The next day was more drudgery at the GrizlHut. Working with Cara was a boon, but overall, the work was boring, hot, and very greasy. Conor wished he could shower three times a day or more. But he stuck to his promise to Jessica and even volunteered to make deliveries that evening for the extra tip money.
"In what car, Conor?" Pops asked. "You have been walking to work for weeks!"
Conor stared at the ground realizing how stupid the idea had been.
Cara poked her head in. "Conor... you can drive right?"
Conor looked at her and nodded.
"Are you sure? You are not without a car because of accidents?"
"No accidents."
Cara stared hard at him as she considered.
"Don't make me regret this." She fished her keys out of her pocket and held them out to Conor. Just as he was reaching for them, she pulled them back and gave him a hard stare, "You bring my car back in one piece tonight, and with a full tank of gas, you hear?" Conor nodded and she slowly handed him the keys. "If you damage my car... so help me!"
"Thank you," was all Conor could think to say.
The night started off smooth, with a few standard walk-in orders, until a lady came in and immediately set Conor on edge. "Yes I want one large with extra cheese, pepperoni, and sausage, and then I want a large bacon and pineapple pizza, original crust."
"Very good! We actually have a new crust right now! It has an amazing new spice, I am sure you are going to love it."
The lady just stared dumbly at Conor. "I said I want one with three toppings, the other only has two toppings. Original crust. Ring up what I ordered. Are you mental?"
"I understand what you are asking, I am just informing you that we changed the recipe on the crust, and the new one is amazing."
"But I am ordering original. I WANT original. Not spicy, not hot, not anything. Original. Do it or I will speak to your manager and have you fired, you incompetent idiot!"
"As you wish ma'am, one three-topping pizza and one two-topping cardboard crust pizzas coming right up." The lady paid and went to wait, clearly still irritated.
Cara walked up behind him, "Did she really just..."
"Yep"
"and you just rang it up as..."
"Yep."
"Ok then, her loss. Told you it wasn't worth your effort. Idiot specials, no flavor, coming right up." Cara chuckled as she went to make the lady's overpriced pizza.
Just then an order came in for a large pizza on the very edge of their delivery zone.
"I'll take it," Conor called, reaching for the ticket.
Cara whistled, seeing the address. "That is a shady apartment complex. Keep your wits about you."
Conor grinned and grabbed the pizza as it came out of the oven a few minutes later, ready for the challenge.
When he arrived seven minutes later, he had to admit Cara had been right. Over half the streetlights were busted in this area and even at night, the lack of maintenance was evident. As he climbed the rain-slicked stairs, the guard rail wabbled dangerously. Arriving at the appropriate door, Conor knocked. The one light in the hall flickered oddly. The door creaked open slowly with the force of his knock. "Hello? Pizza!"
"Yea just leave it there." Came a gruff voice.
"Umm, sure, but I need payment first!"
"What? That's not what Marco and I discussed? Just leave it there and get lost."
'Marco? Who was Marco?' Conor thought. He had been the one to take the call, so he was positive there was no one by the name Marco at Grizlhut.
"Umm, sir, in order for me to leave this pizza, you need to pay or... I can just go back to the shop."
The door slammed shut and a gruff voice shouted, "This is not what we discussed, leave the PIZZA and GO!"
Conor was a bit stunned but then a burly man stormed up the stairs and came to the same door, pounding on it, and shouting "PIZZA" turning to Conor he glared with eyes that seemed to bore into his soul. "Get lost, kid."
Conor was in no mood to argue so he turned and left.
Back at the Grizlhut, He told Cara the whole thing.
"Weird! Wonder why they ordered two pizzas. Oh well, I guess we have pizza for dinner then," She said, flipping open the box and snagging a slice before handing Conor a new stack of pizzas ready to go out. "Off you go."
Conor ran pizzas for another three hours, but when he got back from the last delivery, the parking lot was full of blue lights. Conor rushed for the doors fearing the worst. A cop grabbed him at the door. "Woah son, you work here?"
"Yea, I was on a delivery. Is everyone ok?"
"You wouldn't happen to be Conor, would you?"
"Yea? Why?"
The officer's face shifted, and he clenched down on Conor's arm. "Son, you are under arrest!" The officer spun the stunned Conor around and slammed him into the hood of a police cruiser.
"What? What's going on?" Conor pleaded. Through the window of the GrizlHut, he saw Cara watching him with panic and terror on her face. "What happened?" Conor demanded, trying to loosen the cuffs.
"Kid, quit struggling or you will also be charged with resisting arrest!"
Conor stilled, mind reeling, trying to figure out what had happened. The officer opened a patrol car door, and roughly shoved Conor in the back seat. "Hey! You have the wrong guy! Someone talk to me! What the hell is going on!"
An officer banged on the window. "Save it for the detectives at the station kid!"
An hour later, Conor found himself, handcuffed, being ruffly walking into the police precinct, when he heard a familiar voice.
"HA! Conor? Are you going to be needing bail tonight? Feel free to call. The bank is always open. I am already paying bail for one loser tonight, I am sure my uncle could scrounge up funds for yours as well! Don't worry, if you can't make bail tonight, I will be sure to keep Jessica company for you!" Nyman Banks chuckled maniacally as he watched Conor be shoved into a small room, and handcuffed to a metal table.
Conor groaned. This night went from bad to worse. The mirror glass in front of him showed a scared pale-faced kid.
'Peace. Courage,' A deep and powerful voice rang through his soul. While they had patted him down for weapons they had oddly neglected to notice or care about the chain around his neck. Perhaps they had just missed it...
Suddenly an image of Mr. Nuri flashed before his mind's eye. Mr. Nuri standing in front of Dreadnaught Law Firm. "I want my lawyer! Call my lawyer!"
A detective walked in at that point. "if you want a lawyer I suppose we can find you a lawyer. But kid, you are in a lot of trouble. It would be best to talk."
"I don't want 'a' lawyer, I want MY lawyer."
The detective smirked, "like a lowlife like you would have a lawyer on retainer."
"Check my wallet. There is a number. One call."
The detective frowned at this but thinking better of it, found Conor's wallet in the evidence bag and flipped through it. A few copper dragon bills, a plain credit card, and a single business card. The detective pulled it out and his face visibly paled. "Dreadnaught? How do you know anyone at Dreadnaught?"
"Just. Call. My. Lawyer."
The detective stepped outside and dialed the number. Surely this was a fake card or just something the kid had found.
"Dreadnaught Law Partners."
"Yes, this is Detective Richards with the Jinstain Police Department. I have someone in custody who claims to have your office on retainer."
"Which partner?"
"Umm.... The card says a Mr. Nuri?"
"Mr. Nuri doesn't have retainers with criminal clients."
"I didn't think so. Sorry to bother you." As he was hanging up the secretary asked,
"Sir, so we know who to follow up with for falsely using our company name, may we inquire as to who the person is that had Mr. Nuri's card?"
"Just some lowlife named.... Brantley. Conor Brantley." The line went silent. "Hello? Well if that is all...."
"Please hold," came a very serious tone.
Detective Richards paced as he waited. He was about to hang up when a stern male voice come on the line. "Detective Richards. I understand you have someone named Conor Brantley in custody."
"Yes? Would you be Mr. Nuri?"
"Indeed. I advise you to tread very carefully. I will be at the precinct in fifteen minutes. My client should not be addressed by anyone in that time other than to inform him that I am on my way. Your conduct in the next fifteen minutes and all the time you have interacted with him thus far will determine if you have a job in the morning. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Mr. Nuri."
"Good. See you momentarily."
The line went dead and Detective Richards signed in relief, and then reeled in horror as the reality of the situation sunk in. He had fifteen minutes before one of the most powerful law firms in the kingdom was knocking on his door! He stuck his head into the interrogation room and simply said, "Mr. Nuri will be here shortly." he then went to his office to start collecting all the data and evidence he had against Conor.
Conor was relieved when Mr. Nuri walked into the interrogation room a few minutes later. He tried to stand but the cuffs held him down to the table. "Mr. Nuri! Thank Celia! I have no idea what is going on! I came back from..."
Mr. Nuri cut him off with a gesture. "Not here, Conor." Then to the detective who was lurking outside, "Uncuff my client."
"Sir, he is charged with serious drug trafficking crimes!"
"WHAT?" cried Conor, horrified that he was even associated with such activity.
"CONOR, not here," Admonished Mr. Nuri. "Detective, I advise you to get your evidence in order. We will deal with you in the morning."
"I have video," The detective said sheepishly.
Conor looked puzzled. Mr. Nuri was furious, "Thank you for finally sharing that. Show us. AFTER you uncuff my client!"
Reluctantly the detected did uncuff Conor before setting a computer before them. The video was dark and hard to make out. Conor was surprised that there was even a camera at this location. It was the first delivery stop he had made that evening!
"There? Really?" he asked. Nuri flashed him a warning look.
"We had been watching them for weeks. We caught you on camera making the drop! We raided shortly after we heard the gunfire and found the drugs and two wounded meth heads. You are lucky they didn't die!" the detective fumed.
"Meth? Wounded? What the hell are you talking about! I deliver PIZZA!"
"Some pizza that must have been. Size 9mm?" demanded the detective.
Mr. Nuri looked at Conor. "Will the store corroborate your times in and out?
"Umm, yea, Cara should have the clock out slip and our shop cameras should show when I came back in. I couldn't have been at that door more than two or three minutes."
"Long enough." Said the detective.
"But sir, look at your damn video! I never entered! Heck, I didn't even get paid for the pizza! Why are you not questioning that other guy?"
"What other guy?"
"The other pizza guy... or at least he said pizza when he banged on the door, I didn't see a pizza," Explained Conor.
Mr. Nuri looked closely at the video. "There! Right there, my client leaves the scene and this other fellow you seemed to decide is irrelevant is at the door and enters! Release my client at once! I will send over the corroborating evidence from his employer in the morning, and you, DETECTIVE, will be receiving a formal warning from my office to stay away from my client!"
Mr. Nuri grabbed Conor's arm and helped lead him out of the precinct and to a waiting car.
The detective just scratched his head and sat down hard. 'who the hell was that kid to have Mr. Nuri as his lawyer?'
***
Conor rested his head against the window, as Mr. Nuri sped them away from the precinct.
"What happened, Conor?" Mr. Nuri asked.
"Like I told the cop. I delivered pizza tonight, or tried to. That first delivery was to a sketchy part of town. I don't know what happened. The people must have ordered two pizzas at the same time. I just don't get it. I went straight back to the shop. Why do they think I did anything when they clearly see it on the camera?"
"They caught you. You were the easy target, and I doubt they expected you to have a lawyer. They wanted an easy win."
Conor just slumped, feeling defeated and hating the idea that those claiming to serve would be so easily blinded from the truth.
"Don't worry, your name will be cleared and I will make sure this never touches your record."
Conor frowned. Would Cara believe him? Would Jessica, or Mr. Cochan for that matter? No matter what the official record said, personal opinions would remain.
"Mr. Brantley, Tonight I suggest you remain at my office. This way we can be sure that the police have no excuse to claim you were anywhere else and we can also ensure your safety tonight in case anyone else decides to implicate you."
Conor just shrugged. It wasn't like he had a warm bed waiting for him. When they arrived at the office Mr. Nuri had an assistant pull out a folding bed.
"Do people stay here often?" Conor asked curiously.
Mr. Nuri laughed, "You might find this odd, but depending on what case our teams are working on, it is not unusual to find ourselves here all night. While we do try to avoid it, but some case deadlines demand it."
Conor laid down but just as his head hit the pillow he sat bolt upright. "Mr. Nuri! Cara! I took her car tonight! The police still have her car! They likely impounded it if they think I was doing anything with drugs! She is going to kill me!"
Mr. Nuri frowned. "I am not sure even I can get the car out tonight, but I can send someone to make sure she makes it home safely and will make sure we compensate her in the morning, as well as getting her car back."
Conor sank back on the cot and descended into a troubled sleep.