Rules of Engagement by Roy

Marley Fipple got up, brushed the dirt from his knees, smearing nose blood from his hands onto his khaki jeans. “You rottens, you ruined my new pants, goshdamn!” Borkis and Randolph just jeered and hopped around each other, both pointing at his nose that trickled red drops onto his yellow shirt.
“Serves you right, Mary Nipple!” Borkis laughed at him, turned to his partner with a nod. “Hey, Rand, got a rock?”
“Sure, but I’m saving it for later.” Randolph pulled a smooth stone from his pocket, flashed it in the palm of his left hand, then replaced it. “Hey, beeker, the whiney has to heal first before we use the big ammo, right?” They both bellowed gales of laughter as they skipped off toward their condo village, hand in hand.
Marley wiped his nose with his sleeve, noting that the signal had changed. Traffic would be at a freeze for about five more minutes. Better cross over to the other village while he still had right of way. The smog curtained the passer tube about six meters into the freeway, so Marley was sure he’d just seem to disappear into the force field corridor even if the two were still watching with a videoscope. He stooped for a second to flip his bootstrap flat, pulled the scanner into his palm as a drop of blood splattered onto the back of his hand. The thought to crush the device quickly died for fear that the Watch would be alerted. For the moment his wrist pulsed and pained until he replaced the scanner, which he did before entering the tube.
The wind from the other village carried a scent of another world, fragrant with taco burgers and aloe fritters, the principle fast food station in the base of the first condo tower. Marley reached into his pocket, pulled out a wetkin pack and daubed his face and hands quickly. He spotted several females in front of Paco Taco, shuddered, postponed his dinner until later. He had only six credits left until End Day, had to preserve the allowance until he was really hungry. The station was open for six more hours, so he was okay with the wait.
“Hey, Marley, whadya?” Boomboy was a friend, so Marley relaxed with a sigh.
“Do?”
Boomboy waved from his terrace on the first floor of the condo tower. “Time for it?”
Marley looked all around, then at Boomboy. “Yeah, I guess. Might well.” He noticed Boomboy had sheared his long hair on the sides, leaving a four inch row from the front to the back, spiked up twelve centimeters, at least. Attractive, he thought. Wish he had dyed it auburn instead of yellow.
When Marley entered the condo he was assailed with pungent aromas, fighting each other, way too much to stifle the sneeze. Blood dripped again into his palms, also falling onto the white angora carpet in the entrance. “Get a wipe, Boom, quicklike.”
Boom ran to the doorslide, wet wipe in hand, his eyes welling in tears. “The two beat on you again?”
“Yeah, Bork and Rand, both joined up to do it.”
“They’ll reap, ya know. In a few.”
“I think they want to. Like they were asking for the RPs to come down on them, for some strange.”
“Come in. I’ll have the maid-bot treat the stain later. Take the shirt and pants off and I’ll send them to the cleansers for you.”
“What will I wear?” He got a smile from his friend.
************
Randolph sat beside his partner in the Office. It was just ten minutes until the Watch stunned them both. Borkis was still unconscious and slumped in the leather chair. The RP chair was empty for now, so he tried to find something to fix his eyes on, not to think about what came next.
“Bork, hey, wake.” His voice came in a hiss rather than a whisper. “We’re here. In the Office of the Watch. Don’t die on me, beeker.”
“Who’s a damn beeker?” Borkis stirred and slurred words. The effects of the stun fought against his consciousness and soon lost. “Office?”
“Cooked, now. The chair’s empty, but soon-”
Borkis managed a grin. “Can’t wait for the RP. Hope he’s your biodad.” That struck Rand as funny.
The chair rotated away slowly and returned occupied. “I’m your worst mare, beekers.” The RP was in full uniform, diagonal red belt across a brass buttoned navy jacket, blue shirt and tie, black pants and real leather boots. His badge gave the name Brimson, Righteous Police.
“The spycam has you two beating on a…” He pressed the Refresh button on his Palm Pod, nodded to them, “...a Marley Fipple. You drew blood. He stained pants, ground, and even rebled into the next village.”
“RP Brimson, it was righeous. Sir, if you let us explain…”
“Guilty, both of you. No explanation. Drew blood. Enough.” The chair rotated the other direction, returned empty.
“Well,” said Borkus, “that was the Watch, quicklike.”
“We drew blood, so ya knew we would get it bad.”
“Yeah, counted on it, beeker.” Both of them were done. It was that easy. Borkis knew that his partner had no clue what The Plan was, so it’d be a special surprise when it worked.
************
Boom took off the projection hat and sighed. “That was so grave, beeker. Good for you?”
“Grave and better.” Marley’s nose hurt when he screwed up his face in agreement. “I want to run it by again, but I’m sure we can’t. One pass is all they’ll give us.”
“We got a dose that should satisfy us for about a week, doncha think?”
“Imagine the two in the video, just judged a few minutes ago. It took so little time. They are getting so quicklike with the sentencing, it’s terrible dank.”
“Borkis got his head smashed six times against the cell door, ya notice?”
Marley was lit up like a firetree. “And, and Rand was kicked in the hindcheeks twice by the two RP’s, hard. He groaned and then burst into tears.”
“Blood everywhere.”
“So cooly, yeah.” Boom got up, staggered a few steps until he got bearing, and headed for the closet. The shirt and pants were hung on the metal rod by the delivery chute. “Clothes back.”
“Goody, thank.” Marley got up slowly, donned his shirt, slipped into his khakis and then stepped into his boots, strapping them carefully without disturbing the scanner. No sign of blood, now. He was clean.
“Do you have to bolt, beeker?” Boomboy looked down.
“Yeah, I eat quicklike before the station times out. Want ta join me?”
“Can’t. Infraction, we viewed together, so we can’t fellowship for a month, ya know.” Boom shook his head and walked Marley to the doorslide.
“Collusion rule, yeah.” Marley went into the hall.
“But…” Boom brightened up. “Just a thought, we’d be able to view the judgment tapes for those RP’s next month, ‘cause they drew blood!”
“Hey… yeah!” Marley twirled and faced his friend. “Wonder if Borkis and Randolph would want to make it a foursome.”
“Way too, beeker! That’ll be a super!”
************
Borkis celled his partner. “Hey, beeker. Heard the judgment tape was out on the RP’s that drew our blood. They did it in holocast format, so we can be in the picture if we get to the holotheater before eight. Wanna do it together?”
Randolph shouted back. “Yeah, beeker, most righteously, most.”
Borkis had planned this night two months ago. A righteous event that would make all other videos seem bust. An epic worthy of blood and pain it is.
“Ya know what’d be so coollike?” Borkis led his friend on to the rest of the plan.
“Say."
Borkis drew it out in silence. Then, “Yeah, we call the Nipple and his friend Boom to join us, be a foursome on it. I hear…” Couldn’t wait, he blurted it out. “… the RPs have to take their judgment naked.”
“What a take!” Borkis could hear his friend prancing in his condo. A long time, then, “Who did the RPs use for RPs?”
Borkis laughed. “I heard they used females.”
“Ooooo, ugly! What a bloodbath! Hey, being there, beeker.”
“Be righteous.”