The Midnight City Social Hour

--Mini pt4--End

The air from the vents warmed as Tommy watched the snow circle in strange colors. He thought of going outside. The door was still stuck, and he found the windows would not open. 

Tommy said, "Mini, I think your windows are broken."

"They're fine," she replied from under the blanket, "Just wait for everything to thaw. You don't have any patience"

Not that Tommy was eager to feel the cold. The wind howled. The snow spinning in vibrant circles was no longer matched by the high from the heavy hitting pills.

 There wasn't any feeling walking from the apartment to the car—the Suds were useful for numbing that sensation. But the longer Tommy sat in the Kia Sorento; as the white and blue of the snowflakes focused into pearls and sapphires; as Mini hid under the covers, and as Tommy felt a bitter sobriety of the pills (which left potent hallucinations minus the euphoria), he felt cold. The handle was cold. A trepidatious chill fed through his arm, icing his body. 

Tommy was mentally chilled too. The Recruit started sounding like a name; a name with a face and a personality. A name and personality that was sitting alone, with a brain slowly deteriorating. No friends. 

It paralyzed Tommy.

Remembering what it was like, when he was a recruit. The weather was a physical paralysis; but the memories, they were real, and they came with something he felt. Which put his body in the passenger seat of a car that was no doubt stolen. And since Tommy was recruited into the gang after this car was in the gang's possession, they didn't talk about where they acquired it. Secrets were only shared after acceptance.

Mini wasn't fully wrapped in the blanket. She was shivering, but her face and torso were showing. There was a cigarette in her mouth and lit.

"What are you thinking about Thomas?"

Sometimes Mini used his formal name to be playful. Sometimes if she was irritated or infuriated. Only Daisy used it every time. 

Tommy replied, "I hear you have been taking your shenanigans to a new level."

"Ah yes our newest recruit," Mini puffed smoke towards the roof of the car. "They have a useful skill set that could work wonders with our resources. I've been making plans. How to utilize them for maximum efficiency." 

"You think they'll cooperate?"

"Everyone we have put through this cooperates."

Tommy couldn't argue. He was currently one of their top members.

Another cigarette was between his lips. A lighter was between his fingers. Tommy didn't notice the motions, but he accepted the outcome. Just like when the gang first recruited him.

It was like looking back. Back to when he believed he was innocent. When his brain was mush.

"You're phasing out again Tommy."

The windshield was still frozen. Mini was still smoking; her blonde hair now tied into a ponytail. Green eyes sparkling. They were prettier up close; Tommy knew this the first time he met Mini, but it always gave him an epiphany. That sheen. The gaze was on him as he stopped the rehearsal.

Without recognizing it, his free hand lowered the window. The ice was chiseled away. Cold air howled in and Mini screamed:

"Close the window!" As she wrapped herself in the blanket.

Tommy closed the window. "I though you wanted me to scrape the windshield."

"If the window can be lowered, then the door can be opened. But you have to wait for me to get my heavier coat."

The coat was in back. Mini crawled. Tommy finished his second cigarette. Mini dressed and he looked out the window. The apartment complex was plain. 

"Are you ready to go outside Tommy?"