Page 52 of The Timeless Vigilante

“I know things,” Gen spat, defensively.

Sully patted her shoulder, mockingly. “Sure, you do, love.”

She glowered at him. “Don’t make me stab you.”

Jack lowered his chin, giving her a playful expression. “What have we said about dealing with your problems by stabbing people in the modern world?”

Gen sighed. “Apparently, it’s wrong. I really miss the medieval era sometimes.”

Both men gave her commiserating expressions, nodding understandingly to her challenges with adjusting.

“Anyway, also, as we were saying, getting rid of all crime and criminals would disrupt the whole ecosystem of society,” Jack continued, regaining Gen’s attention. “For instance, there was this crop in Europe that was getting overly consumed by sparrows. The farmers went in and eradicated the sparrow population. They thought they’d won the fight, but then a huge infestation of worms took over, fully destroying the entire crop.”

“Great example!” Sully chimed. “You see, there’s a balance that we have to maintain. If we took out one low level set of criminals, we’d surely get an influx of even more dangerous ones. Instead, we’ve figured out how to manage the non-harmful crooks and the best part is, they all work for us, helping to keep justice in balance.”

“You mean, all these businesses that you listed are actually helping society?” Gen asked, looking around at the various places that Sully indicated to.

“Yeah, but let’s take a walk and we’ll show you firsthand,” Jack offered, starting forward across the intersection. “It’s better if you see the illegal operations with your own eyes and really get a hands-on lesson in crime rings.”

CHAPTER FORTY

ARTISANAL BREADS AND ILLICIT SPREADS

Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, United States

Hurrying to keep up with Jack among the crowd rushing by, going the opposite way on the path, Gen slid between people all dressed in funny clothing and talking on their devices of worship. The air was filled with a constant hum of noise, a discord of strange sounds that assaulted her ears from every direction. Every storefront she passed was a revelation, filled with wonders that she could scarcely comprehend.

When Jack halted in front of a store where beautiful freshly baked breads were on display through the clear glass window, Gen’s mouth began to salivate. The whole place seemed to be filled with delectable pastries and beautiful cakes. The writing across the top of the glass read Bun and Run Bakery.

“I’ll explain to our newbie what happens in there while you go and check on our bakery friends,” Jack said to Sully, who was already opening the shop’s door, making a bell chime.

Gen pointed at the place that seemed completely enchanting and delicious with utter confusion. “This bakery runs illegal activity? How?”

Jack nodded, seeming to understand her plight and also relish in it. “Oh, yeah. Bun and Run Bakery is one of our biggest illegal and potentially out-of-control operations that we have to keep a tight handle on. You see, they ship out their artisan breads all over the country, easily passing over state and even country borders because everyone loves their yeasty goods. However, baked into half of the breads are things that no one can eat.”

He paused, seeming to wait for Gen to get it. She didn’t. Jack sighed. “They smuggle illegal things across the plains of this great land.”

“Oh, well, that sounds bad…”

“It could be, but we keep an eye on what it is,” Jack explained. “It’s things like contraband or recreational drugs. Stuff that can’t really hurt anyone. We allow them to keep their racket going and in exchange, they tell us who else is running in the smuggling ring. When we get word that it’s something we won’t tolerate like automatic weapons or hard drugs, then we intervene—using the intel that the bakery provided.”

“Wow, I’m not sure that I completely understand everything you just said, but that sounds really smart,” Gen stated. “You use a pack of small dogs to take down the really big Chupacabra.”

Jack arched an eyebrow at her. “You’re surprisingly very intelligent about modern things…”

She blushed, not having expected this compliment. “Amanda stocked my bedroom with a lot of books. I’ve been devouring them as fast as I could. I read about the Chupacabra last night—they are vicious.”

Jack nodded. “Much like arms dealers, who I don’t have any patience for. So, the bakers here help us to sniff them out and take them down before they can put guns in the hands of children and unknowing people.”

“Smart,” Gen said, watching as Sully returned, looking happy with himself. “Did you do whatever it was you do?”

He nodded. “Yes, there’s nothing on the no-no list for smuggling routes and the bakers gave me a list of their next several shipments.”

“Wow, you seem to have things worked out,” Gen mused.

“That we do,” Jack said, proudly, turning around and pointing. “Over there we have The Whiskey Gargoyle Bar. They run an illegal fight club where people place bets. We review the list of fighters and only allow those who are really despicable on there.”

Sully laughed loudly. “We literally ensure that the bad guys pummel each other.”

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