-1-

Minnow Dory smudges the corner of her lipstick before smiling at herself. She smiles hard, her bright white teeth edging out the deep pink lipstick and her squinted eyes clumping her mascara.

When her cheeks turn pink and start to hurt she drops the smile.

Her mother used to say that if you want  to feel happy you should just smile and your brain will automatically make you happy.

Her mother was a fucking idiot.

Minnow shakes her empty mint tin on instinct and the hollow sound reminds her that it is empty.

“Fuck,” she whines to herself. She almost regretted using the last of her stash on that Mjollner slut.

Almost.

Being with Alan Gray had gotten boring and it was nice to have someone to stir things up.

Today Minnow needed to feel brave and happy. She’d honestly forgotten how to feel without her drugs.If the tin was full she knows exactly what she would take—two of those purple pills and that blue injection.

She’d been laying in bed all afternoon, easily beating the levels on all her favorite games  waiting for news from Jean about Alan. Then she realized what she was doing.

Waiting.

Like a housewife.

Fuck Alan Gray.

She wouldn’t miss him if he died.

At least she didn’t think.

Minnow stands to look at herself in the mirror and runs her finger over the  waistline her favorite silk black corset created. She slipped on a pair of lace black shorts and ankle boots and admired her body in the mirror. She'd dyed her hair jet black a few days earlier and wished Jean was around to help her re-do her purple streaks. But fuck him too.

Pulling on a cropped white leather  jacket, she does a survey of the Mojave safe house.

Sara had gone off to do Cartel business that couldn’t involve Minnow and Luce had been shipped back to boarding school. Which meant no one would be around to notice that she was taking  Rayne’s car into the Sprawl.

The directional and autopilot ware were fucked up from when she crashed the car and she gets lost on the streets for nearly an hour before she finds the Luxor. Slamming the car door shut she walks in the front door.

It’s still early and predictably empty inside. She expected to see Jean curled up with a client on one of the barstools but even he had  been avoiding the place since the Mjollner attacks. He'd been spending lots of nights with his clients.

She missed the unpredictable adventures she’d had being a joygirl. She would change into whatever girl her clients wanted her to be. Then she and Jean would swap stories over midnight ice cream and wine. But all her regular clients had either been drafted or were dead.

She missed them.

She also missed their money

and mostly she missed the drugs.

No.

She couldn’t miss the drugs. On the night Rias had been taken she made a pact with God (assuming he existed) that if He brought Rias back unharmed she’d give up everything; drugs, liquor, sex. 

Or atleast she’d give up loving it so much.

-2-

As she walked up to the bar the back door swings open and El come through holding a bag of what Minnow could only assume was cold cash.

“Hey, baby girl,” El calls to her as he opens a retina safe and deposits the bag. “Want a drink ?”

“Coffee,” she says.

He nods his head and starts the brewer.

She’d known the bootlegger since she was 10-years-old and he’d come around to give Jean rides to the Sprawl. At the time she’d thought he was the hottest human being in existence. When she’d finally figured out how to get herself off he had regularly starred in her naughty fantasies.

Which…now that she thought about it usually began with him making her a drink in an empty Luxor.

But he’d let  her know during more than once that he thought of the Dory’s like family. She was like a little sister to him and being with her would be fucked up.

Although that rule didn’t seem to apply to Jean.

And not that any of that stopped her from always looking extremely fuckable in his presence.

He pours her a full mug of coffee and she takes it into her hands. She blows on it slowly while looking up at him through her gold tipped false lashes.

“How are you doing since the Mjollner attack ?” she asks.

“Better,” he says. “Those fucking sickos, you know ? Persephone's the only one who survived--if you can call being in a tank survival. Those girls weren’t even Cartel and they just--”

He slams his fist hard into the bar.

“I don’t even feel like keeping up this front anymore," El says. "No one wants to work here. I should just go back to working out of a warehouse--”

“Rayne won’t let you give this place up,” she tells him.  “The RLA is cracking down on business compliance and this is his most legitimate front.”

“Look at you talking business.” he teases after a pause

“I hear a lot,” she sighs

“Can you tell me why they did it, then ?,” he asks. "Why are the Mjollner being assholes all of a sudden."

She shrugs even though she knows why; because she and Jean had the brilliant idea to burn down Dream. Because Rayne's baby is gone.

“It doesn’t even look like Rayne is planning revenge,” he says frustrated. “It’s such bullshit.”

“You know, El…I  was thinking…I could work here,” Minnie says looking into her coffee. ”Help keep the front going anyway.”

His stern  face cracks into a smile and Minnie fights an urge to brush her finger over her Syndicate capture an image of him like that.

For later.

“I thought you were taking care of the little guy ?”

Minnow had been preparing to say this lie  since the abduction. It almost feels like truth.

“Sara is super protective of him and I could use some space from her. Not to mention some… cash,” she says flirtatiously and nods her head towards his safe.

“Cash ? You shouldn’t be going into the Mjollner territory to buy drugs.” he tells her.

“I’m not,” she says. “A girl needs money buy other things.”

“I guess I’ve never seen this girl buy other things,” he teases.

“Is that a yes ?,” Minnow asks impatient.

He crosses his arm and stares her down.

“Fine.”

Excited Minnow slides her coffee mug to the side of the bar. She stands up on the bar stool and launches herself over the counter. Acting on instinct, El reaches out and grabs her waist to steady her from her jump, Minnow holds on to his arms for balance.

“I’ve always wanted to do that!,” she laughs

El lets go of her almost immediately, but she holds on just for a few seconds longer. She gazes over at the oversized locked door behind the bar.

“Is it true you have a fuck chamber upstairs ?,” she asks raising an eyebrow.

“I like to call it an apartment,” he says. “And don’t you even think about turning tricks in here.”

“And if I do are you going to spank me ?,” she asks in a suggestive voice.

“Don’t test me, little girl,” he says in a frustrated voice, but he gives her a half smile.

 “Ew, don’t call me that ! I’m fucking 17 you know ? The same age as when Jean joined the Cartel.  I’m practically a member,  I’m not some scared pussy--”

He makes a quick move and grabs her shoulders. He shakes her once. Hard.

It makes her angry

And turns her on.

“You can be so stupid,”he says pulling her into a serious embrace. ”None of us chose Rayne and you shouldn't either. You want bad things and you don’t even know it. This shit is dangerous. It’s not some game.”

“I know that. I’m not going to end up like those girls,..those servers,” she says.”I’m not weak.”

El releases her slowly and walks backwards.

“I need to check on the distillery,” he says opening the cellar doors under the bar. I’ll send you some shit tonight with a schedule-”

“I’ll be waiting,” she smiles as he disappears down the stairs.

She turns to the array of liquor and standing on her toes grabs a bottle whiskey from the top shelf. She takes a small sip before putting a few ounces in her coffee and putting the bottle back.

In that brief moment when she had mentioned ‘those girls’ Minnow had seen the fury in El’s  face. He was angry his staff were tortured and killed and that Rayne had seemingly ignored it.

That was good.

She needed that anger.

She needed El.

Because while Alan Gray was getting Rias back,  she was going to take out a few more Mjollner for herself.

 She just needed a little help.

 ---

A/N

So...Minnow may be getting a mini, mini-series in this serial. Because reasons.