Multi-Dimensional Merchant System

Oliver felt like he hit every red light on his way to the super store across town, each delay increasing the anticipation he felt at trying out the system for the first time. The ten minute drive felt like an eternity had passed when he pulled his truck into a parking spot.

He took several deep breaths to calm himself, knowing his current agitation served know purpose; if anything, it would just distract him when he knew he needed to focus. The thought of his friends making jokes at him for finally getting wound up over something made him chuckle and drove off all the tension he had felt.

With confident steps, Oliver strode into the store, making a bee-line for the aisle with all the spices on it. Clove, garlic, sage... Fajita mix, taco mix... Dozens of seasonings, mixes, and blends made Oliver hesitate. Should he get them all? Small doubts about the system crept into his mind. If it didn't work, he would easily be out a decent chunk of money.

Holding one of the jars in his hand, he wondered how the whole thing worked anyway. Did he need to speak aloud what he wanted, or just focus on The Spice of Life post-

Processing Commission...

The Spice of Life

Garlic-3 ounces

Transferring...

Transaction complete.

Commission reward: 15 credits.

Buyer authorized bonus: 20 credits.

The jar disappeared from his hand in an instant, nearly causing him to jerk back in shock. Suppressing his reaction, Oliver looked around to make sure he was still alone in the aisle. Seeing no one, he let out a small sigh of relief before he dove back into the system. With his success in completing a commission, there was only one more test he needed to carry out. He opened the Currency Exchange tab and started his first deposit.

Currency Exchange Initiated. The requested funds have been deposited into your account.

Oliver pulled out his phone and eagerly logged in to his bank app. His face lit up with a bright smile when he saw the total balance had gone up by $350. One commission nearly covered his rent for the month. For a second, he could feel the greed welling up inside him as he looked over the wall of spices before him. How much could he make...

He shook his head once, forcefully resisting the sudden impulse. “Don't overdo it, Oli. Flooding the market is good for short-term gain but bad in the long-term. They may just withdraw the commission if they get too much at once.” He whispered to himself, focused once more.

Oliver considered his approach carefully before he made up his mind. Grabbing one of each of the pure spices and dropped them in his shopping basket, avoiding any spice blends for now. He wanted to keep it slow and simple at first to build their interest, maybe just two new spices a week and in small quantities.

With one commission down, he headed towards the garden section of the store, wanting to hit another in the same shopping trip. With the idea of organizing his plans for the commissions, as well as keeping them secret, he made a quick detour to grab new notebook and a fireproof lock-box just big enough to hold it. Entering the garden section, the small selection of fertilizers made it easy to find an all-purpose fertilizer for gardens.

Oliver gave the cashier a distracted smile as he swiped his debit card to pay, his mind already racing down his plans for making the most out of this system, when bad luck struck again. Purchases in hand, he turned to leave only to find an older woman blocking his way with a frown. The name tag pinned to the dull brown suit proclaimed her to be the manager, Karen. He let out a small sigh, knowing immediately that her name was probably accurate.

“Come with me.” She demanded and turned to walk away without waiting for a response. Oliver stood in place, watching he march away until she realized he wasn't following. Storming back up to him with gritted teeth, she practically growled at him. “Did you not hear me, or are you stupid? I said come with me!”

His blue eyes drilled into her as he stared back calmly for a moment before responding. “It's usually polite to introduce yourself when talking to someone you don't know. Thankfully, Karen, you have a name tag, so that doesn't really matter. So, how about we start with why you expect me to follow you? Maybe throw in why you have an attitude with a customer for no reason?”

With every word, her eyebrows rose higher and higher, her anger mounting as he dared to talk back. Finally she snapped at him. “You know why! I have no patience for criminals like you. And don't try to run, I've already called the police. An officer will be here any second.”

Bewilderment ran through Oliver at her words. Why would she be calling him a criminal. Before he could find an answer to that, he saw her anger shift to a warm, ingratiating smile, though the hint of smugness in her eyes when she glanced at him made him worry.

Turning to look where she was directing her smile, Oliver saw a female police officer approaching them from the entrance doors. She was nearly as tall as him and obviously well-built, despite the uniform mostly hiding her figure. With tanned skin, jet black hair and deep hazel eyes, he could imagine most guys being stunned just at the sight of her, though the way she carried herself suggested she took her job seriously.

“You must be the manager, Mrs. Mills. I'm Officer Ramirez. What can I do for you?” He voice a deeper than Oliver expected, but decidedly feminine. The warm and welcoming tone of her voice sounded like it fit more to a late-night radio host than an officer of the law.

“Hello Officer. I'm very glad you are here. I need this shoplifter arrested immediately. I saw him stealing a jar of spices on our security cameras. I will, of course, be pressing charges. It's the least someone like him deserves.” The manager waved her hand to indicate Oliver, scorn an condescension dripping from every word.

Oliver stood stone-faced at her accusation, though his mind was in turmoil as he understood what had happened. She must have glimpsed something happening when he accidentally completed that first commission and the jar he was holding disappeared. He almost felt relieved that she had jumped at the thought he was stealing, rather than see it for what it really was.

Before he could formulate a response, the officer turned to face him with a carefully neutral look. “Sir, I'm going to ask to check your bags, please. And if you wouldn't mind emptying your pockets, that would be great. And I need to see your ID, please.”

With a small nod, Oliver set down his bags and started emptying his pockets onto the counter, but couldn't help speaking up. “Ignoring the fact that I have nothing on me... Even if I did, it wouldn't be illegal. It wouldn't actually be considered stolen until after I left. But please, feel free to check. I don't mind.”

Karen scoffed loudly as Officer Ramirez answered him with a nod. “Technically he's correct Mrs. Mills.”

It took less than a minute for her to check his items against the receipt, the contents of his pockets being just a cellphone, wallet, and keys took even less time. She glanced at his driver's license before returning it to him. “Thank you for cooperating, Mr. Silk. I apologize for the inconvenience, but would you mind staying for just a few more minutes while we double check the security footage? Just to clear up this misunderstanding.”

Karen, visibly angrier at nothing being found, quickly returned to looking smug at the mention of the security footage. “Yes, that would be best. You'll see what this thief has done!” With that declaration, she turned and strode away briskly.

Barely suppressing a groan of frustration, Oliver gathered up his things and followed alongside the officer. With the manager some distance ahead, Officer Ramirez gave him an apologetic look before speaking. “I'm sorry about this. This particular Karen has a history of calling in a lot of theft reports,, most of them being...inaccurate. Though please don't mention that I said that.” She finished with a small wince, having said too much.

Oliver just shrugged, his small smile returned as he met her eyes. “No worries, its just my bad luck striking again. This isn't even the worst thing to happen to me this week. Though it is pretty dumb. I just bought a couple dozen spices, why would steal another just to save a few dollars? I would probably pay for another just to shut her up if I didn't think she would latch on to that as me admitting guilt or something.”

Officer Ramirez chuckled softly, but refrained from responding as they approached the office. The two stepped inside to find that Karen waiting impatiently with a clip already pulled up and paused on Oliver standing in front of the spices with a jar in hand. With a dramatic flourish, Karen his play.

Oliver forced himself to breath calmly as they watched. Right when the jar disappeared, the video seemed to jump a frame. Officer Ramirez frowned, but replayed it twice before speaking. “Mrs. Mills, it appears your camera glitched. Perhaps you should have your security system updated?”

Karen's indignant screech was deafening in the small room, making both people present wince. “That isn't the point! He obviously stole it! It's not like it just disappeared into thin air.” Oliver chuckled inside, as that was exactly what happened.

Officer Ramirez spoke soothingly, trying to defuse the situation. “Ma'am, I checked his bags and pockets. If he had stolen something, we would have found it. This is clearly just a misunderstanding. If you could please calm down...”

“I don't need to calm down! I need you to arrest this thief. He probably just stuck it down his pants or something!”

Before either of them could say anything else, Oliver let out a disgusted sigh and dropped his bags, drawing their attention back to him. Without hesitation, he pulled off his shirt and dropped his pants around his ankles, leaving himself standing there in just a pair of plain boxer shorts. Glaring at the now flustered Karen, scorn dripped with every word as he spoke. “As you can see, the only thing in my pants is me. And if you ever want to see a man undress again, try not being a bitch.”

As he pulled his pants back up, he turned to look at Officer Ramirez to see her eyes trailing down his body. When she realized she had been caught staring, she blushed and looked away. She quickly cleared her throat before speaking. “Thank you, Mr. Silk, though that was...unnecessary. I apologize for troubling you. You're free to go.”

Oliver made his exit as the officer started in to a lecture, silently thankfully that his earlier mistake hadn't exploded in his face. Within minutes, he had everything loaded into his truck and just sat there, reflecting on how things could have gone worse. Much worse. Unable to imagine the consequences of the system being discovered by someone else, he lost track of how long he sat before he resolved to be more careful in the future.

Pulling out of the parking space, he started towards the exit. Seeing Officer Ramirez leaning against her patrol car, frustration written across her face and the tension in her shoulders, a sudden impulse made him change his mind. Pulling up next to her, he rolled down his window. “Don't let people like her get to you. You have a tough job, but you're doing great.”

She jerked back in surprise for a second when he started talking, then gave him an awkward smile. “Thanks, but I feel bad about letting her embarrass you like that. She's just a bi... Er, an unpleasant person. Things shouldn't have gotten out of hand like that.”

Oliver gave her a reassuring smile as he leaned out of the truck window. “Just between you and me, I'm not embarrassed. Boxers cover just as much as swim trunks, so it's not like I was indecent. No more free shows though. You've got to buy me dinner first.”

He mentally kicked himself for teasing her. Not even two weeks after a bad breakup and here he was, flirting with a woman he barely knew. Though a part of him decided it really liked how her blush soften her features and made her look more innocent.

She fidgeted for a moment as her blush deepened. Pulling a card from her pocket, she held it out to him. “Here. If Karen causes any more problems when you're shopping, just give me a call.” As he took the card, she squirmed for a second before clasping her hands together. “And... my private number is at the bottom, in case you want to call me for...ah, unofficial reasons.” She cleared her throat and straightened her back before giving him a bright smile. “I hope you have a good day, Mr. Silk.”

Without waiting for a response, she climbed into her patrol car and left. Oliver stared at the card in his hands, stunned. With a quiet laugh, he stuck the card in his pocket. “I can't believe she gave me her number. The guys are going to give me hell over this.”