Mahogany and Teakwood

Chapter 34: Daisy

am i more than you bargained for yet

i've been dying to tell you anything you want to hear

The Eastern State Penitentiary was a gray, imposing, sprawling ruin of high brick walls and rusted barbed wire, housing a dizzying maze of peeling cellblocks, pitted bars and broken glass, and a lingering miasma of despair that even the bluest sky outside couldn't dissipate. The place had been known for its strict discipline and had held some of America's most notorious lawbreakers, or so claimed the brochure.

Interlaced within its soaring, dismal confines, the Penitentiary was also a tangle of Hedge gaps, twining into the heart of Arcadian Bale territory and surrounded by acres of Unseelie lands. None of Kate's spies had actually been Hedgeside within the prison, but local lore claimed the Penitentiary had a corresponding ruin on its Arcadian side. The perfect hideout for a fetch-dealer.

And yet, somehow the cheap motel that Kate secured for her Smile murder managed to be creepier.

"She said it was all she could find for so many of us on short notice," Virgil reminded Roman as they eyed the peeling wallpaper and suspiciously stained carpet. "It's only for one night."

"Speak for yourself." Roman avoided the beds and set his duffle bag on the TV shelf. "I'd rather sleep outside."

Virgil wondered if Roman's objections were due to the state of the room—which was admittedly awful—or the company he was forced to keep. Their interactions on the drive over had hovered between a frosty civility and passive-aggressive comments.

It was barely noon, and Virgil had already faced two uncomfortable truths. One, he'd never dealt with a truly angry Roman before, not like this. Two, he did not like it.

"The tactical meeting is in an hour, right?" Virgil sat gingerly on one of the beds. "By the outer wall?"

"You need me to write it down for you?" Roman cast him a nasty side eye.

Virgil felt his nostrils flare. "Just trying to make conversation."

"Yeah, well." Roman wrenched open his bag with a loud zip. "Don't."

Virgil already had his earbuds in. He huddled against the headboard and put on some mind-numbing, angsty Fall Out Boy. Roman paced restlessly around the other bed, probably turning the sheets inside out or whatever. Virgil determinedly ignored him until it was time to go.

Kate and Rosa had coordinated the strike with a sizable murder in nearby Trenton, and supposedly a few hunters from Harrisburg Smile were expected to turn up as well. Virgil and Roman made the walk from their team's motel on Fairmount to the Penitentiary itself, circling it for blocks until they reached a bit of parkland on the north side. Teens and young adults already dotted the space, leaning against trees and obviously trying to look casual.

Virgil's heart skipped when a familiar freckled changeling met them at the entrance.

Patton approached them, and stopped, hands sliding nervously over each other. His smile wavered, worn and unsure, his bright blue eyes cautious behind his round glasses. It was obviously taking everything he had not to seize them both in a hug, and Virgil despised himself for causing the world's greatest hugger to hesitate.

"Hey." Patton's gaze settled hungrily on Virgil. He frowned. "What happened to your face?"

"Um," Virgil covered his bruised cheek, carefully looking anywhere but at Roman. "Long story."

"Aw, Padre, c'mere." Roman scooped Patton into the hug he obviously craved and spun him around.

Virgil sourly folded his arms. The other's smug expression told him Roman had done that to remind him that Roman could still hug Patton, because Roman hadn't been a shitty friend. And...possibly to draw Patton's attention away from the shiner he'd caused.