God… God dammit…

  Come on, get up, V… Stop feeling sorry for yourself and just get up already.

  You’ve been through worse. Far worse. You lived through many friends dying. Family dying. You’ve been fighting for the better part of the past 14 years of your life. You can handle this.

  I can’t believe Johnny would do this… I just… I just can’t…

  I don’t care if Misty said that doubling-up on the meds would create a dependency. I never wanted to see that soulless monster again. I can’t believe he’d do this to me… No… No, I…

  “V?!” someone shouted, “V, is that you?”

  “W-what?” I looked around– oh, Rita?! “Oh, hey – yeah, it's me…”

  "V, Jesus Christ, what the hell happened?!” she came running up to me and bent down, “Are you okay?”

  “Y-yeah… just… long story,” I mumbled, “What’re you doing here…?”

  “I was out exercising, I live right around the corner, remember?” Rita said with a worried tone, “Here, have some water, looks like you could use some.”

  I eagerly accepted, not having realized how absolutely parched I was. Rita always had a heart of gold. Her and Judy. “Thanks…” I whispered, cracking open the bottle and drinking the whole thing in one straight shot.

  “Heh, thirsty, are we?” she chuckled, gently placing a hand on my shoulder to try and offer me some comfort, “Now what’s wrong, honey? What happened?”

  “I, uh…”

  “It’s Johnny, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah… You and Judy know me too well, I guess…” I sighed.

  Rita rolled her eyes at me – or Johnny, I suppose. “Figures…” she scoffed, “What’d he do this time?”

  “He, well… uhm…” I pondered for a bit, not sure exactly how to word this, “Okay, so I have two different kinds of medication, right? One suppresses him, one, uh… unleashes the beast, so to speak – basically, it lets him have total control over my body. I took one of those, on the agreement that he was just going to have a conversation… And… And…”

  “And…?”

  “He-he… uhm…” I stammered over myself, “M-my car’s still at the Afterlife…”

  “What?! He ditched your car?!” she shot back, “Oh, that cunt… How long’ve you been out here?”

  “No idea… since the sun was out…” I admitted.

  “Fuck, then it’s been hours…” she replied with a gasp, “Okay, that does it. You said your car’s at the Afterlife, right?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Then I’ll tell you what we’ll do. Still got your car keys?”

  “I do…” I furrowed my brow, “Sorry, just… Maybe later…”

  “Nah, not negotiable,” she said insistently, “I assume your sword’s in there, too.”

  “It is…”

  “Then gimme the keys,” she demanded, “I’ll bring you back to my place, letcha get some rest. Take your car back here myself.”

  “T-that’s really not necessary,” I stuttered in return, “Thanks, though–”

  “Hey,” she stopped me, “I insist. Okay - at the very least, lemme get you off the ground, see if we can find ya some fresh clothes?”

  I know she isn’t exactly liable to take ‘no’ for an answer. She has way too much spunk for that. “Alright, fine…” I muttered, clamoring back onto my feet, “Mmh, crap, my ass fell asleep…”

  “Heh, I can do something about th– uh, sorry, that was insensitive…” she mumbled, “I-I’m sorry…”

  “It’s okay… I think I need a little humor right now…” I admitted, brushing the dust off of my pants, “Or just… company, I guess.”

  “That I can do… Here, my place is just over there. Other side of the parking lot.”

  “Other side of the p– wait, you live here?” I exclaimed, “I thought this was a motel?”

  “What? Oh, yeah, the other building is. But half of it’s been converted into apartments – wait, you stayed there?!”

  “Yeah…?” I raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

  “Babe, that place’s been condemned for the past five years, hah!” she laughed, “Definitely not suitable for Japanese nobility. C’mon.”

  Rita tucked my arm around hers and walked with me down the driveway. While I really wasn’t in the mood to talk, I couldn’t say no to a little hospitality from someone whom I knew actually gave a fuck. As opposed to someone who didn’t… I still found it hard to reconcile. And to think that I actually trusted that guy. I must be the world’s biggest fucking idiot.

  “Alright, we’re up on 1242,” Rita told me as we walked up the stairs, “I’m gonna call Judy once we’re inside, too. Sure she’d like to know where you’ve been.”

  “Yeah, probably…” I sighed, “I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you guys. It’s kind of hard when–”

  “When you’re on international news? Yeah, I read the screamsheets,” she said with a matter-of-factly tone, “Don’t worry, this ain’t a rom-com where we’re gonna flip out if you don’t bring a doctor’s note. We know why you couldn't call, it's okay.”

  “Thanks…” I whimpered as she opened the door.

  It looked borderline destitute on the outside, but this place was honestly really cozy. King-size bed, video game setup, bunch of really nice computers, bitchin’ sound equipment, neon lights, and art all over the place. Rita certainly knows how to set up a vibe.

  “Cute place…” I muttered with a smile.

  “As Judy would say, ‘Mi casa es su casa,’ heh,” she replied, her kind voice bringing me much-needed warmth, “Bathroom’s on your left in case you need to go.”

  “Not right now, thanks…” I found a seat on the couch in front of me, just now noticing the smell of lavender incense in the air.

  “Alright, no worries – want anything? Coffee, tea?”

  “No, I-I’m good… thanks, Rita.”

  “Erm, okay,” she sighed pensively, heading into the other room and putting her groceries away. “So talk to me – how long was Johnny in your body, anyway?”

  “Three days,” I told her with a heavy breath.

  “Three days?!” she exclaimed as she came back into the room, “What the fuck, wasn’t it supposed to be a conversation, you said?!”

  “Mhm, it was… Then I guess he decided to go on a massive bender.”

  “God, no wonder you got so messed up…” she replied, taking a seat next to me, “You okay now? Uh– I mean, like, physically.”

  “More or less…” I admitted meekly, “He smoked like crazy… Think I’m getting withdrawal…”

  “Irritability, anxiety, appetite…?” she asked matter-of-factly, “Well, I guess that’s a dumb question, too… sorry.”

  “No, no, it’s okay…” I frowned, “I’m sorry for being like this. I should be more gracious to a host who invited me into her house…”

  “Hah! So proper, as always,” Rita smiled in return, “Seriously, it’s okay. Hang on, lemme text Judy real quick, see if she’s up…”

  “No, it’s okay, I don’t want to bother… uhm…” I paused after thinking to myself, “Okay… uhm, yeah, go ahead.”

  “Glad to see you comin’ to your senses,” she said while glancing down at her phone, “And… sent. Now tell me, what’s on your mind? Same thing?”

  “Same thing…”

  “Mm, I see…” she frowned, coming closer to me, “Hey, uhm… if you wanna leave–”

  “No, no,” I shouted, “I– uh… No, it’s okay… Sorry.”

  “You sure? It’s no problem–”

  “Yeah,” I interrupted again, “It’s fine.”

  Rita looked at me with this intense, worried glare. “Mmm…” she paused, staring deep into my eyes, “Want to watch a movie? I can put something on while we wait. Judy should be here in like 15 or 20 minutes.”

  “If you want…”

  “Oh come on, what’s up?” she said quickly, clearly frustrated, “Did I say something wrong, or…?”

  “No, no, you didn’t say anything wrong…” I sighed, “I’m sorry, it’s just… I don’t… I don’t really know what to even think or… like, do anymore…”

  “Fuck…” Rita frowned, “This sounds bad. Are you and Johnny, you know… still friends? Or is he–”

  “He’s gone,” I hissed, “Gone. I told him not to do this… And he betrayed me. Heh, I guess I got no one to blame but myself… it’s not like there weren’t any signs, you know?”

  “Signs? What kind of signs?”

  “Like… just… okay, the very first thing he did when we got up, he told me to kill myself. Then he tried egging me on to do it again after my brother’s funeral. He showed basically zero affect when Evelyn died. He cheated on his girlfriend God-knows how many times. And fuck knows what he’s put into his own body, much less mine… Hell, most of his memories aren’t even correct. Like, we went to this one place for a gig, guy had a bunch of old Samurai albums, so Johnny started talking about them, right? And he didn’t even know when Samurai broke up – I had to look at the fucking copyright information on the back of the sleeve to prove it. So I have this insane, dementia-ridden, drunken rockerboy with a death wish floating around in my head, and I actually trusted him with my body… fuck… how stupid can I be…”

  Rita put her arm around me as I sobbed, lowering my head into her shoulder. “I’m sorry…” she whispered, “What can I do? Is there anything, maybe call someone, or?”

  “No… this is fine,” I replied with a deep sigh, “Mmmh… I guess maybe just a movie or something… I need a distraction…”

  “Sure,” she smiled, leaning her head up against mine. First thing that showed up when she turned on the TV was one of the Bushido movies… perfect. I desperately needed brain-rot…

  Mmm…

  –

  “…Stick some iron in your mouth and pull the trigger!…”

  “Scream…”

  Johnny… Please, just leave me alone… Please…

  “We both know how this story’s gonna end one way or another, why bother jerkin' each other off for a month beforehand…”

  Johnny…!

  “Sayonara–”

  –

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  “M-GAH!” I shot off of Rita’s shoulder, nearly smacking Judy in the face.

  “Eyy, watch the goods, calabacita,” Judy said with a smile as my eyes danced around the room… Wh– where– Ah… right… Rita’s…

  “Have a good sleep?” Rita asked, propping me up so I’d sit up straight between them, “Didn’t realize my shoulder was that comfy.”

  “I-I’m sorry,” I muttered, “What time is it?”

  “Fuck knows, movie’s over, though,” she said, flipping the TV off and taking another look at me. “How’re you feeling?”

  “Alright… uh…” I stuttered a bit, “Judy? W-when’d you get–”

  “About an hour ago. Rita explained everything to me, don’t worry.”

  “She did?”

  Rita gave me a cheeky grin. “You’re a deep sleeper, heh… Hope you don’t mind.”

  “No, it’s fine, saves me the time from explaining it,” I replied flatly, brushing my hair away from my face, “Yeah… I need a haircut.”

  “Don’t dig the white look, huh?” Judy asked me with that soft yet gravelly voice of hers.

  “Not really… I think it’s just because Johnny did it… And I’d rather, just, not.”

  “Yeah, I feel you,” Judy lightly sighed, “Oh, here, I brought some coffee, looks like you can use it.”

  “Oh…?” I quietly said as I inhaled the aroma of the cup she handed to me. Deep black coffee… I thought I didn't need it before. But now that I have it right in front of me, well…

  “Good?” Rita chimed in with a laugh.

  “Mmm…” I took a sip and it felt like a goddamn miracle just occurred. Suddenly I could think. Function semi-normally. Such a simple gesture, yet it made an absolute world of difference… “Mmh…” I let out a long breath after swallowing, taking another sip immediately after, “Oh, thank God…”

  “I think it’s good,” Judy replied while stymieing a chuckle of her own, “Oh, Rita, you wanna get her some fresh clothes?”

  “Ah, sure,” Rita said before getting up and rifling through her dresser in the other room, still within conversational distance, “What’re you in the mood for, pink or pink?”

  “Anything’s good,” I told her with a genuine smile on my face, “Thanks for taking care of me. And listening.”

  “Course, what’re girlfriends for? Hah,” she shouted with another one of her little chuckles from the other room, “Alright, try this on.”

  Rita came back in holding what, at first glance, appeared to be some form of clothing. Though I probably shouldn’t say anything. I’m in a bad mood and don’t want to make the situation any worse or more awkward than it already is. “Thank you…” I mumbled, taking the outfit with me to the bathroom. "Hang on. Judy, what'd you call me before? Calaba-wha-? Like a zucchini?"

  "Heh, don't worry 'bout it," Judy laughed from the other room, "Now get changed, calabacita." I didn't even question it anymore. Just Judy being Judy. And I loved every second of it.

  –

  “So that’s what Johnny wanted, huh?” Judy shouted as I tried the tank top on for size. It fit – barely. My chest stretched the fabric out quite a bit. And the skirt was much too small – no, no, just be grateful you got anything at all. “Fuck… Like, why couldn’t you have just asked Rogue for the info? Isn’t she a fixer? What, she too good to take cash all of a sudden?”

  “Yeah, I dunno… I probably should’ve seen it coming…” I sighed as I looked in the mirror, my hair hideously glaring back at me. I’ll cut the whole damn thing off, I don’t care anymore. “Rita, you got any TechHair grower? For my hair.”

  “No, but there’s a ripper right up the street from here, could pick some up–”

  “No worries,” I interrupted, I’ll do it later. Thanks, though.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, you’ve done more than enough… Mmfh…” I grunted as I finally managed to get the skirt on, “Sorry for all the trouble.”

  “Oh my gosh, honey, stop apologizing!” Rita exclaimed from the couch, “Here, when you’re all done you can come sit down with us.”

  “I am… just…” I finally stepped out, “It’s a little tight on the chest.”

  “Hah, I can see that!” Judy laughed, making me blush and smile a bit.

  “P-heh…” I grunted awkwardly, putting my arms behind me and giving them a little bit of a show. I don’t know what it was about these two, but I genuinely felt more comfortable around them than most other people in general, much less people I know today. I feel like they’d have my back no matter what. Just something about their expressions, or their words… I don’t know. They just both felt like… real, genuine, kind-hearted people. That’s a tall order in this city.

  “Awwww, that looks adorable on you!” Rita shouted as she got up and went over to me, “The colors work so well with your complexion. You should wear stuff like this more often!”

  “T-thanks…” I said meekly, feeling my face turning more beet-red by the second, “Thanks for everything, you two. Honestly, I know I’ve been bad company–”

  “Nah, nonsense,” Rita stopped me, “Babe, you have got to give yourself a break. You’ve just been through a hell of a time, okay? Come on, let’s sit down.”

  “Yeah… yeah, you’re right…” I humbly admitted, taking a seat on the couch between the two of them again, “I just… it’s… it’s been a hell of a long year, I guess…”

  “Tell us about it,” Judy ushered me, “If you want to.”

  “About what… my year? Or-”

  “Whatever you’re comfortable with,” Judy finished.

  I took a few moments to deliberate my response in my head. “Alright, um… I-I don’t really know where to start… Hell, this whole year’s been just… I don’t know… My brother was killed, I learned that I’m probably next. I placed my trust in someone and he betrayed me. High-profile people are after me for one reason or another, just… I-I can’t even feel anything anymore… Like… I know I should be worried about my car, my sword… I know I should feel happy to be around you both. I know I should be just screaming my head off about… about all of this… But instead I just feel… nothing.”

  “Nothing…?” Rita frowned, “Wh-what do you mean, like apathy?”

  “I guess…” I shrugged, “I don’t really know how to word it. Just… like everything got sucked out of the room all of a sudden. I feel… empty. Worthless. And I know I should be better for you both. I know that. But I… I had another Relic attack a few days ago… Johnny saved me, but I felt like I was about to die… I collapsed, and thought that was it… That was it, I was done. And I thought of you, Judy. The wonderful time we spent together. And you, Rita, for showing me that I could just be myself. And… and it’s like… I couldn’t picture it anymore… I was just so scared… Before all of this, crying was a rarity for me. I don’t think that I cried more than maybe five or six times in my life. But in 2077 alone, I probably doubled that count. Crying's been par for the course this year… With every new day came a new reason to cry. But now… now I’m not crying anymore. Now I’m just numb."

  “V… I’m so sorry…” Rita whispered with a shaky voice, “I won’t pretend to know what that’s like. But I’m here – we’re here. The both of us. What can we do…?”

  “I… uh… I don’t know… I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer, but… I… I’m tired…”

  “Hey, we can definitely help with that,” Judy said with a smile on her face, “Rita’s bed is plenty comfy.”

  I’m getting the distinct impression that neither of them will take ‘no’ for an answer, at least when it comes to comforting me. I should probably try and be more grateful for that. Okay… “Are you sure, Rita…?”

  “Course I’m sure,” she replied earnestly, “I told you, my house is your house. I’ll even make a little sculpture just for you, how’s that?”

  Great, now I started blushing again… “Thanks…” I mumbled as I got up and moved over to the bed, throwing the tank top to the side. I heard Rita make a little noise as I turned around to face them. “I gotta pick up my car first thing in the morning, so I really do need some sleep, okay?”

  “Sure thing,” they both said in unison, laughing to each other as they got up.

  “Look, V,” Judy continued, “What you did for me… I… I think this is the least that the both of us can do for you. If whatcha need is a little comfort and company, well – we got that for ya. Okay?”

  “Thanks, um…” I glanced down, “I-I don’t know… I mean… I just…”

  “Hey,” Rita interrupted, “It’s okay. You’ve had a long week. Get some rest.”

  “Thanks… Just some rest…” I frowned a bit, subtly nodding as my gaze fell lower and lower, “Not really in the mood for anything else, sorry.”

  Rita started laughing again. “Hah! You apologize more than my sister does, I swear!” Okay, I must admit that my jaw was getting a bit tired from repeating that word a lot. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”

  Somehow I doubt that… But I still owe Rita one now. A big one. In all honesty, this woman’s kindness probably saved me from just rotting away on that pavement outside.

  I can’t believe that she actually lived here, of all places. Generally I don’t believe that such things are coincidental. It felt more like an omen, if anything. And it’s not like they don’t know that I'm dying, either. They are both well aware of that. But they want to be around me anyway, which says a lot. Part of me was in a state of disbelief with that fact as well – why would someone willingly subject themselves to being with a dying woman? I guess it wasn’t my place to say, though.

  Who is Rita, really? I don’t really know her that well. But something tells me that I want to. As I stared into her deep, green eyes, I couldn’t help but see a kindred spirit. Someone else who was in pain. Someone unknown to me. It was like I found an old 19th-century painting up in my attic. No signature, but it reminded me of someone, and I couldn’t help but just stare at it, admire it, and feel what it stirred in me.

  This year has been full of firsts for me. A lot of them for the worse. But this didn’t feel like one of them. True, I was living on borrowed time, but that doesn’t have to mean that my time must be spent sulking around doing nothing. My problems will still be there in the morning. But as long as I had one or two people in my corner, I was doing alright for myself.

  “Wow…” Rita sighed, her warm metal hands slowly tracing over parts of my back, “A lot of scars…”

  “Years of military and mercenary work will do that…” I replied softly in return, “Arasaka only cared about the scars you could see in a dress. Not the ones you couldn’t.”

  "What's this one, on your chest…?" she muttered, her fingers tracing a line over a scar on my left breast, "It's right over your heart…"

  "Ah… From the Konpeki heist… I was shot by a Minotaur's missile. Glancing blow… I needed skin grafts. Part of it raised up a little and just… never went back down…"

  "Mmh…" she moaned sensually, "And this one on your arm?"

  "2072, Middle East… radiation burns…"

  "God…So much pain…" she whispered into my ear, coming close to my face, "I'm sorry…"

  "Oh? Who's apologizing unnecessarily now?"

  "Pff," she giggled, "Shut up!" Just then, Judy got up and sat down next to Rita as she grabbed the back of my hair and pulled me in for a kiss. A long, filthy, forceful kiss, so hard that it threatened to crush my lips. I offered no resistance, taking care of her spiked forearms as I leaned back and let her shove me onto the bed…

  –

  “How many didn’t come back?”

  “Osaki, Vegas, and what’s the new kid’s name… The one who’s only been here a week… the blonde…”

  Judy… I’m sorry…

  “You still alive?” the large Mexican cartel member whispered to me, “Take this. Help me.”

  Jackie… I can’t…

  I’m not strong enough…

  Help… Help me… I’m burning…

  –

  “You mind if I have a cigarette?” Rita asked me as she headed out to the balcony.

  “What? No, go ahead.” The sun felt oppressively bright and hot this morning… Fucking mid-August humidity.

  “Mmh,” she moaned a little as she lit the smoke up, leaning on the railing next to me, “Judy was right… You do scream in your sleep.”

  “Uh– yeah, sorry,” I replied with a shade of embarrassment – wh–what’s that smell? “Hey, you smell that?”

  “What? No– Oh, the cig?” she glanced down, noting me instinctively looking at the cigarette in her hand. Oh… I see. I see what’s going on here…

  “Bah,” I scoffed, “Think it’s my withdrawal… Johnny smoked so much that I’m getting cravings.”

  “Hm? O–Oh! Sorry,” Rita panicked a little, tossing the cigarette to the streets below, “I should probably quit anyway, to be honest with you.”

  “Mm…” I’d never been in a three-way before tonight… It was… tiring. Fun, but tiring. “You do this often with people?”

  “What, sleep around?” Rita raised an eyebrow, “Honestly not as much as people think. A lotta that comes with just how fucking objectifying everyone can be, you know?”

  I scratched the side of my head a little before resting my elbows on the railing next to her. “Yeah, I get it… Go on.”

  “Like… okay, you see that megabuilding over there?” she pointed to the massive Megabuilding H11, dominating the skyline of Northside, “I grew up in one of the middle apartments in there. Didn’t actually see the sun ‘til I was about 6 or 7 years old. Kids at school used to make fun of us. Called us ‘Wheat,’ though I never really understood why. Used to draw a lot, what I thought the sky looked like… Then we moved into a window unit. And I would draw what I thought a tree would look like. Always had a fascination for… I dunno, creatures. Animals. Plants. People. Not those people with scop in their heads, pushing boundaries and buttons and everything else… Just… Real people. You understand?”

  “I think I do,” I frowned, “I’ve not exactly had the, uh, best track record either.”

  “Mm…” she hummed under her breath, “Y’know, I’ve crossed a lotta things off my to-do list. But one thing’s always eluded me… snow.”

  “Snow?”

  “Mhm. Picture a, uh, little girl. Goes outside at midnight. All the buildings around her made of weathered brick. Cars parked under yellow street lights. And there’s snow, just, gently falling around her… And she’s dancing in it. Singing. Lovin’ life. Not a care in the world for who’s watchin’ from their balcony…” Rita appeared to drift off, her eyes no longer focused on anything in particular, “I’ve never seen snow before… I want to. At least once… Did you know that, back in the day, this place used to be called Morro Bay?”

  “Mhm, the radio station’s named after it.”

  “Yep… And it hardly ever rained in the summer. Ever. Now it seems like it wants to dump buckets every week or two. Half the time it’s that green shit, too. Heh… Maybe if we fuck the climate hard enough, it’ll loop back around and give us some snow for a change… That'd be nice.” Her face was positively glowing, the way she was daydreaming like that. I thoroughly admired her creativity - it just made her personality so gorgeous in my eyes.

  “Mm… it used to snow every other year where I grew up… Then it just stopped, back around 2050 or so. Never came back. Apparently I saw snow before, but I can’t remember it.”

  “Oh? Where’d you grow up, anyway?”

  “Yokosuka,” I said, my voice now much more relaxed, “My parents were well-off enough that I never wanted for anything growing up. Except freedom, I guess.”

  “Freedom? What do you mean?”

  “Well, like… Okay, picture a society that places family values over everything else. You work for a company – that one company – until you die. You have children out of obligation to the community. You raise your children to perform specific tasks to benefit the household, that sort of thing. Up until a certain age, you just… feel like livestock, if that makes any sense?”

  “Jeez… it does…” she gasped, “Guess money can’t solve everything, huh?”

  “God knows I wish it would,” I replied pensively, scratching my forehead and letting my head sink down.

  "Well it could be worse. I mean, you're smart, observant, resourceful, extremely skilled - not to mention that you can get laid like concrete with that body of yours," Rita said with a raised eyebrow, prompting a laugh from me.

  "And you're creative, intelligent, also very talented and pretty - Hell, I could never make art the way you do, some of the stuff you showed me was gorgeous."

  "Aww, thank you!" she replied with a deep red blush, contrasting her jade-green eyes in the light.

  “Okay, topic change. How’d you come to work as a bouncer, anyway?”

  “Ah, that’s easy,” Rita's face was still painted with a cute grin, “Learned how to handle myself pretty quick in high school. Invested in a few mods. You know how it goes. Ended up falling in with the Mox at that point, and I been with ‘em ever since. As for bouncing – eh, that’s just a job. The whole ‘tough girl’ thing’s an act. Comes off with my work clothes every morning. But people say that I’ve got a good moral compass and I’m a fair judge of character, so might as well milk ‘em for what they got, right?” Her eyes were so pretty in the rising sun… “What about you? How’d you fall in with Ara–”

  Oh? My phone started ringing… Huh. Rogue? “Hang on, I’m so sorry, it’s Rogue,” I apologized, walking over to my right as Rita nodded and headed back inside.

  “Preem. Good luck, honey,” she told me as the door closed behind her.

  “Hello,” I answered.

  “V,” Rogue’s voice was tinged with concern, “How’re you holdin’ up, everything alright?”

  “Yeah, everything’s fine,” I told her as I looked back at the door, “Spent the night with some good Samaritans. Ready to go again.”

  “Really? Hm, didn’t think they existed in this city,” Rogue replied cynically, “Anyway, I found a lead. Ebunike isn’t just a person – it’s a ship.”

  “Umm…” I paused for a couple of seconds, “Like an AeroZep, or a ship ship?”

  “The latter,” she continued, “Cargo vessel named after the long-dead mayor. Come on down to the Afterlife, we’ll discuss it in person.”

  “On my way,” I told her, hanging up and returning to the room.

  I kissed Judy awake, keeping her tucked under the covers. She looked so adorable and cozy. I dared not disturb her. “Mmmh, ‘morning, sunshines,” Judy smiled as she looked over at Rita and I, “You leaving?”

  “Yeah,” I said as I collected my clothes, “I’m headed to the barber first, then Misty’s, then the Afterlife. I’ll stop by when I get the chance, okay?”

  “Mm… sure…” she lazily whispered, rolling back over and closing her eyes, “Be safe, okay?”

  “Promise. Thanks for the company… I needed it.”