For Every Market, a Submarket Grows

Luigi and Pavi Largo sat on a rooftop, dangling their feet over the edge. Luigi was eating a large sub sandwich; Pavi was staring in his hand mirror at his new face, which was really just Amber’s old one. “Look, here he comes!” Luigi hissed, nudging his brother in the ribs. Pavi lowered his mirror and the two of them watched as the Graverobber exited the old hospital. He was following a blonde young man towards a group of street punks and scalpel sluts.

“What is-a he doing?” Pavi asked.

Luigi shrugged. “Probably talking about the Repo Men. I mean, that’s what Amber wanted, right?” His cheerful words were met with silence. He turned to Pavi, who was staring into his lap. “Right, Pavi?” Luigi prompted.

Still looking down, Pavi said in a low voice, “I do not-a like-a dis, brother.”

Luigi frowned. “Why not? We done this sort of thing before.”

“I know it. But she is-a so young; she is still blooming. This will not-a be fun.” Pavi looked up at his brother, his eyes deadly serious. “This will just-a be cruel.”

*************

Shilo sat on the bed for several minutes, pondering her situation and wondering what the hell she was supposed to do. She was completely out of her depth with Graverobber. She’d never had a crush on anyone before, never known anyone to have a crush *on*. And what was a “crush” anyway? Was it that fluttery feeling in her stomach every time she thought of him? Was it that odd tingling she felt every time he touched her? Or that warm feeling low in her abdomen when it had looked like he was going to kiss her?

Shilo knew what sex was; she wasn’t naïve. But she’d never really given it much thought. She’d honestly never thought she’d leave her room, so it had never occurred to her that she may be in a situation where a man would be attracted to her, where the subject of sex might come up.

But wait, *was* he attracted to her? For all she knew, he could just really like the taste of blood. God, she was so lost. She -

Shilo stood up as she heard footsteps on the stair. Was it Graverobber? Her face throbbed slightly as she remembered the last person who’d taken her by surprise. Shilo cast around desperately for something to defend herself with. There wasn’t much around. Some old coffee cups from GeneCoffee, some fast food wrappers, and - there! An old chair leg, nice and solid. She picked it up. It was plenty heavy. Shilo leaned against the wall by the door, club held at the ready. The door slid open, revealing two men, both of whom she’d seen at the Opera. As they stepped in, not noticing her, she realized they were Rotti two sons. She didn’t remember their names, but that didn’t matter; she knew they shouldn’t be there. With a deep breath, Shilo took a swing at the head of the closer one, the one with the frozen face.

Her swing connected with the man’s shoulder. Unfortunately, as he went down, the other man turned, brandishing a large knife. “Put it down, missy,” the older man hissed, waving the blade, making the light dance off it.

Shilo dropped the chair leg. “What do you want?” she demanded.

“Ow,” the younger man groaned. He stood, rubbing his shoulder, and Shilo gasped. He was wearing Amber Sweet’s old face! “What-a was that for?” he asked in a high pitched voice.

“Get out,” Shilo said, trying to sound firm. “You shouldn’t be here.

“Pavi, bar the door,” the older man ordered.

Pavi turned. Shilo tried to run, but the older man caught her by the arm and twisted painfully. She watched as Pavi slid the door shut and, using the chair leg she’d attacked him with, barred it.

The older man pulled Shilo close. Shilo struggled against him. He reeked of garlic and sweat. “Hey there, pretty,” he hissed in her ear. “we got a message for that Graverobber of yours.”

“Well, I can deliver it, if you want,” Shilo said breathlessly, hoping they’d just let her go.

The man laughed. “Fortunately, little girl, you *are* the message.” He took her by the throat, squeezing until she gasped. She fought, clawing at his arm. He just laughed and dragged her over towards the bed. “Pavi,” he called over his shoulder, “give me the lipstick.”

“Luigi, I - “Pavi began.

“NOW!!” Luigi yelled. He forced Shilo down onto her back. She tried to kick him, but he pressed his knees down on her thighs, holding her still. Shilo tried to scream, but she couldn’t get enough air. Her vision began to dim but she fought, not wanting to pass out, not wanting to make whatever they were planning easier. Pavi handed his brother a silver tube, and Luigi opened it, revealing bright red lipstick. “Hold still!” he said brightly.

Shilo tried to struggle, but his hand on her throat kept her still. He pressed the lipstick to her mouth, smearing it across her lips. “There!” he said. “You’ll leave behind a beautiful corpse for our dear Graverobber.”

CORPSE?!?!?!? Shilo’s mind screamed, and she fought harder, grabbing at his hand on her neck, trying to reach up and claw his eyes. “Oh, this one’s feisty!” Luigi declared, dodging her hands. “I love feisty!”

He dropped the lipstick on the bed, his hand then moving to Shilo’s left breast. He squeezed, hard, and Shilo screamed, and renewed her escape efforts. Whatever he was planning, she was NOT going to make it easy, or even enjoyable. “Come on, Pavi, come have some fun,” the man called over his shoulder.

“No, my brother,” Pavi replied. “This is not sporting. This is not fun.”

Luigi shrugged. “More for me.” He turned back and gave Shilo a toothy grin. “Come on, babe, don’t look so down,” he said as tears filled Shilo’s eyes. “I don’t do this with just any girl. You’re special, really!” He laughed again, and Shilo started to cry. She knew what was about to happen, and the sheer horror of it made her mind go blank. She tried to detach herself from what was happening, tried to prepare for death. But how does one prepare to die? She was going to die alone, and unloved.

But she’d see her parents again.

Shilo was so far into her mind that it took her a moment to realize that Luigi was no longer there. He was standing, and fighting with someone. It was - dear God, it was Graverobber. She watched, as if in slow motion, as Graverobber’s hand came down at Luigi’s chest. There was something silver flashing there, but she couldn’t make it out. Graverobber’s hand connected, the withdrew, and Luigi fell to the floor, a dark stain quickly spreading across his chest. Graverobber turned, and time seemed to return to normal.

Shilo sat up, gasping for breath. “Are you okay, kid?” Graverobber asked.

Shilo nodded. “The other guy?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

“He bolted when I came in. He wasn’t important anyway. Can you walk?”

Shilo nodded. “Abso-fucking-lutely,” she said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Graverobber nodded once, then lifted her to her feet. “Come on, we have to get away from here right fucking now. Someone is gonna come looking for this bastard, and we can’t be here when they do.”

Shilo nodded. “We could go back to my house.”

Graverobber picked up his brown satchel and said, “Let’s go.”

*************

Amber Sweet paced her father’s office, fuming. Pavi sat in a chair in front of the desk, crying silently. “That son of a bitch,” she hissed. “He couldn’t just leave well enough alone.” She stopped and turned to Pavi. “What is it about this little cunt?” she demanded. “First Dad and now my Graverobber - hell, even you!”

“She was-a too young!” Pavi burst out. Amber froze. Her brother had never yelled at her before. He’d never yelled at *anyone* before. “I told you this was-a foolish, Amber! You are just-a like our Papa, always scheming for-a revenge instead of just-a moving on! And look-a where that got him! He’s-a dead! Dead, and in-a the end, he had nothing! And you will end up just-a like him, sister! You wanted to-a punish this girl for taking your Graverobber, but-a why is that her fault?” Pavi stood, fists clenched. “Maybe he just-a doesn’t like scalpel sluts!”

Amber’s bottom lip trembled. Pavi thought she might cry. He’d never made anybody cry before. It was a powerful feeling. “I am-a going home, dear sister,” Pavi said. “You call me when there is-a real work to be done.”

*************


I apologize to all the Luigi fans. I am not a Luigi-hater, I simply had to have someone to do this, and someone else to stand up to Amber, and I just felt it worked better this way. Pavi isn't the one you expect to have so much humanity in him, which is why I chose him to be the "good brother".