The Outlands by Tyler Edwards

Author:Tyler Edwards [Hossen, Md Rakib]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tyler Edwards
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

D

own the stairs we go, into another secret room. The contrast is alarming. The office and showroom above are classic, traditional, even old-fashioned. This secret room under the shop looks like a hacker’s den. Screens running multiple programs line the walls. Access pads are mounted on each wall, providing easy access to the screens. Tech devices, the likes of which I’ve never seen, are carefully placed around the room on showcase columns.

“Jett, Ernest here is one of the greatest tech developers outside of the Temple Sector. He’s like a wizard of technology,” Victor says. The old man smiles, and the deep valley wrinkles of his face curl as he does. Kane and Grent look as surprised as I feel being down here. It’s a clever cover, I have to admit. The last place I would look for a tech dealer would be in the shop of an old, frail craftsman.

“Enough flattery; it won’t change my price.”

Victor nods and retrieves a package of fresh, individually wrapped candies from his pocket. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” The old man reaches eagerly for the bag. Victor pulls it back, holding it above Ernest’s reach. “Ah, ah, ah, show me first.”

“You’re a heapin’ shinshew if ever there was one.”

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” Victor grins as he snaps back.

“My mother?” Ernest raises an eyebrow. “She died off with the dinosaurs long before you brats were even born.”

“Focus, Ernest,” Victor encourages. The old man retrieves a set of thin, black, glossy circles that look like coasters, stacked neatly in a clear plastic casing. The bottom of the casing opens up like a mouth, allowing a single coaster to be pulled from the pile with ease. Victor takes it and examines it. “Ernest, you’ve outdone yourself, you tiny little genius.”

“Stick a sock in it.” Ernest shakes his head. He lifts his data-pad up, and a blue array of lights scan over Grent’s body. Grent steps back, his hand moving toward the handle of his weapon snapped to his belt. “Stand still, you giant troll. Don’t tell me a Viking like you is skittish of an old man with a cane.” That calms Grent down effectively. Ernest walks around, running the blue stream of lights all over Grent. “There, didn’t hurt you one bit, did it? You giant baby.”

Grent cocks his head sideways. I imagine most people don’t talk to him this way.

“They are ready then?” Victor inquires.

“Course they are ready; I didn’t come down here for my health. You know how to work them?” Ernest asks, his voice unnecessarily loud. Victor nods. “Good, saves me the time of teaching you.” Ernest slides a black cylinder off a separate display column and tosses it to Victor who catches it with his free hand. The cylinder has four rings around the middle, which seem to slide, and a button on the top. Victor slides the cylinder into his inner jacket pocket and nods. He tosses the bag of candies to Ernest.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

Ernest nods. “Yeah, yeah.

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