Broken People (Serial)

Four

The polished set of knives gleamed in front of Spinner. Rake still sharpened his across the table from him.

"I don't like this," Spinner said, gingerly putting the knives away in their box. He kept only one out with which to practice. After days of practicing in a moving train car, it felt weird to do it while the car stood still.

"You should consider a change of career then," Rake said. "By the way, you need to adjust your fields. I nearly cut you earlier today."

"There's nothing wrong with my fields." To demonstrate, Spinner made the knife glide up and down the entire length of his arm without the assistance of either hand. "See? It's your knives that aren't properly balanced."

Rake grunted, focused on sharpening the blade.

"But that isn't what I meant." Spinner put the knife down on the table and had it turn in circles around his open hand. His fingers tingled from the extra charge, but it was good practice. "I don't like that Miss Aurore wants to do business with us, not when Big Dino can't deal with her."

"We will," Rake said, without looking up from his blade. "We've handled his business before, and we will do it again."

"Yes, but—" Spinner shuddered, "—she creeps me out."

"Because you're such a handsome fellow," Rake drawled out slowly, testing the blade on the tip of his index finger. He stopped pressing before breaking the skin.

Spinner glanced at his bulky arms and shoulders, bulging in places where mechanical parts were hidden. He didn't need to use the blade as a mirror to know he was far from being handsome. Scars left by old war wounds covered his body, the same as Rake. He could have had them removed, the skin was the easiest to regenerate, but Big Dino liked the badass look. It fit the parts they played in the circus. "I wasn't here when Big Dino fixed her, but all we hear is what awesome work he did."

"Too bad she hates it." Rake put his sharpening tools away.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't stop him from considering her his masterpiece. He would leave her the circus if he could."

"Then we'd get to park the train on her front lawn," Rake deadpanned.

"Does she have a lawn?" Spinner asked. "I thought she lived—"

"Beats me. I haven't been in the city in two years, ever since they banned us to this abandoned railway track."

Spinner let out a sigh. "It's a miracle we get customers at all."

"We'll always get customers," Rake said with a pointed look.

People in need would find them even if the circus was camped kilometers away from the city, but Spinner wanted an audience for their shows, too. Being stationed on the other side of the river made that difficult, and the rain wasn't helping things, either.

The air vibrated, and Spinner raised his hand in time to grasp the knife flying his way. He caught it, but his grip slipped, and it flew past him and got stuck in the wall.

Spinner winced and answered Rake's arched eyebrow, "It's not the field. It's my wrist that's acting up. I'll have a look at it in the morning."

Rake nodded and went to retrieve his knife. The new hole in the wall had joined an already large collection, proof that Spinner's wrist slipped often. At least he caught the knives when it counted.

The car door opened, and a wave of cold air burst inside, along with clouds of mist that surrounded the tall silhouette standing in the doorway.

"Nicholas, how nice of you to join us!" Spinner jumped up from his chair. While standing, the other two men towered over him, but he compensated with the bulk of his arms.

"Good evening, gentlemen. Brrr ... It got pretty chilly out there," Nicholas said with an easy smile, removing his white gloves and top hat. His black hair shone in the fluorescent light. "A little bird told me you could use my help. What can I do for you?"

"We're expecting a potential client," Spinner said. "We need you to speak to him for us."

"Won't Big Dino mind?" Nicholas asked. "I wouldn't want to step on his toes. This is his business."

"Big Dino hasn't been conscious in two days," Rake said. "It's unlikely he'll wake up tonight."

"Ah ... I see." Nicholas shrugged off his coat and straightened the lapels of his tailcoat. "Of course, I'll help if I can, although you'll have to guide me through the process as I know nothing of your trade."

"We'll take over once he explains his problem. Don't worry," Spinner said. "All you have to do is nod when we tell him the price."

"And try not to look surprised." Rake smirked.

"Your fees are different than mine," Nicholas said. "So, basically, you need a puppet. Very well, I can do that. It's the least I can do to repay Big Dino's generosity."

"Yeah. When will you admit you're one of us and ask for a big headline?" Spinner asked.

"Oh, I don't know about that. I wouldn't want the ad to catch my creditors' attention. It's hard to live off magic these days. Even kids can't be fooled anymore." Shaking his head, Nicholas pulled a chair to sit down. "Where's this client of yours?"

"I sent Jacko to show him around," Spinner said. "He wasn't thrilled, so I doubt Jacko will manage to delay him much longer."

"Do we know anything about him?" Nicholas crossed his long legs and linked his hands on top of his knee.

"He was sent by Miss Aurore," Rake said. "There's bound to be a catch."