Secret Shopping

Posted on Mon Mar 1st, 2021 @ 12:51pm by Tristan & James Thomson & The Narrator

Mission: Six Days to Santo
Location: Santo - Caster town
Timeline: Day 23 onto Day 24

Tristan walked through the old cobbled streets of the town, not looking at people but paying close attention to his surroundings. Instead of his usual maroon hoodie, which was his favorite, he was wearing the new black jacket that Alden had bought him, the hood pulled up over his head. His blond hair was pretty, but made him stand out. The last thing he wanted right now was to be remembered.

He turned down an alley that he overheard a few guys talking about. Apparently he'd be able to find a bunch of merchants and traders down this way, some dealing in hard-to-find items. It's exactly what the young man was looking for.

As he came up to the first shop, he pulled out the piece of paper he had folded in his pocket. "Excuse me, sir," he said, his voice somewhat quiet. "Have you seen an item like this?" he asked as he unfolded the paper and slid it over to the man. On the paper was a drawing, as best as he could remember, of the artifact James had taken. Square, with unknown markings etched around the outside.

"I ain't no sir, boy," muttered the gruff looking, dark-skinned older man behind the counter. He looked at the paper though, turned it a couple of times and frowned. Boy had smooth hands, and a slight accent. Not local. "Hmm... nope. Looks expensive. What's it made of?"

"Some sort of metal," Tristan said in reply. "It's heavy, not hollow. There's something inside that sortof shifts around."

"Nah, not my kinda thing, fella down the road aways might'n be able to 'elp ya." He gave Tristan some complicated directions, enough to waste the kid's time for about half an hour while he spoke to someone else.

With a rejected feeling, Tristan just nodded and took the paper back as he walked away and to the next stall.

The second the boy was out of earshot, Gruff Shop-Owner was on the cortex. "Mark headed your way," he said. "After some sort of metal cube... Yeah, exactly. He didn't complain when I said it looked expensive either... Okay, let me know."

It took about twenty minutes to locate the store, set back as it was down a narrow side passage away from the main alley. A crooked little pathway with high walls covered in grime, oil and varying ages of advertising posters ranging from metal plates with scarred and beaten paint to newer paper ruins. All of them regaled the advantages and wonders of various ship parts and engineering components, antiques to almost modern.

The door in the wall was propped open with a hunk of metal that might once have been a power convertor. Beyond it, Tristan could see a cluttered junkyard of a room and as he pushed his way inside, he noted a woman in her fifties whose face and clothes looked like she'd just come from installing a thingamajig into something hundreds of years old.

"Hello?" he called out to the woman as he stepped into the filthy shop. He touched the wall just inside the door and quickly regretted that decision as he wiped dust and grime onto his jeans. "I was told you may be able to help me?"

"Hullo, young'un," came the reply followed by a raised eyebrow. "What help you be seeking 'sactly?" She asked, giving Tristan a thorough visual examination to try and assess the level of his payment options.

The young man smiled as he stepped towards her. "I'm looking for a device that looks like this," he said, sliding the piece of paper towards her.

She rested her elbows on the counter and studied the drawing, turning the paper to try and gain a better understanding, then looked up to Tristan.

"Dimensions?" She asked, making guesstimates by moving her hands, fingers curved to indicate potential sizes for said cube. "Weight? Material? And what are these scratches on the sides?"

"Uh..." Tristan held up his hands, his fingers trying to form a box. "It's about this big," he said. "I'd say no more than a couple pounds, solid build. I'm not sure of the material but it's a type of metal." Tristan gestured towards the paper, "These markings aren't accidental and they aren't as crude as my drawing. They're more like runes or symbols that were etched into it. They're evenly spaced and they aren't hastily drawn."

Making a few notes of her own on Tristan's piece of paper, slow and methodical, the woman then regarded the boy again. "Custom piece," she said. "Ain't seen one. Don't have one, obviously." She had a feeling he knew that already, but he wouldn't be the first to see something that didn't currently sit on her shelves. "What's it do?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Tristan said, looking embarrassed.

"Okay," she said. "So, you want me to make something that does what this thing does, I need more information. But," she added, shifting tack with a warmer smile. "If you just want something that *looks* like this, I might be able to help you."

Tristan looked at the woman. "How much just to make a replica?" he asked.

She wrote something in pencil on a scrap of paper and slid it across the counter to the boy. Her eyes searched his, ready to gauge his reaction to that initial high offer.

With a nod, Tristan picked up the pencil, scribbling his own counter offer on the piece of paper, sliding it back to her. He held her look intently as he pushed the drawing over to her.

She deliberated for a moment, adjusted her original expectation just enough to be within a slight stretch of his own, and passed the paper back. "Final offer," she said, stepping back with arms crossed to wait for his decision, with one more question thrown in. "When do you need it by?"

Tristan pulled at his bag, opening it as he dug around inside. “I need it as soon as possible,” he said. He pulled out the amount of money the woman was asking and set it on the table. “How soon can it be completed?”

The money vanished very swiftly, under long, grimy fingers and she scribbled a brief receipt for him. "Tomorrow," she said. "Come back tomorrow morning. If I'm in back working, just ask whoever's here for me - Lily."

With a smile, Tristan nodded and pulled his hood back over his head. "Thank you, Lily," he said as he turned and left the shop.

---

The next morning

Tristan stepped onto the platform that lead back into the Fortune's Echo, scanning the large room for the person he was looking for. With no success, he climbed the ladder towards the upper deck, running directly into James on his way towards the crew quarters.

"Perfect timing," Tristan said to James in a hushed tone. "I have something for you," he said as he nodded his head to a corner they could speak in.

James gulped subtly before following after Tristan. What could the kid have that James would care about other than absolution? Was this is? Was Tristan giving him his warning, 'its time to tell Alden'.

"What's up, kid?" He asked trying to remain calm.

Tristan glanced around, making sure they were alone. From his bag, he pulled out a metallic device and held it out towards James. "I was able to find someone in town who could create a fake version of that thing," he said. "I figured it'll help keep the Captain oblivious to what happened until you can figure out how to fix it."

James stared at Tristan for a moment dumbfounded. A rush of appreciation surged through him and he almost found himself hugging the kid. "Thank you," he said earnestly as he took the offering. He gave it a once over before pocketing it. It was a good replica and would likely buy himself enough time to come up with a plan to get the original. Shame quickly washed over him as he was reminded of the circumstance.

His grateful expression shifted to nervous, "It ain't that I don't appreciate it but why are you helping me?" he asked. He'd seen the bond forming between Alden and Tristan and the kid had risked enough by keeping the secret. Now he'd gotten himself directly involved. The stakes didn't just weigh on him anymore, "you've done enough not saying anything".

Tristan just shrugged. Honestly he wasn't exactly sure why either. But he only kept thinking of one thing. "If Alden finds out what you did, it's going to devastate him," Tristan said. "I'm hoping to avoid that for as long as possible until you fix it." Tristan looked down, the toe of his shoe kicking against the bulkhead. "I did this for him, not for you."

James nodded, "Thanks, all the same, I owe you," he said quietly, growing more aware that the longer they spoke together in hushed tones the more suspicion they would attract. "Anything you need, I'll sort it, even if it's just some muscle on one of your adventures" he promised sincerely, the least he could do was attempt to return the favour, even if said favour wasn't done on his account. He was, after all, the person who benefited the most.

With a nod, Tristan turned and walked away. Guilt settled in his stomach like a bunch of rocks as the deed was done. James was up to something and he actively betrayed the Captain. And now Tristan was an accomplice. This wasn't going to end well...