Tunnel Rat

Chapter 238: Date Night

Milo slowed and stopped after walking out of the Adventurer's Guild with Belinda. "I have a question about something you said that I don't understand."

After the revelations in their recent talk, Belinda wasn't sure she was ready for more. But at least Milo was talking. "Well, ask it, and I'll try to answer."

"Is this a date? I've never been on a date. Can I get a definition? I'm hazy about what it is, and what I heard Butch and Brad discussing confuses me more."

She looked at him hard, making sure he was serious, then crossed her arms and was silent for a moment. "I'm the last person to ask about dating advice, and I have no idea what Butch and Brad told you. I'm almost always in a powered wheelchair. That makes socializing a little tough. Why are you asking me this?"

"Oh. Sorry. When we talked by the glowy tree, you said, 'It's a date.' I've been worried about what that means."

She covered her face with both hands. "Oh god. Is that part of what has you worried? It's an expression people use. It can mean, 'We have agreed on a set time and place to meet.' Or it can mean two people want to get together and enjoy spending time together with each other because they want to be friends. Or maybe better than friends. That part I'm really not good with. Wheelchair girls don't date much."

"So, how did you use it?" Milo was looking at her with pure curiosity on his face. From anyone else, she'd have thought they weren't serious.

"I'm not sure. Both? We needed to meet up and talk, and I like having friends. Look, some things you just can't define. Dates are one of them. Let's have lunch, hang around the town for a while, hopefully get ambushed, and have fun. There's no right or wrong to it. Whatever we do counts as a date. Just relax and have fun."

Milo nodded. "I can do that." He looked at the area around the Night Market. "There's an alley over that way with people skulking on the roof."

"Awesome, lead the way. There's a little café hidden in a cul-de-sac near there. They make great tacos. "

Whatever the four thieves from the Jacks-are-Wild Gang thought they were going to do, it didn't work. Jack had spotted Milo in the Guild Hall and set three traps for him on nearby rooftops. As soon as he came out, they'd had eyeballs on him. He was talking with the Healer and wandering toward one of the traps. The other two groups converged on the area. But somehow, they lost track of the Kulag, and just the Healer was moving into the alley. You couldn't miss her, not with the big, crystalline shield and shiny helmet. So they waited as people moved about the rooftops, getting into position, peering over the edge of the roofs.

As usual, people were screwing around. Gary pretended to get too close to the edge, mimicking panic. Then the asshole actually over-balanced and fell. Donweebo tried to grab his partner and only managed to fall as well. They hit the cobblestones from three stories up. Gary had gone head first and scattered his brains on the road. Donweebo stood up, cradling an arm, only to take a hard hit to his head from a shield rush. Knocked to the ground and stunned, it was easy for even a Healer to finish him off. Then she looked up at the surrounding buildings like she expected something else to happen.

Jack moved over to Jimmikneecaps and Black Kitten. The two were paying more attention to each other than their jobs. He startled them, and they sprung apart from each other. "Shit, don't do that, Jack; you scared us!" Jimmi at least looked guilty. Kitten just glared at him and said, "Asshole."

"Look, this is serious; we have the bait below and a Kulag Sub-chief wandering in the area. You're lucky he didn't sneak up on you. Now one of you keeps your eyes on the healer, and the other keeps looking around because you never know if..."

"KULAG!"

Something knocked all three people off the roof hard. Hard enough that they slammed into the building across the alley. Kitten and Jimmi hit the stone and bounced, landing in the alley. Jack went through a pair of flimsy shutters and a closed window into the room beyond. An elderly woman had just emerged from her bathtub and screamed. Jack tried to simultaneously apologize and pick glass out of his arm. The woman expertly wrapped her towel around his neck like a garrote and, using that to control him, forced his head under water. Jack died with the taste of lilac-scented bath salts on his tongue.

In the alley below, Jimmi managed to stagger up with a broken leg. Black Kitten was holding her side. With Belinda rushing the two of them, Black Kitten turned and ran, leaving her boyfriend to take his lumps. Belinda swung her mace, and a three-quarters arc that came up into his chin. Skills like Dodge didn't work with a broken leg, and Sense Danger told you the next blow would hurt.

While she was finishing off the wounded rogue, the last three opponents rushed her from behind and tackled her. Two held her while the third brought back his dagger for a kill shot. It never came as a bone spike went through his forearm, and a second later, another went through the back of his head and out his eyeball.

The grip of the two thieves slackened. One was turning green and dying rapidly from a poison where a small snake bit him on the hand. The other had seen the Healer reach out and poison his partner with just a touch. He scrambled to get away but ended up facing an angry Kulag with outstretched claws. Milo eviscerated him with a double-claw strike, followed by a spinning kick to the face. He would bleed out soon, but two more blows killed him quickly.

Belinda watched with a smug smile on her face. "Wow, where did you learn all that?"

Milo wiped off his hands on a cloak and smiled back at her. "I found an old trainer in a city down below. He was really tough and worked me half to death. Worth it, though. What about you? You're as good as a warrior with that mace. And you have a poison spell?"

"Sort of. A girl has to have some secrets. I had a lot of gold after the world boss raid. Two of the big gaming sites wanted interviews, and I charged them a fee that I paid for some training. I don't want to be just a band-aid station." She looked around at the headstones. "Lunchtime, this place makes great fish tacos, and they have this awesome pickled seaweed. You have to try it."

They'd only made it to the end of the alley when she made a face and cursed. "Dammit, dammit, dammit. NOT NOW!"

"What's wrong?"

She turned, angry. "A message from my doctor, something is wrong. I have to log out so they can check my medications. I hate this so much. I only have a minute while they log me out from their end. Bring everyone by tomorrow for lunch, I'll set up a party, and we can play games. And stuff." She winked as she said the last part, then disappeared.

Milo scratched his head. That hadn't been bad for a first date. He explored, trying to find the little café with the fish tacos.