Free Out of the Black by Lee Doty Page A

away from him in both directions. The door before him seemed to gather signiance under his stare. Small nicks and scratches traced over its faux wood surface, the documentation of previous and inscrutable violence.
    Perhaps the unreality that had governed the world beneath the overpass had reached out, through sun and the freshness of morning, to touch this place. Perhaps the lurker behind the door was a part of that violent unreality. Perhaps the rational explanations that Ping came here seeking were the unreality.
    He put on a more earnest smile and knocked again.
    After twenty more seconds of silence from inside, Ping pulled out his badge and held it before the peephole. "Police. I'm looking for Alexander Ahmed."
    There was a muted chirp from behind the door- probably Ping's credentials being verified through the lurker's tablet- followed by more waiting, apparently followed by a decision.
    The door cracked open and one eye appeared beneath a patch of glossy chrome hair. "What is it?" The kid asked with a comically bad approximation of sleepy cool, his mellow expression betrayed by furtive eyes.
    "May I come in?" Ping gestured toward the door.
    "You have a warrant?"
    "Do I need one?" Ping arched an eyebrow dubiously.
    "Uh... no." The kid looked confused by the question. "Just trying to understand the parameters of our interface."
    "Parameters...?" It was Ping's turn to be confused.
    The kid tried for an affable chuckle, but hit nervous laughter dead center. "Come on in."
    The door opened into a dim world of efficiency and clutter. The lighting was indirect and low. A combination living room and office was separated from a small kitchen by a counter with a row of cupboards above it. There was precision in the arrangement of the sparse furniture and the few tasteful hangings on the slate colored walls.
    Over this order was a seemingly recent layer of short-term debris: drink containers, instant food packages, and more drink containers. Dirty dishes clustered around the sink and littered an expensive looking computer desk. The coffee table was dominated by a decorative bowl of antique metal keys. A discarded jacket was rumpled on the couch.
    "All-nighter?" Ping asked, examining the clutter.
    "Sure... multi-nighter." the kid said. "It's rare and special when I have policemen or firemen over... can I interest you in some coffee or cornflakes? Sorry, I'm out of donuts."
    "Cornflakes please." Ping said, "cream, no sugar."
    Smiling, the kid directed him toward the couch. "Make yourself at home, detective..."
    "Bannon." Ping moved the coat and sat on the couch facing the door as Alexander headed for the kitchen.
    "So detective Bannon, how can I help you?" he said amid the clink of bowls.
    "Do you know a Peter Sieberg?"
    "Nope. He's not one of my students, is he?"
    "I'm not sure. You know Dr. Lutine I assume."
    "Ivo? Yeah, he's my boss. Great guy." He was rounding the counter with two bowls. "Not the kind of guy who usually brings the police to m apartment at six in the morning though." He handed Ping a bowl and sat down on the chair across the coffee table.
    "What's this about?" made it around his first bite.
    "I think I'm here to help you." Ping said, picking up his spoon.
    "Ivo sent you?"
    "Not exactly. I think you're in trouble." Ahmed stopped chewing. Ping let that hang in the air as he took his first bite. After he swallowed, he said, "You make a mean bowl of cornflakes."
    "Thanks," Ahmed said around the same half chewed bite. "Police trouble?"
    "I think so, but I also think that might not be the worst of your troubles."
    "Meaning...?"
    Ping dropped his spoon into his bowl and fished in his jacket pocket. He brought out a chromed tablet and placed it next to the bowl of old metal keys on the coffee table.
    "What's that?"
    "You're the computer expert, you tell me." Ping took another bite. Then another as the silence lengthened. The kid's knuckles turned white around his bowl and fear seemed to be pulling at his eyes, Ping was