“Oh no, you have to try the shower,” Becky said, taking Megumin’s wrist in one hand. “And the tub... especially the tub,” Becky added with a mischievous smile, throwing Alvin a wink. “We’ll be there… mostly on time.”
Stifling his laughter, Alvin shook his head, “Make sure it’s consensual, you damned gothic succubus.”
Watching the three women walk out of the room, Alvin took a good look at Megumin and shrugged. She’s okay, but she’s got nothing on Gothy or Mousie, Alvin thought. Waving to Jarvis, Alvin left the base. Maybe I should just get Justin and give him a quick tour of the auto shop before dinner.
When Alvin reached the auto shop, Justin was closing up for the day. Joanna was bouncing on her toes beside him as he pulled the rolling door down. “Hang on, Anna, I’m almost done,” Justin laughed at his daughter’s antics.
“She in a hurry?” Alvin asked, walking toward them.
“She’s been excited ever since this afternoon,” Justin replied. “Did you need something, Al?”
“Was thinking you might want to see the auto shop now instead of tomorrow.”
“Hello, Al! Thank you for saving my dad, and I’m glad you came back, too,” Joanna waved at him. “We’re going to dinner. Are you coming, too?”
“Cafeteria?”
“Yeah, Susan told everyone they needed to come for a meeting,” Justin replied. “That’s still an hour away, though. Anna, did you want to see Alvin’s secret base?”
Joanna turned to look at Alvin with wide, hopeful eyes, “Can we?”
“For a few minutes,” Alvin said. As he produced a couple of keys, he noticed he was near his limit. “Take these,” he said, handing them over before he summoned the Humvee. “Let’s get into the Turtle.”
Joanna stared at the Humvee with wide eyes, “Is this the car you use to survive the outside with?”
“We picked it up along the way,” Alvin smiled. “Hop in.”
Once they were seated, Alvin started the Humvee and summoned the archway for the vehicle. Joanna gasped when she saw the glowing portal, and Justin blinked in surprise.
“We just go through here,” Alvin said, letting the Humvee roll through the portal, “and here we are in the auto shop,” Alvin chuckled as he parked the vehicle.
They got out, and Alvin started showing Justin around the shop. He hit the automated repair button so the room would deploy the arms, working on fixing the M240B some more. Jarvis came into the room right after Alvin pushed the button.
“Sir, if you’d like, I can show the young lady around the rest of the base,” Jarvis offered.
“Who are you?” Joanna asked. Her brow furrowed, trying to place the familiar voice.
“I’m Jarvis, young miss,” Jarvis replied, bowing to her. “You might remember me as the hologram that sold items to people.”
“Oh! We wondered what happened. When did you get a body?”
“Go ahead, Jarvis. Just keep her away from the master bedroom,” Alvin said.
“Of course, sir,” Jarvis replied dryly. “Young miss, if you will come with me?”
“My name is Joanna,” she told him. “That young miss stuff makes you sound old.”
“Well, technically I am,” Jarvis started to explain as they left the room.
“Things have been good for you two?” Alvin asked when Justin went back to looking over the equipment.
“Ever since you healed me, yeah. It made me even more appreciative of her.”
“You’ve been making enough XP for the both of you?”
“I’ve been paying off her debt so she won’t start in the hole that some of the other kids are,” Justin replied. “Damn, I wonder if I can get Susan to buy one of these,” he muttered, picking up a tool that Alvin could not recognize.
“This cost a stupid amount of XP, but it meant I didn’t have to have a mechanic in the base all the time,” Alvin said.
“That’s too bad. I would have opted to take the job taking care of your vehicles.”
“You only say that because you don’t have to deal with me on a daily basis,” Alvin laughed.
“Maybe,” Justin chuckled.
After close to an hour, they went to find Joanna. Jarvis was sitting with her at the table. She had a milkshake and a piece of cake in front of her. “Ah, are you leaving now, sir?”
“Eat dessert first,” Alvin joked. “Yeah, we’re about to head out.”
“Guess that means we’re not late, then,” Becky said, leading Kuro and Megumin into the room. “I didn’t expect more guests,” Becky said when she noticed Joanna and Justin.
“Justin asked to see the auto shop since he’s the mechanic here in town,” Alvin said. “Joanna was with him.”
Joanna stuffed the last bite of cake into her mouth, chewing quickly and earning chuckles as she briefly resembled a squirrel. Blushing, she swallowed, “Sorry for making you wait.”
“No problem,” Alvin said, motioning them toward the normal door. “Let’s head out before we are late.”
The cafeteria was crowded. Most people had trays of food in front of them, though there were several seated along the walls with only drinks, clearly waiting for the meeting. Alvin, Becky, and Kuro joined the food line behind Megumin, Justin and Joanna. There was a small selection of premade food, but it also looked like you could order something freshly made if that was your preference.
“What do you recommend, Megs?” Becky asked Megumin.
“I normally have the buffalo chicken wrap, some sushi, or the chef salad.”
“Those are good, but the burgers are good, too,” Justin chimed in.
“I like the pasta,” Joanna said. “Shrimp alfredo is delicious.”
“What is alfredo?” Kuro asked.
“You’ll like it,” Becky grinned. “It’s a creamy white sauce that covers noodles and meat.”
Kuro blinked, her cheeks heating slightly at Becky’s description. She looked at Alvin, who just shook his head, grinning. “Do you recommend it, Hero?”
“If the chef knows what they’re doing, it’s good,” Alvin said. “I’ll see about a burger.”
“I’ll have what Megs is having.”
The conversation stopped when they reached the ordering counter. They placed their orders and a small pop-up asked each of them to confirm the order. Blinking, Alvin accepted it, and another pop-up told him he had XP deducted from his total.
“When did that happen?” Alvin asked.
“A couple of weeks ago,” Justin said as they moved over to the waiting area. “It made it so much easier to get food made to order.”
“Does it do the same thing for your shop?” Alvin asked.
“Susan implemented it settlement-wide,” Megumin replied. “There was an issue with Randy and his group trying not to pay after services had been rendered.”
“That douche,” Alvin sighed. “I thought he’d be okay when I first met him, too.”
“He was a good guy back when we barricaded the store,” Justin said. “When we picked up Claudia, though… he started to change.”
“I knew that skank was trouble,” Becky said.
“She was, indeed,” Megumin sighed. “She tried to get between James and Susan shortly after you two left. That was the only time I’ve ever seen Susan hit someone; she laid Claudia out cold.”
“I need to hear this story,” Alvin chuckled.
“Order for Alvin,” the cook said, turning around with a tray.
“Here,” Alvin said, taking his food. “I’ll get us a table.”
Finding a spot where the six of them could sit together was a bit more trouble than Alvin anticipated. Seeing the flute player sitting with a group of teens and a few empty seats, he went that way.
“Are these seats taken?”
“Oh, no, not at all,” Nigel said.
“I have a group of six. Can I convince a couple of you to shift for us?” Alvin asked.
“Sure,” one of the other band kids said, getting up along with their neighbor. �
��We’re wondering if you’d be willing to help us shoot better.”
“I’m not the best teacher, but I have time tomorrow,” Alvin said. “Let’s say... noon at the range?”
“Can we use that room in your base?” Nigel asked. “I heard it’s a full on holographic room.”
Alvin raised an eyebrow, “Where did you hear that?”
“I was behind James in line for breakfast this morning,” Nigel said.
“The problem is that I can only have so many people in the base at once,” Alvin said as the others began to join him. “Justin, I need the keys back from you and Joanna.”
“Of course,” Justin replied, both he and Joanna handing over their keys.
“Thanks.” Alvin said.
Turning back to the teens, Alvin wondered if it was worth the effort. Before he could decide, the speakers in the room popped, pulling everyone’s attention to the small stage on the far wall.
“Hello, everyone. I know it’s been a while since we had a meeting like this,” Susan said once she was sure everyone was paying attention. “This meeting will be short, I hope.” Scattered laughter followed her words. “I just have one announcement, but it’s a big one: there is now a way to learn a craft from another person by setting up an apprenticeship.”
People in the room started talking excitedly at this announcement and Susan gave them a few minutes. Alvin instead focused on his food, which was good, but not Jarvis quality. The others were doing the same, though Joanna looked eager for Susan to continue.
“Okay, folks, rein it in for me,” Susan said finally. Once the room calmed down, she continued, “Apprenticeships are a complicated thing. I’ll need to speak with each crafter to see if they are willing to take on one or more apprentices, but it’s worth it; crafters get a boost from the system for having an apprentice. As for who will apprentice to whom… I called this meeting to discuss which children will be apprenticed first.”
There were mixed opinions about this idea. Some people felt the kids could wait, and the first apprenticeships go to adults. That idea was shouted down, and the noise level rose as people put forward their own opinions about how it should be handled. Alvin rolled his eyes and wondered if shooting a round into the ceiling would make them shut up, but he was busy eating and could not be bothered.
“Pipe down,” Bill shouted, his voice cutting over the noise even without using a microphone. “Susan, go ahead.”
“Thank you. Now, my reasons for the way I plan to handle this are twofold: the kids— specifically the teens— need to decide if a tradecraft is better than being hunters. The younger children will be rotated among the crafters so they can watch and find out what they want to learn. I have also reached out to the Elves and purchased beginning books from them for some crafts we didn’t have here. I’m now a journeyman glyph crafter because of this and can take on an apprentice.”
The crowd exploded in conversation again. A few people headed for the exit, but one large group was demanding the right to learn the new crafts. Alvin wiped his hands, and was about to get to his feet when James stopped him. Stepping forward, he whistled piercingly. Kuro clutched her head in pain and everyone else winced at the shrill noise.
“You okay, Mousie?” Becky asked.
“That hurt,” Kuro said, looking at James with reproach.
“Okay, knock it the fuck off,” James shouted. “We’ll be dealing with the new crafts at a different time. Anyone who thinks they want to learn them needs to speak with Susan after this meeting. We’re here to discuss apprenticeships and our children’s future.”
The crowd calmed down. Susan cleared her throat before she spoke again, “I’m asking for a vote to let the children become apprentices first.” She tapped something in the air in front of her, and all the members of the settlement suddenly reacted to something invisible.
Alvin frowned, not getting a pop-up like the others had. “Guess that means we’re technically not part of this settlement anymore,” he whispered to Becky.
“Which is fine; we’re not going to be staying,” Becky replied with a shrug. “I want to know about the glyph crafting, though.”
“We can look into it tomorrow,” Alvin told her.
“The vote is done: seventy-eight percent voted for allowing children to be apprenticed first,” Susan said. “Teens, come to my office tomorrow to discuss your options and decide what you want to try. The rest of the kids will be with Grandma Terry tomorrow, going around and meeting all the crafters.”
“Where do we line up to talk about the other crafts?” someone shouted.
“My office in an hour. I would like to eat dinner, too,” Susan replied. “Now, before you all go, you should thank the person that brought this to my attention. Alvin, thank you on behalf of Green River. You have yet again been a major help to us.”
Alvin glared at her as she made the announcement, but had managed a mild smile by the time everyone turned to look at him. “I’m glad to help.”
When people turned away from him, Alvin looked at Nigel. “We’ll have to see about training later. Looks like you guys are going to be busy for a few days.”
“Yeah, sure, no problem,” Nigel said quickly. “What would you suggest taking up?”
“Autos or guns,” Alvin replied without hesitation. “Those two things are unique to Earth... at least I’m sure they will be. Other than those, learning how to smith so your friends don’t have to buy their melee weapons would be a good idea. I’d also ask Susan if she can pick up a book on composite armor. That would be useful, since Kevlar needs to be repaired, too.”
“I’ll ask her that,” the flute player said. “Dibs on composite armor.”
“Dibs on guns,” Nigel said.
Conversation around the table turned to listing and comparing possible crafting jobs. Alvin straightened up when Becky’s hand went sliding up his thigh.
“Hero, maybe we should go home for the night,” Becky purred in his ear. “I’ve been a good girl.”
“I’ll have to ask Mousie about that,” Alvin chuckled.
“You heading out?” Justin asked.
“I have some pressing needs to take care of,” Alvin replied with a straight face. “Have fun with the apprenticeships.”
“Gothy, maybe tomorrow?” Megumin asked.
“I’ll come find you,” Becky replied.
Saying goodbye, the three lovers went back to the base for the night.
Chapter Seven
The moment they stepped over the threshold to the base, Alvin snagged Becky by the hair and pulled her back to him. Lips next to her ear as his other arm snaked around her waist, Alvin spoke softly, “Now, my insatiable gothic succubus... did you behave with your friend?”
Grinding against him, Becky replied breathlessly, “I was a very good girl, Hero. I deserve my double ride.”
“Mousie,” Alvin said as he tilted Becky’s head to the side to stare at Kuro, “did Gothy behave?”
“She pressured Megumin into trying a few things,” Kuro replied. “Megumin was very submissive to her and did as asked, but was obviously unsure if she should.”
“Mousie!” Becky hissed in outrage.
“He promised me a reward if I told the truth, Gothy,” Kuro replied. “Outside of being aggressively suggestive, you behaved.”
Alvin chuckled, nipping Becky’s ear. “Trying to sway your watcher, Gothy?”
“I want it, Hero,” Becky shuddered. “I really want a double ride tonight.”
A cough brought their attention to Jarvis, who was seated at the table. “Not to be a wet blanket, but might I ask that you take this into your room?”
“We are,” Alvin replied. “Didn’t even see you there.”
“That is because you have your hands full, sir,” Jarvis noted, his face and tone completely neutral.
Alvin laughed, “Full in all the right ways. Come on, ladies, the old guy doesn’t deserve to be teased.” Alvin started to guide Becky toward the bedroom, with Kuro leading the way.
“Mousie, if you’ll get the horse ready.”
“Right away, Hero,” Kuro said, taking longer strides.
“Thank you, sir. Have a good evening.”
“Oh, I will,” Alvin laughed, shutting the bedroom door behind him.
“Hero…” Becky purred, “I need to use the bathroom.”
Alvin chuckled, “Okay, let’s go.”
“Huh? Wait, what do you mean?” Becky asked when Alvin started to lead them to the bathroom.
Downtime and Death (Apocalypse Gates Author's Cut Book 5) Page 7