Chapter 42

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

Jack led Gen to a door where a man with gray patchy hair stood, a shifty look in his eyes. The guy obviously guarding the door held up a hand as they approached, stopping the three of them.

"That's Phil," Sully said at Gen's side. "He's the owner of Pawn of the Dead and a real hoot."

"Can't you read the sign?" the shop owner asked, through a mouthful of missing and blackened teeth.

"Yeah, it says no concealed weapons," Sully argued, pointing at the handwritten sign. "And you can clearly see I have a sword, so there."

Jack shook his head at his friend, glancing back at Phil. "We're not going in. We just want to show our new Rogue Rider the operation. And what's up with the sign anyway, man? That's new. You having problems?"

"Oh, yeah," Phil howled. "I don't know if you lot have been taking it easy or what, but there are new goons popping up all over the place. Patrols by city police are down and with it, some riffraff has been circulating causing problems for me. I can't believe I'm saying this, but we could use more law enforcement in these parts. Just their presence seems to keep this kind of thing down."

Gen drew in a breath, thinking of the Commissioner of Los Angeles who was recently murdered. He would have been in charge of the police management. It seemed some of the concerns that the council had about the influx were coming to fruition.

"Man, Phil, that is alarming," Jack said, a cool and disarming tone to his voice. "We'll definitely look into it. I can plug in with some of our police contacts who we work with, but as you know, things have been shifting in the city."

"Because you lot have a new leader?" Phil asked, not seeming happy about this.

Jack and Sully exchanged tentative looks.

"It's hard to say," Jack finally replied, diplomatically.

"I bet this has to do with that Commissioner's death," Phil growled, nodding at Gen. "And this is your new Rogue Rider. She looks a whole lot better than the two of you. Can she be the one to check in with me?"

"That's a hard no, Phil," Jack said, pointing to the door. "But we would like to show her the scope of your operation. Can you open up for us?"

Phil nodded through a toothless grin at Gen, unlocking the unmarked door and opening it for them.

Through an open doorway, Gen caught a glimpse of what looked like a gambling ring. It was a stark contrast to the pawn shop's front. The room buzzed with the clinking of coins and the mechanical whirl of strange machines. Their lights flickered like fireflies captured in jars as wheels on their fronts spun.

Gamblers moved around the space, their faces illuminated intermittently by the machines' glow. Although this wasn't like the card and dice games she was used to seeing, Gen recognized the hidden world of gambling pulsing with risk and temptation. It seemed that time changed nothing, and people still loved the thrill of taking bets and chancing their fortune on odds.

"You allow the pawn shop to run an illegal gambling ring," Gen whispered to Jack.

He nodded. "And again, in exchange, Phil tells us about the community happenings. Gamblers, strange enough, are gossipers. It's a great place to get an idea of what's going on around in the city."

"Like with the delinquent law enforcement," Gen guessed.

He nodded, darkly, sharing the look of concern she felt nagging at her.

Phil, apparently thinking they'd had enough of a glimpse, ushered them back as he shut and locked the door again. Backing away from the room filled with tobacco smoke, Gen caught the face of one of the many clocks adorning the grimy walls. "Oh, shoot. I have another meeting to get to. Sophia set it up for me to help me complete the other impossible task Dwayne assigned me."

Sully shook his head. "You're a busy lady."

"Good luck," Jack said, offering her a tamed smile.

"Thanks for this," Gen said, backing for the door to the pawn shop. "One hour of shadowing down. Only five hundred and ninety-nine left."

Jack lowered his chin, looking her in the eyes. "Don't sweat the hours. As far as I'm concerned, if Dwayne asked, you're always by my side. Within a month you'll be done, and he will have to give you a case."

"Thanks." Gen paused, feeling a strange heat as she stared into his dark, blue eyes, like pools of ocean waters. "Well, then I better get to observing and cataloging magical animals."

Jack chuckled, pointing over his shoulder at Sully. "You can check the enchanted chimp off your list."

"Hey, I'm no monkey!" Sully complained.

"No, but you might have one's brain, dummy," Jack said, glancing over his shoulder at his friend with a grin. "Chimps aren't monkeys, you Neanderthal. They are apes."

"Yeah, whatever," Sully said, walking backwards. "Come on, let's finish up here, you gorilla. I want to get back to the Rogue Rider mansion so I can watch The Witcher."

Jack smirked, returning his gaze to Gen. "Do you see why he's obsessed with you? You're like his favorite fictional character."

"What's The Witcher?" Gen asked.

A laugh popped out of Jack's mouth. "I keep forgetting how much you don't know about this time and all. Don't worry, we'll fill in the gaps. If you ever get a free hour, then stop by my room at the Rogue Rider mansion and we'll watch some educational programming together."

Gen let out a long breath. "I'm a bit nervous about this television stuff."

Another laugh flew from Jack's mouth. "She nearly jumps between a dragon and Kodiak bear but watching TV makes her nervous." He shook his head. "You're something I've never seen before, Gen Beaufont."

She started walking backwards again, smiling at him. "Well, I am from a different time when things were…harsher."

A look of amusement sizzled in his blue eyes. "You can take the girl out of the medieval era, but you can't take the medieval out of the girl."