Page 5 of Wire

“You’re welcome, sweet girl. You know how to contact me.” We hug for a little longer before we both pull away, and I’m surprised to see Nat wipe underneath both her eyes. She breaks the moment by clapping.

“Right, let’s party!”

Chapter Two

St_Margarita: So, you’re like, on here all the time.

Beretta_Penn: Yeah. I like to keep busy.

St_Margarita: What do your mom and dad think of you playing all day?

Beretta_Penn: Oh, I don’t have a mom and my dad has a lot of stuff going on.

St_Margarita: Right. So no time for you then?

Beretta_Penn: Well what about you? You’re always on when I’m on.

St_Margarita: I’m ignoring my mom and dad’s fighting.

Beretta_Penn: Um, I’m sorry

St_Margarita: Why? It’s not your fault

Beretta_Penn: …………

Beretta_Penn: …………

Beretta_Penn: There’s a horde of orcs coming our way. I’ve never faced a horde before

St_Margarita: Stick with me kid, I’ll show you all you need to know.

Wire

“Ohhhh Wire!” Chewy’s voice drifts down the hall. Since she’s been here, she’s gotten a lot louder. She never really had good volume control, but now it seems as if she’s competing with Marx and Switch to be heard.

I lean back in my chair, bringing my arms up, hands on either side of my head, and then lean back, trying to get a good stretch going. Even though we went for slightly larger than normal office furniture, I still have the tendency to hunch.

“Ow! Dammit, who put that there?” I swivel my chair to see Chewy rubbing her elbow.

“Fire extinguisher again?”

“Nah, sweater got caught on the door handle. Anyhoo, guess who’s here? The new kid. I saw them all pull in. Thought I’d come down here to chill out a moment. I’m a little overwhelmed to be getting a new vagina around here.” She says in a bland voice, bouncing on her toes, curly hair wild around her.

“Um, you know that we have lots of vaginas around here?”

She waves me off. “Bunnies don’t count. I mean a vagina with brains. And clothing. I’m betting I won’t see this vagina peeking out of skirts or shorts. This vagina will have class. It’ll be able to talk about coding and gaming and dress sensibly. A sensible vagina to befriend is what I’m after. I don’t have any female friends yet. I have to make a good impression.”

I squint at her and open my mouth to rebut that whole sentence, but she spins in place, bumps into the doorway, and then leaves.

“Come on Wire! We have to get to the vagina before it’s tainted by the rest of the brothers!”

Shaking my head, I get to my feet, do a few more stretches, and follow Chewy down the hall.

Entering the common room, I see Savage, his SAA Dex, and Flack. I’ve only met him once, but he’s a nice guy. Nothing like you would expect from a man who lived through his MC’scriminal years. He’s reasonably tall, around 6ft at a guess. Solid with a ruddy, round face and an easy smile. Not the type of man who you think has seen action and I’m betting killed a few people.

They’re meant to have brought his daughter with them today, but I can’t see her. Neither can Chewy, by the way I see her head swiveling this way and that. Rhodie grabs hold of her and pulls her into his body. I can hear him murmuring to her about chilling out. He’s rewarded with a squinty eye and an eyebrow raise that looks a hell of a lot like her brother Gus’s.

Marx’s whistle rends the air, quieting all the brothers who have congregated to meet the new person. It’s not a pre-arranged thing. We’re just nosey as fuck.

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