Chapter 41

Pawn of the Dead, Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, United States

Before entering the shop with bars on the windows, the guys explained to Gen what a pawn shop was. It sounded like something that she could finally relate to. That's how things worked in her time, trading goods for money and bartering for fair prices. Also, if someone didn't pay up, well, they paid in other ways.

When Gen stepped into the pawn shop on Wilshire Boulevard, she found the air thick with the scent of age and dust. As her eyes adjusted to the dim interior, she was surrounded by a menagerie of strange and wondrous objects, each one holding a tale of its own. She marveled at the strange, glowing boxes humming softly, artifacts of a future she'd yet to understand.

The gleam of metal and gemstones, under harsh artificial lights, appeared as treasure troves of mystical power to her medieval eyes. An ancient, tarnished pocket watch caught her eye, its intricate engravings hinting at a history that spanned centuries, much like her own. Beside it, a stack of worn leather-bound books beckoned, their pages yellowed and brittle with age, holding secrets that even her medieval mind could scarcely fathom.

The sounds of the shop were a mix of electronic beeps and distant traffic, melded into an unfamiliar symphony. Each object, from intricate timekeeping devices to painted canvases trapped in thin, glassy panes, seemed to be in a spell of preservation. The soft touch of worn leather and cold metal items left her fingertips tingling, a tactile dance of history's textures.

She caught snippets of conversation on the other side of the shop. Like usual lately, it was a language loaded with terms and phrases that felt like puzzles to be solved. The air tasted slightly metallic, mixed with the warmth of aged paper and wood. Here, amidst the chaos of the unknown, Gen found a curious sense of belonging, like she was a traveler anchored momentarily in the stream of time.

Realizing that she'd been off in thought and curiously studying the pawn shop, she jerked her attention up to find Jack and Sully grinning like fools at her.

"What?" she hissed, sensing that they were holding back laughter regarding her.

"She's like a baby seeing the world for the first time," Sully said, elbowing his friend beside him.

"If that baby had lethal weapons as hands and the temper of a raging bull," Jack countered with a soft chuckle.

"Which one of you wants to die first?" Gen threatened, narrowing her eyes at them.

Both men pointed at each other. "He does," they said in unison.

Gen sighed, hiding her own amusement. She was grateful that her first time shadowing Rogue Riders had been with these two jokers rather than someone like Clipper or one of the others who had chips on their shoulders.

"Hey, Gen, since we're teaching you all about our world," Sully began, pushing his glasses up on his nose, snorting slightly. "Will you tell me about the medieval world? Did you have to bathe in a trough next to the horses? What did it smell like? Was old age for humans like thirty years old?"

"Excuse him," Jack said, shaking his head. "He's obsessed with things related to the medieval era or so he thinks because he watches too much television."

"Question," Sully continued, like he hadn't heard the other man. "Did each family have an outhouse or were they more like public ones for the whole neighborhood? And did you really, well, you know what with corn cobs?"

Gen blinked at him, wondering if she should pull out Bellumferrum or simply use her fist. She decided to do neither and shrugged off the questioning. "Okay, so what's the deal here?" She motioned around the shop. "Do they buy illegal items that you allow in exchange for covert criminal information?"

Sully brought his fisted hand up to his mouth, like covering a sob. "Jacky boy, I do believe our girl is growing up. She's learning the ways of our world so fast."

Jack pointed at his friend, looking at Gen. "See, he deserves to die first. And yes, the pawn shop buys illegal items and sells them. We allow it as long as they give us a full list of the items and where they go."

"Wow, this continues to baffle me." Gen shook her head. "But I'm starting to get it. Crime can't be erased. Instead, it has to be regulated. But that only works if done by someone who is good and has pure intentions."

Sully cut his eyes to his friend. "I think she's complimenting us. Is this right before the lioness pounces and tears out our throats?"

"I told you he had a death wish," Jack stated, continuing forward, waving for Gen to follow him. "There's another part to this pawn shop that we keep an eye on and allow. It's in the back."