Ruby [Tankiverse fanfic]

[Hippin_in_Hawaii 639]

Ruby

Fanfic in the Tankiverse by Hippin_in_Hawaii

 
The interiors of strip clubs were not meant to be seen with the lights on, reflected Fred. While the Stiletto wasn’t dirty, it was most definitely tired. Frayed edges on seat cushions matched bare patches in the carpet. The wallpaper curled up at the edges, eager to be free from the yellowed walls beneath. The floor-to-ceiling mirrors were coated with decades of residue from cigars, cigarettes, and bad breath. Even the floor of the stage showed depressions where thousands of dancers had repeatedly paraded and pirouetted over the years
 
Fred sipped his beer. Cold beer, served in an actual glass, so there was that. Across the table from him, Georgina did the same.
 
“The beer is cold,” she said, “and my chair is clean.”
 
Fred chuckled at how her observations echoed his own. “Nice place for a first date, eh, Georgina?”
 
“Call me Georgie. And I’ve been to worse places for a first date, but none with so interesting a back story.”
 
Leather walked up and joined them, sitting at the end of the table. She was dressed more comfortably than the last time Fred had seen her. The jeans and t-shirt were form-fitting, still accenting her dynamite figure, but were almost certainly more relaxing than the leather gear she’d been wearing at their last encounter.
 
Leather nodded to Georgina. “We’re not usually open so early, but for Georgie here, I’m happy to make an exception.” She took a drink of her own beer, then looked at Fred. “So who is this then?”
 
“Ruby, meet Fred. It was his tank you were, um, engaging the other night.”
 
“So you’re Tankgit.” She smiled to take any sting from the name.
 
“And you’re Leather.”
 
She laughed. “Leather. I like that! Leather.” She stood and extended her hand. “I’m Ruby. This is my club.”
 
Fred took her hand and shook it firmly. “Fred. NIce to meet you. It’s a lovely club.”
 
Ruby snorted. “Nah, not now, it isn’t. But come back in a few hours! The Stiletto is real magic when the sun goes down.  All this,” she fingered the scarred tabletop meaningfully, “don’t matter once the lights start flashing and the beer starts flowing!”
 
They all laughed for a moment; partly relaxed, partly awkward.
 
“So why are you here?”
 
Fred look at Georgina. “We just wanted to follow up, see how you were doing after, well, you know.”
 
Ruby laughed again. “After I shot myself? Hun, that was barely a scratch. Your medic popped the pellet out, slapped a band-aid on it, and I went back to work. But you knew that, I’m sure. Don’t waste my time. Why are you here?”
 
Fred leaned forward. “I want to understand. We,” he gestured at Georgina, “want to understand. Why did you attack us? What were you trying to accomplish? Why weren’t you glad to be liberated?”
 
Ruby leaned back and took a sip of her beer, her eyes locked on Fred’s in a calculating fashion. Fred waited for her to decide how to proceed.
 
“Hun, how old do you think I am?”
 
“Oh, I, er, I wouldn’t, um…”
 
She laughed again. Ruby really did have a delightful laugh. “I'm sixty-two years old.” The stunned expressions on Fred’s and Georgina’s faces seemed to satisfy her. “Don’t look it, do I? Good genes and filthy living. Anyway, if you do a little math and know a little history, you’ll realized that I was ten years old when we were liberated from you Gaks.”
 
“Gaks?”
 
“It was the pejorative of the day for you evil bastards. Our liberators made sure to officially discourage the term while never passing up an opportunity to use it. As a child, it was all quite exciting to me. I couldn’t understand why my parents, and their parents, were so worried.
 
“Years bring perspective. Clearly you aren’t jack-booted thugs. You’re not smashing up my bar, raping my girls, or stealing my liquor. You two seem like pretty decent human beings, dropping in to check on the crazy lady who opened fire on your tank. But what did you expect, a parade?”
 
Georgina snorted into her beer; Fred choked on his.
 
Ruby guffawed. “You were! You were expecting a parade! They told you we’d be happy to see you, be thankful to be liberated!”
 
Georgina nodded while Fred struggled to catch his breath. “In no uncertain terms. They even suggested we wear our dress uniforms.”
 
“Gods above! Talk about naivety! A forceful occupation rolls into town, replacing the government with a wave of its hand, and you want to know why I’m not joining in a parade? I’ll tell you.” She held up one hand and started raising fingers. “Money. Property. Freedom. Business.
 
“Money first. You’ve just changed the national currency, so my current cash holdings are worthless. Because we’re in a transition period, I’ll have to exchange my money for scrip. In the process, the currency will be devalued. In a year or so, when things have settled down, I’ll have to exchange scrip for Gak money. In that process, the scrip will be devalued. All of my holdings in local banks will be converted to the coin of the new regime, and in the process, devalued. Half of my financial holdings are gone just because you Gaks wanted to be in charge again.
 
“Property. New regimes are known to annex properties and businesses. I bought this bar from the outgoing… do you have an unflattering name for them?”
 
“Mongs,” replied Georgina with a smile.
 
“Mongs. I bought this bar under the laws set in place by the Mongs. Now, for all I know, the Mongs annexed this property from a Gak family fifty years ago. They would be within their rights, under Gak law, to take it away from me without compensation. My house is probably safe; it belonged to my parents during the former Gak rule, but the Stiletto is at risk.
 
“Freedom. I’m now a Gak citizen, and as such, will need all new papers. For as long as this liberation takes, and when it inevitably escalates to a war, my movements will be restricted. Perhaps, as someone of questionable loyalties, I’ll even end up interned. Once things have settled down, maybe in two or three years, I’ll be free to travel again, but borders that have been open to me my whole life will now be closed.
 
“Which brings us to business. I need a steady supply of liquor, of salty snacks, of lingerie, of cleaning products, of many things. All of my distributors for those items are now scrambling, trying to find new sources, new supply routes. And they’re dealing with a devalued currency, meaning they’ll be forced to raise their prices. So even if I can get my next shipment of liquor before I run dry, it’s going to cost more than I budgeted. Between that and my own financial blow, I’ll be forced to raise prices. All of my clients just got beaten by the currency exchange themselves, and have less money for drinks and good times. Any way you slice it, the next few years will be a struggle just to stay open.”
 
Ruby stopped talking and drained her beer.
 
“Wow,” breathed Fred.
 
“Wow,” echoed Georgina.
 
“Wow,” nodded Ruby. “Wow indeed. Things you never thought of. Of course we’d be glad to be rid of our Mong overlords, to be back in the Gak fold. Here, let me get you a refill.”
 
Fred and Georgina sat in silence until Ruby returned. Then they all sat in silence, nursing their beers, each digesting their own thoughts.
 
After a while, Ruby continued. “You also asked what I hoped to accomplish. I don’t think I had an actual goal in mind at the time, I was just pissed and had a shotgun.” She sipped her beer, looking at Fred and Georgina above the rim. “I think, though, from the looks in your eyes, that I might just have planted the seed of something terrible. Lord willing, I won’t live to see the fruit that bears.” She finished her beer. “You two take your time, help yourself to refills, stay as long as you like. I’ve got to get back to work.”
 

Mahalo (thank you) for reading; I hope you enjoyed! This story is part of a series. Information on the series, and links to the other stories, can be found here.

[tweezers 1,034]

Approved.

 

-Minor word replacements.

 

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I especially liked the descriptions and the conversations. 

[GrandExecutioner 1,403]

It's coming in thick and fast now :D

[You.Have.to.die 519]

Fanfic-tastic!