“You’re restless today.”
I jumped in my seat, drawing the bones back into my hands. Had she seen?
Kay raised an eyebrow at me.
“And jumpy.”
“You have a habit of making me jump,” I said, resting my chin on the desk, watching our instructor demonstrate the motor of a prosthetic limb.
“I imagine that’s what I look like during exam season. All twitchy and tired at the same time.”
I stopped bouncing my leg, which I realized was shaking the desk slightly. The auditorium was large and I’d chosen to sit at the back in order to practice Shaping. Why had Kay chosen to sit next to me? She was always the one initiating our conversations, but I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I knew I was a pain to be around. I still hadn’t told her what had happened last night, so I had expected her to be upset with me.
“Didn’t get enough sleep. I just have a lot on my mind.” I’d actually managed to fall asleep quite easily after the headache had vanished along with my ghostly companion. But then I woke up in the middle of the night filled with renewed anxiety about dealing with the Rings. As the meeting time grew closer, it was harder and harder to stay focused on school.
“I wish I was a Witch,” Kay said abruptly.
I stared at her. She shrugged.
“What? It would be cool to have powers. I’ll be honest, it kind of feels like a cheat code for life. I bet Helen doesn’t have to worry about money,” she said darkly. “She can just pretend to be someone famous.”
I remembered what Kay had told me about how Helen had impersonated Kay with her powers to ruin her life.
“If I was a Witch, I’d get revenge. We’d have a magical showdown,” Kay wiggled her fingers at me and grinned.
“I don’t know about Helen,” I said slowly. “But every bit of ‘magic’ I’ve seen has been messy and kind of horrifying. It isn’t like casting spells.” I stared at the prosthetic arm reaching for an apple. “It’s like stretching out limbs from places they don’t belong.”
“Kinky.”
I did my best to focus on the class. I really tried. But with the memories of last night behind me, and the meeting in an hour, I wasn’t learning anything so I gave up. May as well go to the meeting early.
I started packing up my books. “Gotta go.”
“M’kay.”
“Doctor’s appointment.”
“I didn’t ask,” Kay said, waving at me. “I’ll let you know if the professor ever stops drooling over that motor and decides to start teaching.
I headed out of the university campus and down to the subway. I’d gotten a pass after realizing that I would probably be traveling to different ends of the city a lot more. It was nice to be able to escape the heat for a little while inside of the subway car.
After a few stops, Nell’s presence popped into my head. She boarded, craning her neck to look all around her as she walked over to sit with me. The subway started up again and Nell squeezed the seat cushion as she stared at the tunnel wall zipping past.
“Another new experience for you?” I asked.
She nodded, reaching up to absently twist a lock of hair around her finger. She was wearing boots and overalls that made it look like she had just been gardening.
I wasn’t sure where we stood after last night. Nell had been upset and then I made it worse by not reciprocating her hug. I’d gotten her up to speed this morning through text and even though I knew she had read them, she hadn’t responded with anything but a surprised emoji.
“I ended up going to class today, but it was a waste, I couldn’t focus,” I said, leaning back.
“I couldn’t sleep much either,” Nell said sympathetically. “Too much happened last night. It kept replaying in my head. You know how I said Alek was hard to Shape?”
“You said he was like the Arachknights. Was his anatomy inhuman?”
Nell frowned. “Sort of. I think he was continually Shaping himself, moving things around internally so I couldn’t grasp them. I just can’t figure out why he stopped running after I’d lost him. He could have gotten away.”
“I mean, he probably just thought he had protection with his Ring friends being around. He was right about that.”
Nell didn’t seem satisfied with that answer.
“Speaking of which, you never told me how you dealt with the Arachknights.”
I felt Nell’s emotions pull away again, that withdrawal like a flower closing its petals.
Nell kept her expression neutral. “I realized that they were probably not tracking us by sight alone. Compound eyes aren’t very good at seeing details. It seemed likely that they were using chemical signals,” she said, pointing to my shoulder, “so I made a flytrap. One big enough to catch one. I made it release chemicals that I thought they might be tracking. It took a couple tries but once I found one they responded to, they couldn’t resist getting caught.”
“Wow. That’s really smart,” I said, kind of baffled that Nell would have the wherewithal to concoct that kind of plan after she had been panicking in the Old Town. Still, it felt like Nell wasn’t telling the whole truth.
We exited the subway and made it to the meeting spot with time to spare. A nearby recycling plant had trucks moving in and out of the lot. Nearby there was an abandoned warehouse. The windows were all boarded up and the grass grew tall around the closed bay doors. There wasn’t anyone here yet so we stood in the shade the building provided.
About ten minutes later, a car came down the lane. The black and white vehicle slowly drove up to us. Great, a cop. I eyed the blue and red lights with distrust. We weren’t breaking any laws but I still had this paranoia that the cops would somehow know about the Tongue and my connection to it.
I saw the shadow of the officer in the driver’s seat turn to watch us as they rolled past. Just when I thought we were in the clear, the car stopped and the cop got out, making my heart sink.
Of course, the more reasonable fear was that I was about to be racially profiled. There had been a few instances in the past. Nothing too bad, just bullies looking to throw their weight around. Still, it felt different now that I had actually done something they would deem worthy of arrest if they knew about it.
I tried to keep a level-head as the officer strolled up to us, sunglasses and beard masking his expression. Before he made it to us, he stopped and then nodded.
“Have a good day, officer,” a deep voice said behind us.
I turned to see Graham, the man who had taken me to see Sullivan. His expression was calm as he waved to the cop and rested a hand on my shoulder. The cop turned back to his car and Graham quickly steered us away and around the building.
“I wasn’t expecting you this early,” he said. “Don’t you have school?”
That was an odd question but I caught myself before answering. Graham appeared trustworthy but I still remembered how he had taken part in a deception in Sullivan’s den.
“Where’s the Boss?” I asked.
“Busy. I’m taking you both to see the team.”
I wrested myself free of his grip. It felt like Graham had let me get loose. “Team? I need to talk to Sullivan.”
Graham watched me stoically. “He doesn’t have time to walk you through things. I’ll answer any questions you have.”
I set my shoulders. “I have a demand, actually.”
Graham raised a thick eyebrow. “Bold of you.”
“Yeah, well, after last night I’m feeling a bit bold.”
Graham nodded. “As you should. It was incredible to watch.” His eyes bored through me. “You both are truly superhuman.”
“And you’re not? Sullivan was saying some interesting things about you. Are you a Cast then, Dullahan Graham?
Graham’s expression darkened. “I would advise you not to say that again. I’m not keen on attracting the attention of the people who would recognize that moniker.”
I backed off. I truly didn’t want to be on Graham’s bad side.
“Could we call the Boss?” Nell asked.
Graham sighed and fished out a phone that looked small in his hands. “First contact. Don’t bother unless it’s important.”
I took it and dialed.
The cool, even voice of Sullivan answered. “Yes, Graham?”
“It’s Nick.”
“Ah. I didn’t favour the odds that you would show up today.”
I ignored the comment and got to the point. “Alek needs to leave Nell and I alone. Otherwise I can’t do anything for you.”
“Demands? After you practically begged to join my Ring?”
I stared at the road. “I’m told you’re busy, Boss. Give me a yes or no.”
Sullivan was silent for a moment. “Alek has already made it clear to me that he wants nothing to do with you. He says he has no memory of meeting you before you attacked Spike.”
I gritted my teeth. “That isn’t what happened. I apologize for what I did to Spike, but Alek is lying. He knows me.”
“Perhaps. It wouldn’t be the first thing Alek refuses to tell me. Regardless, you have my word that if something does happen to you or Nell, I will punish Alek for it.”
“That isn’t good enough. A punishment won’t do us any good if the damage is already done.”
“Any more assurance than that would be detrimental to my operations. Do not call me again.” A click sounded on the other end.
I gave Graham back his phone which he pocketed while saying, “If it’s any consolation. Sullivan runs a tight ship. I would trust him to keep Alek in line. Let’s go.” He turned and started to walk towards a cluster of buildings that stood a few blocks away.
Nell and I exchanged a look before following after him. I felt a shared anger after that call.
“Did you know that cop?” Nell asked him.
“No. But they know me.”
“As in they know you’re a criminal?” Nell asked, looking perplexed. “Why would they let you walk away?”
Graham glanced at her. “Where did you grow up?”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” Nell said defensively.
“I’m just trying to gauge how you think of ‘criminals’.”
“I thought it was a pretty clear definition.”
Graham sighed. “This won’t do,” he muttered. “It’s going to be really hard to trust the two of you if you keep up this hostility. I don’t know exactly what Alek did to you, but the team needs to be like family. Otherwise you’re going to get us all killed or locked up.”
Graham continued, “The cops know that we have less-than-legal operations. But they also know that we play fair. Veterans among the police force realize that crime doesn’t end when one bit player gets locked up. If we get along with them, we follow the unspoken rules, then they give us some room to play. They benefit from it. The gang wars stay in the Old Town and as long as the Rings are busy going for each other’s throats, bigger crime organizations can’t come in and take over.”
“That’s quite the positive spin, but I’ve lived here my whole life,” I said. “I know that people get hurt by the Rings. Be it sex work, drugs, or getting caught up in the violence.”
Graham rolled his neck. “Everyone makes choices. If I could snap my fingers and be rid of the Rings, I would only do it if the problems they solve could be done away with as well. Or would you prefer if I just thought of myself as a villain?”
I looked away. “Sorry if I sound heated.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about Sillwood’s underground. Hopefully this meeting shines some light on the many reasons why some of us find ourselves in illegal activity. It may not all be the same reason, but we can still work together.”
We stopped in front of a small two-story building with a classic red and white barber pole in the front. Graham parked the car and got out and I followed. The sign above the entrance read: “Occam’s Barber.”
A bell rung as Graham pushed the door open. The interior was brightly lit, with barber chairs and mirrors lining one wall all the way to the back. The floor was freshly swept and there was a smell of leather and something floral. A tall man in an apron looked over from cutting a customer’s hair. He wore glasses with a thin frame that hung on the end of his long nose.
He waved a Graham, eyeing us before returning to his work. “Heavens, Graham, I hope they aren’t for me. I would need all day to deal with that mane.”
Nell tried to smooth down her hair and the man chuckled. “I’m joking, dear. It looks good on you. Gives off a wild vibe. Could use some styling though.”
Graham spoke, “This is Henry. He owns the store. We use the rooms upstairs.”
Henry tutted. “Not out of the goodness of my heart. You’re going to make them think I give free cuts too.” His eyes flashed behind his glasses. “Well, I do, but not the kind that looks good.”
“Come on upstairs,” Graham said, ignoring the remark. We followed him up a set of narrow stairs to a set of doors. The one on the right was open and Graham went through. Inside was a spacious single room apartment.
There was a kitchen divided from the rest of the room by a counter. A man stood there, making himself a drink. Two people sat on the couch that faced away from the door. They were playing a video game on the wall-mounted television and the one with long curly hair was talking up a storm to the other, who had their hood up despite being indoors. Two others were on the balcony, chatting and having a smoke.
“This is the meet-up room.” Graham explained. “The other is the prep room. I have a key to that one. The team always meets here first before a job. You’re free to come here anytime. I’ll get you a key to the store later. Be warned, if you leave anything unlocked after hours Henry will make his displeasure known.”
“He isn’t kidding.” The man at the counter said. He raised a slender hand to show a scar that ran along it. The man was in his thirties, with long greasy blond hair.
“Terry.” He extended a hand. I shook it. Terry was dressed casually in a tank top, at odds with Graham’s suit and tie. He also had a white gauze bandage wrapped around his neck. “You’re Nick, right? Rumour has it you’re our new weapon.” He flashed an easy smile.
“Is that so,” I responded, deadpan.
I looked at Graham. He just furrowed his brow. Laughter echoed up from the ground floor.
At that moment, a panicked voice whispered in my ear, “Please pretend you don’t know me. Please.”
I jerked away sharply, staring at where the voice had seemingly come from thin air.
“Make yourself at home,” Terry said, seeming to not have heard it.
I scanned the room. Where had that voice come from? It was vaguely familiar. The two men who had been out on the balcony had come inside and noticed us.
Graham spoke, “Terry is our conman, but I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll explain what it is we do once we’re all gathered.”
“Hacker-girl isn’t coming,” a gruff voice said. The two men had come in from the balcony, smelling like cigarettes. One of the men had a heavyset jaw and was scowling at me. He looked to be a little younger than Terry, but it was hard to tell because he had a bald head and ridged scars on his face that made him look older.
The other guy was my age. He smiled at me awkwardly without showing his teeth. “They said they were busy,” he explained. “Hello, I’m Zola.”
I extended a hand, but Zola didn’t take it, he just gave me a little wave. I noted the black tattoo that wrapped around the knuckle of his thumb.
The angry man didn’t shake my hand either. He remained silent with his arms crossed.
“Zola and Richard are our muscle, along with me.” Graham said.
That was interesting. Graham and Richard were bulky and muscular, but Zola was quite thin.
“And the two who are being rude and not introducing themselves…” Graham called out in a loud voice to the couch.
“One second, old man!” The woman with curly hair shouted back. “…There! I win!” She grabbed the hooded person in a headlock and escorted him around the couch to face us.
Graham introduced them, “This is Vanessa and AJ.”
Vanessa grinned toothily at me. The other person, who was much shorter, was struggling to break free of the headlock. Finally Vanessa released them. They jerked backwards and stood up straight, the hood falling from their head, revealing a teenager with short black hair and scared eyes. A painted red dot was centered on his forehead.
I knew this kid. It was the one who had spied on me. Peep. And it was his voice that had come from thin air. Pretend you don’t know me.