On The Edge of a Blade

Chapter 6.1

There was a pause. The wheels within Deedra's mind could visibly be seen turning, frantically trying to formulate some way to gain the upper hand once more. "Fine. Let's just agree to not make a scene."

Rose's lips moved up in a smile. "Wonderful." Her countenance grew dark, an expression which conformed to the shadows dancing about the room. "So spill it."

Deedra let out a dramatic sigh. "The kid's buying drugs, but Sloane is being weird about it. He acts all, I don't know, fluttery when he's nervous. Just a little bit off, you know?"

"I do know." Rose grimaced, and Deedra continued, eyes attached to the coin waiting upon the table.

"He was referring to Synthazide, but I've used that stuff. Trying to convince the kid that the stuff he's selling is some new version of it, a little bit stronger than the original." Deedra shrugged, gently raising her shoulders. "I'm no expert, but that just smells like pure bull. It might not be Synthazide, but I don't know what it is."

Rose reached back into her pocket and pulled out another coin, placing it on top of the other. In response, Deedra perked up even further, a certain glow of lust within her gaze which she couldn't fully smothered. "Take an educated guess."

"Well, I can't be certain . . . . " Deedra straightened, trying to look disinterested. As though she were going to leave, she grabbed Rose's empty cup and started to turn away. Her tactics may have been painfully obvious, but she was smart -- or lucky -- enough to realize that Rose wouldn't let her leave without presenting more specific information.

With an impatient roll of her eyes, Rose placed one more coin onto the table, this time a silver. "Try your best, sweetie," she pressed, a sickeningly sweet note of sarcasm laced into her voice. She kept one finger placed on top of the stack of coins, making a clear point. Yes, she was indeed ready to pay, but not until she was adequately informed.

Finally, the pull of money won Deedra over completely; if she were to play hard to get much longer, she might run the risk of losing a profit forever. "Sand. It looked like Sand. A different texture than usual, but that stuff simply radiates evil." She couldn't keep from shuddering. Strength meant nothing when it came to evil. "Don't know what Sloane's got against the boy, but he's in for one hell of a surprise."

A shadow crossed Rose's face, and she sewed her mouth shut. Silently dismissing Deedra, she pulled her hand back from the coins, allowing the waitress to finally lay claim on them. In one smooth motion, Deedra pulled the money off the table and deposited it into her apron pocket. She seemed happily oblivious of the assassin's wrath, or else too elated with her reward to care. "A pleasure doing business with you!" she trilled, walking away from Rose with a flip of her hair and a twirl of her skirts. Then she was gone, off to serve more customers in their contemplation of dirty dishes and dirty intentions.

Rose downed her tea in one swift gulp, like a warrior guzzling whisky for her nerves before a fight. Then she stood, the legs of her chair scraping against the wooden floor. The sound was swallowed up by the conversation in the tavern, saving her from being noticed in her current state of resolution. She returned the teacup back to the table, then turned to approach Sloane.

Unexpectedly, someone was standing mere inches away from her, a brick wall which had suddenly appeared out of thin air. As ready for action as she was, Rose nearly rammed right into him.

"You. Why were you eavesdropping on me?"

Too close for comfort, Rose took a small step back, unable to conceal how bewildered she was. The kid Sloane had been selling drugs to? "What do you mean?"

"Don't play innocent!" He scowled, too irritated to notice the authenticity of Rose's confusion. "I know that you sent that waitress over to listen to me. I'm not blind."