Heart Strings

Five More Drinks

"I've heard that before," Goldie sighed as she crossed her arms, her eyes scanning her surroundings to see if she could spot the snipers that were surely waiting in the wings. "You don't have a deal for me. You love playing those games."

"I would never be able to find the time to toy with you in times like these. I need to know if you'll join me or not."

"Fine," Goldie sighed. "I will. Probably a bad idea, though."

"Any idea you've had could be described as such. Please, get in the vehicle. I don't like being outside."

"Is that crazy bitch with you?"

"You're about to be."

"Haha," Goldie laughed sarcastically as she watched Codendra sit back down. "You know who I meant."

Goldie walked around to the other side of the vehicle and opened the door for herself. "Where is she?" She asked as she climbed into the spacious backseat.

"You mean Symphony."

"Yeah, the crazy girl."

"She's around. She's always around."

Codendra reached into a red silk purse that sat in the center of the seat and pulled out special lotion she liked to rub on her delicate skin. She then pulled out a ruby comb and began to run it through her hair, sweetly humming as the car winded through the trees of the United Emblems. Goldie tried not to snort with laughter as she thought of the combs she'd stolen from Codendra though her attempt to keep it inside was mediocre at best.

"What I'd like to discuss can't really wait," Codendra said in her soft voice as she wiped her skin with a smooth silk rag, looking into a compact mirror. "I know you've seen Polite recently."

"Everybody must know that by now. I don't know anything. She took my shield from me, I don't know where she was headed and I don't know where she was coming from," Goldie snipped, annoyed to have to be telling Codendra things she'd told her before. "If I did know, I wouldn't just tell you."

Codendra used only peripheral vision to look at Goldie as she closed her mirror and sighed. "That is fine. You didn't hear what I was going to say, though."

"Maybe I shouldn't be hearing anything from you right now at all."

Codendra could tell she'd done something to discomfort Goldie and stopped speaking for a moment because of it.

The ladies each gazed out the window as the sedan travelled down the mountain they'd landed on and toward the city. They crossed the Yinna Oilslick Bridge, named after Codendra's late mother, and quietly watched the sparkling water as it moved with the boats traveling on the surface. Goldie almost grimaced at the sight of it all; the tall, shining buildings placed closely together with trains traveling through the centers of them, lifted high above the crowded ground.

"It's been awhile since you've been back here." Codendra said, watching Goldie stare out of the window.

"It's been awhile since I've been allowed to speak with you without a gun pointed at my head." Goldie snipped.

"There are a few pointed at your head at the moment, don't worry," Codendra thought now would be the time to strike up the conversation again. "Now, about Polite. She must be stopped, you know."

"Stopped? You're after the same thing, aren't you? What, you wanna kill my mother yourself instead of letting her do it?"

"It's not the action that we need to stop—it's what she's willing to do to make it happen," Codendra touched a glowing blue button on the back of the headrest of the seat in front of her. A holographic screen was projected, showing a map of Olly Lake. "This is where you encountered her, no?" She questioned.