Black Market Merchant Chapter 21
Advertisement
Hanna sheepishly took Lisa's hand and stood up. Lisa smiled approvingly and then shouldered her coffin again.
"I sorry you had to see me kill them. It wasn't the best thing for you to have seen. It’s just that I needed to make an example of them, to show I mean business and deserve to fight their boss." Lisa spoke softly to Hanna. "I hope you can forgive me."
Hanna slowly shook her head. "I'm ok."
Her dark tan face was slightly paler than normal, but Lisa could tell Hanna was a strong girl. After fighting in so many battles herself, Lisa had grown numb to seeing death and she had seen many of her allies become as well. Hanna seemed no different. She too was seemingly growing numb. Unfortunately, a child should never become this way.
Lisa shook her head to dispel these thoughts and started forward towards home. Hanna quietly followed close behind. The two were about to leave the area when Lisa suddenly remembered something very important.
"Awe come on!" Lisa said giving an audible moan. "Hanna, I cannot believe I made a mistake."
Hanna looked up at Lisa a bit confused and asked, "What mistake?"
"I forgot to bet on the fight for a powered computer or laptop. Now I can't read the blueprints!" Lisa said shaking her head.
"That is unfortunate." Hanna replied quietly.
"Oh well." Lisa sighed as she took a step forward. "Guess I better do it next time. Everyone makes mistakes." Then the two continued to head back home.
The two women were going to cross back through the market area again to go back home. This time however, Lisa went down a different side road just to see the rest of the market before they returned. The road was the same as any other, trashy, wet and rickety market stalls were scattered on both sides.
Most of these stalls were selling things that didn't interest either of them. For example, kitchenware, faded old clothes, and other random items one normally wouldn't need. They were passing by the last run-down stall when something familiar caught Lisa's eye. It was a grey plastic square corner of what might be some electronic device. It was under a stack of books and she almost didn't see it.
The stall owner was an older woman. She looked about as decrepit and aged as her stall. Lisa eyed the stack of books and the grey plastic corner. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her. Stopping abruptly, Lisa asked if she could look at it. The old lady nodded looking happy that she might have a costumer.
Carefully Lisa took off the books to revile the object beneath them. Her eyes sparkled seeing her find. It was a small laptop! A bit of retribution for her previous mistake.
Carefully and with some hesitation, Lisa lifted the top of the laptop. There was an audible crunching crackling sound as soon as she did! Lisa could feel her heart clench hearing the awful noises. She tried to peak at the screen hoping that it wasn't cracked or ruined. However, she couldn't tell yet. Closing her eyes, she carefully finished raising the laptop top, doing her best to ignore the horrid crackling sound as she continued.
Advertisement
Finishing to raise the top, Lisa tentatively opened one eye, hoping for good news. She sucked in her breath sharply seeing the screen. The screen was miraculously ok! Only one corner was cracked, and the rest of the screen only had lots of dust and dirt on it. The joints of the laptops lid and bottom must have had a lot of dirt in them. That is what caused that terrifying crackling noise.
Lisa sighed out loud relieved. Next was to see if it worked. Looking down at the keyboard every key was accounted for. The touch pad and selection keys at the bottom of the board also seemed to work. Finally, the real test. Was the laptop capable of running?
Lisa presses the power button gently. Nothing happened. She pressed it again, a bit harder and longer. This time there was a slight 'click' noise from the power button. Then the black screen of the laptop suddenly turned dark gray. The sound of a small fan running inside it could also be heard. Then the computer company name appeared on the screen. It worked!
Concealing her excitement, as best as she could, Lisa looked at the old woman. The old lady was looking up at Lisa expectantly. She then crossed her arms expectantly for Lisa’s answer.
"I'll give you five dollars for the laptop." Lisa said without betraying her excitement.
The old lady didn't budge hearing the price. She calmly folded her arms across her chest and leaned back against the wall behind her. "We both know it's worth more than that. It even runs. One hundred dollars." She replied flatly.
Lisa sighed in her head. "Let me think for a moment." Lisa answered unfazed. Just then the screen changed to a login page. Seeing it Lisa then asked, "Do you know the password? I can't use it if it's locking me out."
"I do." The old lady replied with a nod.
"How about twenty-five dollars. It's not like I have any way of charging it any way." Lisa offered. By trying to phrase her wording to say that the laptops usage would be limited, Lisa was trying to negotiate the price to be lowered. A quite simple tactic.
The old lady sighed aloud and grumbled out a reply, "Fifty dollars. I won't go any lower!”
"Deal." Lisa said gently putting the laptop’s lid down. It crinkled a bit, but no harm was done. Then Lisa set it back on the old ladies' stall and slipped of her coffin. Since Lisa was in a public area, she was sure to be careful that no one watching could see the coffins contents. After getting the money from her safe, inside the coffin, she gave it to the old lady.
"Pleasure doing business with you." Lisa said giving a smile.
The old lady in turn flashed a half-hearted smile while also quickly stuffing the money safely away deep in her scraggly coat pocket. "Like wise."
Advertisement
Turning to go, Lisa motioned to Hanna that they were going and then tucked the laptop gently inside her jacket. This way no one would see her new valuable possession. Having a laptop in a town with no power might draw unwanted attention.
The walk back home was rather uneventful. The wet roads puddles had shrunken considerably, and the sun occasionally peaked out from behind the clouds. They talked about some of the random things and clothes they had seen in the market, but other than that, they walked mostly in silence.
They were only one street away from home when Hanna asked a question. "What's the best way to collect information?"
"You are doing it right now." Lisa replied. It was good to see that the little girl was taking her advice seriously. "By simply asking questions and listening carefully to others. Most of the time people like to hear themselves talk and end up telling you everything they know. Half the time you don't even need to trick them, just simply let them talk."
"I guess that makes sense." Hanna replied thoughtfully.
They arrived back at home far sooner than everyone expected. Lunchtime was still over an hour away. When Joan heard Lisa announcing their arrival from outside, she had only just started the fire in the garage.
"You’re back really soon." Joan called to the two ladies as they entered the garage entrance. "Did everything go alright?"
"We had a few problems, but we got most everything I need for now." Lisa replied.
Then while watching Joan cook, Lisa explained what had happened to them on their trip. Joan looked worried when hearing about the fight with Jackson's Match Fighters but didn't interrupt. Then only once Lisa was done, did Joan speak.
"My goodness that does sound rather like a very exciting trip! It makes my runs to market for food sound so boring." Joan said with a sigh. "So, does the laptop work at all?"
"Yep." Lisa said taking out the laptop from her jacket. "I'll try to open the dam's blueprints after we eat."
Just then the rest of the neighbors arrived at Joan's garage. The smell of the soup cooking must have drawn them over. Seeing Lisa and Hanna were already present, they curiously asked why. Lisa then had to retell their trip to the market all over again.
"You actually met one of the Mad Dog gangs' lieutenants?" Benny exclaimed first. "What a lucky break!"
"And you got a laptop as well." John said joining in. "So, you'll be leaving us soon?"
Lisa nodded slowly. "I still plan too, but only if I can read the blueprints."
"I see. Well at any rate, the soup smells done. Let's eat." John replied licking his lips hungrily.
Soon an hour or so later, everyone had eaten their fill and gotten comfortable inside the house. Being midday, everyone was going to try and take a nap before resuming their afternoon work. Lisa sat alone at the kitchen table and opened the laptop. It creaked loudly again with all the dirt in its joints. She tried to blow the dirt way and managed to get a lot of it out. Then she started it up.
While waiting for it to load up, she got up and headed over to her coffin that was still in the garage. Inside it mixed in with the electric parts box was the scanner she had taken from the AFR Officer. It had a port on its backside to where she could connect it to the laptop. Fortunately, the two could connect to each other.
Then after typing in the password that the old lady had given her, did she finally have a chance to see the main screen. Glancing at the battery meter she saw that there was forty eight percent remaining. Plenty of power for the moment.
Plugging the scanner to the laptop was a simple as it sounded. The file to the scanner's contents opened up immediately after plugging it in. Thankfully, there were only three files inside. One was the system files of the scanner. The next one was labeled Random Files and had nothing all that important it when Lisa checked. Then the final file was labeled, Maple Valley Dam Files.
Lisa excitedly clicked on it and watched as a loading screen popped up and slowly loaded the files. Then after a minute the files opened. When it did Lisa held back a cheerful shout, so as not to wake anyone napping.
Just as she had hoped, there indeed was all the blueprints, schematics, maps and functions of the dam were all there. In fact, there was more available here than she expected. She could now start her takeover of the dam facility. Lisa rubbed her hands together excitedly and started studying everything about the dam carefully. She could almost feel the money in her hands knowing that it wouldn't be too long before she would get rich from the electricity.
However, the future would not be that easy as she was eventually going to find out.
Advertisement
Shovels In Spades
We all have dreams of becoming powerful, becoming the cool mage that rules the world, living as the dashing rogue who can steal a kingdom's entire royal treasury undetected, or perhaps, the valiant knight whose prowess on the battlefield is unmatched by all. However, when the apocalypse strikes, you can only use what you have at your disposal, be that guns, baseball bats, your fists, or maybe, just maybe, a shovel. One young man who goes by the name of Darenzo has just had his world altered into one that is now the focal point of some sort of experiment. Just at the end of his shift at the skip site, a worldwide announcement was made, that not only changed Darenzo's life, but also the lives of all of the Earth's inhabitants. Can Darenzo survive and thrive in this changed world? Or will his growing madness best him? The answers to these questions can only be revealed with time. [Goal of 2 chapters per week, the only exceptions being announced breaks or emergencies] (The new cover art is a courtesy of the very kind and talented ssddx and was designed using the fanart cover of cthulupillar as the base.) This novel is a participant in The Writer's Pledge
8 180The Power and the Glory
How to study necromancy, accidentally start the zombie apocalypse, and discover the skeletons hidden in your family's closet: a guide by Abihira Sinistrah. (Or: why you should always read the fine print before raising the dead.)
8 93Wasted Knights: Tales of a dark power
The ongoing tale of a band of adventurers flung into issues far above both their heads and their paygrades, the Wasted Knights are on a quest to save everyone in the world, while making some coin for themselves. Be it hordes of undead, Demon Lords, or nobility these heroes stop at nothing to do the right thing. Well, to do the not completely wrong thing.
8 107Battle for the Photon Core [Inter-Universal Protectors: Book 1]
The time has come. The story begins again Five thousand years ago, Amneris Topanga sealed Enliatu in the Void, a place where no one has ever returned from. Ten items holding the power of her spell were hidden across Creation in the hope they would never be found nor needed again. A new threat has risen to the Dark Throne of Terpola. The hunt for the ten items has begun. The stakes: Enliatu's freedom and the destruction of Creation as he brings in the Age of Darkness - the mission he failed five thousand years ago. Amneris and her Court must retrieve the items before the Terpolites can free their old Ruler. If only things were ever that simple when it comes to keeping Balance. The items aren't the only thing the Terpolites are after this time. Will our heroes put a stop to this new threat? Fireworks Award: Fantasy 3rd Place Creative Cappuccino Award: Action/Adventure 1st Place [This is my original work and I have made it available on Wattpad, Inkitt, Royal Road, and ScribbleHub]
8 206Yami Desolate- The destroyer (a reincarnation story)
In the midst of a school assembly, a summoning circle appeared out of now where and everyone within the school hall was transported to another world, one of fantasy and magic. Having been called by the goddess to help against her fight against the forces of evil she gives them each a blessing and sends them to the kingdom of light and sanctuary The holy union. """Welcome heroes from another world, We need your help against the forces of darkness, but first lets check your status"""" boomed the king. Although the students and teachers was in confusion, about the current situation they complied and one by one checked their status. Noticing each has their own class along with a blessing, the kingdom welcomed them with open arms as a special unit called the sacred heroes to fight against the forces of darkness.However during the summoning ceremony caused by the forces of light, a similar ceremony was happening caused by the forces of darkness that called upon the recently dead soul of Yami whom recently died from the cruelty of the world . 1 hour before the school assembly started. Yami was on the roof, the only place where he can feel at peace however as he was walking near the edge, he was pushed off by another student, as he was falling he started to curse the world and the cruelty of humanity but what he cursed the most was his own lack of power, the moment he landed on the pavement bleeding heavily, it was clear he was dying, however before his death his last words was """" Im sorry, hikari i cant protect you anymore goodbye my light, """".Yami thought this was the end of everything the oblivion only for him to wake up in darkness, and a voice calling out to him Would you like another chance?, Knowing there was probably a catch he accepted anyway refusing to let his regrets go. Yami awoke only to find himself reincarnated within an egg. Yami was reincarnated into a half dragon and half demon this is the story of desolate the destroyer.author noteslazy author that only releases non edited or barely any edited chapters. UN EDITED, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. There is no point on critiquing a unpolished work it is just like saying that is a rock..... there is only point in polished work such as this gem hasn't had the best of care and wasn't cut properly. !
8 212Clueless ━━ Fred Weasley
"Briar Crouch is completely and utterly clueless...!"
8 150