gap between his front teeth. “I’m Maury. People just call me Mo.”
“Nice to meet you.” She smiled again, letting go. “Some people call me Meese.”
“Meese?” Jo slurred, jaw still working. Something clicked in her teeth. Mieshka spotted a bowl of mints next to Jo’s elbow. The dark woman cocked a smile. It looked like she had something planned.
“Anyway. Jo—here’s the new model. Just over the border last week.”
In the second she’d looked away, Maury had filled his arms with a large, silver and black assault rifle. Mieshka flinched back from the counter, snatching her hands to her side.
They stared at her.
“S-sorry,” she stammered. “I have a… small problem… with guns.” The flashlight shook in her hand. Conscious of their stares, she forced herself to take a breath.
Jo turned to Maury.
“How about I come back for this later. We need to be heading, anyway.”
Jo pushed away from the counter, the mint clicking against her teeth. They exchanged a nod, and Mieshka flattened to a gun rack as Jo moved past. After a meek glance at Mo, she followed in Jo’s wake.
The door jingled open. Mo stopped her before she left.
“Meese—wait a sec.”
He sidled from behind the counter. The rifle was gone. There was something in his hand, which he held out to her as he came near.
It was a business card. It had a gun graphic on one side, with the shop’s name underneath. On the back was a phone number and an e-mail address.
“In case you run into trouble.”
She looked up at him. With the fluorescents backing him, his face was in shadow. His bare arms had no defined muscle, only bulk. There was a tattoo on one shoulder. She recognized the Lyarnese military’s winged thunderclap.
“Thanks.” She gave him a smile as she backed out the door.
Jo waited for her. She hadn’t turned on her light. As Mieshka soon found out, she didn’t need to. The rest of the way was lit.
“Guns, huh?”
She’d wondered when Jo would bring that up. Dusty naked bulbs strung along a bundle of wire at the top left corner of the brick-and-concrete tunnel. Two pipes ran along the floor, also to the left. A leaking joint in the smaller one had resolved any unasked questions about Underground plumbing. Mieshka tried not to think about the larger one.
“Yeah. Guns.” Except for the tread of their boots and the click of Jo’s mint, the tunnel was quiet. “I don’t know why. My mom was shot, but…”
Her throat clenched around the sore topic. She’d read somewhere that muscles clenched up around injuries. She suspected something similar happened in the mind.
The mint stopped clicking. Jo stared ahead, eyes unreadable. Her jaw muscles tensed.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
Mieshka heard that a lot.
Silence thickened, each carefully not looking at the other. The tunnel was full of echoes. Some lights hummed in their sockets.
“So, Meese, huh?”
“Yep.”
The tunnel shifted, angled down, and ended in a dim doorway. A draft drifted past her cheek.
“City’s getting close,” Jo said.
They entered an old shopping mall. The lights and wire stretched along the right wall. They disappeared into the distance, gleaming off empty display windows. It was cavernous. The lights only lit a very small portion. The rest of the space was lost in darkness.
Mieshka clicked on her flashlight and flicked it left. Their path was edged by a grimy guard rail. Across a shadowy chasm, a second path hugged the opposite side. Escalators descended into the gap, dusty, dark, and dead. On the floor below, a vacant concierge advertised a long expired sale.
Mieshka and Jo followed the string of lights to the right. The occasional mannequin loomed inside shop displays, their clothes long stripped. The quiet was palpable, and smothered Mieshka’s senses like a pillow.
She tried not to think of how far down they were.
They began to hear things. Sounds. Echoes. Mieshka gripped her flashlight hard again, wide eyes trying to
“Nice to meet you.” She smiled again, letting go. “Some people call me Meese.”
“Meese?” Jo slurred, jaw still working. Something clicked in her teeth. Mieshka spotted a bowl of mints next to Jo’s elbow. The dark woman cocked a smile. It looked like she had something planned.
“Anyway. Jo—here’s the new model. Just over the border last week.”
In the second she’d looked away, Maury had filled his arms with a large, silver and black assault rifle. Mieshka flinched back from the counter, snatching her hands to her side.
They stared at her.
“S-sorry,” she stammered. “I have a… small problem… with guns.” The flashlight shook in her hand. Conscious of their stares, she forced herself to take a breath.
Jo turned to Maury.
“How about I come back for this later. We need to be heading, anyway.”
Jo pushed away from the counter, the mint clicking against her teeth. They exchanged a nod, and Mieshka flattened to a gun rack as Jo moved past. After a meek glance at Mo, she followed in Jo’s wake.
The door jingled open. Mo stopped her before she left.
“Meese—wait a sec.”
He sidled from behind the counter. The rifle was gone. There was something in his hand, which he held out to her as he came near.
It was a business card. It had a gun graphic on one side, with the shop’s name underneath. On the back was a phone number and an e-mail address.
“In case you run into trouble.”
She looked up at him. With the fluorescents backing him, his face was in shadow. His bare arms had no defined muscle, only bulk. There was a tattoo on one shoulder. She recognized the Lyarnese military’s winged thunderclap.
“Thanks.” She gave him a smile as she backed out the door.
Jo waited for her. She hadn’t turned on her light. As Mieshka soon found out, she didn’t need to. The rest of the way was lit.
“Guns, huh?”
She’d wondered when Jo would bring that up. Dusty naked bulbs strung along a bundle of wire at the top left corner of the brick-and-concrete tunnel. Two pipes ran along the floor, also to the left. A leaking joint in the smaller one had resolved any unasked questions about Underground plumbing. Mieshka tried not to think about the larger one.
“Yeah. Guns.” Except for the tread of their boots and the click of Jo’s mint, the tunnel was quiet. “I don’t know why. My mom was shot, but…”
Her throat clenched around the sore topic. She’d read somewhere that muscles clenched up around injuries. She suspected something similar happened in the mind.
The mint stopped clicking. Jo stared ahead, eyes unreadable. Her jaw muscles tensed.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
Mieshka heard that a lot.
Silence thickened, each carefully not looking at the other. The tunnel was full of echoes. Some lights hummed in their sockets.
“So, Meese, huh?”
“Yep.”
The tunnel shifted, angled down, and ended in a dim doorway. A draft drifted past her cheek.
“City’s getting close,” Jo said.
They entered an old shopping mall. The lights and wire stretched along the right wall. They disappeared into the distance, gleaming off empty display windows. It was cavernous. The lights only lit a very small portion. The rest of the space was lost in darkness.
Mieshka clicked on her flashlight and flicked it left. Their path was edged by a grimy guard rail. Across a shadowy chasm, a second path hugged the opposite side. Escalators descended into the gap, dusty, dark, and dead. On the floor below, a vacant concierge advertised a long expired sale.
Mieshka and Jo followed the string of lights to the right. The occasional mannequin loomed inside shop displays, their clothes long stripped. The quiet was palpable, and smothered Mieshka’s senses like a pillow.
She tried not to think of how far down they were.
They began to hear things. Sounds. Echoes. Mieshka gripped her flashlight hard again, wide eyes trying to
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