merely ride a board, they became a part of it. She couldn't help but wonder if it hurt.
They turned out of the alley, went right and slipped into an exotic clothes store on the corner of Gower and Sunset.
"Here we are." Andy flashed a smile and shoved his hands in his pockets.
Rebecca glanced around at the pink and purple boas. Impossibly spiked heels sat beneath torso mannequins strapped with bustiers over-optimistic in their determination to harness twenty inch waists. G-strings, thongs, camisoles, corsets, garter belts and—
God what is that crotchless sequined panty and what is that vidScreen doing in the back?
Rebecca had never been a prude, but she was appalled at Andy's taste. They'd risked life and limb to shop like a porn queen? "Please tell me we're not here to shop."
Andy chuckled. "I knew you'd react this way. What with being away for so long and the way you were bef—" He snapped his mouth shut. His face turned red. He jammed his hands deeper into his pockets.
"What do you mean, before ?"
A salesperson materialized. Almost seven feet tall with long blue hair, dressed in a leopard's skin bustier, matching panties with fiber optic garters and six inch heels, her sex seemed a mystery but her sex appeal was full blast. "Can I do something for you?" she purred.
"Tell Panchet he has a customer," Andy said, jerking his head towards the back.
"So sad. And I thought you came here for me." She tossed her head and disappeared behind a curtain next to the cash register.
"What do you mean, before?" repeated Rebecca.
"Let's not talk about it here."
"Is there a better place?"
"Anywhere else."
But Rebecca wasn't going to give up. "Open mouth. Insert foot. You're not getting away with it that easy. What did you mean by that crack?"
He sighed. "I didn't know you then. Me and your brother were just teenagers, kids really. We never thought of you in these terms." He held out his arms to encompass the room. "You were the sister-type. You were..." He let her fill in the blank.
The Amazonian warrior returned before he could finish. "He said come on back."
"You said you didn't know me then," she said as they stepped past. "Well, you don't know me now."
"You're right," he said without looking at her. "Sorry about that."
The apology fell flat and did little to ameliorate her increasingly worsening attitude.
They tramped down a hallway stacked with boxes on either side until they came to an old fashioned door. Andy knocked. Following a grunt from within, he opened the door. Rebecca followed and closed it behind her. As she took in the scene, everything fell into place. The lingerie shop was a front. The room was filled with electronics of all shapes and sizes. Some were new and still in their shrink wrap, and some stolen, wires still dangling frayed and cut. The long walls to her left and right had workbenches crammed with tools of all shapes and sizes. Projects in all phases of completion competed with vidScreens for dominance of the space. Row upon row of shelves hugged the walls above these benches. These too were filled to bursting.
A square workbench with a hollow center took up the back third of the room. This bench was just as crowded as the others, but lights pierced the working space, illuminating swirls of cigar smoke, rising from several ashtrays around the square. In the center sat an imperious Asian, intelligent eyes pinned in a hideously unattractive face. Moles crested broad ears. Pocks marked heavy cheeks. A wedge-shaped nose sprawled above sausage-shaped lips which gripped a long cigar, the smoke curling into the air like a reverse tornado.
"Do you have it?" asked the man in a low drawl. "Please tell me you have it."
"I do." Andy pulled the vid he'd taken from David's apartment from his back pocket and tossed it. The man caught it and immediately moved to a work station where he began to attach wires. "But that can wait, Panchet. I want to introduce someone to you."
"Introduce?"
They turned out of the alley, went right and slipped into an exotic clothes store on the corner of Gower and Sunset.
"Here we are." Andy flashed a smile and shoved his hands in his pockets.
Rebecca glanced around at the pink and purple boas. Impossibly spiked heels sat beneath torso mannequins strapped with bustiers over-optimistic in their determination to harness twenty inch waists. G-strings, thongs, camisoles, corsets, garter belts and—
God what is that crotchless sequined panty and what is that vidScreen doing in the back?
Rebecca had never been a prude, but she was appalled at Andy's taste. They'd risked life and limb to shop like a porn queen? "Please tell me we're not here to shop."
Andy chuckled. "I knew you'd react this way. What with being away for so long and the way you were bef—" He snapped his mouth shut. His face turned red. He jammed his hands deeper into his pockets.
"What do you mean, before ?"
A salesperson materialized. Almost seven feet tall with long blue hair, dressed in a leopard's skin bustier, matching panties with fiber optic garters and six inch heels, her sex seemed a mystery but her sex appeal was full blast. "Can I do something for you?" she purred.
"Tell Panchet he has a customer," Andy said, jerking his head towards the back.
"So sad. And I thought you came here for me." She tossed her head and disappeared behind a curtain next to the cash register.
"What do you mean, before?" repeated Rebecca.
"Let's not talk about it here."
"Is there a better place?"
"Anywhere else."
But Rebecca wasn't going to give up. "Open mouth. Insert foot. You're not getting away with it that easy. What did you mean by that crack?"
He sighed. "I didn't know you then. Me and your brother were just teenagers, kids really. We never thought of you in these terms." He held out his arms to encompass the room. "You were the sister-type. You were..." He let her fill in the blank.
The Amazonian warrior returned before he could finish. "He said come on back."
"You said you didn't know me then," she said as they stepped past. "Well, you don't know me now."
"You're right," he said without looking at her. "Sorry about that."
The apology fell flat and did little to ameliorate her increasingly worsening attitude.
They tramped down a hallway stacked with boxes on either side until they came to an old fashioned door. Andy knocked. Following a grunt from within, he opened the door. Rebecca followed and closed it behind her. As she took in the scene, everything fell into place. The lingerie shop was a front. The room was filled with electronics of all shapes and sizes. Some were new and still in their shrink wrap, and some stolen, wires still dangling frayed and cut. The long walls to her left and right had workbenches crammed with tools of all shapes and sizes. Projects in all phases of completion competed with vidScreens for dominance of the space. Row upon row of shelves hugged the walls above these benches. These too were filled to bursting.
A square workbench with a hollow center took up the back third of the room. This bench was just as crowded as the others, but lights pierced the working space, illuminating swirls of cigar smoke, rising from several ashtrays around the square. In the center sat an imperious Asian, intelligent eyes pinned in a hideously unattractive face. Moles crested broad ears. Pocks marked heavy cheeks. A wedge-shaped nose sprawled above sausage-shaped lips which gripped a long cigar, the smoke curling into the air like a reverse tornado.
"Do you have it?" asked the man in a low drawl. "Please tell me you have it."
"I do." Andy pulled the vid he'd taken from David's apartment from his back pocket and tossed it. The man caught it and immediately moved to a work station where he began to attach wires. "But that can wait, Panchet. I want to introduce someone to you."
"Introduce?"
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