Chapter Three - The Alleys of Boston Two

The alleys weren't interminable, but it almost felt like they were. Mega buildings were squeezed in close to each other with barely any room between them. Some of the alleys were so narrow that the only way through would be to siddle in sideways... which is what Sharp did.

It was the kind of thing that might have made the common person feel claustrophobic, but Sharp didn't seem to mind the narrow gap at all. "If we continue this way, we'll reach Fourth. Then it's pretty much a straight line to Central. I'm not sure which part of Fenway that Bloody Bat bar is in, though?"

"I will admit that I'm not certain either. I vaguely recall the building it's in, but I always took an auto-taxi there. The address must be online."

"I guess, yeah. I'll have to ask once we get closer."

I nodded along, then perked up as I heard something out ahead. We reached a T-junction in the alleys, and there was the sound of cars and traffic off to the left. There was also, unfortunately, the sound of two men talking that way.

I fully expected Sharp to turn right. Instead, she went left and walked towards the men. Did she know them? Was this area safer than it seemed? I wasn't from around here, so I really didn't have room to judge.

The two men were talking in the middle of a wider alley, one of those just wide enough for a truck to drive down, with a few dumpsters along the sides. The road was visible past them, a few people ambling down next to a road with congested traffic that wasn't moving an inch.

There was a third man nearby, sitting on the step leading to an emergency exit door while refilling a vape. All three were armed. Small handguns at their hips, in little sheathes pressed up against their denim pants. More, two of them had knives, one at the small of his back, another in his boot.

Riveters? They all had plaid shirts with dozens of rivets punched into them along the collars and next to their buttons. One of them looked like his shirt was that inflexible cut-proof material that more self-conscious gangsters loved. It was relatively cheap protection, able to turn a knife or stop a low-calibre round from penetrating too hard.

The two that were arguing stopped as Sharp came closer. One smacked the other lightly on the chest, then puffed himself up and came to block the alley. "'Ey, girly, what you doing on our turf?"

"Hi?" Sharp asked. "Um. I'm moving through?"

I blinked. Wait, did she not have a plan? At all?

"Uh-huh, for free? There's a fee, you know?" the guy asked while I reeled in horror. Did she really not have a plan? She didn't even seem ready to bolt. I was sure someone younger and more fit could outrun this bunch.

"A fee?" Sharp repeated. "Ah, but I don't have any money."

The guy blinked, then narrowed his eyes and took her in. "Yeah, maybe you can pay some other way, huh?"

"Dude," his friend said.

"What? No, not like that, you pervert," idiot the first said as he flushed. "I meant like, give us your stuff."

"I really don't have much though," Sharp said. "Just spare clothes and some blankets."

"She's a street rat," idiot-but-at-least-semi-decent second said.

Sharp, who definitely fit in as some sort of idiot as well, shook her head. "I'm not a street rat! I was raised in an orphanage. That's not the streets. Even if, uh, I live here now. I have some pride!"

"What about the cat?" Idiot the first asked.

It took my brain a nanosecond to realise he was talking about me.

"What would we even do with a cat?" Idiot two asked.

"Sell it in Central to one of those kiosks? The fried meat ones."

I felt my hackles rising. What? No no no, I was not going to end my life on the end of some street vendor's mystery meat kebab skewer.

I was tempted to start screaming, but restrained myself. Panic did no one any good. Sharp grabbed me from her shoulder and hugged me to her chest. "No," she whimpered. "Don't take Duchess Fuzzywhiskers from me!"

"That is not my name," I said to her.

"Dude," idiot two said. "You're gonna kill a kitten? Man, when I was saying that your ideas are bad for our image, this is exactly what I was talking about. The Rivet's are supposed to be united, we're supposed to stand together. No one's gonna wanna work with us if all we do is harass girls and steal kittens."

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"I'm just trying to help," Idiot one said.

"I know, bro, but this ain't it."

"Can I go?" Sharp asked, and when idiot two nodded, she scampered off past them and out of the alley. "Sorry about that," she whispered. "I never know what to do in that kind of situation."

I could see that. "You wanted to be an edgerunner, right?"

"Yeah, that's my dream!" she said.

"Then we'll have a lot of work ahead of us. Including conflict resolution. That entire situation could have been a small disaster."

"Sorry," she said, and she actually did sound upset.

I fidgeted in her grasp for a moment. "It's not so bad." It was actually terrible. "You have potential." She really didn't. "And I'm sure I can help you." I had no idea if that was true. I'd never trained anyone, but I'd also never been a cat before, so this was all very new.

"Thanks, Baroness Von Cuddles," she said before nuzzling me with her nose.

"Still no," I said.

She giggled. "So, when do we start?"

I considered it. Ideally I'd want a stable environment to study how her stats could be improved. Access to a gym would be nice, and to the internet, and maybe a small workshop. But baring all of those things. "Check your stats, let me know the moment one of them increases," I said.

"Okay," she said. "Uh... I've got them memorised. And there's a ding that happens when one levels up."

"Good to know," I said. "See that alley up ahead? Go into it."

The street here had nearly as much pedestrian traffic as it had cars. Lots of people in plain work clothes, a few joytoys, some teens in spike-covered gear. There were a lot of men and women loitering around wearing plaid, with a lot of steel studs and rivets punched into their clothes, but while they were common, they were far from the majority.

Sharp dipped into the alley, like I asked. A stinking place next to a fast food joint that was deserted.

"Okay, now what?" she asked.

"How many people did you cross on the way here?"

"Huh? I don't know."

"You passed a large man to the right. What kind of weapon did he have?"

Sharp blinked. "I was supposed to be paying attention to that?"

I wished I could rub at my face, but I wasn't sure I should, not before I figured out how claws worked. "Yes, Sharp, you're supposed to pay attention to everything. Let's start with that. Observational skills will keep you alive."

"They will?" she asked. "I mean... okay, so I'm not stupid I can see how being observant could help, but I feel like you mean... taking it to another level."

"Do you think the edgerunners you want to become like are people who remain average?" I asked.

"I guess not." She nodded. "Okay. Teach me, tiniest sensei!"

I wanted to grumble, but I'd save it for when my weight was measured with more than a single digit. "Very well. Let's keep moving. I don't expect you to master anything in one walk, but I can at least give you a few tips. There are some things we notice that don't matter, and if you learn to ignore those, you can start to focus on what does."

"Alright!" Sharp said.

Well, at least the girl was enthusiastic, which was a fantastic start. "Let's start with things that are dangerous. As we walk, I want you to tap my head every time you notice a gun, a weapon, or a gangster. We'll stop at the next alley and see how many you missed."

This would slow us down, but there was a lot of value in making sure that my meal ticket didn't get herself killed, so it was probably worth it in the end.

Now that we were out of the alleys, I could make out the sun enough to tell that we were smack in the middle of the morning. Plenty of time to make it to the Bloody Bat and figure out where to go from there. At least, I hoped.

I had long ago learned not to expect things to go well on a mission, and this felt little different.

But damn, it also felt like the world owed me a little victory at the moment too.

***