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Which was the truth, aside from the fact that Eden didn’t mention how deep in it she really was...
“You wha–? Eden, hun, have you gone cray-cray? The Italians? You hate the Tiger! I know they took you but I figured if you were alive you would’ve gotten the heck away by now!”
“The Tiger... offered me a contract. A job.”
“What? Eden! This is an effin’ Zodiac we are talking about! ...Wait, is it your… other job?”
“Sort of. I can’t tell you everything now, Jack, but don’t worry, I’m okay.”
“Oh, God... Oh, whatever. At least you’re probably safer than here.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
She knew there was something wrong from his tone of voice. Eden closed the window and went to put her cup down and then headed to the bathroom. She went in and closed the door behind her, ignoring the whiny pups.
“Jack?”
“It’s a mess here, babe. There’s weird stuff going on and I ain’t liking it. Since the shooting, things are going really bad here, as expected. The Old Man must really be living out his last days because all the crazy punks are making a mess everywhere. Plus, there were no customers last night.”
“W-what? What do you mean, no customers? You didn’t open the bar anyway, did you?”
“With the state it was in? Girl, I spent the damn night picking up freakin’ bullets! I’m just glad I had enough savings to afford the hospital... No, I didn’t mean me. No one came from the Core last night, Eden. There were no customers that weren’t locals, our locals.”
Eden frowned. She didn’t like that. There had been no one from the Core coming to the Suburbs? There were always people coming! They always used the Suburbs like some adult amusement park. Because there were almost no laws here, all the young people liked to come and have fun and enjoy everything that would have been unlawful inside the Core: adult shows, sex, gambling, drugs, and everything that made the Suburbs both dangerous and thrilling to them.
“No one...?”
“No one, hun. It’s super odd; it freaked out half the territories from what I’ve heard. The Core hasn’t released a statement but I heard from the hag next door that they’ve been showing some nasty stuff on TV. I don’t like it, hun.”
Eden didn’t like it either. What was the Core planning? The only times they didn’t allow their people to go to the Suburbs was when there were some big political events or something had happened in the Suburbs that would have put their citizens in danger. However, this was usually followed by them sending a few drones to “reinforce security”. A few dropped bodies later, the situation was settled... It never took more than a few hours, either. Now there had been no one since the previous night?
“Did you hear something from... the other side?” asked Jack.
“No, I haven’t gone since,” admitted Eden.
Maybe it was time she Dived again. Quickly washing her face, Eden opened a wardrobe to find some clothes for herself. They had prepared a few simple outfits of her size, so she settled for the fitted top that covered the most skin, and shorts she could comfortably walk around in. While she rushed, Jack told her what she already knew, about the girls who had died, those who had made it, and his own situation after the battle.
“No one else showed up?” asked Eden.
“After that mess? Girl, no. Everyone stayed away, thank God. Rose and I went to the hospital and as soon as they patched us up, we left to hide at my place for the night. I don’t think I would have had the balls to go back if it wasn’t for her being there too. My poor bar... Oh, damn it...”
Eden grimaced. She knew how much Jack had invested in that place and she felt sorry for him, too.
“I’m sorry, Jack.”
“Babe, don’t be sorry, be glad you’re alive! I can’t take any more sorrys today. Just stay wherever you are if it’s safe. Thank God you’ve got good survival instincts...”
Eden wasn’t so sure. If that was the case, she wondered how she’d gotten herself in the Tiger’s lair...
“Okay. You stay safe too, Jack. I... I’ll see you when I can.”
“Don’t worry about me, hun, I can handle myself. Just let me know you’re alive from time to time, a’right? It’s nice to have some good news in these crazy times...”
Eden was left with a bittersweet feeling after that call. At least she had confirmed Jack was alive and well, Rose too. As for the others… She was just trying not to think about it for now. She closed her eyes, brushing her hair with her fingers. She walked back inside the room, glancing at the pups. They both ran to her as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom. She picked up Bullet, the whinier of the two, and stroked him gently while staring outside the window. ...What was she supposed to do now? She didn’t want to go and find Dante. She was already so unsure about whatever was going on with him...
A gentle knock at the door answered her question. Rolf appeared, nodding politely.
“Good morning,” he said. “I... wondered if the puppies needed a walk...”
