My Name Is Schedule

The Mafia

I did not take his hand.

"The Mafia."

"Yeah," Kyran said plainly, his hand still extended. "You gonna shake my hand, or--"

"No!" I slapped it away. "No, this can't be real--you're--you're a spy--"

"I'm not a spy, I promise." He moved a trash can in the alley to reveal a hole underneath that looked like it had been smashed into the ground. Pieces of wood went down it like a makeshift ladder.

"What the hell--"

"Might be a bit to take in," Kyran told me, smiling a little. "But you'll get used to it."

"Uh--no, I don't think I will," I told him shortly, completely at a loss for how to respond. "Sorry, what is this?!"

"Look, you've followed me this far. What harm is there in going a little farther?"

I supposed he had a point.

He put his feet on the ladder and began to go down. "We don't have a lot of time."

"I am not going down there."

"Suit yourself," he called, already halfway down. "You can head back home."

"Kyran!" I snapped, looking around frantically. He really did not leave me much of a choice. I tentatively put my foot on a piece of wood. It held.

"Pull the trash can back over the entrance," he said, somewhere far below me.

I sighed as I pulled it over. I could barely see. There was a dim yellow light that flickered, the only source of light I could see for a while.

"Kyran?" I called nervously.

"Yeah?"

"How much farther is there to go?"

"You're almost there." 

I jumped as he lifted me down the last few rungs and placed me down on the pavement. I brushed off my skirt. 

"I was doing fine myself," I informed him.

I could only tell he was grinning because of the one sparse light. "Right, sorry." He nodded ahead. "Come on."

He bent down, and I saw there was a crawlspace. He began to crawl through it without hesitation.

"Do you expect me to follow you?"

"Yeah," he called, "it's not so bad. My sister cleaned some of the spiders from it."

"That's not funny," I muttered. I looked at the ladder, then to the crawlspace. This was not how I expected to be spending Acquaintance Time. 

After far too much crawling in a far too tight space, I saw a light in front of Kyran.

"We're almost there," he told me. "To HQ."

"HQ?"

"Headquarters," he clarified. "It's like a base, for us."

"Us, meaning...the Mafia."

"You got it."

"I still have not agreed to be part of this."

I could practically hear his grin. "Trust me. After this, you will."

He made his way out of the crawlspace, and held his hand out for me to take as I got out, as well. I did not take it. Partially because I was not all on board with this, and partially because I was in awe. We had come to a room, relatively small, but large compared to our government issued homes. Huge monitors covered the walls, and scattered papers and tablets covered several desks that served as the only furniture besides some chairs. Despite the busy papers that covered everything, there was only one other person present.