“Let’s try this. You just assaulted Tooth’s ugly spawn, rekindling a fire Ripp just put out, because he somehow was able to take your score from a contract you weren’t supposed to take. That’s what I’m guessing.”
Lilly looked at him, trying to act as if she had no idea what he was talking about, then realized he was looking at her bruises. She moved her hair to cover the one over her eye.
“You’ve been beggin’ Ripp to get your own contract for months, and then all of a sudden, when Ripp is gone for a couple of days, I can’t find you anywhere. Nun avoids me like I’m a leprous whore, which he usually does anyway, that’s not the point. But it makes sense, cause he knows I’ll kill him, if he sent you on a run without us. Please, tell me if I’m wrong, ‘cause I wanna be.”
Lilly was happy that he didn’t know about Ripp’s Pigeon.
“Wow, I’m actually amazed at how extremely accurate that was. Please, don’t say anything to Ripp.”
Lilly, seeing that Gus wasn’t in a playful mood, looked down at the floor, and tried to find a hole she could crawl in.
“Not sure if I can keep this one to myself. Ripp will find out soon enough anyway. Tooth will see to that.”
“Puck’s fine, I’m sure he doesn’t want to tell his pa he got knocked out by a girl anyways. And, the run wasn’t anything dangerous.”
Gus looked at her with compassion and then, in an instant, seemed to transform back into the angry uncle. “Obviously, but I want to know how Puck got a hold of your stuff.”
Lilly thought about different versions she could come up with, but decided it was pointless to lie. Gus might have looked like he was missing a few gears, but he was smarter than most.
“It wasn’t dangerous. It was an open contract, just outside the wall. Puck followed me. After I found a way in and loaded up, he stunned me and took everything.”
Gus looked at her wanting her to explain more.
“There weren’t any Fringers,” she replied guessing his next question.
“Just like his daddy,” Gus said, more to himself than to her.
Gus looked at her as if he knew there was more to the story, but was more concerned about the gunfire in the distance. He opened the door and checked the alley just as two more explosions thudded.
“Something’s going down. We need to get outta’ here. Ripp is gonna meet us at Johnny’s, and all this is making me thirsty.”
Gus walked out of the doorway and checked the alleyway.
“So… you aren’t gonna tell Ripp?”
Gus stopped and closed his eyes, and after what seemed like forever to Lilly, he opened them and grinned.
“No.”
Lilly jumped up and gave him a big hug.
“Thanks, Gus! You’re the best.”
Gus pulled away slightly and looked at her sporting a devious grin. “You’re gonna tell him.”
Nine
Despite the ever-present tang of poorly recycled air, distilling liquor, and mephitic patrons, Johnny’s mobile depot was a runner’s haven.
She could get you whatever you wanted if the price was right, weapons, gear, tech, drugs, and even a few things that any normal human would never consider.
She didn’t care about what kind of filth you were, as long as you behaved in her depot and paid what you owed. Johnny herself was disconnectedly brutal, which is most likely the main reason her depot had survived as long as it has. The other reasons being, of course, alcohol and serving girls, which were the only two things you couldn’t buy in the Central or East Market.
Any form of alcohol was illegal in Nucrea, even for Nun. You weren’t just holed up in a cell for a day, there were steep penalties for consuming. Manufacturing and distributing would get you sanctioned, questioned, and months of cell time. Doing it for a profit? You were usually killed on the spot.
Luckily, her depot was never in the same place, making it hard to find, and the fact that she operated outside Nucrea kept the soldiers away and created a relatively gray area of what was legal and what wasn’t. As far as soldiers go, it didn’t matter if you swore on your momma’s grave, if you were affiliated with the Nucrean Guard in any way, you weren’t welcome.
Gus and Lilly sat on the mudroom bench, ignoring each other, impatiently waiting for the decontamination process to finish. As the door opened, they handed their rad-gear to the attendant, who gladly accepted it, not because she enjoyed what she did, but because she would forget about it in a few minutes. When you forget most everything, you tend to be happier than most.
She opened her toothless mouth, mumbled something neither of them understood, and then disappeared into a side room still mumbling as she went. Her weathered skin and wrinkles gave her a vacuum-packed look, but under all that age, you could see she had been beautiful once. Lilly felt sorry for her.
The main room was thick with smoke and noise. There was not a corner or a section of a wall that didn’t have some old toy, or gadget, or unusable device from the Fringe. Johnny loved her junk. Her father had been a Runner with Nun in the early days, and many of the items in her depot were things that he had brought back just for her.
Gus and Lilly watched as the local boy carried out his routine, grabbing a toy car off the serving bar and running away. As usual, Johnny turned and saw him just as he rounded the corner.
“You get back here you little rat! I’m gonna skin you alive!”
He giggled and disappeared into the shadows of the storage room.
She always tried to make the boy seem normal, but something was wrong with his memory. He was like a much younger version of the entry attendant. Overexposure in the Fringe had different effects on people, memory being the least damaging. The boy took the same car, from the same place, in the same way, every day. Later, Johnny would sneak to where ever he would end up sleeping that night, take the car and put it back for him to steal the next day.
She smiled to herself and took some drinks over to a table. Most of her patrons knew the routine, but on she caught a glimpse of a woman staring at her in a way you don’t stare at Johnny.
“And what are you looking at, ya hussy?”
The woman quickly looked into her drink. Luckily, just as Johnny was about go over and knock the woman’s teeth in, she noticed Gus and Lilly making their way through the tables.
“It’s about time someone I actually wanted to see came in here.”
“Hey Johnny,” Lilly said.
“Hey there, Lil.”
Johnny’s attention quickly turned to Gus. Lilly rolled her eyes as the adults traded lustful stares.
Johnny moved as close to Gus as possible and unnecessarily straightened his collar.
“What can I get you two?” she asked with more sexual undertones than Lilly could handle.
“Just a still for me,” Gus said to her overflowing bust.
“That all?”
“Yeah, we’re meeting Ripp, then headin’ out.”
“Always in a hurry. You know, Gus, you are welcome to come back when you aren’t too busy killing Fringers. I’ll make it worth your time.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Gus let out a small burst of laughter that was a good mix of shyness and uncomfortable excitement.
Happy with Gus’s reaction, Johnny turned to Lilly. “What about you, hon?”
“I’ll have a still too; might help me forget what just happened.”
Johnny smiled. Gus shifted uncomfortably.
“Citric it is,” Johnny said, with a hint of reprimand.
“Oh c’mon. Not like it would be my first one.”
“You think you’re all grown up now don’t you?” Gus asked, obviously referring to what had happened in the market.
“Pretty sure I am, listening to you two go on and on and making eyes at each other.”