Olivier closed the book in his hand. It was time to leave. However, just as he wanted to do so another thought came to his mind. Perhaps he could make use of his monocle. Focusing on the strange ability Olivier felt a faint connection to a place immensely far away. He could barely perceive the monocle's existence.
"Come on, come on…"
Murmuring to himself Olivier increased his concentration. He could feel that he pulled on something slumbering deep inside himself. As if it was a part of him.
Suddenly, in a luxurious hotel bedroom the monocle lying on a night table silently disappeared. But it wasn't like it took flight physically. Rather, the monocle dissipated like smoke as if it had never been a solid object in the first place. Valentino working on his masterwork in a neighboring room didn't notice anything.
And at this moment in Olivier's hand a small, inconspicuous monocle gradually materialized. Olivier felt something deep within himself. As if his control over the monocle had increased. So, the monocle could be trained! Olivier had this guess before but now he was able to confirm it. The monocle was an ability like his eyes of truth, and it was still hiding untapped potential.
Unfortunately, now was not the right time to dig deeper. Olivier scanned his surroundings for a moment and found a suitable spot. On the wall behind him there was a sign attached to the wall, cautioning people not to come too close. Olivier decided to ignore the warning.
Waiting for a moment when no warden was watching he pulled the sign lightly and put the monocle behind it, making sure that about three thirds of it were peeking out. Now the monocle was like a surveillance camera observing the entire parking lot and the prison entrance.
Thanks to experimenting together with Valentino, Olivier knew how to use the monocle. Although it couldn't show him any live images, it could focus on objects and people according to his thoughts. Turning away and walking towards the street, Olivier tried it. His thoughts were on the monocle, and he switched between various targets. Pieces of information entered his mind.
[Orange car
A small car, cheap and with little power. Suitable for city traffic.]
[Grey truck
A larger truck, suitable for heavy duty load.]
[Thomas Rivington
Lifespan: 46,2/73,6
Origin: Minevalley, Hanum]
Confidence settled in Olivier's hearts. With this setup he would be able to spot the hunter should they come to the prison. Well, at least if they arrived at the parking lot.
Finally, Olivier reached the street. There was a bus stop not far away. Olivier waited silently, taking the opportunity to read some more in his book.
"Hey, you got a smoke?"
Suddenly a rough voice came from the side. Olivier glanced over, his eyes falling on woman with short brown hair. There was dirt on her brown leather boots. Her hair was even shorted than Olivier's. Her hands showed obvious callouses earned from hard labour.
"Sorry… what?", asked Olivier, not sure what the woman meant by a 'smoke'.
"A smoke? Got one?"
"Ehm… sorry. No."
"Tsk. Kids these days. How do you get rid of stress if you don't even smoke?"
"Are you under so much stress?"
"Of course. How could I not? After visiting my man in jail…"
"Your man? Oh, I'm sorry…"
"Ha! You better be. Sorry for the three months of alimonies that bastard owes me. That fucking prick. The police said he robbed three gas stations. Idiots. At least it was twelve. Haha, that bastard is hiding the money of at least eight gas stations and refuses to give me even a single noll!"
Olivier's face froze. wasn't this woman a bit too frank?
"Well, if your boyfriend hides stolen money, he can't use it to pay you, can he? Wouldn't the police become suspicious?"
"Nah. It's all in cash. How would they know? Whatever. Talking about that guy infuriates me to death. But he's not getting rid of me so easily! Say, did you visit someone as well? You don't look like someone hanging out with criminals. Your skin is too fair."
"Yeah, sure.", answered Olivier after contemplating for a moment. "I have been visiting my… aunt. Christine Heller."
"Heller? I feel like I have heard that name before. Oh fuck! Are you talking about the Monster of Tessas?!"
Olivier as taken aback seeing the genuine shock, even fear, on the woman's face. He couldn't help but ask:
"What Monster of Tessas? What did she do?"
"You don't know? Perhaps I was mistaken? Monster of Tessa is all over the news. This crazy lady just snapped one day, broke into a home and executed an entire family. Police were fast on this one. Found surveillance from traffic cams nearby, which captured the fleeing woman, identified her. A few days later they stormed her home. It's said that this woman was playing with her kids as if nothing happened. Complete psycho killer."
"So, what happened after?"
"What do you think? The are investigating her. She pleads innocent. But they have the surveillance footage and her DNA was all over the crime scene. She's not getting away. Probably facing execution now."
"Execution?!"
Olivier couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. What if this woman was right? If the killer was really Christine? Would she be executed? How was Olivier supposed to save her? Break her out of prison? Did he even want to help her?
His thoughts churning, Olivier fell silent for a few seconds. Just as he wanted to ask some more questions, the bus arrived. Both Olivier and the woman got on. The bus driver eyed them through a mirror but ultimately couldn't be bothered to ask for tickets.
Olivier sat down, a coughing elderly in front and a crying baby behind him. He frowned lightly and opened his book, absorbing as much knowledge as possible. The engine roared and the bus began moving. Ten minutes later they arrived at the nearby town, called Minevalley. Olivier saw that all the people got off the bus and did the same.
Minevalley was neither too big nor too small. A town of about fifteen thousand people. Olivier looked around for a bit, studying the various shops, comparing them to the information he got from his book so far. Walking along the street he found it difficult not to be afraid each time a car roared passed with enough speed to kill a bunch of people. Another thing he had to get adjusted to.
After leaving the bus Olivier was already at the town centre. There was a small park nearby. Ending his stroll there, Olivier sat down on a bank and put all his focus on his book. Only after understanding this world could he form a solid plan.
Hours passed, people came and went. Only Olivier kept sitting on his park bench. The book closed with a snap. Olivier blinked his eyes a few times. The sun was already beginning to set. But at least Olivier now had a good grasp of the world he was in. At least he knew the relevant bits of information. He could learn about its history another time.
But how to proceed from here? He now understood the system of law in this world. It was somewhat better than in his own world. People would receive a fair trial and could only be sentenced with sufficient evidence. However, if Christine's case was as described by the woman earlier, her situation looked bleak.
"I need to know more about it…"
And Olivier knew just the right place to learn. There was something called the internet here, where one could access all the knowledge in the world. It was even more comprehensive than the book in his hands. Quite magical.
There was only a small issue left. How to access the internet? It would be perfect if Olivier had a phone, but he didn't have any money to buy one. Fortunately, there was another option written in his book. Libraries often had publicly available internet access.
Thus, Olivier decided on his next stop, a library. He asked a few passers-byes about it. Unfortunately, there was no library in Minevalley. He had to travel to the closest big city, which turned out to be Tessas. Just as well. He would have gone there anyway at some point. Without further ado Olivier followed the advice of the people he asked and got onto another bus.
Half an hour later Olivier was standing in the big city and couldn't help but feel so small among those many towers. The air smelled weirdly, and the constant noise tormented one's ears. People rushed around, always busy. Cars filled the street to the point of a standstill.
It took multiple tries until someone was kind enough to point out the way for Olivier. He followed directions and after an exhausting walk arrived at the library. The building looked somewhat out of place in the neighbourhood, but Olivier liked its appearance consisting of red bricks and stylised, white windows.
The young man entered the library and took a deep breath. What beautiful silence. All the noise was locked outside. Even people sitting in groups only dared to whisper. Olivier took a look around and soon found a secluded PC. Now the real challenge started…