“Wake up, sweetheart. We’ve got work to do.”
Vinyl mumbled incoherently, still trapped in the sandman’s spell. She was so sore after her encounter with Limestone that she wanted nothing more than to sleep. Sleep through the pain, wake up, go to work, then sleep some more.
“Now, love, I’m getting impatient.”
“Five more…” mumbled Vinyl, turning over in her bed. As she drifted nearer to consciousness, she realized that she couldn’t recall undressing for bed. In fact, she couldn’t remember getting into her home. The last thing Vinyl remembered was the factory, how she had nearly been beaten to death by the Pie family maniac, and how she had been saved by an unlikely hero…
A slurry of frigid liquid torrented down onto Vinyl, snapping her out of sleep and sending her rocketing out of bed.
“What the fuck!” she sputtered, raking the wet locks of her hair from her eyes.
“The early bird catches the worm, Scratch,” said Octavia, setting down her bucket. She didn’t have her typical coat at the moment, which allowed Vinyl to see her fully for the first time. The skin on Octavia’s arms was scarred, peeling. It was redder than the rest of her, from something that never quite healed. Vinyl stared, wondering what exactly could have scarred her like that. She was no doctor, but they looked like burns to her.
“Are you going to stare or are you going to get ready to work?” asked Octavia sharply.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to… Yeah, sorry.” Vinyl looked around the sparsely decorated bedroom, feeling immediately uneasy. “Uh… This your place?”
“Well, I certainly couldn’t bring you back to yours,” said Octavia. “You're a runner, eh? I couldn't be sure you'd be there when I came to collect you. Get up. Go shower. I’ve got the kettle on. How do you like your eggs?”
“Whatever is fine. I don’t have clothes,” said Vinyl. “Didn’t exactly plan on this little sleepover.”
“I put out a set of spares for you in the bathroom. Luckily, you’re about my size, though my shirt might be a touch baggy on you.”
“It’s fine. Thanks. Where’s your bathroom?”
“Just outside this room, to your right,” said Octavia, leaving the room. “Hurry up, we need to get moving quickly.”
Vinyl nodded, then began pulling off her soaking wet clothing before heading out to the bathroom. She found the clothes that Octavia had set out, then stripped completely and stepped into the shower. Vinyl had perfected the art of the quick shower (no doubt thanks to her career path), and she was out in under five minutes. She toweled off, got redressed, and stepped out of the bathroom.
She followed the smell of bacon to the kitchen. Octavia didn’t acknowledge her existence, instead focusing on putting breakfast together. Vinyl stood there awkwardly for several moments before deciding the polite thing to do was to offer her assistance.
“Uh… You want some help?” asked Vinyl.
“Sit, Scratch,” said Octavia flatly. Vinyl took a seat at the small round table, nervously watching the mobster before her put together their meal. “Tea?”
“Sure? I don’t really drink tea.”
“It was a rhetorical question, really. You’ll have to forgive me, Trottingham leaves some habits I couldn’t break if I tried.” Octavia slid a plate over to Vinyl loaded with scrambled eggs and bacon. “Us limeys aren’t known for our hospitality, but we do tend to offer a cuppa without much considering the idea that the other might say no.”
“So… I’m confused. Do I want tea or not?”
There was a knock at the door, which Octavia seemed to be waiting for. She quickly strolled through the kitchen, down the short hall, and unlocked her door. She pulled it open, letting the Doctor into her home.
“I smell bacon,” said the Doctor. “I’m starving.”
“Don't get used to this, Doctor, I’m not running a damned bed and breakfast here. Come along, take a seat,” said Octavia, returning to the kitchen. “Tea?”
“Please.”
“See? That’s the appropriate response.” Octavia served the Doctor a plate, then poured out a cup of tea for each of her guests. “Sit, mate, and you’ve got sugar there on the table. If you need cream, let me know.”
“Thanks, Mel,” said the Doctor, taking a seat next to Vinyl. “Hello, miss. I don’t think we’ve met.”
“She’s the hooker I’ve been following,” said Octavia flatly. She grabbed a plate of her own and took a seat. “Vinyl, Doctor. Doctor, Vinyl. Now that we’re all best mates, we need to get to work.”
“Mh-hm. What do you need?” asked the Doctor.
“I need Vinyl to get arrested. And I need you there when that happens.”
“Uh… Does Vinyl get a vote here?” asked Vinyl.
“She does not. Because Vinyl fucked everything up for me,” said Octavia with a false smile. “So, to save her own ass, Vinyl is going to help me.”
“What did she do?” asked the Doctor.
“Something that you don’t need to hear about. I just needed to know if you had any friends down at the station. You’re on the streets more than I am. Do you know any cops that can be swayed to let her go when I need her?”
The Doctor mulled it over, picking at his breakfast. He looked Vinyl up and down, no doubt wondering who had given her that black eye and busted lip. The Doctor took a sip of his tea, cautiously thinking things over before speaking.
“Yeah, I know a guy. When would you need her out?” asked the Doctor.
“As early as tomorrow morning. Is it possible?”
“It’ll cost you, but, given your paycheck from the Boss, I doubt that’s a huge concern,” said the Doctor. “Explain to me why you need her in jail?”
“Well, for one, I need her to stay out of trouble. Beyond that, mate… They don't pay you enough to think on it. Don't trouble yourself over it.”
“You're asking me to act on a lot of faith, Mel,” said the Doctor uneasily.
“I am. And I understand that you have reservations,” said Octavia. “But I need you to understand that I wouldn’t be asking you if I could do it myself. So I’m asking you, as a friend, to help me out here.”
“Mel… I wanna help you, but can you really expect me to just do this shit blind? I need something, alright? Tell me something.” The Doctor stood up and pushed his chair in. “Why do you need her in jail? What have you gotten yourself into? What are you planning?”
Octavia took a sip of her tea, hoping the warmth of it would reassure her. Despite the tea, she was still nervous. She still had a large problem to deal with, and now she had roped the Doctor into things. If Limestone found out that the Doctor worked for Maud, he was as good as dead. If Maud found out that Octavia had asked him for help, against her wishes, he was as good as dead. If Vinyl failed to learn anything useful in prison, they were all dead.
“The less you know, the safer you are,” said Octavia carefully. “It’s not often that people in this business get killed for not knowing enough, but they get whacked for knowing too much every day. I don’t want that for you. Stay stupid, just this once.”
The Doctor sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. He crossed his arms over his chest, glancing at Vinyl.
“Well? Are you coming or not?” asked the Doctor. “Let’s see if we can’t have some fun while you’re getting locked up.”
“Seriously, I don’t get a say in the matter?” asked Vinyl, slowly getting up from her seat.
“I believe you’ve spoken enough, Ms. Scratch, I’m sure you’ll agree,” said Octavia. “The best thing you can do right now is keep your mouth shut, do as I ask, and pray we get something out of this.”
“And you’ll be back for me, right?” asked Vinyl. “You’re not gonna stick me in a cell and leave me for dead, are you?”
Octavia looked at her two unlikely partners, trying to figure out how things got out of hand so quickly. She sighed, then went about clearing the table of their breakfast dishes. She set the plates in the sink, taking a sip of her tea. She was wasting time here. It was getting late, and Octavia wanted to speak to Maud before she found herself in even more trouble than she was already in.
“Unfortunately for the both of us, Ms. Scratch,” said Octavia with a sigh. “I think I’m stuck keeping you around for the time being.”
Octavia slid into the hardware store, clenching her jaw as she quickly unlocked the door to the bar. It was far too early for service, so she didn’t need to bother going through the motions of the speakeasy’s secret knock, much to Octavia’s relief. Once she was in the bar proper, Octavia went directly for the bar, grabbed a glass and a bottle of whiskey, and poured herself a drink. She took a seat at the bar, let out a sigh, and took a sip.
The pain from her burns was starting to return. It crept up her arms, wrapping itself around her muscles like a vine of thorns. As she polished off her drink, Octavia reached into her coat pocket and withdrew her painkillers. After skimming over the label quickly, she confirmed what she already knew; the pills shouldn’t be consumed with alcohol.
Octavia poured herself another drink and used it to drown two pills, then slipped the bottle back into her pocket.
“You’ve changed your drink.”
“Christ almighty!” Octavia nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice. She took a deep breath, then turned to face her boss. Maud seemed unphased, crossing the room to take a seat next to Octavia. “Son of a bitch, Maud! You’re going to give me a heart attack if you keep popping up like that!”
“You’ve changed your drink,” repeated Maud. “You normally take your whiskey on the rocks.”
“What? Oh.” Octavia glanced at her glass, not really having thought of it much. “I fancied it neat today.”
“Hm. Have you started your task?”
Octavia finished off her whiskey, then stood up and went behind the bar. With no staff on hand, she would have to add bartender to her resume. Asking Maud what she wanted would be a mistake after so many years of working and drinking together, so Octavia went about fixing the usual; gin and tonic.
“Sort of. I hit a bit of a snag,” said Octavia. She stirred Maud’s drink, garnished with a wedge of lime, then slid it across to the Boss of the Pie Family. “That sister of yours is something else.”
“I am aware. What snag?”
“She had me shoot a bloke’s willy off.” Octavia winced at the memory, remembering the anguished screams. “Adonis. He was one of yours. Limestone had me kill him. His partner’s still around, though.”
“How is that a snag?” asked Maud. She chewed on her lime thoughtfully. “That sounds like an efficient way to achieve our goals.”
“The reason she had me kill Adonis is because he was harassing a few of her working girls. One of those working girls, unaware that Adonis was dead, spoke to the police for fear of her life.”
“And you killed her, yes?”
“Well… No.” Octavia could feel Maud’s gaze solidify on her, almost as if turning to stone. “I need the girl. She’s the go-to for information, and she’d be extremely useful in compiling my list of Limestone’s allies. But, unfortunately, your sister… She’s got a bit of a mean streak. Nearly battered this girl to death. I managed to convince her to stop, but I ended up promising to help Limestone solve her police problem. I’ve got a month to make progress, and I’ve got no idea where to start.”
Maud nodded slowly, understanding the situation well. She knew better than just about anyone how dangerous Limestone could be. She could understand Octavia’s predicament. Maud finished off her drink and slid her glass over for another, which Octavia quickly fixed for her.
“So I imagine you are postponing the main task at hand?” said Maud.
“Just until I can help Limestone solve her police problem. I’m already working on it. And, frankly, we would’ve needed to do this anyway,” said Octavia. “Once you’ve gotten Limestone out of the picture, all of her problems will become your problems.” Maud silently chewed on her lime, as if she didn’t even hear Octavia. “Speaking of which… How do you plan on removing Limestone? Am I supposed to… Or do you want to be the one to… Ahem. Whack her.”
“There seems to be a common misconception about my family,” said Maud, a strange bit of heat in her voice. “Limestone may hate me, but I do not hate her. And, despite that hate, Limestone would never kill me unprovoked. So I will extend that same courtesy to her. She is my sister, despite all of her anger and resentment and envy. I still love her. She loves me. We take her troops, we take her infrastructure, we take her power. But we do not take her life.”
Octavia sighed, not knowing if she preferred this recourse over its alternative. Killing Limestone would be far simpler, but quite dangerous for everyone involved. At the same time, it wouldn’t exactly be a cakewalk to take everything from Limestone and leave her for the wolves.
“Alright, then. Whatever you say, Boss,” said Octavia. “Another drink?”
“I really should be going.” Maud rose from her seat, adjusting her coat on her way to the door. “Good luck. Thank you for breakfast.”
“Maud, booze is not a part of a balanced breakfast. Please, get a proper meal in you before you keel over.”
“Funny. Goodbye, Octavia.” Octavia watched Maud leave, her nerves strangely calmed. She wasn’t sure if it was due to the whiskey or the fact that Maud hadn’t somehow complicated the situation too much, or perhaps the fact that she had nearly gotten the stoic Maud Pie to chuckle, but she felt much better than she did the night before.
Octavia poured herself another whiskey, this time with ice, before setting out for the factory to speak to her other boss.