Chautona Havig [Havig - Mismatched

The sleazy bar oozed with the slime of a biker haven. Ernie pulled into his usual parking spot and jerked on the emergency brake before turning off the engine. Loud music blared in the cool Colorado air as a group of men exited the building. He watched them, but none stumbled. Good.

Inside, he accepted his usual glass of Coke from the end of the bar and wove his way through the customers and regulars to the paneled hallway plastered with posters of women wearing too little to leave anything to the imagination and advertisements for beer. He found the last door on the left closed and locked. A keypad accepted his access code. The light turned green. All was well.

Once inside, he closed it again, turning the deadbolt even before he turned on the lights. A glance around him assured Ernie that nothing was amiss. Things remained a bit skittish after the mess with Leo.

Unlike the rest of the bar, this room boasted clean and modern dcor. Sleek stainless office furniture butted against beige walls. His chair was a masterpiece of ergonomics and luxury. Contemporary lighting kept the room bright and a splash of artwork on one wall added visual interest. The laptopthe one that never left the buildingsat on the desk, ready for him to login.

His cellphone buzzed and a glance at the screen flashed one name. JENk. He ignored it. There was no news yet. As he typed in his sixteen-character password, Ernie muttered, I swear they want information before it happens now. The world isnt going to hell in a hand basket; its flying there at the speed of light.

Reports cascaded onto the screen at the touch of his mouse. Emails flooded his inbox, most going into the junk folder that he still had to comb for coded messages. Google popped up with his browser, taunting him with the temptation to feel lucky. His fingers skimmed the keys and hit enter.

The entries popped up as he typed and the final tally for the day was 139,431. Ernie scratched out the previous days number and wrote this below it, replacing the sticky note on the edge of the monitor. Up sixty-three. Maybe today.

A single knock preceded the sound of keys in the lock. His boss stepped into the room. Youre in early. Got anything?

Just got here. Looks like an increase on Leos though. Maybe well find something.

Del talked with his mother.

Ernie nodded. Though it didnt surprise him, it did bother him that some chick had to die because her son ran his mouth. Ill see what I can find out. He hesitated before asking the obvious question. Del sticking around to see if Leo shows up for a funeral?

Thats the idea. Jenk left the room with a silent order hanging in the air. Get me the reports and see if any of the new Google hits pan out.

According to the previous nights sales report, beer was up by twelve percent and for no apparent reason. He punched a number on his phone and waited for a reply. Hey, Roman, you need to boost production by fifteen percent. Without a word, he disconnected and went back to his lists, highlighting the places that Jenk needed to read.

Three printed emails went on top of the pile. Twenty-two minutes later, he had the extra entries finished and Google closed. Another bust. Jenk wouldnt like that. He pulled out his phone, hit the button for JENk and sent a text message. No news.

Papers in hand, he strolled down to the bosss office and knocked. Got the reports.

Jenk called him in and held out his hand for them. Unlike Ernies office, the room was more like a man cave, complete with state of the art HDTV and leather seating. Again, however, it looked out of place in the shabby building. What do we have an increase in beer. Good. Did you call Roman?

Told him to have fifteen percent more next week.

Thatll give us samplesgood thinking. Ive got a new kid. Thinks kind of like Leo did. Speaking of Leo

Bust. Nothing there. One email is from the informant at the courthousethe one from TTYL@letterbox.com.

TTYL?

Text-speak for talk to you later. Its a dummy account, of course.

Whats it say hmm. Good. Follow up on these. See if theres any reason to visit any of them.

Will do. Ernie pocketed the list of towns across the country where Leo might be, certain that it was a waste of time.

Got anything else for me?

Thats all.

Jenk passed back the stack of papers and nodded his dismissal. Shred em then.

An hour later, another message from JENk arriveda one-letter text. K.