When Jack and Elias returned to the trading post, the traders were still holding their cups, staring in amazement at the ice floating in the water. Even the beef burgers in front of them had gone untouched.
Jack couldn’t help shooting Elias a smug grin.
Elias knew exactly what he was so proud of and let out a helpless laugh.
“You win.”
Jack’s grin widened. He went over to the traders, apologized again for the earlier disturbance, and told them how everything had been resolved.
“I drove out the four people who started the trouble. The others weren’t involved in the conflict, and they promised not to cause trouble, so I’m allowing them to stay for now.”
The traders understood. They had seen Nolan and the others stand in front of Oscar, so they knew the other ten had nothing to do with the conflict.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Jack left the rest of the trade negotiations to Elias. He then turned to Warren and the others.
“Get your living arrangements settled first. Once you’re all set up, we can discuss when to visit the electronics mall.”
Warren had no problem with that.
With everything taken care of for the moment, Jack and Megan returned to the shade beneath the canopy. They had barely sat down when Marlin approached with his cart.
Jack immediately got back up and peered inside.
“What good stuff did you bring back this time?”
Marlin didn’t answer.
“See for yourself.”
He pulled back the cloth covering the cart. Apart from an energy cell and the camping equipment Jack had given him earlier, the cart was empty.
Jack stared at it for a moment.
“Was business really that bad this time? You went all that way and only came back with one energy cell?”
Marlin gave him a long look.
“It’s all because of you.”
That caught Jack off guard.
“Me? What does this have to do with me?”
“Word has spread that you paid a high price for that ice synthesizer,” Marlin said. “The settlements that heard about it all said they would rather travel a little farther and trade with you directly than sell their things to merchants.”
Jack immediately felt wronged.
“When did I pay a high price? I only gave them four loaves of bread, four bottles of water, three cans of beef, and five potatoes.”
Marlin’s mouth twitched.
“You traded that much food for a useless power hog. If that isn’t driving up prices, what is?”
“They only thought the ice synthesizer was useless because they didn’t have electricity. That doesn’t mean the machine itself has no value,” Jack argued. “Besides, what I’m willing to offer is my business. If they don’t want to trade with you, how can you blame me? What do they think I am?”
Cass, who had been listening nearby, suddenly cut in.
“A big spender.”
Jack whipped around.
“Shut up!”
Marlin immediately burst out laughing. Megan was amused by the answer as well, leaving Jack standing there with an irritated expression.
After a while, Marlin waved a hand.
“All right, enough joking. But what I said is true. A lot of settlements now know you’re willing to trade large amounts of food for old-world supplies, so business is naturally getting harder for merchants. That’s one of the reasons I came back so soon.”
Jack still felt completely innocent, but he decided not to argue any further.
Marlin’s laughter faded as he gave Jack a serious look.
The sudden change made Jack uncomfortable. He leaned back slightly.
“Don’t look at me like that. Just so we’re clear, you can borrow my stuff, but you can’t borrow my life.”
Megan burst out laughing.
Marlin ignored them and remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“Jack, now that I’m back, I don’t plan to leave again. Is there still a place for me here?”
Silence fell beneath the canopy.
Jack wasn’t the only one caught off guard. Even Cass hadn’t expected Marlin, after years of traveling from place to place as a merchant, to suddenly decide to settle at the convenience store.
Jack recovered first.
“Of course there is. You’ve always been one of us. How could there not be a place for you?”
Then he asked, “But why the sudden decision? Is it just because business is getting harder?”
Marlin sighed.
“That’s only part of it. The real reason I don’t want to keep traveling is that the wasteland is becoming more dangerous.”
Jack’s expression turned serious.
“Robberies along the roads are becoming more common, and mutant beasts have been appearing more often too,” Marlin continued, resting a hand on his cart. “On this trip alone, I ran into robbers twice.”
That alarmed Jack, Megan, and Cass.
“Are you all right?” Jack asked quickly. “Were you hurt?”
“No. I managed to get through both encounters safely,” Marlin assured them. “But if you hadn’t given me that pepper spray, I honestly don’t know whether I would’ve made it back.”
They were relieved to hear that he hadn’t been hurt.
“Did you use up all the pepper spray?” Jack asked. “I’ll get you a few more cans.”
He was about to head back to the convenience store when Marlin stopped him with a smile.
“I won’t need it anymore. Unless you’re planning to drive me away and send me back out there to wander around.”
“Why would I do that?” Jack said. “There will always be a place for you here.”
Marlin was quiet for a moment.
“Thank you.”
Cass’s curiosity quickly got the better of him.
“So what are you planning to do from now on?”
“I’ll still travel as a merchant,” Marlin said. “The difference is that I used to represent myself. From now on, I’ll be representing the convenience store.”
Cass clearly didn’t follow.
“What do you mean, representing yourself or the convenience store? What are you talking about?”
Megan put it more simply.
“He used to be the boss. From now on, he’ll be an employee.”
This time, Cass understood.
“Why didn’t you just say that in the first place? All that talk about representing yourself and the convenience store was completely unnecessary.”
“You’re the one who was too slow to understand,” Marlin retorted. “How is that my fault?”
Cass snorted and let the matter drop.
Jack readily accepted Marlin’s plan.
“No problem. If that’s what you want to do, you have my support.”
Then Jack remembered Marlin’s earlier complaint, and a mischievous grin slowly spread across his face.
“Didn’t you say everyone out there thinks I’m a big spender? That I paid too much for a useless ice synthesizer?”
The moment Marlin saw that grin, he knew Jack was about to come up with another strange idea.
“What are you planning now?”
“If they all think I’m such a big spender, then I might as well live up to my reputation.” The more Jack thought about it, the more he liked the idea. “We can drive the CUEV to the other settlements and sell ice water. What do you think?”
Marlin and Megan hadn’t expected anything like that. Cass, however, immediately lit up.
“That’s a great idea! Don’t they all think the ice synthesizer is useless? Once we deliver ice water right to their doorstep, I want to see how they react.”
“Exactly!” Jack burst out laughing. “I want to see the looks on their faces.”
Cass laughed along with him.
“When do we start? Now that you’ve brought it up, I’m already looking forward to it.”
The two quickly huddled together and began tossing ideas back and forth. Marlin and Megan exchanged a helpless glance.
“You’ve known him for years,” Marlin asked. “Has he always been like this?”
“I barely know him,” Megan replied without hesitation.
Her immediate attempt to distance herself from Jack caught Marlin off guard, and he burst out laughing.
Jack and Cass both turned toward him. Marlin quickly waved them off.
“It’s nothing. Keep going. What have you come up with?”
Jack immediately launched into their plan.
“We’ll take the CUEV, attach the cargo trailer, and load it with several coolers of ice, drinking water, and beef burgers. Then we’ll drive to the other settlements and sell everything there.”
“That’s not all.” Cass grinned. “We’re taking both energy cells too.”
“Why do you need two energy cells to sell ice water and burgers?” Megan asked.
“One will power the CUEV.” Cass raised his eyebrows. “The other will let us rent out some cool air.”
“What do you mean by renting out cool air?” Marlin asked.
Megan clearly didn’t understand either, so Jack explained.
“We’ll bring the portable air conditioner with us. If anyone at those settlements wants to cool down, they can trade something for ten minutes in front of it.”
Marlin was at a loss for words, and Megan was just as astonished by the idea.
Before either of them could respond, Cass eagerly added, “And there’s one more thing. We can let them experience what it feels like to take a shower.”
“A shower?” Marlin wondered if he had heard correctly.
“That’s right.” Cass’s grin widened. “We have a shower tent. As long as we bring enough water, people can go inside and wash.”
“But we obviously can’t let everyone use it,” Jack added. “I don’t have enough containers to carry that much water. So there’ll only be one shower slot each day, and it’ll go to the highest bidder.”
Jack and Cass began chuckling together, already imagining the other settlements competing for that single chance to take a shower.
Marlin pointed at the two of them, but it took him several attempts before he finally managed to speak.
“Are you two so bored that you’ve lost your minds? You want to parade all those luxuries in front of other settlements as if you’re afraid they won’t realize how much good stuff you have?”
Megan soon recovered from her surprise.
“Marlin is right. You’re bound to attract people with bad intentions. What are you going to do when they come after you?”
Jack didn’t seem worried.
“It’ll be fine. Unless they bring an entire army, I’m not afraid of them. No matter how strong they are, can they really be stronger than a submachine gun?”
“Who’s stronger?”
The unexpected question came from nearby.
Mort had arrived beneath the canopy without anyone noticing and was regarding them with confusion.
Marlin explained Jack’s plan, expecting Mort to agree that Jack and Cass were fooling around. Instead, Mort gave the idea some serious thought.
“I think it could work.”
Marlin wondered if he had heard correctly.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course.”
“You can’t agree with everything Jack says just because he saved your life,” Marlin protested. “Even if you’re trying to flatter him, you don’t have to make it so obvious.”
Mort remained calm.
“I’m not flattering him. Jack’s idea does sound ridiculous, but you have to admit that it could work.”
“Jack may have put it too absolutely, but his point isn’t entirely wrong. Not many people would openly provoke someone carrying a submachine gun, would they?”
Marlin had no immediate answer.
“Think about the weaker countries of the old world,” Mort continued. “If one of them suddenly acquired a particularly powerful weapon, even in limited numbers, other countries wouldn’t attack it lightly. Even countries far stronger than it would have to consider the consequences before making a move.”
“A submachine gun works on the same principle. As long as people know Jack has one, even a larger group would think twice before taking the risk.”
Marlin and Megan considered his argument and had to admit that it made sense.
“The submachine gun’s most important purpose isn’t attacking people,” Mort continued. “It’s deterrence. Once the other settlements see for themselves what Jack has backing him, they’ll have to consider whether they can afford the consequences before trying anything.”
Jack eagerly agreed.
“Exactly. That’s what I was thinking. Mort is the only one who truly understands me.”
Megan gave him an annoyed look.
“Easy to say after Mort explained it for you.”
Jack’s smug expression stiffened.
Cass laughed first, with Marlin and Mort quickly joining him. Even Megan couldn’t hide her amusement.
With no one taking his side, Jack gave up arguing.
“Say whatever you want.”
He started back toward the convenience store, but before he had taken more than two steps, Mort called after him.
“Hold on. I need to talk to you.”
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