The Protagonist System

Atlas sat behind the counter of his retail sales storefront for nearly an hour before he realized his strategy of using the disinformation system against his competitors was kind of backfiring on him. Why? Because no one was physically coming to his business to check to see if his businesses actually existed.

Well, that just wouldn't do. No, sir. He drafted a small repair bill with a modest cost, one for each of the businesses, building managers, and public facilities he had repaired. He even did up a bill to the city for all of the roadwork repairs and streetlight replacements he had installed. He even blatantly put his corporation header at the top in bold letters and then sent them off.

Atlas assumed this would at least gain him some attention within a short amount of time... and he was wrong. What he actually received was prompt payment from each and every person or business he had billed. The cost had been so modest that most of them paid the thing without even checking what it was.

City Hall on the other hand, referenced their already existing contract for garbage and the cost for all of the roadwork was less than a single monthly payment. It was paid immediately with a bonus for expediency. It also included a polite thank you for including a detailed list of the things he had repaired, that way they could update their records.

Atlas sat there and stared at his new and much higher account balance while he also felt surprise about it. It was so strange that he was literally trying to have someone call him out on his audacity for charging them for something he did for free, and not one single person or business thought about doing so.

For the rest of the morning, all he did was try to figure out how the hell he was going to get someone's attention. He took a break from that unexpectedly daunting task to eat lunch, which he didn't really taste, and then he resumed his silent contemplation over the problem.

The solution he was looking for entered his business just before 2 P.M., which was the scheduled time for their unofficial meeting that he had set up. After the full night he had, it had completely slipped his mind that he had arranged meeting her the previous day.

“Detective Hamill!” Atlas said to the black woman, his voice full of warmth and happiness. “It's so very nice that you could come here on such short notice.”

Anna Hamill was a little taken aback by the overly polite greeting. “The fuck you saying? Are we chooms or something?”

It was Atlas' turn to be taken aback by the harshness in her voice. He didn't know what he had done to piss her off and he had to think for a moment about it. As he did, his eyes took in her appearance. Despite her being a prolific detective and one of the best in her precinct, she only wore an old pair of faded jeans, a wine colored top that hid nothing of her large chest, and a ratty old jacket.

Even her hair was split into 5 Ghana weaves and came together at the back of her head in a short Bantu knot. It probably should have been a ponytail and looked like a dog's cropped tail instead. It gave her face a harsh look without her frown added in. With it, she looked downright angry. He couldn't think of anything he could have done to make her angry, though.

“Who pissed in your coffee this morning?” Atlas asked back and his voice lacked any warmth.

Anna opened her mouth to respond hotly and then remembered she wasn't supposed to be hostile right from the start. She closed her eyes and tried to get her temper under control, except it barely worked. She was angry that her captain had refused to let her search for the missing people or file murder charges for all the recorded deaths shown on the news.

His explanation that they were long dead and no one was asking about them, since they were gang members, made it not their problem. Dismissing her concerns over the blatant crimes shown on the news had pissed her off and she had been stewing in it for the entire morning.

She even tried to go over his head and contacted the Police Commissioner himself, only to be stonewalled by his secretary, whom claimed he would be in extensive talks with various representatives of corporations that were bringing lawsuits against the police department, the city, and each and every officer on the payroll that hadn't gone out to die the night before.

Apparently, they couldn't sue most of the fired night shift ones on the same grounds, because somehow a list of Atlas Corporation military and police assets had become available publicly and the previous officers had actually been out on the streets and taking care of things. Only a handful hadn't been and they were in hiding. Well, the ones that didn't end up dead, anyway.

Anna opened her eyes after she calmed down a little and realized she had fucked up her 'be nice at first' strategy. There was no way to get Atlas to relax and not be defensive after her rash comment and she thought about how she was going to proceed. She wanted to ask about the crime scene out at Rocky Ridge and where he found the victims and their remains, except the previous night's activities dominated her thoughts.

She hadn't gone out herself because she wasn't an idiot. Oh, she could take down her fair share before she was flatlined, sure. What was the point of that, though? There were always going to be more gangbangers and there was only one of her. She'd rather stay alive and not throw her life away needlessly, thank you very much.

Atlas knew she wasn't going to answer his question, so he asked another. “Why are you here, detective?”

Anna held in her sigh at the change in his tone and posture, because he was definitely hostile and on the defensive. “I want you to report all the crimes you witnessed...”

“No. I refuse to incriminate myself.” Atlas said and cut her off. “Since I didn't report any crimes last night, you could charge me with aiding and abetting anything I tell you about, and not only the ones I personally witnessed or saw on the news broadcasts.”

Anna did not admit that was a great idea and she would use it in the future.

“Is there anything else I can help you with, detective?” Atlas asked. By the tone of his voice, he was only asking to be polite and not because he actually would. “As you can see, I'm completely swamped with new customers and I should get back to work as soon as possible.”

Anna glanced around at the completely empty business and back to his face.

“Yes, completely swamped.” Atlas repeated.

Anna felt her frustration grow again at the corpo in front of her telling her that he knew about tons of crimes and that he wouldn't tell her about them, because she might charge him with his own crimes for not reporting them sooner. Depending on how he knew about them, she could charge him with many other things, too. Conspiracy was a big one. Disposing of evidence was another.

If there was one thing she absolutely loathed, it was blatant corruption, just like she saw in her fellow officers, hints of it from her captain, and now especially in the Police Commissioner, whose policies had made the NCPD a cesspool that was as bad as the gangs and she had to deal with that shit on a daily basis.

“Look, you fucking gonk.” Anna spat and barely stopped herself from pulling her service pistol as she leaned forward over the counter and gripped his suit coat's lapels. “We both know you're guilty of more things than hoarding information.” She tried to shake him slightly to make a point, except he didn't move an inch, and that just made her angrier. “You better tell me what you know... right now... or I'm gonna run you in for obstructing a police investigation.”

Atlas sat there for a moment, then he very slowly stood up. Anna had a choice to make then, because she was leaning over the counter and was holding onto him. Should she double down on trying to intimidate him or let him break her hold on him and lose her advantage? As her feet left the floor, she realized her intimidation tactic hadn't worked at all. The man was almost a foot taller than her and she felt ridiculous as he stood up to his full height and pretty much dragged her halfway across the countertop.

“I invited you here to visit me, detective. I thought you were one of the most honest cops in the city and that we could work together to handle a few things.” Atlas said glanced down at her hands that were still tangled up in his lapels. “However, I did not invite you here to threaten me on my own property without any evidence and I am quite sad to find out that I was very wrong about you.”

Anna'a anger fled as she felt embarrassment over being called out for her actions and how non-police-like they were. The intimidation tactic had worked on so many others and the suspect usually cracked after a little pressure. Unfortunately, she had fallen into the same trap that her fellow officers usually did. If it worked most of the time, then the odds were that it would work again. She was sorely mistaken.

“I've sent a report of this incident to your captain and will amend a copy of the recording as soon as you leave.” Atlas said and looked back at her face. “Please remove your restraining hold on me and kindly remove yourself from the premises.”

Anna knew he was making fun of her with that comment, because it usually did restrain a suspect and it hadn't worked on him at all. He also made no move to do it himself and she appreciated him not manhandling her. She carefully let him go and had to balance herself on the countertop, then pushed herself off of it and stood on her feet.

“Do not come back, detective. Ever. You are no longer welcome at any of my properties. As soon as you are sighted in the area, or are caught contacting any of my employees, you will be reported for stalking and harassment.” Atlas informed her.

Anna couldn't stop the anger from rushing back. “You have no right to interfere...”

Atlas smiled a knowing smile. “Will you completely destroy your honest reputation by ignoring the law again, detective? Shall I include that in my report against you as well?”

Anna let out a sound, almost like a growl, as she clenched her fists. “Fucking fine! I'll stay away... right up until I can pin something on you and then I'll be back with a combat squad and then you'll see why you should never piss off a member of the NCPD!”

“I already know that, detective.” Atlas said and handed her a piece of paper that showed the Police Commissioner's message about never having the support of the NCPD in any capacity.

Anna read the message and knew she had fucked up even worse than she thought she did. With that corrupted asshole already telling Atlas he didn't have police support, without asking for a bribe to correct that, her own threat had compounded with it and only alienated him even more from complying with her and the police department.

“Have a good day.” Atlas said. By the tone of his voice, he obviously didn't mean it.

Anna crumpled up the paper and thought about tossing it at his smug face, then thought better of it. She turned around and walked over to the door to leave. She stopped when the door opened for her and she turned back around.

“Rocky Ridge.” Anna said. It had been the original reason for her to visit, after all. She needed to know how he had done what he did there.

“Ask any of the night shift officers what happens when my company's cargo hauler picks up the garbage at night.” Atlas said and then smiled. “Oh, wait. There are no night shift officers anymore and they all work for me. Too bad, so sad. Goodbye, detective.”

Anna let out a frustrated sigh and walked out through the still open door and went to her car. She climbed into the driver's side and sat there for several minutes. The crumpled paper in her hand dropped to the seat beside her and she started the car, checked the mirrors for other cars, and pulled out into traffic. For some reason, she felt a loss inside of her as she drove away from a man she knew was a criminal.

Atlas sat down and did as he said and sent a copy of the video as well as an amendment to his report. He knew with the way the police department worked, him reporting an honest cop for her criminal behavior would actually ingratiate her with her fellow officers. She would hate it, of course. Honest people usually hated having to deal with corrupt people, which was why she had been so easily angered.

When Atlas hadn't let her intimidate him, she had been offended by it and she made things worse when she didn't back down like she should have. If she had been smart, she would have laughed and played it off as her carrying on to test his character. Even if it was a lie, how it was perceived was the key.

Instead, the detective had let her anger rule her actions and ruined the entire encounter. It was going to eat at her for a while as she questioned herself about it, too. She knew she should have handled things differently and how Atlas had remained calm and respectful, despite her behavior.

The problem was, if Atlas had done or said anything to try and mitigate things, she would have seen it as weakness and pounced on him for it. She could have arrested him, except any arrest would have been tainted by how it had come about.

It wasn't because she had gone there to arrest Atlas for what she believed he had done, it was because arresting him was used as a threat to get him to talk about things that could get him arrested. A small bribe to either the desk sergeant or the captain would have it thrown out by the end of the workday.

Anna Hamill knew that, which was why she left feeling angered and frustrated. Atlas could have been a huge source of information and she had screwed it up by not following her simple plan of being nice. Him being happy to see her, which she thought was fake, had thrown her whole plan off and things had gone downhill from there.

Only time would tell if she was smart enough to send someone else to talk to him in her stead. Just because she was persona non grata with his employees and businesses, that didn't mean that everyone at the NCPD was. Perhaps she had a friend, or a coworker, or even an informant that she could use as a go-between.

Atlas had wanted to deal with her, which was why he contacted her directly. It was not his fault that she was confrontational and treated him with hostility right from the start. With luck, if she did send someone, whomever it was would be more accepting of a genuine friendly greeting and not see it as an opening gambit of highly suspicious behavior.