(GQ #13) Adventures in Spacepunk

8. Betrayal in Wait

Stakeouts were easy! Roxie only had to sip on drinks while chatting with her best friend and a handsome girl. She even got to roam around the bar, taking in neon signs, posters, and pictures up close. Her attention was stolen by a picture of a group of people with their arms around each others' shoulders.

"Who are they?" Roxie stood on her tiptoes to get a better look, something she wouldn't normally do in platform shoes. She stood by a table, so her sense of safety was fortified.

Krow squinted. "That's Big Leda, her husband, and some friends, I think. Big Leda owns this place. For now."

"Oh? Are you staging a takeover? A coup, perhaps?"

"What?" She looked up from making Jun's next drink. "Nah, not after everything she's done for me. But I will be inheriting it someday."

"So you're more like an heir." Roxie walked back to her seat. Her hands hovered over anything that might steady her, lest she suffer an ankle disaster or worse. Too many sharp corners in this room.

"Something like that." Krow slid Jun a cloudy elixir topped with a pepper. "Try this one. It's kinda like a Moscow Mule, but this time with mint and a little jalapeno syrup. For an extra kick."

"Thanks." Their eyes shot up after taking a sip. "Good stuff. I never knew drinks could taste like this. I'm into it."

"Nice! Glad you don't mind being my guinea pig. Usually, when I do mocktails it's a Starlet Special here, a Sweet Sunrise there, same old, same old." Krow glanced at Roxie and her Sweet Sunrise. "No offense."

"None taken~" Roxie kicked her feet, watching Jun get lost in the delights of mocktails. "You're going to be soooo hydrated. Your organs will thank you."

"Yeah, this is your fifth drink." Krow checked the register. "This one's on the house though, as a thanks for letting me flex my mixology muscles."

"Ahhh, you don't gotta do that." Jun already finished nearly half of it. "It tasting this good is thanks enough."

"You sure? I mean, I'm not gonna stop you from paying more if you want."

"Yeah, it's–" Something stole Jun's attention.

A shadow passed over the entrance, dimming the bar the way shadows sometimes did. This one lingered, though, and darkness grew. Roxie turned to where the other two stared just in time to see an outsider enter.

A spacepunk appeared! She stood tall, around Jun's height. Her hair shined like pearls, white freckles sparkled on her rich skin tone, and her outfit had to be among the top ten cutest ones she'd seen all day.

The newcomer shrank back upon seeing Jun and Roxie. "Oh, customers."

"Nova!" Krow welcomed smilingly. "What are you doing here? It's too early for your shift."

"I know. I just figured since I was already on my way back from my interview, I might as well stop by."

"Don't be shy, come in. Tell me how it went!"

"Wellll..." Nova's head tilted back and forth. Roxie watched her glee overpower any apprehension she had. "Alrighty. Since you insist."

"This is the new girl I told you about." Krow introduced her friend, then vice versa. "We were talkin' about Southern accents earlier." She motioned to Jun. "You said something about Georgia accents being your favorite?"

"Oh, that's where I'm from."

Jun tipped their head up. "Sweet."

"Your outfit is sooo cute." Roxie couldn't hold it back any longer.