I cleared my throat, stepping down to Johnny. Before he could mention a thing, I brought up the first random topic on my mind. "It's so bright… feels like day, even though it's so late."
"If its night people are sleeping. People can't spend money and party while sleeping." He paused searching for a something on the horizon before beginning to walk with one final glance over his shoulder. "In fact, it's darkness you should normally avoid. For us though, that's where we're going."
Great. I guess that makes sense. I took a deep breath, feeling for the familiar stable flooring of Johnny's emotional manipulation. Sure enough, in a moment, I regained equilibrium and began to follow him down the street. Striding side by side with him through the crowd, my eyes focused up again on the middle of the square. The hologram was now of two people clad in ancient golden armor flying around on clouds, fighting with long polearms. In a moment, it was revealed to be an ad for the new smash-hit Virtual Reality experience.
"I think… I see what you mean." The pieces of Johnny's advice coalesced in my mind, the puzzle starting to put itself together. "The ads are everywhere, subtle messaging hidden behind gorgeous lights."
He snorted, taking a drag of his black and white cigarette. "You haven't seen the half of it." Johnny glanced at my body, his eye shifting around my body before he sighed. "Let's get something to eat."
"Why? We had the puff—"
"Which you dropped." He scanned ahead before moving toward a pop-up stall. "Your hunger shows in your posture, your movements. You've hardly slept, and you've hardly eaten, which I understand. We're in a rush, but you need something."
I patted my chest, feeling my stomach grumble. I'd gotten so used to suppressing my own hunger I had barely realized. "Alright." Shame pooled in my heart, stuffing your face while your mom could be dying? I murmured to myself, but nevertheless, he was right, food was a necessity.
Moving toward a few food carts breaking up the tumult, Johnny lead me over to a skewered meat stall. It was a clearly fake, deep reddish mahogany, with thin brass trim and a few dangling reddish lanterns. With swooping black-cloth overhangs to keep the rain out, it was aligned in a row with other similar vendors, forming a shadowy alley in a busy open space. The cartoon characters "painted" on the side jumped up and down, dancing around with greasy sticks. A tall, burly man stood behind the cart alongside a spinning thigh of some creature. It sat suspended in a glass enclosure, heat lamps spraying it with warm orange light.
The burly man had bulky, gleaming silver hands and a cleanshaven bald head, his eyes glowing a faint yellow and the whites now a slick metallic gray. Around his neck was a black chain link tattoo covering a thick reddish scar, the skin around it freshly bruised. "Yo." He waved us over. "What can I getcha?"
"Two sticks you Brilliance-blinded fool."
I blinked at Johnny. "Uhm." I jabbed him, "Is that—"
The bald man grinned wide, revealing a few shining metallic teeth. "Too broke to even afford color, eh? Them hours spent in the factory spent all on those fancy clothes? Now you gotta come to me. Sad, but I help poor souls."
My eyes widened as I slowly turned to the man. Rest in peace. To my shock, Johnny retorted, gesturing at his neck. "Sorry your mom kept you on a leash as a kid so you wouldn't eat garbage and maggots you steel-for-brains silver-monger. Does your current girlfriend keep you on a leash too? It would make sense after seeing your business that you're too brain-dead to make a single decision for yourself."
My jaw hung open, staring blankly at the monochromatic man. Even the other vendors turned to look at him, having heard their little spat over the hubbub. The vendor's face morphed from shock, denial, anger, confusion, and finally… resignation. He laughed a hearty, full laugh. "Man! Good stuff. Your stick's on the house. Free!" He gestured to me. "He still need to pay."
Johnny withdrew a small ring from his pocket, pressing the edge of it into a circular hole. With a quick flash, the man nodded and handed over the stick "Good match." He continued nodding repeatedly, clearly satisfied.
"Sure." Johnny returned the nod, handed me the stick, and pulled me away into the crowd. With a glance over his shoulder, he covered us in mist again.
I furrowed my brow, "Is he a problem? Also, what just happened?"
He snorted, "A common street tradition in district 2 is to exchange insults, and if the vendor is satisfied, they'll give you whatever they deem fitting."
"That… that feels stupidly dangerous."
He shrugged. "Brilliante isn't known for being safe. To answer your other question though, his tattoo was troubling… but with my mist, we should be fine."
"Why?" I frowned, taking a bite of my stick of meat.
"Rumored that the leader of the Spearhead family and current Lucidious of this districts' men have that."
"A Lucidious member is a leader of a family?"
"District 2's politics are… unique." He waved it off. "Don't worry about it, my mist should keep us safe." He continued off into the crowd, and I couldn't help but stare over my shoulder.
The man was gone, his stall abandoned.
"Johnny."
He paused, looking back at me, "What is it?"
"He—" I gestured at the empty stall. "He's gone." My chest tightened as I glanced around, scanning the endless horde of people.
Johnny grabbed me by the arm, hauling me away as the mist thickened over my body. He grunted, his skin taking on a slight sheen. "It'll be fine, there's no way a random grunt can see us, even if he was Incorporated."
"Then why are we moving so fast?" I stumbled, finding my footing as he continued to drag me away. "Hey!"