Convergence - The Last Science #2.1 - In Plain Sight

B2: Chapter 13 - The Emerald City (Part III) - V

  There was another short, dark stretch beyond the gate. Cinza kept walking, but as Natalie got close, her voice dropped low and the accent returned in full, though the magical echo stayed gone. Natalie was really starting to miss it. "I despise that man."

  "We can talk?" she whispered.

  "For a few moments."

  "What was all that?"

  Cinza hesitated. "I used to work in this market, years ago. I haven't been to this particular spot, since it moves to keep ahead of the police, but I remember how they operate. I spent a long time here."

  "Is this a place for drugs?"

  She shook her head. "Not primarily. They'll trade narcotics, but the main product for sale is... well, girls."

  "What?"

  "You're going to see some things I wish you could avoid," Cinza continued, "but we don't have time. That bag is running out of magic, and I don't think I can get it back alone."

  "What happens when it runs out?" She'd never asked before, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

  "It collapses." She paused, taking another quick break. She considered leaning up against the wall, but after seeing how grimy and disgusting it was, she seemed to decide against it. Natalie, too, avoided touching anything she possibly could. The entire place had a bad stench about it, too, inescapable and filling everything. "It essentially becomes an ultra-dense object in an instant, with all the expected consequences. Most everything inside will be crushed, then explode outward as it expands the compressed mass."

  Cinza stood back up, resuming her new walk and attitude. She raised her voice a little louder than necessary, slipping back into her casual slippery tone from before in a heartbeat. "Keep up, Jenny. If we don't get in there and start sellin' we gonna be starvin' tonight, so put on your face and smile pretty for the men."

  The alleyway opened up into a space surrounded by tall buildings. Temporary fences walled off every other entrance to the area. A broken fountain stood in the middle, around which sat a half-dozen young women in various stages of undress, lounging about like mermaids without tails in a pool without water. They batted their eyelashes and stretched out as men walked by, trying to catch some attention. Many of the men in turn were moving about between a row of tables, where people were selling things Natalie didn't recognize. Bags of things, sharp needles, spoons, lighters, pills. It was almost like a pharmacy or a doctor's office.

  On the other side, she saw an area full of lounge chairs and couches, where more women and men were standing around, or sitting, or... something. As she watched, one man took a woman by the arm and lead her into the open back door of the nearest building, disappearing into the pale yellow light. No one paid them any mind.

  As soon as Natalie and Cinza walked into the space, a few heads twisted their direction. One man in particular gave them a leer that made Natalie's hands clench involuntarily into fists, but he was already heading into a building with a girl slavishly hanging off his arm. Cinza ignored him entirely, beelining for one of the women lounging alone on the couch. As she approached, the woman glanced up lazily, as if Cinza were no one particularly interesting.

  A second later, the woman made a double take. Natalie noticed that, while Cinza had changed into plain clothes, they were still quite different from what most of the girls wore. Cinza wore her usual practical, clean and simple outfit, but the woman was wearing a dress so sparkly Natalie felt like she'd go blind if any light hit it directly. More importantly, it barely stretched past her waist, and the top was cut impossibly low with straps so thin, it may as well have ended below her shoulders.