And now this? Whatever this is, if it's real or not."

"Hey, at least it works."

"Yeah, for now! How do I know I'm not next on this damn list? Are you even supposed to have this? What is this like some sort of suicide mission for you? Were you sent to destroy it?"

"No."

"Then, what? A weirdo, nerdish, sick joke?"

"Yeah, I'd definitely be trying to set my weirdo joke on fire."

"Why you doing that for anyway?"

"Because if Detective Shaw finds out I have it or had it--"

"They got Detective Shaw on your ass for this?" Cooper scoffed. "Why the hell did you show me this fucking paper, kid?" Cooper ran his hands over his face and through his hair. He circled the trashcan, mumbling to himself. Xander tapped his leg rapidly as he watched the paper in Cooper's hand.

"So . . . are we gonna do or not?" Xander asked glancing at the fire.

"Nah, not like this," Cooper said whipping his head to Xander. "If now both of us have seen it, we gotta destroy it right?"

". . . Exactly."

"And there's cameras on almost every corner of this city."

Xander glanced around and pondered, "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so."

"So," Cooper paused and nodded, "let's go somewhere without any cameras."