Cravings

December 2024
Hong Kong is almost as bad as Anchorage was. The Icebox was cold, obviously, which made sneaking out a royal pain in the ass. He's still waiting for the penny to drop from that time he 'borrowed' Gottlieb's parka. It was a blizzard, goddammit, and desperate times. Hong Kong in fall and winter, though, man, that is a whole different kind of pain. It's the rainy, humid, windy kind of pain in the ass. To top that off, Alison, Pentecost, and Mako are after him to quit. That means the patch goes on and Tendo Choi does his best to self-medicate with something other than nicotine.
The Shatterdome's coffee supply feels the change first. He's up from eight cups of coffee to sixteen and the cravings are still driving him nuts, but Tendo keeps his promises, so he sticks to the patches. Mostly.
But, man, does he need one (or two or three) today. He and Mako are in the final stretch of the upgrades to Gipsy and Crimson needs repairs after that last fight and Cherno will be here for testing in two days and Striker (along with Chuck Hansen he thinks with a shudder) will be coming in ten days or so. It is enough to drive any man to drink. Or smoke.
He tries his luck in LOCCENT and among the J-Techs. No one's willing to help him out.
Tobacco is a hell of a luxury now that there aren't as many Jaegers out protecting the shipping lanes.
Which is why, during a bit of his rare 'free' time, he's in this dicey speakeasy in the Bone Slums trying to score a pack off a local dealer using his best crap Cantonese. It's embarrassing and the guy takes him for an easy mark--a tourist, even--once the whiff of desperation gets through the language barrier. Tendo hates for anyone to get the impression he's a soft target and keeps a couple of switchblades on his person in case he needs to dispel that notion.
After too much posturing, gesturing, and corrections to his pronunciation and grammar, the dealer finally coughs up the goods: one pack of Russian cigarettes for which he pays a small fortune in municipal credits. Now he needs to find a dry and private place to indulge his vice. He hightails it back to the Shatterdome and finds a quiet spot under an awning near the loading dock.
It takes four matches, but he finally gets one lit and takes a long drag. He leans against the concrete wall in his puddle of dryness and chains his way through three before it's time for his late-night shift in LOCCENT. He hopes there's enough city stink on his clothes to cover the smell or Pentecost or Mako will definitely bust his butt.
Tendo has enough problems without having to worry about that.
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Category:Tendo (ficlet)
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