No Pain: Book 1

Chapter 12: Star

         The car is silent, I'm not as cranky after having some food and getting some release. I glance down at my sleeves, the stain doesn't look red against the blue fabric but I need to be more careful. Even if Najee didn't tell him, John isn't stupid. I haven't had to hide it in a while, I'm rusty. I roll the sleeves in twice. The sweater is too long anyway, it's not suspicious.

"I'm sorry." John says, as if somethings been eating at him for the past two hours that we'd been driving. "About before, when I said...about the-the torture thing."

"Forget about it," I don't bother to smile but I know he gets the sense in my eyes "Kader made those kinds of jokes all the time." I wave him off

"I didn't mean it as a joke, I just..." he sighs "I wasn't thinking."

"Really, just forget about it." I can't help but smile at that, it's so different. John isn't one of us, he could never understand what it's like to be okay with your defect when everyone around you is so okay with theirs. Living in the compound is different than living on the outside.

"Are you sure?" John asks. I look over at him and nod "yeah, I'm sure." I chuckle more to myself than him.

"Okay..." He's still unsure even though he must have seen it in my eyes.

"How much longer until we reach the place?" I change the subject, John almost seems grateful for it.

"Another hour and we'll be there." John's easy smile is back "Najee and I usually meet at the café there."

"How quaint." I say

"Not really, they call it the Underground." John says a bit darkly. I almost laugh but I know better.

"I've heard of it." There are few undergrounds and black markets I don't know about. All of them my team made me stay away from "Najee and the others never let me go there." I admit.

"You seem like you can take care of yourself." John chuckles.

"People always want my kind." I shift around uncomfortably "People there, if they see what I am, they'd take advantage of it."

"Take advantage how?" John asks.

"The government, private entities" I glance out the window "anyone else building an army or in need of a small team to take care of something, they'd pay good money for me." I keep it vague, he doesn't need to know everything. It's like with Chase, I never tell him enough to corrupt him, just enough so he knows the stakes.

"Got it." John says picking up on the censorship. "It's dangerous for you... why am I taking you there."

"Because I need to find Najee and you already said you'd help me." I remind him.

"Maybe, just I should go..." John looks unsure, he doesn't want to have to tell Najee that, after all the time Najee and the others kept me off the radar, John lost me in one day.

"I'll be careful." I say feeling his concern. "They taught me well."

"Okay..." John doesn't want to, but he agrees.

I pull the hood over my head as we walk down the streets. The people here are sketchy, they're the kind of people that don't quite fit anywhere and so they congregate in places like this. No one really cares about the other, not unless they can benefit in some way. I can feel a few sets of eyes trail after me. I inch closer to John and interlace our fingers, he glances at me and I set my head on his shoulder. Most no pains have trouble with contact and forming relationships.