That aura of friendship and lollipops ended about the time I strode up to the bunker office of the Game Wardens, and they realized I wasn’t going to be avoiding them like everyone else. The weapons came up as one, and I stopped, hands up.
“Can we help you, sir?” At least they were polite.
“Yes, I’d like to talk to your boss about something.”
One lowered his weapon and approached, the other moved to keep him out of the line of fire; two more men came closer from their spots on the wall, which was the only unprofessional move I’d seen so far; if I had accomplices they were no longer in the best spot to respond to an attack.
I was frisked, which I endured. They weren’t going to find what I didn’t bring, after all.
“So what’s this about, sir?”
I knew what he was really asking. Was I going to complain pointlessly about not having stuff and piss everyone off? I wasn’t.
“Just want to see about setting up a shop, kind of like the grocery cross the street. I’d like to see about starting supply shipments like the other guy did.”
They looked at each other; one handed the other a five. Evidently, there was a betting pool, and I wondered what I’d done to make the frisky guy (who was frisky in more ways than one) win.
“There’s always one in every bus. I guessed it would be you.” And he told me anyway.
“Yeah but no double for you, you thought he’d complain.” Thanks for believing in me, officer jerk. Complaining never does anything useful for anyone, least of all the complainer.
“Well, sorry to disappoint.” The officer leading me in snorted; he knew better. The officer at my back no doubt had his gun trained on it.
“So, what kind of shop do you want to open?”
“A hardware store and contractor place. Kind of like a Lowe’s with house-calls.”
The guy stopped; forcing me to, and looked back. “That’s actually a pretty good idea. You look a little young, have you done that sort of thing before?”
“All my life.” Making do and doing it yourself was practically the family motto; even when alive, my family hadn’t had much money.
He started leading again.
“Well, you might just manage then.”
Manage what, I wonder. I had a feeling he meant manage to survive, and I wasn’t sure how to take that. Before I could ask we arrived.
“Boss! One of the inmates wants to see you!”
“How many times have I told you, Reynolds, not to call them that. They are the endangered, if anything.”
“Whatever. Anyway boss, one of them wants to see you.”
“Show him in, please.”
I was let into the same office and given a view of the same guy as yesterday, still sporting the same put-upon look.
He remembered me. “Mr. Marsh, we meet again. What can I do for you today?”
“I’d like to go through whatever motions are required for setting up a shop here.”
The faint glimmers of interest wiped away his look. “A shop of? I’ll warn you, I’ve already veto’d several ideas.”
“A hardware store and contractor. I’ll be doing the work fixing up houses and such, but I’ll need supplies. I was told I needed to see you about them.”
“Hmm, I assume you have a list?”
I slid my list across his desk. He scanned it for a moment. “Some of these items I can’t procure; they can be used to make weapons. Axes or ax heads, for example.”
“I assumed as much, but I included them on the list for the sake of completeness. I’ll take any of that you can give me.” Just miss the subtle in favor of the obvious, you bastard. Take my bait.
“Hm. I don’t see a problem with most of this list. However, if you spoke with others around town, then you know you’ll need to pay for it, out of your stipend for the month. Are you prepared to do that?”
“Yes. Obviously, I’m not aware how much most of that will cost me here, but I’m prepared to order as much of it as I can, the lumber first and still have fifty bucks left for emergencies.”
He turned, and typed on his computer keyboard for a few minutes. “Alright, that does it. Where do you want it delivered?”
That was it? That simple?
“The old hardware store down the street? I plan on fixing it up.”
He made a noise I wasn’t sure a human could make. “That old place? It will require quite a bit of work just to make it habitable again.”
So he’d been inside, had he? Maybe it wasn’t prisoners looting all the old structures. “It’s not that bad; a few days at most. It won’t look pretty or anything once I’m done, but the roof won’t leak.”
“Oh? Just a few days?”
“Like I said, sir, I don’t need pretty, I just need stable. I can do pretty for clients.”
“And if I included roofing tile, free of charge?”
I hate roofing; it was hot, smelly, stinky work. “Then I could repair roofs.”
“I don’t see any tools listed….”
What, did he and Dick not talk? “I have my own.”
“Ah, right, so you do.” His reply was completely unconvincing; he knew, he was just testing me.
“But no weapons?”
Really, he was going to go those route. “Nothing designed to be a weapon; however, just about anything can be used by a weapon if the person is determined enough. Or so I was told once.”
He nodded agreement. “Alright. I’ll okay most of this stuff and go along with the idea… right up until the point the stuff you order is used as a weapon against me or mine. Then it all goes away.”
“I can hardly be held responsible for what my clients do, but I can pass the warning along.” You never know, the warning of not having building materials in this hole ever again might scare them straight; but with so many prisoners, I doubted it. There was always one.
“See that you do. Alright, was there anything else?”
A clear dismissal. “No sir, that was everything.”
“Alright then, I’ll go over this list and anything I approve should be here by the end of the week, in front of your store.”
“Right, I’ll just go get started then.”
He waved and reached inside his desk drawer for something as I left. I was pretty sure it was a bottle of something.
My escort was waiting; Two grim-faced men who weren’t the gate guards, both over six feet and two hundred pounds. Heh, their weapons were tiny in paw hands. Maybe they belonged here too?
They didn’t say anything and neither did I, waving and hurrying once I was out on the street. The guy who won the bet waved back, at least.
There were some people on the street now, and they looked on curiously. There were even some whispers exchanged. Ted was waiting for me at the newspaper, out in front of the garage door.
“So, what’s the word?”
“It got approved. I need to repair and clean up the old hardware store before the first shipment arrives, in a couple days.”
“Excellent. Need any help?”
I shrugged. I wouldn’t turn it down. “Got some already.”
Lester was going to help, whether he knew it or not. Sal was going to watch my car.
“Yo Les! Front and center, we got stuff to do!”
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