Canary Lands

Chapter Two

           

It was the next day. The city was alive once again; the streets outside 'Obsidian Wings Pawn Shop' were bustling with various types of people on their way to work, the indistinct noise of chatter lifting into the air. The sky was clearing, allowing for a stream of sunshine to shine unobstructed through a chink in a pair of curtains onto the face of a sleeping Obi; waking them up. They sat up on the sofa they had fallen asleep on and rubbed the tiredness out of their eyes. It'd been late when Antony had arranged to meet them, and she was definitely feeling the effects. She glanced around their mess of a living room; there were food cartons littered across the floor, one of them leaking an orange sauce onto the pale carpet. There were a pair of desks on the opposite side of the room overflowing with papers, and a bed in the corner covered in various junk and dirty clothes. She smirked-it was Davey's turn to make a trip to the Laundromat this week.

"Speaking of Davey." She murmured. She glanced behind her at Davey's most prized possession: his gaming computer and chair. Unsurprisingly, he'd fallen asleep in it again; his head lolling over the back of the chair with his headphones on. She chuckled and grabbed a half-empty water bottle from beside her. Stretching, she walked over to him and gently removed his headphones. Putting them down on his desk, she unscrewed the cap off the bottle and poured the contents over his head. His eyes snapped open as he sat up spluttering and cursing.

"What the heck Obi." He grumbled, feeling around for his headphones.

"Relax Davey they're on your desk. Now come on, we've got a shop to open." She chucked the water bottle at his head and grabbed her jacket from off the sofa, puling it on as she made her way through to the shop. She set about opening the blinds and turning off the alarms on the glass cases, Davey joining her soon after.

"So what did you think of the famous Antony Doveman last night?" He asked her. She shrugged.

"Nothing special, just another client. They're all famous in some way."

"Do you really think he wasn't able to pay us, or do you think he was just looking for a cheap deal?"

"Like I told him last night, I don't doubt him." Obi answered. "I just don't trust business men with money at stake."

"So, do you think he was lying, or..."

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. Right to our faces." She sat down in her chair behind the front counter. "Well, about the not paying us part. He was definitely worried about his son." Davey nodded.

"I would be too. That kid's going to get in a lot of trouble one day" he leaned against a wall. "And his dad ain't gonna be there to help him out of it." He continued.

"I don't know Davey. I think there's something else. I've got this gut feeling that this kid is bad news. We should be careful with this one." He nodded nonchalantly.

"Whatever you say. Either way, it's an easy job. Wish you'd set a price though." Obi got up to unlock the front door.

"If he was so stingy about trying to save his casino do you think he'd – oh, hey!" Davy looked over at the door. There was a young Keet boy of about ten standing outside accompanied by an Ite guard. The boy was wearing a light green jacket over a white collared shirt. His jeans were a rich turquoise colour and were muddy along the bottoms. He wore a jade green kerchief over his black, curly hair, tufts stuck out from underneath the rim of the cloth. His eyes were a dark brown, almost black, and filled with excitement. Davey smiled.

"Hey Keef" he waved lazily at him. "How you been doing?"

"I've been good!" he chirped. Obi smiled and swept her hand in front of him exaggeratedly.