Internet 24

In the office of the 24th division of INTERNET, Agent Rico is pacing the floor. Pacing is reserved for those in deep contemplation, those filled with anger, or those trying to deal with grief, and Rico is doing it for none of those reasons.

Rico has this habit of diving deep into his mind. He lets his imagination run wild, creating imaginary conversations with people or absurd scenarios that could never happen. Even some that could have happened if he had reacted differently.

What if the barista this morning messed up his coffee order? Well, he would need to tell them in a way that doesn't come off angry because he isn't. Yet, firm in expressing he is serious. What words would he use? What if this room started to fill with lava? I know that sounds crazy, but at INTERNET, it's possible. Well, he knows where to jump on and a rough estimate of how long things like his desk and the cabinets will take to melt.

He wasn't doing that either. Rico is pacing the floor because he has found the new song that will be stuck in an eternal loop. He has the habit of finding a group of songs he will listen to on repeat for the next weeks or, if god forbid, months. The rationalization he tells himself is he only listens to the liked songs playlist, and since they are the ones he found recently, they are on top. It's not his fault.

The song... a jingle. A jingle to a chain of grocery stores popped up in the state, Silver Steve's.

RICO

Come home to Silver Steve's/

we deliver your needs/

shopping with us is an ease/

no fuss and life's a breeze/

Steve's the boss of low-cost;

there's no loss to fill your troughs,

so you know... Uhh, I forgot how the rest goes.

Eh, I'll learn it when I listen to it more. You get me, Laurel?

LAUREL

Gurgle.

Rico walks to his desk, and a smirk smears on his face when he looks over his next case.

RICO

This one takes place in Silver Steve's.

LAUREL

Gurgle.

RICO

Not shocked, though. They went from

a small local shop to dominating the state

in just a few years. That's nearly impossible nowadays,

especially in this economy. They made major

news when people heard they were planning to expand.

They have so much in their stores that it's hard to choose. What do you think, Laurel? I can stop by there after work and pick you up something.

LAUREL

Gurgle.

RICO

Castle it is. Now let's get to work.

Rico flics the mic on.

RICO

This is Agent Rico, head of the 24th division

of INTERNET. With me, as always, is agent

Laurel. This Audio recording is of incident

REPORT: A01040109272018B36

that occurred in Perch, Texas, on

September 27, 2018. Code name, Missing Aisle