District III – NIGHT
Rolo was making tea, and not just any tea—this was a performance. Humming cheerfully, the eccentric robot twirled about the small kitchen, his processors calculating precise water temperatures and ingredient integrity down to the molecular level. It was a ritual of joy and obsession.
Shakes and Mama watched from the doorway, joined by a few old, rusted bots who formed Rolo's ragtag audience.
"I don't know why I asked," Shakes muttered, arms crossed. "I take it all back."
"Too late, Master Shakes!" Rolo beamed. "Tea is served!"
With mechanical finesse, he presented a porcelain cup. Swirling at the top was latte art—a perfect rendering of Rolo's own face, smiling in milk form.
Shakes raised the cup, ready to gulp it all down in one shot.
"Stop!" Rolo shrieked, throwing up his arms in panic. "You must smell! Think! Envision! Let the scent speak before the sip!"
Shakes blinked at him.
"Breathe, Master Shakes," Rolo insisted. "Breathe... and sip with reverence."
Mama chuckled as she stepped forward to try a cup. She had barely lifted it to her lips when the door crashed open.
Havery 01110 walked in.
Beside him, Bridget—tall, lean, and smiling like a snake.
Shakes' face darkened. The room froze.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he growled.
Havery ignored him. He reached over, took the tea from Shakes' hand, and drank it in one long gulp.
"Mmm. Good tea," he said with a satisfied sigh, surveying the frightened faces staring back at him. He liked that look.
"I said," Shakes repeated, "what the hell are you doing here?"
Havery didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Bridget. "You were right. He's grown bolder. I bet he's got a real pair now too."
Bridget laughed.
Shakes clenched his fists.
Mama, ever calm, stepped in with a soft voice. "Havery, what do you want?"
She knew him. Everyone did. The street-born orphan turned gang-lord, and her son's nemesis in life—perhaps even in death.
"Mama," Havery said with a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "I paid Harry a visit. Got a new display set up for him. I still miss him."
"Don't you dare say another word about Harry," Shakes snapped.
Havery's smile vanished. His tone shifted. "Sit. Now."
Bridget's hand slipped into her coat. Shakes saw it—knew what it meant. Others were outside. Armed. Watching.
He sat.
"I heard you turned down my offer," Havery said calmly, folding his arms. "That disappointed me. I always thought you were the reasonable one among them all. Now, why would you go and do that?"
Shakes said nothing.
Havery smirked. "Shakes, come on. We could let bygones be bygones. I don't want you back. I want your hands. You can give them… or I can take them."
He pulled out a small blade with a laser edge, flicked it on, and embedded it in the table. It hissed and sizzled as it slowly melted through the wood.
"Leave us—we don't want—"
"Shut up, Granny," Bridget cut in. "Boss is talking."
Shakes didn't blink. "I don't do that anymore. I wouldn't even know where to start."
Havery looked around the room, his eyes drifting over the array of bots—rusted, dented, long-forgotten—until he stopped at Rolo.
"That's the new one," he said with a grin. "The tea can."
Bridget snorted. "Get it? Tea can!"
"That's none of your business," Shakes said. "And I won't work for someone like you. Do your worst."
Havery stood, shaking his head with a chuckle.
"My worst? Shakes… you of all people should know, my worst is the least of your problems."
He turned to leave, but then paused at the doorway.
"Oh—and I hear Mama's drugs are vanishing off the shelves." His voice turned mock-casual. "Take care of that, will you? I wouldn't want another display case next to Harry's. One is not always enough to get the message clear,huh."
He laughed as he walked away.
Silence lingered.
"I don't think he really liked the tea," Rolo said flatly.
Shakes didn't answer. He quickly pulled up his commlink, eyes scanning as listing after listing turned red.
Mama noticed. "Shakes? What is it?"
He shut the device and turned with a forced smile.
"Nothing, Ma. It's nothing."
But Rolo watched him closely.
And knew he was lying.