Heartbeat

Chapter 13- Meg

Meg stood in the middle of the floor of the Bank. Isir's body had been removed, and two Pigeons were mopping the floor. Meg knew she could have quickly removed the remaining blood and grime as a fabrikator but would have to wait for the others to leave. Sal was standing right behind her, as usual. Meg had tried to send her home, but she wouldn't go. She also wouldn't go to the meeting that Granny was holding upstairs. Dame Cora had decided to stay behind and watch over the Lady Luck and Luckies as they stayed open later. Sol was also still out, trying to gather more information on what had happened tonight. Clem had been the one to greet Meg at the Bank. They had said only one or two words to one another before heading separate ways. They were most in sync during a crisis since they shared so many. Clem was usually at her most determined during a crisis, and Meg preferred to take orders.

Meg had known Isir for years, but Clem had been closer to him. She remembered Clem announcing that he would be her first boyfriend when she was 11. Isir bragged to everyone that he would be king of the Widows. Meg caught him crying behind the Res when Clem broke up with him three weeks later.

Meg communicated to the two remaining workers that they could go and come in later for their shift, which was supposed to start in only a few hours.

"You'll be paid for this work later in the week so it won't be connected."

They both nodded dutifully. Meg had kept the two of them back to continue helping as they were the least desperate for the money and, therefore, would take on less devastating work like mopping rather than carrying a body. They dragged their mops and buckets to the back door to bring them into the hallway and the cleaning room, where there was a drain into the sewer. Meg followed them and locked the doors behind them; she closed the deadbolt on the front door. Sal grabbed an empty bucket from behind the bar; the one that Vran had vomited in had been taken away by one of the Pigeons earlier.

Meg nodded to Sal as her breathing slowed. She moved her hands and tried to focus as best she could, extracting all the spilled blood. Tiny droplets of translucent red floated in the air and moved into the nearby bucket. It was initially simple, but as Isir's face came to mind, she lost focus. She felt contaminated moving his blood. Opening her eyes, she looked at Sal, who said nothing.

Single-minded. Meg reminded herself, closing her eyes and pushing out all thoughts of Isir. He was gone, and she had a job to do. She didn't need the task of cleaning a floor to be added to her debt.

By the time she had finished, the bucket was half filled with blood, dirt, and some cleaning solution. Sal looked around and left the room. After a minute, she re-entered and inhaled.

"Can't smell a thing anymore." She said in Hand. Meg nodded and unbolted the front door. When she opened it, it was noticeably brighter despite it having begun to rain hard. Meg turned to look back at Sal.

"Should we join them upstairs?" Sal asked. Meg considered this. She couldn't hear most of it and didn't feel like getting Sal to translate.

"Can you go for me? Inform what happens." Sal nodded and went back through the door. Meg waited a minute and reached behind the bar for a bottle of red wine. She grabbed a corkscrew and uncorked the bottle, bringing the top to her lips, not bothering with a glass.

She hadn't been drinking as much the last few weeks in an attempt to remain focused. This day is already a waste. I'll waste it away. She told herself and finished a quarter of the bottle before returning it to the counter.

She sat at the bar and marvelled at how normal the Bank looked, considering the state it had been in only two hours before.

Meg wasn't sure how much time had passed when Clem entered the Bank from the backdoor. Meg glanced at the bottle, and it was three-quarters empty. Clem sighed heavily and collapsed into the seat next to her. She grabbed the bottle from Meg and drank. Meg said nothing.