Maxis held a frown the entire time Ren spoke with a tone that flip flopped between shaky and determined. Ren gestured animatedly with his hands, and Maxis listened intently. The situation was dire, he wouldn't refute that. Though it didn't shake him in the same way it seemed to affect Ren.
"So if we go to that address, what are you expecting to find there?" Maxis asked.
Ren shrugged. "I don't know, man. Something? Maybe nothing. But I feel like the NEON's involved with all the weird things going on lately."
"You're jumping the gun, bro. Even if what Scales said is true, we don't have enough evidence to pin it on him. Could be a coincidence."
"And if it's not? Shit, what if Amber's somehow involved in this? That'll put June—"
"Whoa, whoa, easy there," Maxis said, gesturing with his hands, "we don't know anything. I trust Amber. She would never put June in danger like that. You know that, right?"
For a rare moment in time, Ren paused. Normally, he'd fire back with positivity. Now, though, he didn't seem the same. He was more finicky, he flinched at loud noises, and he was tapping his foot more than usual. "Yeah, I… I think so."
"You think so." Maxis raised a brow.
"Fuck, just come check it out with me. Please."
Ren was not a guy who said 'please' unless he was desperate. Maxis's desire to see his friend relieved won over. "All right, all right, I'll do it. If just to give you some peace of mind." He zipped up his hoodie, then started his way past the bar. "Give me just a few minutes to collect a couple things."
"All right." Ren took a spot at a table in a corner of the room while he waited.
The glass was still broken from the drive-by shooting, so Sigg had installed wooden boards where the windows used to be. It made an already dark bar even darker, robbing the bar of its usual ambient nature. Naturally, fewer customers had come in, scared that they might be next on the hit list. It was classified as a hate crime against Denizens, but he had his doubts.
He made his way to a room at the back of the bar where he and his father stored camping supplies. Seeing the bag of his desire in the corner, he pushed aside the boxes and retrieved the thick leather, pulling apart to strings to make sure the sleeping bag was inside.
"Perfect," he muttered, tying the strings taut. A nylon bag out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. If what Ren said was true, there was a good chance they'd need to come armed. That meant Ren would need ammunition for his jitter. Retrieving it, he carried both bags in his hand, making a brisk return to the bar's common room. "Hey, man. Ready," he said, slapping the table with his palm. "Let's go."
"What are you bringing two bags for?" Ren asked.
Maxis rolled the shoulder carrying the drawstring bag, then smirked. "You know, just a little insurance in case shit hits the fan."
---
Sunny sat on the couch in June's living room, with her hands wrapped around her legs while the TV players. After what happened at the bar, June suddenly had a lot more time, paid time off in fact. She spent much of it watching TV with Sunny, inviting Amber over, and overall lounging around the house. Being ground, Sunny had few opportunities to be alone, June and Ren convinced that the moment they took their eyes off her, she would escape again.
They weren't entirely wrong, either.
"There's just nothing good on, is there?" June lamented as she quickly sifted through the channels on the television. At her wit's end, she threw the remote onto the table, and Sunny quickly retrieved it. "Damn, I'm bored."
Sunny clicked through the channels, looking for anything colorful. She desperately wished to indulge herself for a bit while she waited for the next message from Benji. A show about three different colored rabbits playing keeps for a hoard of vegetables at a table came on, and she released a sigh of relief.
Amber walked into the living room next, carrying three steaming cups on a tray. Sunny glanced at her, sniffing the familiar aroma of tea. "I'm sure you'll be back to work in no time, amore," Amber said as she set a cup down in front of June. She set another, smaller cup, in front of Sunny next, then took a spot on the couch beside June with her hands snugly wrapped around her beverage.
"It's probably just a bunch of druggies who shot up the place anyway," June groaned.
"Maybe." Amber leaned her head against June's shoulder. "But at least we get to spend time together."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Silver lining, huh?"
A sudden tapping at the glass caught Sunny's and the other girls' attention. Sunny fought down the urge to look suspicious, but she knew a message must've arrived from G. "Can I go upstairs to get something?"
"Like what?" June asked.
"My journal."
"Yeah, go ahead. Make it quick, though. I better not catch you sneaking out, ya hear?"
Sunny nodded, then jogged to her room, shutting the door behind her. Apprehension in her step, she approached the windowsill and pulled back the curtains to see G standing on the garage roof that was below her window. He was completely soaked, and yet he smiled.
Sunny frowned, then pulled the window up. "You're going to catch a cold like that," she hissed. G tilted his head, seemingly unaffected by the rain or her words. He handed her a folded sheet of paper pocked with raindrops, and she snatched it away greedily, eager to hear back from Benji. "T-Thank you."
A knock interrupted them. Sunny spun around, then turned back toward G, pushing his head outside. "Shhh, you need to go. Oh, wait, actually. Stay there, but hide. I'll write you a note in a second." G didn't react, so she wondered if he understood. She shut the window as quietly as she could, closing the blinds, and retrieved her journal from the desk.
Making sure not to run or walk too quickly, she came up to the door and opened it, gaping when she saw Amber and not June.
Amber leaned forward, hands on her knees. "Want to get out of the house?"
Sunny blinked. "Uh, well."
"I think June's one more infomercial from losing her mind, and we could all use a girl's night out, don't you think?"
Yes, but I need to stay here and get messages from Benji.
"I'm not sure I'm feeling well, though."
Amber frowned, then straightened up. "You need to wait here for something, don't you?"
Sunny averted her gaze. Was she that obvious? "N-No, it's just, umm, my stomach."
Amber snickered. "Right. Stomach."
"I-I mean it!"
Amber shook her head. "It's fine, you're not in any trouble." She glanced over her shoulder, then leaned closer. "You just can't leave without us, understand?"
Sunny struggled to look Amber in the eye. That straight-faced expression was hard to look at when she was hiding something. "Umm, okay."
Amber hummed and adjusted her posture. "I'll figure something out." She winked and walked away.
Sunny breathed a sigh of relief. She had to make sure she stayed here. Now more than ever.