Helsinki was busier than usual. The moving market was thriving, shoppers and traders stepping in and out of trams in a constant flow every time one stopped. Nila squeezed between them easily, barely wincing at the nasty squeals of wheels against rails. It was sunny, a welcome change from the gloom and the rain that had earned the city’s favourite drug its nickname.

Normally, Nila would’ve had a field day. Unlike those who actually knew the city, tourists were easy marks. Easy to scam, easy to pickpocket, easy to just have fun with if nothing else. They stood out like sore thumbs. But today, Anna needed her.

Anna owned a bar and a red house in the apartment above it. Every now and then she called Nila for an odd job, usually to do with trading for cheap beer or recruiting a new girl. According to Mouse, though, she had sounded excited. This was going to be bigger than a bargain crate of booze.

The bar was always somewhat busy, but when Nila walked in, it was the quietest she had seen it in a long time. She rarely visited so early in the day. She walked over to the bar and greeted Anna, who was rubbing invisible smudges out of a glass pint just to have something to do with her hands while she scanned her bar for trouble.

Anna was a tall, intimidating woman with intelligent eyes, which she lined sharp with black. She liked to wear bright colours, most days favouring reds, purples and pinks. Today, though, she had a revealing blue dress with black details. A parody of an enforcer’s uniform. It was the anniversary of the Enforcer’s Unit’s debut.

“There’s something going on at the zoo tonight,” Anna said when Nila sat across her. “A deal, I hear.”

“And why should I care?” Nila asked.

Anna sighed. She set the glass and rag down and took something out of her pocket. A tiny capsule full of fine silver dust. Nila reached for it, but Anna snatched her hand away with a cat’s reflexes.

“Come on,” Nila groaned.

“Three more after you come back,” Anna said sternly. She set the capsule slowly down on the counter. “And don’t take it yet. I need you to remember everything.”

“Gee. Thanks,” Nila said. She was half-tempted to break the capsule between her teeth and take it straight, just to show Anna. She knew there would be no more Haze from her after that, though.

“It’s important to me to know each detail. All of it. Do you understand, girl?” Anna said.

“Yeah. I get it,” Nila said.

Anna smiled sweetly, though her eyes remained grey and cold. She patted Nila’s cheek a bit too harshly. “Go on, then,” she said.

The moment Nila left Anna’s, she was greeted by Mouse. He was a scrawny boy with a wispy moustache and a dull brown ponytail. His back was permanently bent from the weight of the dozen heavy bags he always carried. It was a miracle he could stand upright.

“Where’re you off to, then?” he asked.

“Job. As if you didn’t already know that,” Nila said. She tucked the Haze capsule discreetly into her pocket. Judging by the jitter in Mouse’s hands, he had ran out.

“Where?” Mouse pressed. He walked along as Nila started making her way up the street.

She wanted to say it was none of his business, but it was, really. He was probably the only one who would come looking for her if she didn’t come back — apart from Anna, of course, but she would only do it to get the information she wanted. So, she said: “The island.”

“The island? The fucking zoo?” Mouse said. A clattering box almost fell out of one of his bags, but he caught it expertly. When it tried to jitter out of his hands, he tucked it safely into another bag. “What does Anna want from the zoo?”

“I’m about to find out,” Nila said.

“It’s weird,” Mouse mused.

“It’s Anna we’re talking about. She’s probably just looking to get new girls,” Nila said.

“Why there, though? She can get girls anywhere.” Mouse pointed out.

“Not if they’re in debt or illegal,” Nila said. Helsinki was full of them, when one looked close enough. Naive girls from the north.

“That’s— Wait, look,” Mouse said. He put an arm in front of Nila, a warning. Just ahead of them at the crossing, enforcers were conducting a search. At least a dozen of them, wielding shockers in case someone got out of line. A little girl cried as an enforcer inspected her stuffed toy.

“Should we go back? Go around?” Mouse suggested.

Nila shook her head. At least two enforcers had already noted them. They weren’t suspicious yet, but if they ran, they would no doubt come after. “You don’t have anything on you, do you?” she asked.

“Take a wild fucking guess,” Mouse muttered.

“Shit,” Nila said. They were getting closer to the search. They had seen her with Mouse, and if they found anything on him they’d surely want to keep her as well… She wouldn’t get to the zoo in time.

“Here, take this,” Mouse said. He shoved one of his bags — an old rucksack that was surprisingly light — at Nila and ran. Not away from, but towards the enforcers.

“Mouse!” Nila hissed, but it was too late.

“Bomb! Bomb, there’s a bomb in that building!” Mouse screamed at the top of his lungs. It certainly got the enforcers’ attention. Any civilians who were being searched broke free and made a run for it. Soon enough, Nila heard at least two more people yelling about bombs and guns.

She took the opportunity and ran with the mass. They were going the wrong way, but she had time as long as there was no more trouble on the way. She ran behind a young boy and his mother who were clearly not from Helsinki. Their clothes were light and inconvenient; she wore a sun dress and a hat, and his shirt was such pure white it would get ruined after one fall.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Once the crowd had dispersed enough, Nila slipped away. She headed for the university, where the closest entrance to the old metro tunnels was. She twirled the Haze capsule between her fingers in her pocket while she made her way in.

They weren’t the quickest or the safest route to the zoo, but she was less likely to get bothered in the tunnels. Some were flooded, some had caved in, but she knew exactly which ones were still relatively safe to use. The one Nila used the most still had one train in it offering a tiny bit of extra support, a long orange snake twisting in the dark.

The air was heavy, and the lights had long since stopped working so she had to use a flash-torch. She only dared to turn on its dimmest setting. The tunnels stank of piss, cheap Haze and vomit. Whimpers and scrambling echoed in the blackness whenever she passed a station. The desperate sounds of outcasts and parasites co-existing.

It wasn’t long before light shone at the end of the tunnel. Nila rarely went past there, but today she had no choice. Besides, the tracks were protected from the enforcers’ eyes by fences and greenery. Every now and then she caught a glimpse through the vines and bushes that grew on the fence, and each time street level was further down. When it evened out, she knew she was getting close.

She entered a building. The walls were glass, half of it broken so spring wind blew in harshly. No one dared to take the tracks this far; it was an unpredictable neighbourhood, too quiet. A body could go undiscovered for weeks, even months, between abandoned apartment buildings.

Nila climbed off the tracks and dusted her clothes off. They weren’t nice clothes by any means, but comfortable, dark, and durable, which was more she could ask for. A simple sleeveless shirt and tough trousers that offered protection from any tumbles, old boots that were only a little bit too big for her so she had to wear wool socks underneath, and fingerless gloves Mouse had gotten her when she showed up to Anna’s with bloody knuckles one too many times.

Nila found the exit, which was hidden behind rubble and old benches, and took the stairs down. They had once been escalators, but hadn’t moved up or down in decades. The metro station was connected to a mall, littered with empty stores and restaurants. Underneath the dirt and the dust, there was barely any trace left of fancy floor tiles.

Clothes stores had been mostly raided over the years, only inconvenient accessories left behind. Nila took a moment to browse the sunglasses. Mouse collected them. He had no real need for them, and they rarely had enough worth to sell, but he was always happy to pay a Mark or two for a pair. She grabbed ones that were still intact, with round purple lenses, and tried them on. She looked at herself in a small broken mirror. Yes, they’d do fine. She put them into Mouse’s bag and spared a glance at its contains while she did so. Cash, but not marks. Nila scoffed. Illegal currency was a whole new level for Mouse. She hoped he knew what he was doing.

When she emerged out of the building, Nila could see the once shiny and prosperous towers that now stood abandoned, taken over by moss and vines. Luxury apartments that had been built over water had mostly sunk. When the skies were clear, one could see the dam walls all the way in the south. Today was cloudy and foggy, so Nila couldn’t even see past the first island in front of the zoo.

The old zoo was a private place, partly due to to how hard it was to enter. After it had burnt down — nineteen years ago, only months before Nila’s birth — it became a popular spot for both the lowlife and the rich who wanted work done by said lowlife. Enforcers and most chasers didn’t bother going there. They had enough business downtown, and getting on and off the island was too much trouble.

The main bridge had also been gone for years now, after a group of rioters had bombed it. Among those who visited the zoo, it was common knowledge that there were two routes — and it was very important to use the one you were supposed to use. Patrons used boats. Hands used the second bridge.

The more south Nila walked, the more industrial the area became. Graffiti, old and new, covered every inch of paintable surface. They hadn’t finished building this area, she figured, before the floods happened and all building had to focus on the dam. Even this far out, she spotted a flier for Anna’s. This one must’ve been an old one, though, because it still promoted Haze.

There was no one on the second bridge, which meant either Nila or the hands were late. Just to be safe, she risked running, even when the scrap metal and rotten wood wobbled under her boots.

“Now, where are we meeting…?” she muttered when she finally set foot on the island. It never got less eerie. The first times she had visited as a kid, she had thought there were still tigers and bears wandering about out of their cages. These days she knew better, but still got chills down her spine when she looked at the old enclosures.

One of the only buildings that remained intact was a tropical house. Nila figured it was her safest bet; she had made a deal or two inside as well, though she had always been accompanied by Anna. As soon as she entered, she knew she was right. Muddy footprints trailed in the entry hall, and a muffled conversation could be heard in the zoo’s ghostly silence.

Five people had gathered to talk on a small bridge. It looked silly, to huddle together in such a small space in the middle of a huge greenhouse, but no one trusted the structures enough to go just anywhere. As quietly as she possibly could, Nila sneaked in the cover of shadows and settled underneath the bridge. It squeaked and groaned under the weight of the three men and two women. She tried not to let it bother her, and listened to the conversation instead.

“I understand what you’re saying, Miss Lydia,” said one of the men. From the little Nila could see through the cracks between boards, she noted that he leaned heavily on a cane. He had a negotiator’s voice, oily but goodnatured. “But my captain needs to know what she’s in for. Fifteen million is a lot of money to offer. I’m not stupid, it’s not just anything you want us to smuggle.”

“Had your captain showed up to make the deal herself, we would have been more inclined to disclose,” Miss Lydia said. It sounded like she didn’t like the man very much. She had an almost regal voice, slow and smooth.

“You know we don’t do it like that,” the man said humorously. There was an edge to his tone, though. He was getting impatient.

“Perhaps he is just scared,” said the other woman. She had a crystal clear voice like a fairy’s. “Perhaps he knows his gang is doomed to fail from the very start.”

“Crew,” the man corrected.

“Enough,” Miss Lydia snapped. “Your employer has given you until the end of the month. Whoever makes it first, gets paid. Is that understood?”

“We still don’t know—“

“The Copper Rats are on it, Miss Lydia,” said the clear-voiced woman. The man next to her grunted approvingly.

“Fine,” hissed the man with the cane. “Mad Jamie’s crew is as well.”

“Wonderful,” Miss Lydia said. The third man, who hadn’t made a single sound yet, offered her two envelopes, which she then passed on to the hands. “You will get further instructions in the location attached.”

The female hand and her partner left first, bumping so heavily into the cane-wielding man that Nila was afraid the bridge would collapse along with him. The patrons took their leave next, and he limped off soon after.

“Fifteen million,” Nila whispered to herself, a glint in her eye. Not only fifteen million, but fifteen million eurasian rupees — a currency that could actually get her out of Helsinki.

When she deemed it safe enough, Nila exited the tropical house. The sun had set during the dealmaking, and only left a purple dusk behind. It would’ve been beautiful, had the moment not been interrupted by the sounds of a skirmish.

Nila made her way towards the old bear enclosure, a harsh and cramped stone structure that once had metal bars to look through. Now, there was only a gaping hole through which Nila could see the hands from earlier having a row.

The woman — slender and beautiful, but wearing a cold expression — and her companion had cornered the man with the cane. He was a boy, really, no older than Nila. He had an acne-riddled face, greasy hair and a slim build. For just a split second, he seemed to be looking straight at Nila, before the man punched him in the gut. He lost his balance, tried to hold his weight on his bad leg, and immediately collapsed.

“Let’s see your tin can sail with no destination,” the woman said sweetly. She took the letter from his breast pocket and tucked it into a pocket of her own. The man kicked him in the gut one more time, making him cough terribly, before they turned to leave. Nila hid behind a tree and watched them walk away.

She didn’t like those two. The Copper Rats, they had called themselves. Nila recalled having heard the name once, back at Anna’s. They were a gang of smugglers. But Mad Jamie… That one, she had never heard of. And she wouldn’t have long to find out.