4. Serious?

“Of course I’m serious. Have I been un-serious once since you came with me?” Levi crossed his arms.

“That’s a public toilet.”

“Incorrect. It’s my private toilet. And home sweet home.”

“You live here?”

Levi grinned. “Since I got evicted permanently for missing rent too many times, it sure is. RIP to all the stuff I left at home.”

Fira blinked. “You got evicted?”

“Did you miss the part where I was having a very bad day? Yeah. I got evicted.” Levi kicked open the bathroom door and peered inside. “Should be safe. Well, there you go. Welcome to a safe place.”

Fira wrinkled her nose. “I was hoping for something more… complete.”

“Well then, why the hell did you ask me?” Levi asked.

“Like an apartment.”

He looked at her. “E-vic-ted.”

She sighed, then frowned. “Today? You got evicted… today?”

“Yeah, what of it?”

“And you already had a backup plan in mind?”

Levi shrugged. “Let’s just say I’ve been evicted more than once.” He pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Fira stepped forward.

He whipped around. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Levi jabbed his finger at the sign by the door.

A simple figure wearing pants stood next to a wheelchair. MEN, the sign read.

“This is the men’s room. What are you thinking? You go in the woman’s room! What if you saw me naked?”

Fira squinted at him. “Your hobby is streaking.”

“That was a joke. I’m actually very sensitive about my body,” Levi said, wrapping his arms around himself and rocking in place.

“You don’t look very sensitive about your body.”

“Well, no.”

“No?”

“Nah.”

They stared at one another for a moment.

Standing in the door, Levi gestured at the toilet. “I brought you somewhere safe. You’re welcome. Is this the end of my job, or are you going to kill me anyways?”

“No, it’s…” She gave him a calculating look.

He cowered. “Don’t kill me! I don’t taste very good!”

Taken aback, she gave him a look. “I’m not going to eat you.”

“Oh, good. Then I’ll see you in the morning? I’ve had a hell of a day.”

Fira took a deep breath. “Me too.”

With a salute, Levi shut the door.

For a moment, he stood in darkness, the only light coming from a narrow window high in the cinderblock building. Lights flickered on, illuminating two urinals and a stall, all of them stained from years of piss and shit.

“So? She’s your type, right?” he said.

His voice echoed off the prefab floor and plastic stalls.

Without waiting, he walked to the back of the bathroom and pressed a tile on the side wall. A segment of the wall popped up, revealing a small space with a pair of rugged hunting knives and a slim belt with equally bare-bones sheaths.

A moment later, a sigh played over the speaker set in the ceiling. “Don’t say it like that,” a female voice complained.

“But she is, though.”

“We could use that kind of spirit. I saw her fighting Jet Engine over the city. Her escape was a sight to behold. I mean, pure artistry. The kind of escape Houdini would applaud. She might seriously stand a chance at fleeing some of the A-rankers.” The voice paused. “Any idea why she’s here in Central City?”

“She needs to do something.” Levi slung the belt on, then pulled his pants up over it, hiding the whole contraption. He stretched, leaning left and right.

“That’s it?”

He shrugged. “That’s all she’d tell me. She might tell you more.”

“Okay. We’ll be there to pick her up in the morning. You expecting trouble?”

Levi laughed. “Have you seen this girl? She is trouble.”

The voice sighed. “Keep her alive. Please.”

“No promises.”

There was another pause, long enough Levi thought the voice on the other end had hung up. Abruptly, a buzz of static lit the speakers as the voice sighed. “I thought you’d ended this. Given up on our cause. Are you back in?”

“At gunpoint only,” Levi grumbled.

“Huh?”

“She threatened my life, I had no choice. I figured the quickest way to get rid of red-hot merch like her was to hand her off to the red-hottest people I knew,” he said, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.

“Aww, you think I’m hot?”

“Figuratively.”

“She threatened your life, huh? You had no choice?”

Levi wrinkled his nose. “Shut up.” He crossed the room and punched the wall hard, just above an old, defunct light switch.

The lights and the speaker cut out with a flickering splutter. The room once more plunged into darkness.

One last whisper sounded, from a walkie-talkie on the floor in the corner. “You can come back any time, Levi. We’d be happy to have you on the team.”

He marched over.

The walkie-talkie went dark, vanishing into the shadows. He lifted his foot over it, then hesitated. He lowered his foot.

The walkie-talkie lit up. “Ya big softie.”

Levi mercilessly stomped the walkie-talkie into smithereens.

The door to the public toilet opened behind him. “Levi, I—” Fira stared.

Levi turned. “What? I’m in the middle of something.”

Fira squinted into the darkness, then shrugged. “Is there any food around here?”

“Uh, yes. You ever hear about nature’s bounty?” Exiting the toilet, Levi gestured at the trees all around them. “More food than we could imagine, all around us!”

“Oh. Then, after you,” Fira invited him.

Levi blinked at her, then squinted. “I’m a city boy, you think I know how to forage?”

“Then why did you—” Fira put her hand on her face. “Why do I even bother?”

“I do know a quiet little spot downtown, though. Your face isn’t known, is it?” Levi asked, leaning close to inspect Fira’s face.

She backed away. “No. Jet Engine knows what it looks like, but that should be it. In my fire form, the fire masks my face.”

“Yeah, I remember that.” Levi pursed his lips, thinking, then nodded. “Should be fine. And hey, it’s your head, not mine.”

“I care about my head,” Fira said, taken aback.

“But I don’t. Let’s go!” Giving her a thumbs up, Levi left the public toilet behind.