221 Midtown Moments (2/2)
The man opposite the counter, a muscular, bald-headed, tan-skinned, middle-aged man with a goatee named Byron, was a Lep Trader affiliated with Shanks' General Merchandise Store back in the Fayne.
”This amount of Leprechauns totals around this much, Dean-o,” he said as he raised his analogue calculator to my eye-level.
”That's just way too many zeroes for a teenager to make in a month,” Ty whistled. ”You really should give me a raise, Dean…”
”I pay you enough,” I countered. ”You'll just waste it if I give you any more.”
I placed my thumb on the scanned Byron pushed over the counter toward me.
”I'll take two thousand in hundred dollar bills now and you can put the rest in my savings account as usual, Byron,” I instructed.
”Sure, Dean-o,” Byron said happily. ”Anything else I can do for you kiddos?”
”Actually,” Arah raised a hand. ”You guys have a delivery service, right, Byron?”
”Of course,” he said as he raised his arms wide, ”Guaranteed one night express shipment to any location in the Fayne except for the Isle of Shields that lie across the Gemsea and Dwarzamor which lies past the Iron Mountain Range… My guys would need at least a week to cross the Mines of Morgan which is the safest route through the mountains …”
Arah dropped a shopping bag full of girl clothes onto the counter.
”I'd like for these dresses to be shipped to Hoodwink Tower in the Westmarch,” she said. Then she glanced sideways at my and Ty as we were both giving her a questioning look. ”I promised Aura I'd send her samples of the latest styles to add to her wardrobe.”
Byron inspected Arah's package with a fine-tooth comb before asking the obvious question, ”It's just these dresses and shoes right? No contraband?”
As he said this, he pointed to a poster in the back wall that was carefully hidden from view so that mundane shoppers wouldn't take notice of it.
It was a list of contraband that wasn't allowed in the Fayne which included all sorts of drugs, firearms, tech stuff, teddy bears, Dungeons and Dragons items, and My Little Pony memorabilia.
Arah spared one glance at the poster, paused at the end, reread the last item on the list out loud, and then shrug. ”Nope, it's just the clothes.”
”Alright,” Byron said as he took the shopping bag off the counter. ”I'll find a gold chest for this so you guys can be on your way.”
”Thanks, Byron!” Arah said happily.
---
Thirty minutes later,and we found ourselves sitting in our favourite booth at Ed's Chocolate Bar opposite my two favourite spies, Collin and Connor McCord.
I slid two envelopes over the table to them.
”A thousand bucks each as usual,” I said.
”Why are you paying them again?” Arah asked. ”Don't they already get paid by the unit's coffers every end of the month?”
Admitting to Arah that I was feeling guilty over the twins risking their lives for us all the time and giving them a bonus whenever I could might get me an earful from my unit's tactician. So I just shrugged back at her.
”You're such a softy, Dean,” she teased, obviously hinting that she understood my line of thinking regardless of any admission on my part.
”Anyways,” I cleared my throat, ”What's so urgent that we had to meet now?”
Connor, the less dependable twin, spoke first.
”You're being watched,” he blurted out.
This caused his brother to smack him in the head.
”That's not verified, idiot,” Collin chided Connor.
”So… which is it?” I asked nervously.
”What Connor means is that your school is currently under observation by Scarlet Moon observers,” Collin corrected.
Observers, it was a word — which if used in context to the Fayne — was a word I hated from the very bottom of my heart. Observers were what you called fairies that watched young humans they thought were promising right before they kidnapped them.
My eyes narrowed into slits. ”Why?”
”That's the thing…” Collin scratched his head. ”We're not exactly sure why… and that's why Connor thinks it might be because of you guys but it doesn't make sense as fairies are forbidden to attack viseres in Mudgard.”
”We overheard General Spellweaver talk about it with one of his lieutenants recently,” Connor added. ”Something about finding candidates in Midtown High.”
As the words 'Midtown High' reached my ears, I suddenly felt like I wanted to puke. Beside me, Arah's hand had grasped my shirt sleeve. But I refused to look at her despite how hard she pulled on it.
”Mudcrap,” I sighed.