I woke up early in the morning and did my routine from yesterday over again. I sat Alice down for a light breakfast and brushed her teeth for her. Once she was ready, I knocked on Sky's door, and she handled putting Alice into more casual clothes. Sky asked me something anxiety-inducing first thing in the morning after dressing Alice.

Sky asked, "You have me dress Alice for you—that part I get—but what is up with the hat? I mean, it looks cute, don't get me wrong, but um, does she ever take it off?" Demi-humans are looked down upon as lesser beings, so I didn't really want anyone to know what Alice was. On the other hand, Sky seemed pretty tolerant, and well, I had grown to trust her a bit.

I smiled awkwardly. "The hat needs to stay on... she is, um... well, I'll show you." I briefly took off Alice's little hat and then put it back on her head. Sky frowned once she saw the little bunny ears. Sky sighed, "I see what you mean now by the hat should stay on..." She hugged Alice. "That won't change my opinion of her, though. She is still cute as a button!" She began rubbing her face on Alice; I guess she had gotten attached to the little girl. Alice smiled, "Cute!"

With that settled, we moved on to the market square. I prepared to set up my stall, or at least I intended to.

A person was leaning up against my cart. It was Vice, her shoulders down, and her expression unreadable. I walked over to her, pensive but hopeful. I asked, "Vice, how did you find me? Did you think of what I said the other day?" Vice looked up at me, her eyes a bit tired-looking. "I have connections, kid. I've been in this city awhile; I can find you if I want to. How do you think I find my debtors?" Vice flicked a small coin in the air. "I didn't come here to discuss partying up. I came here for my own interests. I want to see how you are making my money. That 75 gold is a pretty big sum for me. I need to make sure my investment goes well, don't I?" She came to scope out my operation here? I would assume she wanted to make sure things were progressing at a good pace.

I smiled, "No worries. Today I will complete the batch. I only need 40 more vials to reach my goal." Vice lit up a cigarette again. "Well, get to it then, boy. Just pretend I am not even here." That was pretty hard when all I could smell was smoke, but regardless, I opened up my stall to work. Sky raised an eyebrow. "You better keep your hands to yourself, scavenger, or I might have to cut off your wings." Vice laughed. "A prissy guard like you won't dare to lay a hand on a law-abiding citizen. Now pipe down. I like my peace and quiet." Sky scowled but ultimately let it go as she began her school with Alice. I noticed Vice staring at Alice; she seemed somewhat interested in the girl. She continued watching them as I began to crank out vials.

A few quiet minutes passed, and Vice began talking to me a bit as I worked quietly. "So what's the secret? You said yesterday you're a scammer. This seems pretty legit to me." I frowned. "Not too loud; Sky is still a guard, you know. I will say that this particular deal is fully legit, but not because I am an expert. I stumbled on the cure by accident." I decided to offer this information to her as a show of goodwill, hoping she'd take it as me offering some trust. Vice smiled, "Lucky bastard, then, eh? Why hit the jackpot and then throw most of it away for a man you just met?" I sighed. "Call me weak all you want, but as a scammer, I got pride." I tapped a vial a bit with my finger, thinking of how to say my honest feelings. I continued, "I never had pride before coming here, but once I met Alice and the people of this town, I realized I was scamming the wrong people. I decided from here on out to only scam people that are already rotten to the core. I felt it was only right to give most of that money back. Call it scammer's guilt if you'd like."

Vice rubbed her chin and then slapped me on the back, causing a few vials to shake precariously. "Scammer's guilt, huh? Never heard of such a thing. You got some guts, kid, I'll give you that. But you better make sure your luck holds out." I stabilized the vials and gave her a half-smile. "I'll do my best. And if my luck runs out, well, I guess I'll just have to rely on my words."

Just as I thought I was making good progress with the vials, and with Vice, I heard loud stomping coming towards my stall. I sensed danger, so I stopped working. Sky stood up, her hand on her sword. A big bald man with a nasty scar over his right eye, big bulging muscles, a scruffy beard, and a rough-looking jacket came over to us.

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The man stopped close to the stall. He then pointed to me, "A half-elf with green eyes and blonde hair working as a merchant? Hey boss, looks like the guy to me." A much skinnier man walked up from the right side. His black hair, sunken eyes, and scruffy face mixed with his torn-up pants and black coat made him stand out. He smiled at me, "Hey, looks like you're right, Bongo. This is our guy." I sensed something bad was about to go down. "Sky, get Alice away from here, please." Sky frowned, "No, but I can he-" I cut her off, "Now, Sky, please. She can't see, and they seem to just want me." Sky nodded and grabbed Alice by the hand, rushing out of the stall.

I put on a business smile, "What can I do for you two nice gents?" The big man Bongo laughed, "Hear that, Reed? He just asked what he can do for us." The boss smiled a bit at me. "Heard him loud and clear, Bongo. Well, boy, yes, there is something you can help us with. How about you get out here so I can beat you into the ground? Sound like a good business transaction for ya, kid?" I frowned defensively. "I can't help but wonder why? If it's my looks, I assure you I will be leaving town soon." The boss Reed put his knife on the stall front. "I don't care about that half-breed shit. As far as I am concerned, knife ears, I just got a job to do. Some chubby slob paid me to beat your ass, so that's what me and Bongo here are gonna do." Bongo cracked his knuckles, "He said make it hurt, and that happens to be my expertise."

It would appear that the fat man hired a few bandits to beat me up, possibly in hopes that I would leave town after. I sighed. It would take more than that to get me to leave town. I stepped out of the stall, "He just wanted you to beat me up? Not kill, right?" Reed shrugged, "Beat 'em up is all he wanted. I don't really care to kill ya if I don't hafta. Make this nice and easy for us, and we'll make it painless. We don't like it when people resist." Well, at the very least, they seemed at least rational enough not to go overboard. I left my stall, and got to my knees on the dirt road in front of them. I realized I could pay them off, but there is nothing I hate more than throwing away money. You never know when you'll need some coins in this life, plus I didn't really like the idea of paying these two thugs.

Reed nodded, "Good dog, I'll have to give you a treat after." The big guy stepped forward. He was nearly 7 feet tall, made of pure muscle. A couple of punches from him should send me out cold. I couldn't fight back either; I was just a merchant at the end of the day, nothing more. I closed my eyes. The big man seemed ready to strike me. I heard him wind back, and I braced myself. The strike, however, never came. In its place, I heard a gunshot. I opened my eyes to see smoke coming over my vision. Bongo's massive form crumpled to the ground, clutching his shoulder where a dark stain spread rapidly. The shot had come from the side, and I turned to see Vice holding a smoking revolver, her eyes cold and calculating.

Bongo yelled out, "Agh, my goddamn arm, you bitch! Shit!" Reed stuttered, "Are you serious? Right here in broad daylight?" Reed grabbed his knife, his face contorted in rage. "I am going to enjoy cutting you up! How dare you attack my guy and think you can get away with it. I am going to make you regret that!" Vice sneered, "Try me, fish eyes, and you'll have a hole right through your head." Reed hesitated, his eyes darting between Vice's revolver and Bongo writhing on the dirt. Vice warned again, "Clock's ticking on your little friend. Better take a hike if you want to bring him back alive." Finally, Reed made a choice. He helped his friend up. Bongo's big body was

a lot to handle, but he managed. He shouted back, "I will not let this slide, bitch, mark my words." He ran away with his buddy in his arms, likely to bring him to an emergency doctor or healer.

I rose from my position on the ground. "How can I even begin to thank you?" I asked, my face somewhat taken aback, trying to process what I just witnessed. The shot was faster than I could keep up with. I guess this was what a gun could do. Vice put her gun back in her leather holster. She sighed, "No need for thanks. I did it to protect my money, nothing more, nothing less."

I smiled, "I can work with a broken jaw, you know." Vice frowned, blushing a little, "Shut up, ya brat. Jeez." I guess I was right about her—she really had some good in her, just like me.

Vice's blush faded quickly, replaced by her usual tough exterior. "Just get back to work, kid. You still got a lot of vials to finish, and I want to see everything square by the end of the day."

With that, I got back to work, but I think I may have gotten a glimpse at the real Vice behind her thorny exterior.