It’s late as I sit on the park bench waiting for Landru to arrive. To say she’s cautious is an understatement. Kyle, my brother, said this meet sounded like a bad romance movie. Landru asked to meet in this park at night. She said I’d know her as she’d wear a scarf and have a flower in her hair.
Jesus, Kyle is right. It is a bad romance movie.
Landru left specific instructions to meet her here on this particular bench and she’d find me. We’ve been online chatting back and forth for over two years. I don’t know her real name, nor does she know mine. It was our hacker handles that drew us together.
I’m a huge Star Trek fan, and on the dark web, I go by Archon. Landru is from the original series, a computer program that was left on a planet, and Archon was the race that left it there. We were destined for each other. I smile to myself.
I’ve spoken to her on the phone a few times, but she’s never wanted to meet. Kyle needed information, and I knew Landru could get it for us. Usually, we trade information, but this time she said she wanted a date.
The danger of meeting a fellow hacker is that they could be a fifty-year-old man with a penchant for younger men. Even though we’ve spoken, she could’ve used a voice changer, which is easily available, believe me.
I don’t date. Sometimes I hook up with the Loyal Rebels MC’s women if they aren’t spoken for. Most of the club girls are readily available, and the fact I’m the president’s brother makes it more than easy for me to find a willing partner.
My blood brothers are the only people I’m close to. I live a solitary existence. More than once, I’ve asked to join the MC, but Kyle always says no, even though I’ve proven myself useful to them. Kyle doesn’t want his family hurt, but not being in the MC hurts me more than his desire to keep me safe. I need to belong. I need more than my brothers and my computers.
In my world, I risk-assess everything. All I do is well thought out and calculated down to the last detail. My family thinks I’m the town clown, but out in the real world, nothing much gets past me. This last year I’ve taken self-defense classes and weapons training, mostly in handguns. I’m a pretty good shot, and the training has bulked me up. I’m not like my brother, Sean, who’s muscly. I’m leaner but wiry with muscle definition. The classes were more for Kyle than myself. I wanted him to know I’ll do whatever it takes to become part of the MC. He’s had a lot going on of late, so I haven’t pushed the issue, but I will try again soon.
An older woman walks toward me. She’s pushing a shopping cart, no scarf or flower in her hair, and if this is Landru, she’s taken the disguise to a whole new level. I can smell her from twenty feet away.
The woman stops. “You got any money?” I shake my head. “It’s not safe in here at night. You never know who’s around. You sure you don’t got no change?”
I pull my pockets out of my black jeans and shake my head. “Nothing.”
The woman harrumphs at me and continues to push her cart further into the park. I watch her until I can’t see her anymore, then stand and tuck my pockets back in. I’m dressed from head to toe in black. Pulling up my hoodie, I cover my head and sit back on the bench.
Landru is late.
Movement to my left catches my eye. There’s a woman, and from this distance, she appears petite, maybe five foot two. There’s a scarf around her neck, and as she gets closer, she has a beanie on with a blue flower on the side of it. I stand, and she frowns at me. Glancing down, I make sure I look presentable and my zipper isn’t undone.
When I look back up, she’s in front of me. “I thought you’d be shorter.”
“I thought you’d be taller.”
“Archon?”
I nod. “Landru?”
She smiles, and her entire face radiates with joy. Landru has short black hair, and I can see hints of blue from under the beanie. Her face is white with way too much black makeup. It’s funny with all our conversations, I didn’t picture her as a goth.
Extending my arm toward the bench, I say, “Please sit.”
Landru has a backpack on. She takes it off and sits next to it. I sit next to her with my leg bent and resting on the bench, so I can face her.
“So, we finally meet.”
Landru smiles again. “Yeah. Did everything work out for your brother?”
“I didn’t say it was for my brother.”
Landru smiles and nods. “No, I guess you didn’t.” She fiddles with a ring on her thumb, the only sign she’s nervous. “It worked out, though, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, it did.” I pull my hoodie down. “Why’d you want to meet?”
Landru laughs. “Don’t you think it’s about time?”
I raise both eyebrows and shake my head. “You know how this works. We don’t meet. We have a mutual appreciation for the things we do, and we help each other out once in a while.” I shake my head. “But a real-world meet? We don’t do that unless we have to. So, are you just hard up for a date, or is there a problem we need to discuss?”
The smile falls from her face, and she looks down at her hands. Landru takes a deep breath and reaches into her backpack. “Archon, you better be the good guy I think you are. I need your help. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with this.” She hands me a flash drive.
