Quinn had never had a proper job. His hacking as Q couldnât really count as one. There he got to pick what jobs he wanted to take, got paid under the table, and it was all pretty illegal. Pretty much as far from a job as you could get. Even putting together computers didnât count as a real one, for all the same reason, except it wasnât illegal. He wasnât even sure he wanted a job, but Jared and Karen had sort of hinted it to him that it might be good. Plus, it was a good way to actually use the money he got from hacking to buy stuff. People didnât need to know how much things cost right?
He stared at the stuff heâd finished, setting them aside with a slight huff. He hadnât been given much to actually do at the store. Most of the time he tended the front of the store, occasionally doing small, odd jobs. Quinn had told Effie he was good at computers and program, but he hadnât been given anything interesting yet. It didnât matter that he was still pretty new on the job, he could still do it well.Â
Right now he pulled out his phone and was sending a few messages back and forth with Dustin in a vain attempt to get him to come visit. It was still during school hours though, and as bad a student as Dustin was, Quinn was unlikely to actually convince him. Glancing up as the ding resounded through the small shop, Quinn slipped his phone back into the front of his hoodie and glanced at the woman carefully. Then Effie peaked out and he looked back at her, flashing her a small grin.
âMeh,â he said, grabbing the drink with a shrug. âI got everything done, so thereâs that,â Quinn pointed to the completed tasks behind the counter. âSo, if you have anything, like, you know, with actual programming I could help with that or something. Iâm really good at it,â Quinn emphasized.
âOh good!â Effie responded cheerfully. He really was reliable. Maybe she could give him something largerâand he did seem eager to do something that wasnât as mind numbing as phone screens. Her head tilted to the side, thinking. âI do have a gaming computer that needs to be built by Christmas that I havenât gotten to it yet. You said youâve built computers beforeâ and then I have the stack of computer viruses that I just started. Careful with those, that clicking porn virus is only amusing the first time.â She was trying to repair the disk drive on one of those old Nintendo products as well. She some charging could have him look at that too.
Effieâs eyes flickered to the customer, who had snatched a couple chargers off the wall. âWell, after you check him out.â She brushed the front of her blouse, fiddling with her gloves. It was strange how different it was nowâEffie was able to be more open, and for once the hum of electricity around her was comforting, not a hinderance. Effie had turned to retrieve the parts for that computer when she saw the customer toss the chargers haphazardly on the counter.
She fought to roll her eyes. Some people were justâ
âGive me the expensive shit.â Â The growl turned Effieâs entire demeanor into ice, especially as the man reached into his sweatshirt pocket and pulled out a gun. She could see now that the man had his hood up, and the way he had been hunched over had hid his face from view. There was the damn ski mask. Effieâs eyes shot to poor Quinn.
The best way to deal with theft was just to give them what they wanted? Effie huffed.
âOpen the register, Quinn.â Effie said, softly. âGet the money outââ
âHurry up!â the man barked, thrusting the gun in her direction. Effieâs eyes narrowed, grimacing. At least it wasnât at her college aged employee. Effieâs eyes flickered to Marleyâs shop across the way, or the bakery⌠Maybe theyâd see what was going onâ
The sound of the gun being cocked got her out of her head. Effie raised her gloved hands.
âIâm going. I know which things you can get the most money out of. Better than he does, at leastââ That was mostly a lie, and she shot Quinn the look that said not to argue with her. âCome on, I have a huge TV in the back.â
Quinnâs eyes perked up at the mention of the computer. He remember when that order had come in. âYeah, Iâve done a ton of them,â he said, eyes bright. That was going to be so much more interesting, even though it was something he was used to doing. âI can handle the viruses too,â he laughed. âYeah, until you see way too much that you donât want to see,â Quinn wrinkled his nose. Those were particularly annoying viruses, mostly because you just couldnât stop the pop up s from showing the worst porn.Â
Quinn had gotten distracted from the customer by Effie. So he didnât really notice anything going on with him until she spoke up again. âOh, right,â he said, glancing back over to him and then taking the few chargers, before freezing. His eyes went wide and suddenly his heart was racing as a gun was suddenly out and pointing at him. Everything seemed to be frozen in place for a moment, with this thoughts a jumble.
Opening his mouth for a moment, his hand reached to open the cash register, but then Effie was telling the man to follow her in the back. Swallowing thickly, Quinn wished he was able to do something other than just stand there. He wished magic was something that could be taught, so he could just learn spells from Dustin or something. Or that he was the weird bird thing instead of his creature. Somehow, Quinn was always finding himself at the mercy of someone else.
Getting the look from Effie, Quinn stood there, unsure of what to do. Did he dare try and call someone? Should he just sit and wait? Hope that the guy left? Biting his lip, Quinn just nodded, watching and holding his breath, as if any movement more than absolutely necessary would send the man over the edge. So he watched as the man moved towards Effie, the gun still pointed at her, before occasionally flicking back to Quinn, as if to make sure he was aware that he was in danger too.
