"Every way I slice it, if we go into the pipes without a plan, we come back in boxes," the chembaron told Sevika.
Sevika's eyes rolled in response. We? You haven't done anything to risk personal harm in years. "I'm confident he meant to have our soldiers search through them, Finn."
Chross cleared his throat. "Still, he's right. We need time for me to generate more intelligence before groping in the dark like randy teenagers."
"I've already taken care of the bounties on them and for actionable intelligence," Sevika noted and pointed to Benzo's old pawnshop as the three nearly finished their walk. "Of course, I'd trust your network well before some nut talking about how the neighbor who cheated with their spouse just happens to be a Firelight."
"My preliminary list of suspects will be on both your desks in an hour, but I recommend observation or at least a delicate hand. If you make people disappear, the Firelights' allies will join them for safety or create disinformation," he adjusted his glasses in the light to look at the monkey face.
"The Slickjaws will search the nearest pipes first with force and support the Hush Company's intelligence where you need. I have no intention to step on either of your toes," Finn said and appraised the image.
Sevika lit her cigarette and breathed in the smoke. "Again, Silco didn't go into details, but said Jinx is furious and may do something rash. Rash even for her."
"Useless brat," Finn spat.
The three took a minute. Sevika exhaled. "Well, I'll go first. Firelight bug ears. No idea about the eyes. Forehead could be an airship. The teeth… a complete cluster. Finn?"
Squinting at the quiz, Finn scratched under his metal jaw. "A bear for one eye and a… double triangle for the other. The rest… don't know. Maybe we're overthinking this. Doesn't the menace just graffiti things she's about to explode?"
Sevika and Chross exchanged looks. We should find a better leader than this worm.
Chross rubbed his eyes while one of his messengers arrived. "I think in one eye is a rabbit and an hourglass, but I've no idea of the significance. The firelights and airship, a reference to the raid? She is boasting that we killed two, hinting at the target involving the eyes, the teeth are rubble from it," he finished and looked at the message.
"Perhaps. That would be welcomed." Another long puff of smoke was taken by Sevika as she contemplated. "However big of a headache Jinx is, she is useful for squashing bugs."
"In the name of–" Chross said, stunned. He held out the pneuma for the others, but they just looked by blankly, forgetting it was encoded. "Jinx," Chross deciphered, "blew up the Sheriff."
"Still alive?"
Despite his rapid breathing and nearly audible heartbeat, Nick looked poor enough that the question was unobvious.
"Your–your unexpected determination to make others survive seems to have landed on me too, so far," Nick panted.
Her eyes glanced around as she weighed that. She had quickly taken Caitlyn's revolver and fired a warning shot at Nick's feet to underline her solemnity about not killing Vasili. She had not known him well before Jinx was born, but she knew him enough. Vasili had probably been an intelligence gatherer before getting his own mask and hoverboard.
I already have more than enough bad blood with the Firelights without helping a partner in crime murder one of theirs in a hospital bed.
"Well, it's been real, chum. The favor is fully redeemed and I probably owe you change if anything. Now, I'm going to freshen up for a date."
Looking over at her, Nick blinked. Jinx replied with a smile. "What? You don't believe me? A lot of guys go for this type." She leaned to the left, brought one over her forehead and the other down to her knee and made ta-da finger wiggles.
"I… should stay close by," he insisted.
Jinx clicked her tongue and considered. "I appreciate the gesture, but we both know what will likely happen if you do. You're in withdrawal, injured, and the Pilties think you were an accomplice in the murder of the sheriff, who was also Silco's puppet. Recover, heal, and lay low. Don't pneuma me, I'll pneuma you."
Nibbling his lip, he nodded with reluctance. She took the minigun–Pow-Pow–and pistol out of the bag and the remaining chompers. Keeping an eye out for Nick or anyone else tailing her, she headed to the hideout.
How did that happen? she asked of the chompers as she went. She'd always used color-coding for the paint ones, confetti ones, smoke ones, knockout gas ones, soon boom ones, and later boom ones. So how did an explosive… the edge! It was one of the ones that had saved me from falling off, so I'd reset the jaw and kept them with me for luck.
An ugly laugh escaped her. Despite the leg injury, she started to run. If Silco or a trap was waiting at the hideout, she wanted to face them now.
With Pow-Pow at the ready, Jinx peaked down from the screen above. Nothing. She got to the main level and began preparing. She moved fast as it was near sunset. She stripped, sponged off, dressed the wound, colored the gauze with a pink-and-purple bunny, and took a drop of medicinal shimmer.
Her eyes flashed pink for a second as the drug hit her. "I said goddamn. Goddamn." The pain faded and she wondered if she'd need the bandage at all. With full energy, she put on new clothes, grabbed a picnic basket, and loaded it with all the essentials available.
She looked around the place. Not a lot of paths will lead me back here again. At least not soon. Certainly worth the trade for Vi. She added some of her paints, papers, tools, bullets, and additional chompers.
Before leaving, her eyes set on the mannequins. "You two have been uncharacteristically quiet," she challenged in a suspicious tone.
"Well, you've been thinking the right thoughts like 'How could I?' and 'I should always be alone' after you made Ren's dad into salsa," Mylo noted.
"Yeah, but the thing is, if I can rescue Vi, she can probably get you to shut up. She was always good at that."
"Is that why?" Claggor asked rhetorically.
Shaking her head, Jinx picked up her basket and bag. "No. I don't deserve peace or being happy or even vengeance against my tormentors. But Vi sure as hell does. And if I break her out and she says 'I still want you to stay away. You're a broken, dangerous, and unloveable monster,' like pointy hair always thought, at least she'll be free. That would be enough."
"Again, we know that's a lie. You won't let her be without you if you somehow get her free. You can do nothing but bring death and suffering for those you care about," Mylo gloated.
Biting her lip and narrowing her eyes, Jinx set down the basket and bag. "Well, as a scientist," Jinx grabbed the mannequins. "I need to verify a hypothesis by conducting an experiment." She hurled them over the edge. She could only guess how long they'd fall before landing in the dark.
She smiled and started whistling as she picked the basket and bag up again. The voices would still weigh on her, of course, but at least for now she felt a lot lighter as she left her base.