Chapter Seventeen

With her jacket over her displaying the Spartans’ crest on her back, Fay pushed the door of the diner open with her shoulder. The building stood in the middle of an ugly run-down blemish on an otherwise beautiful warm day. That was so rare that it was almost a waste to spend it doing business. What used to be called Gil’s had been bought out and rebranded as The Blue Hat, but the people who frequented it�"not wanting to speak that ridiculousness�"just called it the Southside diner. It was a small, homely place with a television whose broadcast could be changed by any of the patrons at any time. Fay had heard a lot of stories about it, but she hadn’t been inside since the rebrand. Right away, she didn’t like it.

The few other people inside turned and lingered on her. The radio was saying something about the Spartans, making her realize how ironic her timing must have been. A wave of people had apparently moved out of the city fearing the gang. She didn’t hear the number, but since it was on the radio, it was implied to be high. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a heavy-set mother behind her, silently ushering her whining toddler out of the diner, dropping a trail of chicken nugget crumbs behind them. All of the other patrons stayed silent and staring until she walked past them. Every time she made eye contact with any of them, they’d dart around and pretend they weren’t looking, each with varying degrees of success. She didn’t feel bad. Knowing Hillborough, most of them weren’t as decent as they seemed. Having a lifejacket wasn’t wrong just because it was leather.

Sitting at the far corner of the diner at a table next to a wide, stained window was the man who’d invited her�"Aries’ father and the head of the gang. Even with the newspaper over his face, he was recognizable, and consequently the only one sitting in that section of the building. He was a tall man with spiked, grey hair and a wrinkled face, but one that exuded venom. He had sharp eyebrows and wide shoulders. It all told you what his name was even if you had never met him.

He didn’t look up until Fay was right next to him. She had entered a radius in which she wanted to run or pull out a weapon, but she resisted. He gestured for her to sit across the table from him, and she did as she was told.

“Pluto,” Fay said. “You have an interesting taste in diners.”

“If I can make a recommendation,” he replied, in a deep, raspy voice that sounded like glass breaking, “Try the bacon and hash browns. I know it’s late for breakfast, but it’s my favourite.” Pluto wasn’t wearing a jacket because he didn’t need to. He was recognizable enough already. Still, it was there on the table, staring at her.

She nodded, opting to stare out the window next to her. She couldn’t see anything but the length of a street and the cars passing by, but it was leagues better than looking into the eyes of the person in front of her.

Pluto coughed into his fist and rested his elbows on the tabletop. “Has my son told you about the new border patrol around the city?” Fay nodded. He turned to look out the window like she was. “Next month, they’re going to check your records if you want to come in or leave.”

“Seems superfluous,” Fay said. She could see in his eyes that he was intentionally testing her patience.

“They want to keep the shitshow contained. It’s a paradigm shift for the gang. How are things going between you and my son?” Pluto asked.

Fay’s lips curled into a microscopic smirk. “Good. We’re happy together.”

“He seems happy. He’s treating you well?”

“Of course.”

“Good,” Pluto said. “I want nothing but the best for my son, but he has to earn it.”

Fay nodded. The man in front of her seemed too placid based on her past experiences. “If the reason you wanted to talk to me was because of the arson case that’s happening�"”

Pluto leaned up with a snap of his finger that anyone else could have mistaken for a gunshot. He spoke in a tone that was halfway between humility and hostile sarcasm. “Oh yes, thank you for reminding me. I was informed previously. I’m just concerned about what you and my son are getting into.”

“We can handle it. It was just a complication. The woman didn’t die.”

“My son put out a hit from spite. It was a reckless mistake that almost got both of you arrested. Moreover, I’m concerned about your involvement in it. You have a history with Edward Montgomery, don’t you? I was told.”

Above the waist, she turned to him. Under the table, her feet went to the side ready to run if she had to, but it seemed like he noticed. The fabric holding her knife to her leg was growing thinner and thinner. But even if she did try something, Pluto was smarter than she was. The waitress was most likely ready with a loaded shotgun under her apron. She was trapped. All Fay could think to do was talk. “I’m not that person anymore. Ed’s nothing to me now.”

“You say that, but I don’t think that you mean it.”

“I don’t love him.”

“I’m not implying that you do,” Pluto said, starting to slowly and meticulously drum his fingers on the table. “But there’s emotion there. I can see it in you when I say his name. I see it in your eyes. You hate him, don’t you? You want him stripped of everything that he loves just like he did to you.”

Fay nodded. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

“Emotion is good,” Pluto said. His voice had never sounded more like a nail being dragged across a mirror. “It’s what the Spartans are built on, but left to fester, it's like a time bomb. I couldn't care less whether it was love or hate you felt for Montgomery. Passion is dangerous no matter which end of the pendulum it swings. I just wanted to make sure you knew that before you got my son into something he can't handle.”

“Okay.”

“My son is my world. If the day comes when you get him into a situation that he can't climb out of, I will end you. You will spend the rest of however long you choose to live looking over your shoulder, waiting for the sweet relief of a gunshot. Do you understand that?”

Fay rested her forearms on the table and looked into his face for the first time. A rush of fear ran through her body once their eyes locked, but she was capable of hiding it. She had enough strength for that much. “I understand.”

“Good,” Pluto said. Following, the two had a brief conversation about the operations of the Spartans in the city against smaller, rival gangs. It turned into an exchange about the weather and then the state of the economy. Mostly, Pluto rattled on and Fay would stare out the window and listen enough every few minutes to give her opinion on what had just been said. Soon, Fay received a text from Aries. He was cooking and wanted her home. Pluto let her leave and paid for the meal she chose to take out.

She bounded through the diner, shoving the doors open violently with her whole body. Outside, the street was bustling. At some point while she was inside, rush hour had begun and it became hard to avoid crashing into the people hurrying to work. It worried her only because in the crowd of people, her jacket couldn’t be seen. The shoulders were normal. But the second she felt the distinct warmness of a hand wrapping around hers, she jerked around and tore it off of her. That was before she realized who it was. When she did, her heart froze in her chest.

“Dad?”