COMMEATUS
LING
After about an hour at the cafe, Lily ran off to another job, and the group kind of broke apart. Derek and Akane had to make a delivery for a job, and Lizzy and Laura had something else to do. Flynn didn't feel comfortable enough around them yet, so that left Ling and Adam all alone. One of the benefits of minimum classes on Friday.
Ling considered finding Alex, just to have something to do, but decided against it. They were great, but angels still creeped her out, and the fact that she was technically their boss made things weird.
While she was still wondering what she should do to put off her homework a little longer, Adam stood up from the table, brushing crumbs from a croissant off his lap. “Well, I guess I have to go. Need to buy some ammo.”
Ling put her drink down. “Can I come? I wanted to look at some new armor, and I might be able to help.” She still wasn't Adam's biggest fan, but he wasn't a complete moron, despite debacles like today. She could spend a few hours with him.
He looked hesitant, but after a moment just shrugged. “Sure, why not.”
They paid their shares at the counter and headed out. Most gun shops were a little bit away from the middle of the city, probably because the students didn't usually buy from them. So they headed south.
They actually had to get on the light rail to get to one of the good shops, but Ling managed to convince Adam it was worth it. He didn't like the rail, probably because it was crowded enough that they had to stand, but he got over it. Ten minutes of bumping around later, MC's voice announced their stop over the train's intercom, and they got off at a small platform.
The central parts of... well, Central looked like an open-air mall. They catered to students and workers from the server farms, and used lots of neon to attract attention. The stores themselves were small and nearly identical. If you wanted a bigger store, you usually had to buy an adjacent one and take the dividing door off. Street vendors were also common, and sometimes they took over the area so much that the street had to be temporarily closed off to cars.
Farther from the heart of the city, shops became less important. Most of the buildings were warehouses and other large, low-population structures. It wasn't quite close enough to Middle to get into actual apartments, but it was far enough from the schools so there wasn't a constant influx of students.
The shop Ling led Adam to didn't even have a sign. It was more a warehouse to pick up orders than a traditional shop. The inside was just a small lobby with a counter separating them from the sole cashier. He looked up as they came in.
He was a full anthro ave, a bird kemo. Aves were still pretty rare, not least because wings were still far beyond the reach of the toy maker. Even the feathers were a bit new.
By Tezuka, Ling thought. When did they perfect feathers? Last she had checked, they were still too expensive.
The shopkeeper was an eagle with a large, strong yellow beak and white feathers on his head. Ling could see black feathers poking out of his shirt. She thought that meant he was a bald eagle, but she had never particularly cared about birds. His eyes tracked them, much like the predator they were based on, and he clicked his talons against the counter. He stared at them for a moment before his beak opened a little, in what she barely recognized as a smile.
“Ling? Is that you?”
She smiled back. “How you doing, Turgay? I almost didn't recognize you with the feathers.”
He chuckled, brushing them back a little. “Yeah, I got them just a few weeks ago. Soaring Eagle footed the bill. I've been doing some work for her.”
“Adam, this is my friend Turgay Corvi. We lived in the same orphanage when we were kids. Turgay, this is Adam Anders. I've been doing some missions with him.”
Adam held out his hand to shake. “Pleasure.”
Turgay seemed surprised, but gingerly shook it anyway, careful not to hurt him with his talons. “Likewise.” He reached under the counter and pulled out a thick pad, designed to hold up against claws. “But you're here for something besides introducing me to your boyfriend.”
“He's not my boyfriend,” Ling said. “Lily got him already.”
Turgay clicked his tongue, trying to remember who she was talking about. “Lily, Lily... wait, you mean Lily? The Lily?”
“The very same.”
He looked at Adam with new respect. “Good catch, baseline. Or good job getting caught. Whichever.”
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“Uh... thanks. But I really do need...”
Turgay nodded. “Right, right, you need something. Guns or ammo?”
“Ammo,” Adam said, clearly enjoying not having to engage in small talk. “For a 6-gauge shotgun.”
Turgay looked up. “A Saint George?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, you're in luck. The Dragon Slayer can handle some pretty heavy-duty shells.”
Adam made a face. “There aren't... there aren't actual dragons running around the city, right?”
Turgay frowned. “Well... kinda. There's a lace subculture called the dragons, but they're mostly harmless. Gargants count, I guess, if you squint... it's not important.” He held up one talon. “Let me show you something.” He opened the door and headed into the warehouse in a hurry, though he was careful to close the door behind him.
The silence didn't last more than a second.
“So, you like Derek,” Adam asked in a completely failed attempt to act nonchalant.
Ling just smiled. “Yes. Is that a problem?”
“Not particularly. I'm just wondering why.”
She shrugged. “He's nice and cute. Isn't that enough?”
“And saving your life probably didn't hurt.”
She grinned widely. “No, that didn't hurt.”
“I'm just trying to figure you out. I mean, the other day you all but tackled him.”
“Laura beat me to it.”
“Heh, yeah. But I'm surprised you just gave up after that.”
Ling started in surprise. “What? No, I haven't given up.”
He frowned. “Really? You don't seem to have been doing anything.”
“No! I mean...” She paused.
He was right. She hadn't really thought about it, but she backing off a bit. She really did like Derek, and Akane wasn't doing anything, especially since she was clearly attracted to Flynn. Ling just hadn't really thought it was possible. He was thick as a tree.
Well, that just meant it was a challenge.
Before Ling could give Adam a real response, Turgay came back, carrying a heavy box. He plopped it on the counter with a loud thud and opened it up. It was filled with boxes of shotgun shells.
“I brought out a few different kinds,” he said. “First we have the dragon breath rounds. Very nice.” He unpacked one of the boxes and started pulling the shell apart, revealing a bunch of large ceramic beads. “The shot is filled with pyrophoric dust, which ignites on contact with air. They crack when they hit something, exploding in a burst of heat. These babies are great against swarms. I recommend keeping a few with you at all times.” He packed it up carefully. “Just make sure you store them someplace that's not flammable.”
He pulled open another box, but didn't unwrap the actual shell. “These are simple 6-gauge, steel shot shells. Anti-infantry. They're somewhat armor-piercing, but don't rely on them for that.” He rubbed his feathery chin. “Of course, with a six-gauge nearly everything is armor piercing...” He shrugged. “Regardless. For that, you want one of these.” He pulled out another box and placed it carefully on the counter, as though that was enough of an argument by itself.
Adam opened the box. Ling noticed that they weren't shells, but slugs. And big ones, too, designed to fit in a Saint George. “What's so special about this one?”
“That's a Teflon-coated armor-piercing slug,” Turgay said happily. “It will punch a hole the size of your fist in anything you shoot at. It's perfect for the bigger monsters, like a brick-plated gargant. I've even heard of it breaching tank armor like what you can get from Dis, though that's probably an exaggeration.”
“Sounds perfect,” Adam said, nodding in approval. “I'll take one of those, two of the dragon breath, and two of the normal 6-gauge.”
While Turgay started stacking up the boxes, Ling noticed something. “What's that one?” she asked, pointing to a mostly unmarked box in the corner of the crate.
Turgay glanced at it in surprise. “Oh, that's my mistake. I think that was already in there. Pay it no mind.” Ling recognized the sales technique. Pretend something isn't interesting, and the customer will get very interested.
“No harm in showing us,” Adam said.
Turgay shrugged and took out the box slowly, almost reverently. He pulled out one of the shells very, very carefully.
It was shaped more like the slug he had showed them earlier rather than a shell. It had a larger than normal primer, and Ling could tell by the way he held it that it was heavier than it looked.
“This,” he said, “is a Necessarius God Slayer. It's not so much a slug as it is a small rocket-propelled grenade. Once it exits the barrel, a secondary fuse lights, igniting the rocket and giving it a huge boost in velocity. When it hits something, the depleted uranium nose gets pushed back, even as it penetrates the target. Once it reaches a depth of about an inch, the nose will hit the payload inside, activating it, and setting off another explosion. The uranium becomes shrapnel. All in all, this baby is better than a frag grenade.” He set it on the counter very carefully.
Adam picked it up and looked at it curiously from every angle. “I can't think of how anyone would need something like this,” he said. “It seems like overkill.”
Turgay shrugged. “Against anything short of a full-bid warlord? Definitely, and I doubt you're going to be facing any warlords. But a good shot can take out a vehicle's engine pretty easily, and these can breach tank armor. Unless you're fighting the Warbloods, you won't have to worry about actual tanks, but some of the biggest gargants are worse. Very little can stand up to these babies. They've only been around for about a year. They might get a good counter for them sooner or later, but I'm betting on later.”
Adam put the slug down. “A box of those as well.”