Mr Hook's Big Black Box

Dwayne Carlisle: Good Morning

I woke up slumped on a giant beanbag with a crick in my neck. I knew I hadn't got enough sleep because it took some effort to make my eyes focus. Also because the anime I'd been watching last night was still playing, somewhere close to the final conclusion. I wasn't sure exactly where I'd fallen asleep, but I didn't think the whole series was long enough to count as a good night's sleep. Someone had been considerate enough to turn the volume down, at least, so we weren't partially awoken by the sound of over-exaggerated kiai every time a fight broke out between the heroes on screen.

Kris was stretching, seeming almost as tired as me. Ferrari was fixing her hair, looking at a small mirror on the wall, and taking it so seriously that she put me in mind of a samurai preparing for battle. Everything had to be perfect.

"You guys got plans for the day?" I asked, "What time is it?"

"Time I should be heading out," Kris answered, "It's nearly nine."

I bit my lip, tried to recall my schedule. Thursday, so my first appointment was the practical lab at nine, where we were supposed to be making a project for construction assessment. That was easy enough to deal with, because my project had been completed the week before. I liked to think I was pretty good at my chosen course, though I was starting to wish I'd gone more in the direction of computer programming. Virtually everything we were doing was either working with microcontrollers, or could be replaced by them now.

"I've got one seminar today," Ferrari added, "But I can get away with missing just one. I'm going to stay here until we're sure Spenser isn't coming back. Or the Russians. How about you?"

"I've not got anything urgent, but I should probably get moving. Head to the Salad Bar and see what's on the breakfast menu today." But that plan promptly vanished from my mind as soon as we got down to the first floor and the distinctive aroma of food frying called out to me. Monty was generous as always, producing a perfect fry-up to help us get ready for the day. I probably had a dozen of her extra-crispy hash browns, which aren't quite like any I've tasted before, and a whole pot of strong coffee to help me wake up. Marco dashed off with a bacon butty in hand, and it was just me and the girls for a while.

"I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop," Ferrari admitted after a little less serious banter, "Like, we've outwitted two different criminal groups trying to take the Box, but both times we got lucky. Those guys pretending to be CIA, they weren't ready for a fight. And I mean, look at this," she tossed an ID card on the table, "Clearly fake. But a decent quality fake, I don't think your typical student prankster would be able to come up with something so close. I think these guys weren't much good, but there must be someone with a vague impression of competence behind them, and that makes me worry."

"Yeah," I nodded slowly, "I can see what you mean. Like we've beaten two groups of putties, and there's a kaijin still hiding out in the shadows somewhere. But we got a plan, right?"

"Sometimes, Dwayne, I wonder if you're just making up words for these explanations. But I think we're saying the same thing. And yeah, we have a plan, and I'm pretty sure it's a good one. I just hope nothing goes wrong before we can –" she stopped as my phone chimed. "Please tell me that wasn't the sound of a kaijin appearing?"

I read the text message, and then read it again. Marco had an older feature phone, still restricting himself to 160 character message, so it took a little bit of thought to decipher the abbreviations.

"It's Marco. He wants me to investigate a missing person, find out if she's really missing or if the CIA guys grabbed her. Or something like that. I'd better get going, I should have been on campus already,"

"Do you know how to investigate a missing person?" she asked. Somehow, I hadn't thought of that.

"Well, I guess I could check if she's got a profile on the students union website, that'll tell me if she's on any society committees or been in any tournaments, so I can ask the societies and see if they've seen her. Then go to her flat, see if she's home. If she is then she's not missing, right? But if there's no answer I buzz the neighbours, say I'm worried about her because I was supposed to meet her and she hasn't appeared. They'll say she seemed okay last night, or something, give me an idea if she's actually missing, and for how long."

"You've thought about this too much. But I think that would be a pretty good plan, if you were on campus. Good thinking."

"Should I have done breakfast earlier?" Monty asked, nervously, "I didn't know what time you need to be up."

"No," I answered, "I'll call Kris, he said he was going to get a shower before his first lecture, so he should have time to do this instead." I didn't mention that giving someone else the job on campus meant there was a chance I could stay here longer, and every extra minute I was in the house made it just a little more likely I'd get some opportunity to look at the Box.

I called Kris's mobile. It rang three times, and then put me through to his voicemail. I didn't think there was anything strange about that, maybe his battery died or something. When I called back a minute or two later, it went straight to voicemail, which kind of reinforced that suspicion.

"I'd better get moving," I said reluctantly. "Look for this girl, and maybe check up on Kris to make sure nothing happened to him."

"What would you do if it had?" Ferrari asked pointedly, "Better if I go. Is that okay, Monty? I know I said I'd stay with you, but once they find out the Box is in your dad's safe, they'll know what a big risk it would be to come here. There's no reason for them to attempt it, and you know how to call the police."

"Yeah," I nodded, "I wasn't thinking. Really hope Kris doesn't need any help, but just in case, right?" I still felt a little uncomfortable by how directly she'd stated that I wouldn't be any good if there was trouble. I knew that trouble probably meant a fight, and that my planning skills would be just as accessible over the phone, but it still stung. On the other hand, that meant that if I wanted to get close to the Box, I would only need to talk my way past Monty, who was a lot more trusting than Ferrari. Kris had the key now, but I hadn't been able to resist taking an impression of the head while everyone else was occupied.

I still couldn't decide. I'd been willing to go behind my friends' backs when it was just a case of sparing them some embarrassment and saving Cassie from humiliation. But now there were so many people after the Box, so many dark secrets in the time capsule, I couldn't be sure I was doing the right thing. About the only thing that tipped me in the direction of opening it now was curiosity; I wanted to know if my skills were sufficient to duplicate a key of a type I'd never seen before.

"I'll be fine," Monty smiled, head tilted slightly and seeming to listen intently, "Yeah, nothing's going to happen here. I'll just mind the house, and make sure she doesn't get too lonely. The Box, I mean. I think it's kind of cute to call it 'she', like you do with your swords. There's nothing wrong with that is there?"

"Of course not," Ferrari smiled, "Don't worry, we know how you feel. Things that are important sometimes feel like people, right? Like they have a personality, in the way they shape your life. I'm sure the psychologists have a fancy name for it, you'd know better than I do."

"Oh yeah," Monty smiled, but didn't seem quite so energetic as usual. I figured it was just because she was tired, "There's a name for it alright."

"Anyway, I'd better go. I'll call a taxi, it's quicker than walking. Check up on this Mari girl, and on Kris." She left quickly, calling the taxi from her mobile as she left.