The Engine What Runs the World: Chapter 3, Page 6 (Unedited)

Smoke liked the hulking man who stood before him. He seemed to be a likeable guy. He and his wife were simple farming folk who did what they could to get by. He respected that and he didn’t want to hold them up any longer than he had to. “I should get going,”

Paul nodded, “Alright. It was great to meet you mister….”

“Callahan,” Smoke reminded him.

“Callahan. Please come back again. You are always welcome.”

He didn’t know what he’d done to gain Paul’s trust, but he didn’t want to argue the point. He shook the big man’s hand and left the farmhouse. He considered the possibility of returning, he didn’t think he’d mind their company. He even thought for a moment giving them a part of his reward when he gets paid, something to help them out. If anything if anything the money would be a way to say ‘thanks for being so forthcoming with the information’. People like them were rare; he typically had to catch people in their lies. They were a nice change from the filth he came from and the filth he’d have to soon jump back into.

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The sky had begun to darken by the time he made it to town. He took in a deep breath as he watched the clouds form and darken. The old man had been right. It was going to rain tonight and he was right when he said Smoke didn’t want to be caught in the middle of it.

He could see a large wooden sign with the words TOWER’S SHADOW scrawled across it with black paint. He laughed to himself slightly as he thought about how many towns out there were named Tower’s Shadow. It wasn’t an especially clever name but an apt one all the same. The tower stood next to it casting a shadow across the town. Though the sun was setting there was little chance of the town being free of the shadow at any part of the day.

He stepped through the town seeing nobody on the streets. He passed several buildings that seemed to be abandoned, including the shop that would have sold supplies. Smoke frowned as he realized he’d missed his chance to see if she had been there.

It wasn’t until he reached the inn that he began to hear signs of life. To the side of the inn he could see another small shop; this one however looked to have had people in and out in the last few days. He’d have to hunt down the shopkeep to see if Blue had come this way before descending into the underground.

He opened the doors and stepped into a barrage of beer, cards and people. The smell of alcohol and sex filled the air as he heard people laughing and grunting as they played cards. He could hear the slightly muffled screams of a woman in the middle of an intimate ordeal and wanted the man to feel he was doing a good job. Probably a client and the woman was earning some much needed skins.