1st October
12:21 GMT +6
"Tuppy!" Thomas hoists a sheet of steel hull over his head. "Catch!"
Tuppence turns around,
giant marine propulsion unit held in both hands over her head. "Whut?"
Thomas
throws, sheet metal spinning through the air from the partially dismantled hulk like a giant Frisbee.
Tuppence is already tossing the engine- "Doc, catch!" -to Magnificus as she takes three hurried paces-
"What? Agh!"
-in the direction of the oncoming oblong then
leaps, shooting through the air and intercepting it as it starts to fall in earnest. Their momentums cancel each other out almost perfectly, and the local workers hurry to get out of the way as Tuppence lands in the mud with a
plop and an explosion of silt!
She pauses to catch her breath, then shoves the plate into the mud and checks herself over. Yeah, I think there's… Maybe a square inch in total that isn't covered in grey-brown sludge right now. She tries wiping her face, then flicking as much off her hands as she can. Her attempt accomplishes little.
"
YAH BIG COOYON!"
Thomas appears to be cracking up. Tuppence spots this, and goes to pick up the hull plate-.
Ah, no. I transition next to her and she spots me
just as she's winding up for her retaliatory throw. She sort of waves the plate around for a moment, not wanting to throw it with me right there but not prepared to retreat in the face of her brother's prank.
"Allow me.
"
A wave of orange light passes over her from her feet to the top of her head, removing mud as it passes. She looks at her hands, lets go of the plate with her right hand so she can check her face. "Uh. Thanks." She sticks the plate on her shoulder and starts walking back to the drop-off point. "Ah guess."
"You're welcome.
" I float after her, accelerating until I come alongside her.
"I couldn't help but notice..?
"
"Whut?"
"Are you growing your hair?
"
"What if'n I am?"
"Nothing, nothing. Just making a social enquiry.
"
"
Burman's women's side barber."
"Really? Wow, that.. doesn't sound clever.
"
"She ain't exactly
bad at it? But I ain't lettin' her nowhere near me with a razor."
"You know, I could… Probably get you a hair dresser..? If you wanted one? Someone who
wasn't a serial killer?
"
"Naw… I kinda like it."
I nod.
"Enjoying the day so far?
"
"Beats gow'n t'class, I guess."
"So -given the choice between a normal day in Belle Reve and doing
this again..?
"
"I'd come back. Probably." I smi-. "What yew lookin' so happy fawah?"
"You've found a legitimate job which you enjoy. That's a big part of getting you to the point where you can be released from prison.
"
"How much we gettin' fer today?"
"I'm paying for lunch.
"
"
Uh." She grunts, then tosses the hull plate so that it spins in the air before landing and embedding itself point first next to the others. "I'll have the Lobster."
"Having checked the water quality around here, I wouldn't recommend it.
" Ring, radio.
Compliance.
"Thomas, I was thinking we could break for lunch now. That alright with you?
"
He waves his right arm, nods, then turns around to lower himself off the side of the ship before letting go and falling to the ground. The resulting mud wave is deflected by the lumps of metal already covering the ground by the ship, and he makes his way towards us in a series of somewhat more
conservative leaps.
I turn back to the scrap pile, where Magnificus is directing people who do this for a living on a daily basis how to take an engine apart.
"Magnificus, are you joining us?
"
He looks around. "Yes, alright. Do you have somewhere in mind? If you don't, I.. know a place in Dhaka..?"
"Fine with me.
" Thomas lands and has to stagger to absorb his momentum. Mister Hazari looks around and sees the four of us together.
"We're going to take an hour for lunch.
"
He waves back. "Okay!"
Magnificus looks at his somewhat soiled apparel. "Lantern, would you mind..?"
I wave my right hand, orange light giving him and Thomas a quick clean up. Thomas smiles. "Shuwer beats prison shawahs."
"Hey." Tuppence jerks her chin at Magnificus. "Doctor Magnificent."
"Magnificu-. Magni, just call me Magni."
"Raaht. Doc Magni. We actually related or whut?"
"Father assures me-" Our surroundings flicker as we appear just outside the local medical centre. "-that we're
not. Beyond.. being from the same ethnic group, obviously. Tia?!"
"The whut group?"
"Physical features. Pale skin, blonde hair, blue eyes. It was most likely an evolutionary response to the low levels of light in Northern-."
"An' the formula we gaht don't do nuthin' to make us smartah?"
"Nothing.. significant. It would make you resistant to head injuries… We still aren't entirely sure what
all of the effects are, but-."
"Hello!" Doctor Beautia Sivana strides out of the medical centre, dressed in the shapeless sort of clothes recommended for Western women visiting Islamic countries. "I'm Tia, and you must be Thomas and Tuppence."
Thomas leans a little closer to me as Tuppence regards her doppelganger.
"Not related, raht?"
"Thomas…"
He grins and nods. "Yeah, Doc. Tommy Beresford. Please t' meet cha. How's it… Ah, how's it gawin'?"
"Malnutrition, poisoning and deformities from industrial waste, five different diseases that don't exist in America any longer… About what I was expecting." Beautia turns to Tuppence. "How are you finding ship breaking?"
"S'okay ah gyus? Lot more fun than sittin' in Belle Reve."
Huh. First time I've heard her address a new person with something other than hostility.
Interesting.
"Magnificus, where was that restaurant?
"
