All notes/warnings/disclaimer from chapter 1 apply to this one too.
xxx
Riki doesn't hear from Katze for a long time. He shares out most of the money with the rest of Bison, telling them it was for a particularly important job. They don't ask much, and he feels a bit bad about lying to them, but when Guy puts his and Riki's official share away, Riki thinks about the amount he's held back, about leaving Ceres, the plans he and Guy have talked about. He decides to ignore the twitch of a bad conscience.
The gang has nothing to do. The money melts away. Norris' pretty face has secured him a part-time job, working the bar at a nightclub just outside of Midas, on the border to Ceres. Luke isn't happy about it and insists in taking him there and collecting him at the end of a shift. He tells Norris that sometimes people disappear without a trace and turn up as livestock at toy auctions, or worse. Norris laughs, but it sounds uncomfortable, and after he's had to fend of a small group of pushy customers, waylaying him after his shift ends, he stops arguing with Luke about it. A couple of times, Syd comes along too, just to make sure. Norris is half-embarrassed, half glad about the attention that gets him, but the signal it sends is clear – marked territory, don't cross.
During the day, when Norris holes up at the old steelyard, Luke goes to wash expensive cars in Midas. He's paid by the piece, by the casinos and hotels who'll bill the owners. Sometimes the takings are good, other days he's too late and someone else's taken the work, and it gripes him because he wants to talk Norris into leaving the bar job, but Norris earns more, and things stay as they are.
Syd gets up before daybreak to loiter at the trunk road into the main industrial area, where Tanagura's heavy industry is concentrated with foundries, cement mills and chemical plants. Scores of men in working gear wait every morning to be hired, loaded onto lorries, and carted off for a few hours of bone-breaking, badly paid work.
Once, Syd returns, dirty and exhausted, to the steelyard shack that passes for their home and swears he'll never go anywhere near a factory again. His hair is singed off on one side of his head, and the skin of his face is flaking and raw, his eyes inflamed. A flash explosion at a carbide furnace where he's been jobbing, three men burned up by the white-hot stuff shooting from the blast furnace.
"They didn't even stop production," he says, "and the ambulance turned up an hour later because there was haggling about who'd pay for it."
"Shouldn't there be machines doing that sort of stuff these days," asks Luke, hugging the shivering Norris close. Syd just snorts and hurries to hurtle into the black oblivion of drugs and booze. He stays like that for a few days, refuelling whenever he feels he's starting to sober up. When they run out of money to buy stuff, he resurfaces, and some time later, when his hands are steady enough again, he's back on the trunk road, flanked by factories and soaring stacks, and clamouring for work along with masses of other men, their faces tired, the will to fight sucked out of them a long time ago.
With the need for food and money pressing, and work schedules that never agree, there is little opportunity for all of Bison to meet and ride.
xxx
Riki helps at the garage, fixing up old cars. Guy seems content, less tired and apprehensive now that there are no errands to run and no deliveries to make. Sometimes he and Riki go on a spin on their bikes, just for fun. A few times they end up at Dana Bahn, wandering through the endless corridors, exploring the ruins of the old station. Their nights get busier for a while until frustration begins to take its toll on Riki.
"Is that it?" he grouches one evening, when they're through and he lies sprawled on the bed, smoking and staring at the off-white ceiling. The plaster has cracks, the paint is peeling, and in the corners are cobwebs covered in soot.
Guy leans over him and kisses him. "What?"
Riki shrugs, meeting his eyes for a moment before flitting away. "Being stuck here, forever."
Guy gently strokes Riki's belly that's sticky with sweat and what they've just done. "Doesn't have to be," he says, drawing a glistening circle on Riki's stomach. He admires the golden tan and frowns at his own pale skin before pulling up the blanket to cover both Riki and himself.
"No? And where would we go?"
"Wherever we want. I've started saving again."
"I hate that," says Riki through a puff of smoke. "Everything is later, wait, be patient. Why not now? Why do we always have to wait for something or someone?"
"Because we were born here," Guy says, but it doesn't sound nasty. "It doesn't matter. We'll make it. It'll take a while, but we will. We don't need anyone if we just keep working. Move somewhere nicer, have our own place, run our own business again, just better."
"That's gonna take ages."
Guy draws him close. His voice is quiet and sure when he says, "I've been thinking about taking in extra work. Speeding up a bit, sort of. I could put another two cars through each month."
Riki lets go of a deep breath as some of his unrest melts away under Guy's touch. "I'm such an asshole," he grumbles, his tone thick with embarrassment.
"Hey." Guy puts his hand on Riki's chest. "It's much easier when you're around, working with me. It's great."
Riki bites his lip. "That guy with the red car, what did he want?"
"You know him?"
A tiny break before Riki says, "Seen him around. With that car, really..."
"He bought fuel, is all," says Guy.
"You were pretty pissed at him."
"Okay, not just fuel. He wanted me-" Guy breaks off, his cheeks colouring. He rolls onto his back and bunches the blanket over his chest. "He thought he could buy me."
Riki scowls. "Huh?"
"As a toy. To live in Eos."
There is no outburst, no protest from Riki, and Guy turns his head to find Riki is staring at him curiously, a spark of something in his dark eyes. Guy doesn't know what to make of this. "I sent him packing," he says.
"Cool," Riki says, but it sounds lame.
Guy sniffs. "He offered big bucks. Said someone high up the ladder wanted me in his collection, at least for a while. He was giving me a lot of bullshit. That I should not throw the chance away before talking to you. Why did he say that?"
"Because he could tell we fuck?" Riki offers, suddenly cranky. "Anyway, I heard they only watch their toys. Can't get it up themselves. Weird." And then, hoisting himself up so he can weigh Guy down with his body and bury him in an embrace and a shower of kisses, he murmurs, "I don't want you to leave."
Guy, looking up at him and melting into the liquid black of Riki's eyes, as he always does when they are together like this, hugs him tight. "Why should I? I have you. And I'm nobody's toy."
xxx
Katze catches Riki by the cornershop near the garage where Riki's gone to buy cigarettes and a few cans of beer. The redhead is on foot, leaning against Riki's bike when he comes out of the shop.
"Guy's gonna have your guts," Riki comments as he slings the sixpacks onto the seat and fastens them with some thick elastic straps. "What do you want?"
"He wanted to hit me over the head last time we met," Katze laughs, but his eyes stay cool, observant.
Riki huffs. "Weren't you lucky you got away?"
"He told you?"
"I told you to leave him alone," Riki snaps. "Don't you get it?"
"Get what?"
Riki folds his arms and glares at him. "He'll never agree, and he hates those stupid dolls the Elite keep."
"Does he know any? Toys, or Elite?"
Riki blushes angrily. Before he can bite, Katze holds up two fingers and snaps. "Ah, of course, he never got out of here. Silly me..."
"Yeah, stupid you. C'mon, I haven't all day, why're you hanging about here?"
Katze steps back and stuffs his hands into his pockets. "The auction I told you about, it's tonight. The guy is one of the white Elite – just go for the tallest one."
"And you?"
Katze gives him a soft, sly smile. "I'm too well known there. They won't let me in."
Riki yanks his bike off the centrestand. "Okay," he throws at Katze before reason and instincts can stop him, "I'll do it. The money, was that all I get for this job?"
Katze considers him for a moment through narrowed eyes, before his smile widens. The scar pulls at his mouth, making it lopsided, and Riki feels creeped out. Suddenly he just wants to leave, urgently, but Katze reaches into the chestpocket of his coat and pulls out another wad of cash. His left hand is sheathed in a black leather glove, the right one is bare. He spits on his fingertips. Too quickly for Riki's eyes to follow, he counts out a few large bills, and then steps swiftly into Riki's personal space. They're almost chest to chest now, Katze a good deal taller, staring down at Riki who glares back at him, having to tilt up his chin to meet Katze's strange yellow eyes.
"Here," Katze presses the banknotes against Riki's chest with his flat, gloved palm, pushing him back against the bike as he speaks. "Everything has it's price, right? I'm willing to pay. And you?"
"Fuck you," Riki hisses, stubbornly holding his place even though he has to reach back and prop his hand onto the fuel barrel to keep his balance. He can smell Katze's aroma – sharp and bitter, of cigarettes and strong aftershave. It makes him sick.
Katze leans in a little more, his nose almost touching Riki's. "Don't forget the message."
"I'll remember," Riki grinds out.
Katze steps back suddenly. "Every word. It's important."
Riki scrambles to catch the banknotes as they flutter to the ground. He rolls his eyes. "Every bloody word."
"Then," Katze says, mock-saluting him, "good luck, rat."
xxx
Riki takes the beer to the garage and puts it on the workbench, wondering what to tell Guy. The truth, he thinks, that would be good. But when he sees Guy busy, raising the latest old banger he's taken in onto the platform in the workshop, he just hugs him from behind, so firmly that Guy gasps and laughs. "Wanna crush me?"
He turns and kisses Riki on the cheek. Guy's face is smudged with dirt and oil, his overall grimy, but his eyes are clear and full of light. Riki gives him a nervous smile. "As if."
Guy pulls back, still clutching a wrench, and wipes the sweat off his brow. "You staying in?"
"I have a small job," Riki says, unease churning in his guts. "Out in Midas. Shouldn't take too long."
"Oh." Guy seems disappointed but he doesn't complain. Instead he nods. "Just be careful."
"Sure," Riki says. He clonks up the metal staircase that leads up to their den above the garage. The money burns in his pocket, and he takes it out, recounting it, his breath hitching when he realises just how much Katze has given him. It doesn't feel right for passing on a message, and he starts feeling queasy. But he's accepted, and it is too late to pull out, he thinks, he's given his word, and he's worried about Guy and what he has said about Katze's offer. After a heartbeat of hesitation, he stuffs the money under the pillow of the bed, yanks his leather jacket off the peg behind the door, and leaves. Guy has turned the radio up and tuned into a rock channel. He waves at Riki.
Riki waves back before mounting his bike and roaring off.
xxx