Limen took a deep breath.
“It had been a long time since I’d seen a close friend of mine and I decided to roll the dice. I’m not like you. I can’t live this way. So I messaged Margo and asked if whe wanted to meet up.”
“We both knew the risks. But we do this every once in a while. So we set a meet for our favorite park.
“So I go down to this park, and I’m expecting to meet Margo and have a nice chat, enjoying the outdoors and each other’s company.
“So the time comes and I head on over. I find a park bench and I sit and I wait. So I’m sittin’ there a good half-hour waiting for Margo. She doesn’t show.
“I think maybe she’s running late, so I text her. No response. I call her. Nothing.
“Then I start to worry, like maybe she’s hurt or in trouble. So I start out toward her apartment. I don’t get two blocks away when I see a patrol out searching for hosts. So I ducked into a nearby alley.
“There my heart dropped out of my chest. A little ways down the alley, there Margo was lying in a blood-stained pool. I threw myself on the body, trying fruitlessly to revive her.
“Then I saw a bright light hit the alley behind me, and I knew I had to leave with haste.”
Limen’s eyes began to well up with tears. “I just pulled the knife out of her chest and left. I just left her there.”
He buried his face in his hands.
Tiva stood, knife out, and let him collect himself.
Soon Limen flattened his expression and began again. “Basically, the last few days I’ve been hiding and ducking around corners trying to avoid being taken. Now you can hold that thing on me forever, or you can tell me where my pants are.”
Tiva’s face reddened as she remembered the stark-naked man at her mercy. She averted her gaze, calling out to Orem.
“Or! Are Limen’s clothes done?”
“Let me see… Yep. Just finished, pressed, and hung in the guest wardrobe. Would you like me to open the guest wardrobe?”
“Yes. Thank you, Or.”
Two wardrobe doors opened in the wall, revealing Limen’s tan leather pants, plain t-shirt and dark brown leather jacket.
Limen stood up and walked over to the wardrobe, quickly slipping his fingers through his jacket pockets.
“Where’s the rest of my stuff?” He asked pointedly.
“Anything else you had on you is in the retrieval drawer. Down there.”
Limen quickly slid over to and opened the drawer, taking his belt out and frantically running his hands through the rest of the drawer. An uneasy look entered his face. He stepped back to the dresser, rummaging through the coat with more gusto. Limen snapped his face toward Tiva, repressing the flash of wild anger from his eyes. “Did you see anything else in my stuff?”
Tiva decided to be honest, but somehow the words that exited her mouth were “nope, just the knife and the belt.”
She continued, “Or, could you file a lost item claim on behalf of our new friend Limen?”
“Sure thing, Ti. What would you like me to search for in the lost and found, sir?”
“It’s a black storage drive a bout this big,” he gestured, “It’s very important that I get it back.”
Or chimed in. “I don’t think I missed anything, but I’ll keep an eye out.”
Limen had hardly gotten pants on when he heard this. He slumped to the floor and put his head in his hands.
“Then all is lost,” he whimpered.
Bryan Appley 
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