The bastard, greedy and skittish as he is, has taken us to a pub of all places.

A pub for members of the gang, all around us is yellow and automatic; the haul of firearms sitting in this pub alone could likely arm a platoon of actual soldiers.

But I suppose that’s why we’re here, the lingering threat of sitting in the midst of several people who won’t hesitate to blow out your brains is this greedy man’s reassurance that we aren’t something…suspicious.

Well, we’re already pretty suspicious I’d think.

Two teenagers in a pub with gangbangers and a ton of weapons, alcohol, sex and drugs?

I suppose in Xoxia this kind of sighting would be more norm than suspicious.

“So, what exactly do you want me to do?” He starts, cutting to the chase, “And keep in mind I’m not selling you any secrets.” He warns sternly, his eyes still shifting about.

Yes, he still carries the risk of his ‘reassurance’ turning against him if a miracle occurs and they don’t blow out my brains before I spill the beans.

Or worse, if someone overhears our conversation.

But the latter is wholly unlikely given the music blasting over our ears forces us to lean in pretty close so we can hear what the other is shouting.

Though, that raises the question, is this a pub or a club?

Music blasting overhead, sex, drugs, drinks and chics are all present, not to mention the variety of weapons in pockets. But one thing is missing.

There’s no dance floor, and no one is paying attention to the music. My best guess would be the music is just to drown out the sound of a gun firing, which if the holes in the walls are any indication, happens quite often.

Paige feels the most uncomfortable in this, she’s still holding onto my hand and sticking really close as the men in the pub keep walking past several times over just to have a glance at her.

Fucking annoying pricks, would pluck out their eyes if it didn’t mean I’d be killed on the spot.

Although, if I’m fast enough about it, I could freeze time and execute them all before they even get a chance to properly react to my violence.

No, you can’t even stand the thought of leaving someone to possibly bleed to their death. But you want to kill outright?

I scoff at my arrogance but appreciate the fact that I know my limits. For now, the pricks can keep their eyeballs…for now.

“All you really have to do is introduce me to Invincibill.” I announce, proudly and loudly over the music.

He looks like he doesn’t hear me so I move to repeat myself but then he starts laughing.

He heard me.

He laughs for a moment, holding his stomach tightly as he does. I’m not at all sure why I’ve come across so many people who find my ideas so hilarious they have to grip themselves lest they spill over.

I let him have his laugh and speak once he’s done, “Are you done?”

He grins, wiping a tear away from his eyes, “I should’ve known you kids were a comedic routine.”

“We’re serious!” Paige yells, a lot louder than usual or maybe that’s because the music playing is coming to an end. She slams down an empty with traces of that iconic caramel coloured liquid. “We need to meet Invincibill.”

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Wait, where the heck did she get that from?

I get my answer not a second after as she pulls out a bottle of the thing and pours herself what is definitely not her first drink.

“Uh, Paige...” I begin, but she downs the shot glass in a gulp and the man laughs again.

“Looks like your girl knows her liquor.” He comments, holding out his own glass for her to pour. She does so without question and he adds, “She’d have an easier time meeting Invincibill than you, runt.”

“Uh-”

“Thank you!” Paige says excitedly, “I always drink when I’m nervous, I’m not nervous a lot thanks to this guy but…” she trails off a bit as she swallows yet another shot, completely stunning me.

“What do you mean you drink when you’re nervous?” I exclaim, staring at her, “And…are you already drunk? You’re getting drunk here Paige?”

She shrugs, obviously tipsy, “It’s cuz of here I’m getting drunk.”

I should have dragged her back to the motel!

“Well, can you tell me more about your plans, Paige?” The man asks and I wonder what exactly his name is as I notice he’s taken to using Paige’s.

“First, what’s your name?” Paige asks, reading my mind.

With a sigh I pull my arm across her and snatch the bottle off the little snug corner in the couch she’s been storing it in, “You can have some more at the motel, for now, you’re sufficiently buzzed.”

She smiles and mutters something inaudible under her breath.

“My name is Rex.”

“Rex?” Paige and I repeat in unison.

“Yes, and no, it’s not a gang name or whatever, it’s my actual name. I’m Rex, and you’re Vern and she’s Paige. Nice to meet you…or maybe I should save that part for later.” He says, narrowing his eyes.

I roll my eyes and sigh, looking at tipsy, nearly out of it Paige.

“Okay, I’ll tell you what the plan is.” He nods, eager to hear it, “You introduce me to Invincibill as a solution to his Lynx problem, you can either charge him the price of your debt for the introduction as well as ask for your freedom.”

It’s plain to see he’s resisting yet another urge to laugh like crazy at what I’ve said with all that twitching his lips are doing.

“That still sounds hilarious, not gonna lie.” He snorts, “But you seem to be taking your words very seriously so you’re either crazy or lying. So, which is it kid?”

“Honestly…I’m a little of both and that’s why I’m the perfect person for the task Invincibill probably doesn’t even know he needs taken care of.”

He stares me down for a moment then leans back into his chair, tossing his glass back.

“Ah! This the good stuff.”

I don’t say anything to that, wouldn’t even know what to say.

“How do you know Invincibill hasn’t got someone on the job already? And why the hell, are you so confident that you can handle the Lynx problem.”

For the first time since we started speaking, I see a fiery look in Rex’s eyes. He’s still the same coward but that look, that’s a look of pure and utter desperation.

He wants me to be legit.

I snort, but nod, “If Invincibill has someone on the job then they aren’t doing the job right, Lynx has had the guts to pull blatant, sun up attacks on Invincibill’s territory. He’s so gutsy in his position, his security, the Lynx himself is attacking Invincibill’s men and rackets.”

I shake my head, disappointed, “If that isn’t a sign of how weak a position Invincibill is in then I don’t know what is.”

I’m done with my elevator pitch but Rex still stares intently at me, not a muscle relaxed.

“You still haven’t told me what makes you so good.”

“Oh, well, I’m a meta.”

Rex raises an eyebrow at this, “So what? Invincibill has several other metas in with him, you think you’re any better than them?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I think.”

At this Rex is taken aback, his eyes widen and his mouth falls open for a moment.

“You’re not going to tell me your powers, are you?”

A shaking head is all the answer he gets.

“Right.” He sighs dejectedly. I understand it’s a bit hard to understand exactly why I’m so confident, even more so as I’m asking him to take a risk on me being true to my word.

His eyes fall on Paige and with a finger he points, “I don’t suppose she’ll be joining as well.”

“No.” I say with firm finality.

Paige is now, conveniently fast asleep. For someone who drinks when she’s nervous she really can’t handle the alcohol.

“So, what do you say? Are you going to let me in?”

He bits his lips, obviously still mulling it over.

I give him another minute of nodding silently to himself and picking at his nails before I ask again.

“The worse that could happen is you get killed, which is already certainly guaranteed with your current line of work, not to mention Lynx, the freaking beast cannibal running around and killing everyone with yellow bands.”

“You’re not exactly of much value to the gang, you’re not a meta, you’re not a money maker, you’re a goon, a grunt. They’ll send you as cannon fodder, or in this case, mincemeat to distract Lynx or whoever is next to attack Invincibill.”

“So, why are you hesitating? When the best thing that could happen is you get a ton of money and are let loose, free to be a normal person in Xoxia, or any other city you want.”

He breathes in deeply, the coward in him slowly giving in.

“You’re right. For once, I should fight for something I want.”

For the first time since we sat down to talk, I have a smile spread over my face. “Perfect, what do we do first?”

He nods, “First? Well, first we have to become important, important enough for Invincibill to call on us.”