The Last Coffee Shop

Chapter 16: Just Climbing to Keep from Falling

Mads awakened with a jolt. She was still in the copilot's chair. It was very dark, with only the chopper's headlights to cut a path through the murky sky. Mads rubbed her face. Her mouth tasted like bile, and her head throbbed from the lack of caffeine. She needed a bath, and to brush her teeth, but she would have forgone them both in favor of a steaming cup of dark roast.

Her nightmare came back to her in snatches. She'd dreamt about the intruders who'd shot up her store, but this time they had shot Krill and Alan and Grandmere, leaving Mads all alone. It was the first time she'd had a nightmare in years. She'd forgotten how weak and helpless they made you feel.

Mads shivered, and tried to forget the dead, staring eyes she saw when she closed her own eyes. It's not real.

"Cold?" It was Luc's voice. Graynard was nowhere in sight.

Mads glanced over at him. His eyes were fixed on the window, his fingers busy with controls. "A little."

Luc looked gray in the faint light, like the corpses from her dream. "There are some more blankets in the back."

Mads made no move for blankets, and Luc didn't prompt her again.

"What is Helen's Point?" she asked, not expecting much of an answer.

"Gray told you about it?"

"Obviously not, if I'm asking you what it is." Mads glared at him, taking comfort in the burn of annoyance.

"Fair enough." Luc sighed. "It's an airship, floating city, an old human experiment revived after the wars. Someone found a way to rig it up again. Since then, it's basically become a thieves' paradise."

Mads blinked. "Then why are we going there? Surely Graynard could find some better place to trade?"

"It's the last decent place before Ga'naa. I'm tracking Jive, remember? If he stopped, it would be there. And you really think there's some better place to trade out here, now that you've seen it? Those people pay a premium because it's a haven for criminals and outcasts. Not to mention, I have those two kids to worry about. I'm hoping to get them to safety, and I have a friend there who can help."

Mads snorted. "A friend, in a thieves' paradise?"

"I'm a bounty hunter. I hunt dangerous criminals for a living. Most decent people don't know my targets."

"So your friend, he isn't 'decent'?"

"She, and I doubt you'll approve of her, yes. But she's got a good heart."

Mads blinked, surprised, but not sure why. When Luc didn't offer any more information, she dropped it.

Luc cleared his throat. "Gray mentioned that you also disapproved of my inability to steal coffee. If I'd planned to take you, I would have ensured we had some. As it stands . . ." he trailed off, but she could hear the humor in his tone. "You'll have to deal with a page from my life: doing without little luxuries."

Mads scowled into the darkness. "I didn't want you to steal my coffee, per se, I just figured that a man who has no qualms killing and kidnapping wouldn't have thought twice about snatching some decent beans."

"Fair enough. But why waste time on the coffee when one false move could have gotten more people killed? Next time, I'll make sure I prioritize better." His tone was dry, but Mads could tell he was mocking her.

She grit her teeth, forcing her inner voice to remain quiet.

Luc continued. "My disreputable friend runs a specialty entertainment venue, and she's a great admirer of the exotic or hard to procure. She might have some coffee for you, but it will come with a price."