Multi-Dimensional Merchant System

Oliver felt his nervousness rise as he drove through the suburbs. He knew this bounty was a bad idea for him. Arson, hate crime, domestic terrorism... Even if all the news channels weren't talking about the FBI getting involved, it only made sense to him that they would. If he wanted to avoid the possibility of coming to their attention, the smart thing to do would be just to drive on by and forget the whole mess. They were the professionals, after all.

But he knew he couldn't just ignore it.

It hit a little to close to home. He knew from the stories she had shared that Polina, being from a predominantly Hispanic family, had faced more than a little bigotry and racism in her life. Add in that the person posted the bounty because their mother had been caught in the attack... Oliver knew exactly how far he would have gone to help his mother, and the terrible things he would have done to keep her safe.

He had even done some of them, just as his mother had done to protect him.

As bad of an idea as taking the bounty was, he couldn't imagine just ignoring it. Seven people had died, with another twenty injured, some seriously. The assholes that did it deserved to be punished... and one of the cops involved had already leaked the news that they didn't have a single lead, the perpetrators either being smart or lucky enough to not leave any evidence. The officer was already suspended for it, but that was poor comfort for the victims and their families.

So Oliver took the bounty.

He drove by where the drove had been, staying roughly a block away to avoid the police presence as well as the long line of mourners... and the crowd of morbid individuals that were always drawn to the site of a tragedy. With it being so close to dark, he quickly found a gas station a couple blocks away to park his truck. The lack of useful information from the bounty post meant he need to gather some information.

And it was the perfect time to try out his new drone.

With a quick glance around to be sure no one was watching, he rolled down his window and released the drone. The drone rapidly gained altitude before he turned it towards the church and sent it zipping off. Already pleased with how easy the drone was to use, its speed raised his impression of it by another notch as it only took seconds to arrive high above the crowd around the ruins of the church.

With the scene itself already searched by the police and FBI- and he doubted he would find something that they missed- Oliver ignored the ravaged structure, turning the drone to focus on the people gathered below, as well as those just passing by. With the statistics he had read about arsonists returning to the scene, there was a chance he could spot something there. Of course, it was likely the officers below were doing the same thing.

He circled the drone at a distance to begin with, just to get a feel for the crowd while making notes of the groups spread throughout it. The police keeping the scene secure, the mourners nearby, some of which were laying out wreaths and flowers for those they lost, people expressing their sympathies... and those that obviously only showed up for the spectacle, which Oliver labeled as 'vultures' in his own mind.

He understood that some people were drawn to tragedies like this, either for their own entertainment or from a sense of relief that it didn't happen to them. He didn't really understand those feelings, he just knew that they existed.

“People are weird.” He lamented to himself, fully aware of the irony of someone as odd as him saying it.

With a sigh, Oliver engaged the drone's stealth mode and flew it closer.

Despite recharging and sending the drone out twice more, Oliver didn't find anything that stood out. But he hadn't really expected to, at least not so soon. If it was that easy to catch the culprit, the police would have done it already.

But he did discover one thing that could be helpful: Screen capture. With the drone linked to a phone, he could easily use it to take screenshots and even record everything he saw through the drone. While not immediately useful, he knew there was potential for it. Especially with the phone printer he picked up from the 24 hour store.

Which is how Oliver found himself in a cheap hotel room, printing pictures of dozens of people. From the vultures to the police officers, he had snapped pictures of each of them. And any distinguishing marks he had spotted on them, like tattoos.

Any detail could be important.

With the photos printed and organized, he grabbed the new laptop he had picked up as well and started the next phase of his investigation. In just a few minutes, he had made nicely fleshed out fake profiles for several social media platforms. Fake name, fake profile picture, fake everything- with the hometown of Sparrow. This city. Just like most of his suspects, he expected.

But before he could start his social media deep dive, his phone rang.

Seeing who was calling, a small smile flashed across his lips before disappearing with a sigh. He knew this conversation couldn't be put off, but he was worried about what sort of response he would get. After a second of hesitation, he scooped up the phone and answered. “Hey Poli. I've missed you.”

“You ok, hon? You sound like your worried about something.”

Oliver chuckled softly. Polina knew him too well already. While he knew he could still hide some things from her, especially the more unusual aspects of his life, she had a knack for reading him. Where most people struggled to know what he was truly feeling, she seemed to instinctively pick up on the slightest shift in his emotions. Especially when it came to their relationship.

“I'm ok, I promise. But, uh... I think I messed up.” He winced, realizing how that sounded, and pressed on quickly. “I think I should have talked to you before I agreed to take on another side job, and I feel bad about it. Someone's mom got hurt, so they asked for help.. And, well, I kinda impulsively agreed to help.”

He was just as relieved to hear the smile in her voice as he was at the response itself. “Of course you did, Oli, and it's ok. You have a good heart. And you have a bit of a soft spot for moms.”

“Speaking of which, when do you think you'll be back? My mom wants to meet you.”

Despite the teasing tone of her voice, Oliver froze for a moment. He had never been asked to meet someone's parents- though he also hadn't really dated enough for that to matter. What would Poli's mom think of him? Kicked out of college, being hounded by the police, and with a job that had him away for unknown amounts of time... He couldn't imagine her approving of their relationship...

“I freaked you out, didn't I? I'm sorry Oli, if you're not comfortable with meeting-”

“No, its fine. I want to meet her, I'm just a little worried that she won't like me. With everything that's going on, me being kicked out of school and-”

Polina took her turn at interrupting, her tone warm and reassuring. “Its ok Oli, I promise. My mom already knows what is going on. She agrees that it's all bullshit. And, in her own words, she is 'Super excited to meet her future son'. Ah... Just... Don't pay too much attention to that 'future son' part. She's just really optimistic and supportive. Not that I'm saying I don't want... I mean, that's a conversation for in person. In the future. I'm nervously rambling, aren't I?”

Oliver couldn't help but laugh. He didn't really know how she did it, but Poli always brought a smile to his face. He also couldn't help but tease her back. “Yes. Yes you are. But it's ok. We can worry about that in person, future conversation... in the future. Preferably in person.”

Polina's warm, rich laughter echoed across the line. “Ok, maybe I deserved that one. But I would still like to know when you will be back. And- Yes, mom, I'm talking to Oliver.”

“He got pulled into another job and was just about to tell me how long...”

“Ok, ok. I'll tell him. Just give me a second.”

Imagining the other half of the conversation, and Polina's mom chattering away, amused Oliver to no end. He decided to tease her just a bit more before she could switch back to talking to him. “Tell your mom I said hi, and that I'm looking forward to meeting her.”

When Polina huffed at him, he devolved into a very unexpected fit of giggles. Unexpected because he couldn't remember actually giggling before. Ever.

It took a few minutes for Polina to placate her mother and return to the call. Despite her attempt to sound annoyed by the whole thing, he could hear the happiness in her voice. “Thanks for that. My mom says hi as well. Now, if you're done messing with me?”

“Sorry hon, I couldn't resist. Hopefully this job only takes a couple weeks, but it's possible it may run long. I'm still gathering all the information I need to properly execute the contract.”