He’s got her laughing, just like that, and barely five seconds later, she pushes the door open, goes in, then holds it for him.
This is incredible. I don’t know whether to be pissed or impressed, even if I still can’t figure out what he’s doing. I love a hot coffee, especially on a morning like today’s, but I can think of about a billion other things we should be doing instead.
Shashi’s walking a line up and down the alley, Amber leaning on the wall, staring off into space. Jon and August each have a shoulder dipped against the bricks, talking to each other about god knows what. I don’t care. I only want August, and every time I chance a peek, he’s still bloody in there.
It’s not long before I join Shashi, more or less, walking off the tension in tandem with her. Then finally, a shuffle of shoes at the top of the street, and August! He holds up some keys with a jingle. “Got it.”
“Got what?” I ask as he shoves his large coffee towards me.
“Stole her spare keys. We’ll break in tonight and steal all her money.”
The entire group falls gaspingly silent, not least of all me. “What do you mean, steal her money?”
“Don’t worry, she only keeps a relatively small amount at work, and insurance covers it every time. I’ve made great friends with her in dozens of worlds.”
“But… you can’t?—”
“Slayer, we’ve got to survive. And look! She gave me the coffee on the house. To keep warm. Because I ‘forgot’ my wallet. She also lent me fifty, um… whatever type of money this is.”
“Did you…”Impressed or pissed? I have no idea.“Did you do that the morning we met?”
“I did it the first day I arrived in your world, like I always do. Then I go back, pay for the free coffee she gave me, introduce myself properly and check she’s okay. She always is. Now, come with me. We’re going to steal some breakfast.”
What choice do we have?
He has it all mapped out. One shopkeeper’s head turned here, another out the back of their shop at the right moment. He moves through town swiping what he wants, and no wonder he has such nice clothes, all professionally pressed. They’re brand new out of every shop.
When it comes to food, it’s the same. A blitz through a market, exactly like a man who’s done this hundreds of times over. He grabs several of the same things and passes them back to be hidden by the rest of us.
I feel awful while we’re doing it, but once we’re all out, sitting in the park to eat our breakfast, it’s kind of… fun. It fascinates me that he’s been living like this in all these worlds. He fascinates me, and I have a gut feeling he always will. Still, I can’t help but ask him, “Do you ever feel bad about this? Taking all these things?”
He lets out a long sigh, staring off over the waking city. “These people, in my mind, were always going to be dead in a few weeks. Except for Kelly, I try to steal from places belonging to big companies. Their overheads cover it. I know that doesn’t make it right, but when you’re weighing up the cost of possibly saving hundreds of universes…”
“You had to stay alive.”
“I’d like to tell you I found a smarter way. But the thing is, currency changes in every world. It might be as simple as the colour of the note, but it changes. And some worlds, they’re totally electronic. I had to steal food the whole time I was in those places.”
“So…” My mind reels at both his organisation and capability. “Then London’s always pretty much London?”
“Fuck no.” He laughs, but his eyes skitter away, like I’ve just thrown a spider at him
“Fuck no,” Assassin August concurs, shaking his head.
“No, there was… water world was bad.”
“Water world?” I ask.
“So much water,” he says distantly. “I almost didn’t survive that.”
“And that one with the weird purple aliens?” suggests Assassin August.
“They were brutal,” August mutters. “But I think Carboniferous world was the worst.”
“Carbon what now?” Jon pipes up.
“Carboniferous,” August replies. “Think big insects.” Then, with a touch of horror about him, “Really big insects…”
“You must be exhausted.” I regret it the instant the words are out. His head drops. For all the energy he’s putting into this, he’s still so close to the edge. I throw my arm around him and pull his head down to my shoulder, where he leans against me. That feels good. I want to carry his weight for a while. Even if it’s just five minutes.
