Chapter Forty-Eight – Reading the Room

Emily scoured her purse for change. She had a little pouch where she’d put her small change, but she wanted to be sure she had enough to make the call.

Before her, pressed up against a tiled wall, was a payphone. It was very 90s, with yellowing plastic sides and a curly-tailed cord attached to the phone itself. At least it wasn’t rotary or anything like that.

“Ah,” Emily said as she found another quarter.

No wonder cellphones had become so popular, just getting the money out to use the payphone was a nightmare.

Emily checked the number she had on her phone, then slid a few coins into the coin slot before dialling. She tucked the phone against her shoulder, head tilted to the side to keep it in place while she put her cellphone away.

It dialled twice before someone picked up. “How can I assist you?” a smooth, familiar voice asked.

“Um, hello Handshake,” Emily said.

“Ah, if it isn’t the Boss,” Handshake replied. He sounded jovial enough, though Emily wouldn’t call herself an expert at reading people’s moods from their voices. “How can I help you today? And I hope you’re not calling from your own phone. You never know who might be listening in.”

“I’m not,” Emily said. She considered what to say next. There were a few things she wanted to know, and Handshake’s entire business was about giving people the information they wanted. “Can we set up an exchange?”

“Oh, of what sort?” he asked.

“There are a few things I’d like to know. About, ah, clowns and Cement and the city in general, I guess.”

“Eauclaire has been growing interesting as of late, hasn’t it? I think I have a few questions for you, too. Do you remember the place where we first met?”

Emily could recall that well enough. A bar beneath a coffee shop. It wasn’t too far from where she was now, actually. “Yes, I do.”

“Will you be available in… say, an hour and a half? At around two thirty?”

“You want to meet?” Emily asked. “Um. Yes, okay, I can do that.”

“Wonderful!” Handshake said. “I’ll see you there. Ah, will you be bringing your furry little friend?”

He was probably talking about Teddy. “No. She’s going to stay at home,” Emily said. She didn’t say anything about Athena, or Trinity. Emily would be foolish to leave the base without any of her sisters with her. “Is that all?”

“Seems so. I’ll be seeing you soon.”

The line went dead and Emily hooked the phone back onto its cradle. She placed her extra quarters onto the old phonebook at the base of the booth, just in case.

“What’s going on, Boss?” Athena asked.

“We’re going to visit Handshake at the coffee shop and bar he hangs out at,” Emily said. “He said not to bring any furry… friends, but I think you should come. One of Trinity too.”

Athena grinned. “Oh, you’re smart!” she said.

“I am?”

“Yeah. I’ve got feathers, not fur, and most of Trinity won’t be there at all, so it doesn’t count as though you actually brought her, right?”

“Um, sure,” Emily said.

Athena nodded solemnly. “I’m going to be just as good as you when it comes to picking what’s true or not one day, don’t worry!”

That was terrifying. “Take your time, please,” Emily said. “And remember not to use villainous tricks on your sisters, okay?”

“Okay, Big Sis,” Athena agreed.

If Emily couldn’t stop her sisters from being themselves, maybe she could at least convince them to behave around her. It was a small, faint hope. “Trinity?” Emily asked. She looked around the platform before letting out a sigh. “Trinity, stop poking at the trash.”

“Okay!” Trinity said with a cheer as she ran over. “Wasn’t anything there anyway.”

“No one’s ever really used this station, it’s not surprising that there isn’t much here,” Emily said. “Okay, we’re going to head over to meet Handshake right away. Trinity, can your other yous tell Sam that we’re heading out to meet him?”

“I can do that!” Trinity said. She smiled and bobbed her head from side to side.

“Have you?” Emily asked.

“Oh. It’s my turn to play against Alea Iacta, and my other me’s pooping.”

Emily sighed. “I think this might be more important.”

Trinity frowned. “Okay, but you told us that wiping’s important.”

“I meant this is more important than the game. Just… tell Teddy that I said so, and that you can take the next round too, okay?”

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“Alright!” Trinity cheered.

Emily took her feelings, balled them up, then shoved them into a deep dark hole where they wouldn’t bother her for a while. “Okay let’s head on out.” With that said, Emily led her two sisters towards the upper sections of the station and finally out of the side door that dropped them off into a familiar alleyway.

At some point, Sam had found the keys to the side entrances and had also found the time to make copies. Emily was pretty sure both of those things were illegal, but… she also found that she didn’t care too much.

The coffee shop wasn’t too far away. At a brisk walk, all it took was twenty or so minutes before she was standing before it. Twenty easy minutes. Corralling only two sisters was a lot easier than three. It was almost as if having more of them made it exponentially harder to keep track of them.

The shop hadn’t changed much, it was still a cosy little hipster joint, with low-jazz playing from cheap speakers and a few customers at round tables, some with laptops, others just focusing on their meals alone.

“Alright,” Emily said. “Trinity, your job is to smile and be yourself.”

“I’m good at that,” Trinity said.

Emily patted her on the head. “I’m sure you are. Athena, you have a more important job. Handshake is… clever. He knows a lot, and he’s only somewhat of an ally.”

“He’s one of their neutrals, right? Not a villain, not a hero, all boring?” Athena asked.

“I guess so, yeah.”

“Can’t trust those. They don’t pick a side,” Athena said with a mournful shake of her head. “You want me to put the fear of Boss into him?”

“Only if you think it’s absolutely necessary. We want what he knows, so we don’t want to anger him. Also, he’s not an enemy. Just… maybe try out your new mind-reading powers on him?”

Athena nodded. “Will do, Boss. I’ve been practising hard.”

Emily didn’t want to know on whom she’d been practising. “Okay, we’re going to cross the street now,” Emily said.

Athena and Trinity gave her their hands and Emily made a show of looking both ways, then waiting for traffic to clear up before she crossed with her sisters in tow.

On arriving at the cafe, she made a b-line for the rear. The barista behind the counter looked up, obviously curious. “Uh, just heading down,” Emily said.

The woman nodded, and followed them with her eyes until Emily slipped into the back corridors of the shop.

“She was thinking that we’re suspicious,” Athena said. “Also, she thought you might be a mask.”

“Oh,” Emily said. So much for her disguise if random waitresses could figure out that she had powers. She climbed down the stairs leading into the basement, then pushed the door open.

The basement smelled like cigar smoke and alcohol. It was the same dreary place she remembered. Columns broke up the room, and a few booths lined the sides. The bar was empty, as it had been the last time she visited.

Or almost empty.

Sitting at the same spot as last time was Handshake. He looked better than she remembered. His arm, at least, wasn’t in a sling anymore. He had a laptop on the table before him, the light from the screen illuminating his face.

Not too far from him, leaning against one of the columns, was another man. He had a coat on, with a hood draped over his head, and with the bar’s light behind him, Emily couldn’t make out his features. She only assumed he was a man from the set of his shoulders and the plain clothes he was wearing.

“Ah, the Boss!” Handshake said. He stood up and tied the front buttons of his suit jacket together. “A pleasure to see you again. And you brought some friends.”

“I did,” Emily said. “This is Owlwatch and Bandit,” she introduced her sisters by their code names.

“Hello, I hope we all have an agreeable time, and I hope that this meeting doesn’t come to blows,” he said while extending a hand towards her.

Emily, on reflex, reached out to shake.

Then Athena grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her arm down. “No,” she said. “He’s trying something tricky.”

Emily froze up, then she glared at Handshake. That had been stupid of her. His power was in his name, wasn’t it? What had he asked for? That she’d have an agreeable time and that she didn’t attack him?

“Let’s not,” she said.

Handshake swallowed and lowered his hand. “As you wish,” he said. “Shall we talk, then? What do you want to know?”

***

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