The morning’s business concluded, Ivan treated Mama to lunch from a small kosher deli on the outskirts of the “renewed” area around the mall. While it was true that Mama frequently ate better than most people who lived out of a vehicle, she made a point of eating what was available, the same as anybody else in tribe. This meant it wasn’t always easy for her to keep kashrut, but she’d decided long ago that her first duty was to the people who looked to her for guidance.
Ivan, on the other hand, never seemed to scavenge for his meals.
“You know, you never do ask for any money,” Mama said as they sat in the parked van and ate, she on her bench and Ivan up front in the driver’s seat.
“Do you need my help with an unforeseen budget surplus, perhaps?” Ivan asked.
“Western security’s got one of the largest budgets in tribe,” Mama said. “But you’ve never asked me for a cent.”
“That just goes to show you how much safer things are here in the east,” Ivan said, turning his face so his rueful smile wouldn’t be visible in the mirror. “We do not have the problems of the west.”
“Your money’s got to come from somewhere, Ivan,” Mama said.
“What do you think I’m doing?” Ivan asked. “Selling drugs? Weapons? Neither of those are any good for security. If I could get all of them off the streets, out of Jericho, I would.”
“Except the ones your men carry,” Mama said.
“Oh, no,” Ivan said. “If I could know for a fact that nobody else carried any guns, I would not give them to my men.”
“Then you’d keep them to yourself?” Mama asked.
“Of course,” Ivan agreed.
“You can laugh,” Mama said. “But if I find out you’re involved in something I wouldn’t approve of…”
“No worries,” Ivan said. “I can promise you that if I were involved in such a thing, you would never find out.”
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Tricky tricky… xD
Good comeback, Ivan!
We haven’t had too many clues so far about Ivan. Is he human or not? Keep reading, I guess….
*snerk*
Ivan seems to feel no need to show loyalty. Interesting.
I like Ivan, in fact I would go so far as to say at the moment he is tied with Clever Clair from Starharbor Nights as my favorite character you’ve written. Well exempting Tales of MU of course, that is in a league all it’s own.
~Gnorm
Ivan really knows how to turn a phrase.
Ivan reminds me of some very strange and unsafe – but nonetheless interesting – people I knew once.
Mind you he also reminds me of a bloke I know who made the banks he worked at some of the safest in “town” – banks that used to have the highest theft rate. It wasn’t that he stopped people or anything – it was all in how he looked, walked, moved and talked.
… the customers loved him. So did the bank people. And they knew they were -secure-.
He’s doing something else fun now
Ivan… has quite a sense of humor. I am liking this character muchly.
And Mama’s Jewish?? (so seriously didn’t see that coming, had her pegged as black. and… that’s not to say that blacks can’t be Jews, but still…)
Miako – I had the same reaction to Mama being Jewish as you. Of course, that’s because I’ve been thinking of Tribe being like the Rom, but same difference.
grok that christine!
I’m enjoying this even more than Mu! Fantastic! And, as of yet, I find Ivan the most engaging character.
Ivan … “No worries,” Ivan said. “I can promise you that if I were involved in such a thing, you would never find out.”
SO glad I wasn’t drinking anything … I snorted and it would have been all over the keyboard lol