บท 23: Deal at the gate
By the time Tom reached his home, Cleo was already waiting for him at the gate. Dressed in an outfit just as suggestive as ever, Cleo didn't seem to mind just how much skin her shorts and crop-top type of shirt revealed.
With her partially shaved head lowered over her phone, she looked like some kind of mercenary that just came back from a mission and decided to take a short stop.
"Thanks for getting everything on such short notice," Tom called out to the girl as soon as he killed the engine of his bike. With the noise of it running in the background, there would be no atmosphere for talking at all.
"Sure thing," Cleo replied as she raised her head from her phone only to look at a long, metal case rested against the back wheel of her bike. "I took the freedom to upgrade the package a bit. I hope you won't mind," she said with a wide grin through which the whites of her teeth showed up.
"Now you got my curiosity," Tom smiled, getting off his bike and approaching the case. 'She is just as hard to deal with as ever,' Tom thought, doing his absolute best not to stare at the exposed skin of his childhood friend.
Once near the case, Tom kneeled and flipped its locks open. Then, pushing the lid up, he took a quick look inside before taking a quick glance at Cleo's face.
"Are you for real?" Tom asked in a tired tone, unable to cope with how peculiar Cleo's improvements to his order were.
"You seemed cranky when I last called, so I decided on some last-minute changes," she replied with a straight face. Then, Cleo leaned her head to the side and stared daggers right into Tom's back. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on?"
For a moment, Tom considered the option of just revealing his entire plan to her. Even if some points made dealing with Cleo rather troublesome, Tom didn't even have a shred of doubt about her loyalty.
'What the hell am I thinking about?' Tom stopped his eyes from widening in shock only by pushing all of his willpower in this single task. 'Revealing pop's plan?' Tom shrugged. 'I could as well put a warrant on her head myself!' he scolded himself in his thoughts, touching the rifle in the case to calm himself down.
"Is there something wrong with it?" Cleo asked when she noticed Tom's unusual behavior. "Wait, did I..." Cleo suddenly stood up from her bike, all straight from the sudden shock that befell her mind.
"No, you were not wrong," Tom didn't even need the girl to finish her words to understand what she meant. Even though they didn't see each other for nearly three years, their level of synchronization was just as high as always. "I... Well... I just didn't expect you to be so direct with this," Tom summed the matter up before slamming the lid of the case down.
In the end, exposing an illegally procured weapon out in the open wasn't the wisest idea.
"Well, that's one worry off my head, then," Cleo smiled before her lips once again turned into a single, thin line. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong now?" she asked, clearly unwilling to drop the matter.
"I'm sorry. I want to dig myself a..." Tom started only to stop when he noticed small fires in Cleo's eyes.
"I can understand if you can't tell me something, but don't try bullshiting your way out!" she warned Tom, swinging her finger at him as if Tom was some kind of small kid in need of scolding.
"I see..." Tom turned silent for a moment. Then, the idea of revealing his plan appeared in his thoughts again... Only to end up dismissed in an instant. Once Tom made up his mind, there was no changing his decision.
"I'm sorry, but I really just need some tools to hobbystically dig myself up a basement." Tom didn't falter when uttering this blatant lie. Because rather than infringing on Cleo's recent wish, this lie was obvious enough to carry information on itself.
"I understand," Cleo lowered her head, skillfully hiding her expression from Tom. A moment later, there was no longer any trace of her former feelings on her face, allowing the girl to look at Tom openly again.
"Ah, if I could specify..." Tom averted his eyes, "I would prefer no power tools." Tom turned his entire head away. "I wouldn't want to disturb the neighbors," he said, smiling at just how ridiculous his bullshit sounded.
There was no other building anywhere near Tom's farm. Outside of the government hall, roughly half a kilometer away, the place where the two of them stood was really out in the sticks.
"Yeah, yeah, I understand. But while this rifle was a gift," this time it was Cleo who averted her eyes. The national unwillingness to talk about money with friends still held strong in both of their souls.
"The other stuff will need to be properly paid for." Tom finished what the girl wanted to say for her. "Don't worry about that. I don't lack money, and I don't think it will change anytime soon," Tom reassured his friend before moving the metal case to the back of his bike.
"Are you going to tell me why you are so cranky then?" Cleo suddenly asked, making Tom drop his hopes of fully dropping the topic. "If it's the game, then I think I might have an idea on how I can be of help!"
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MotivatedSloth
MotivatedSloth Everyone! If you want the access to some occasional info and graphics I will be sharing about this story, make sure to join the discord! (Link in my profile). (it's dead for now, but I want to prove that reviving it is possible!)
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