Sheltered

Chapter 28

"Shawn is coming with us, I hope you don't mind. He has to meet someone important." Olivia states absentmindedly.

When she hears the name "Shawn", Sav can feel hatred bubble up inside her.

"Of course!" Savanna says as cheerfully as possible.

As the girls climb outside, Shawn's voice calls out behind them.
"Wait! I'm coming up." He climbs to the top of the ladder, locks the hatch, and covers it with leaves.

"Been a few days since I last saw you, Sav!" Shawn exclaims, a huge white smile stretched across his face.

"Yeah." Savanna replies flatly.

Shawn's smile slowly fades.
"So have you seen Steph lately?" He asks with no expression, staring right at Savanna.

Her heart skips, then starts pounding, anger rushing through her veins.

"Um, we should probably get going." Olivia suggests awkwardly.

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After a few minutes of walking in deafening silence, Oli, Shawn, and Sav  step inside the little brick ice cream shop.

"I'll take the usual." Shawn smiles warmly at the shop owner, Bill.

He returns with a paper cup of steaming black coffee and says "On the house".

"Two chocolate ice creams, please." Oli turns around and smiles at Savanna.

"You good?" Olivia asks as the two girls sit down. Shawn is sitting on the other side of the room, gazing into his coffee.

Savanna leans in closer.
"Shawn is such a useless piece o-"

Sav is cut off by the door opening loudly.

A tall man of about nineteen with tan skin and dark brown hair steps inside, and walks toward Shawn.
He stands to shake the man's hand, and they sit across from each other.

"Who is that?" Savanna whispers.

"I didn't know who Shawn was meeting with..." Olivia's eyes are wide.
"That's Tony." She whispers so quietly that Sav can barely hear her.
"He's in a gang down in Mexico. Not one of the big ones, but he's still pretty dangerous."

"I thought that Shawn was just a recruiter, why is he meeting someone like Tony?" Savanna breathes.

Olivia stares at Shawn for a moment.
"He's not supposed to. Especially if Ian doesn't know about it."

There's a moment of silence, then Oli stands.
"We should try to get ahold of Ian." She murmurs.

"I'll stay" Savanna replies, staring at Shawn.

Oli nods, and walks outside.

"I'm telling you, he's not as powerful as he claims to be. Everyone knows it. He's trying to look dangerous so that he can destroy people like you." Shawn growls from across the room.

Tony's chiseled jaw clenches. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Easy. Get rid of him." Shawn shrugs, leaning back in his chair.

Tony lets out a bitter laugh, and rests his fully tattooed arm on the table.
"This isn't a movie, kid. It's not that easy to kill a leader."

"But you'll do it for a price, won't you?" Shawn sighs, and leans forward. "I know some dealers I can hook you up with. I have cash. Just get rid of him."

Tony And Shawn stare at each other for a few seconds.

"Or I can just get Axel Casey to do it." Shawn mutters dangerously.

Tony pulls a dagger from his belt, and slams the blade into the table. "Casey is going to have no part in this. I'm doing it."

Savanna's head snaps toward them, taking in the scene.

Shawn's face falls blank as he stares at Tony's chest.
He looks down to see three red dots hovering on his chest.

"How many are on my head?" He asks, sounding bored.

"Just one." Shawn gulps.

"You know this is neutral territory, boys."
Bill calls from behind the counter as he wipes an ice cream dish.

"We were just playin', Bill!" Tony laughs.

The old man waves his hand, and the glowing dots disappear from Tony's chest and forehead.

"Forgot about the snipers." Tony grimaces.

"Well, I guess that's all we needed to discuss. Care to head downstairs?" Shawn asks.

The two of them stand up, talk to Bill for a moment, and walk behind the counter.

Savanna jumps out of her seat, and sprints over to Bill. "Where are they going?"

"Downstairs. Feel free to go, just don't use any of it in here." He grunts.

"Any of what?" Sav asks, her voice cracking.

"You'll see." Bill smirks.

Savanna waits for Tony and Shawn to open a hatch, and climb down a set of wooden stairs.
Then she follows.

She's suddenly surrounded by tiny booths with rifles strapped to them, signs reading
"Two for $100" and "Free bag with first purchase".
There are men- and a few women- covered in tattoos and leather walking around, buying and trading guns and small plastic bags.

"Hey, girly." A deep, scratchy voice calls to Sav.
She spins around to see a thin old man with two black teardrop tattoos on his cheek.

"I have some of the real good stuff, if you're looking for it. I can make a special deal; just for you, sweetheart." He says with a wink.

Savanna wrinkles her nose in disgust, and sprints away.
From a distance, she can see a familiar looking girl handing over a hundred dollar bill in exchange for a pistol.

"I need to go..." Savanna mutters to herself.

She turns toward the stairs, passing several signs that say
"Neutral Territory"
"Violence not Permitted, Regardless any 'Bad Blood' between groups or individuals"
"Use of Firearms, Tabacco, and Other Substances Not Permitted on The Property".

Once Sav reaches the stairs, she runs up, skipping every other step.

"Thanks for stopping by." Bill chuckles as she sprints out the door.