Chapter 14: Slashing Prices

"Do you hear police sirens?" Nikki asked Ethan as they walked through Walled-mart browsing some of the racks.

"Yes I do, but that couldn't possibly be related to leaving the keys in the ignition with the cats in the back seat, right?" He didn't sound very sure of himself and was looking for a reassurance from Nikki.

She just shook her head before saying "Oh look at this shirt, isn't it cute?"

Ethan shook his head. "We're not here the buy clothing, we're here to get supplies for the trip. The girls have at least a couple hours head start on us and we'll need to make up that time as soon as we've got all the supplies we need. Now lets head over to the dairy section."

Upon arriving at the dairy aisle, Ethan pushed in on one of the egg cartons. There was a mechanical click as the floor opened up nearby and a set of stairs were revealed descending downward. It was a little known fact that there was a military surplus cache underneath every Walled-mart accessible from near the milks. When Ethan told people he was "Lactose Intolerant", what he was really trying to tell them is that he doesn't react well to being shot repeatedly in the chest.

"Now remember, we're going to need a large amount of guns if we're going to survive where we're going, its a rough place that's for sure. And cold steel too" Ethan said as he browsed the Uzis on display.

"While we're here, we should check up on whether my twin Katanas are finished. I dropped them off last week to get the edges sharpened." Nikki walked over to the customer service desk and withdrew her claim ticket from the inside of her thigh highs.

"Can I help you?" the clerk said.

"Yeah, here's my claim ticket, I'm going to need my Katanas if they're ready"

The clerk looked at the ticket and then walked into a back room. He called out "Do you need these wrapped up?"

"No leave them out, I've got my sheath here, I'll need quick access very soon to them" she said calling back to the clerk.

Upon returning with the blades, the clerk tossed the weapons towards Nikki. She swiveled her body so the blades each landed in the sheaths on her belt. "We managed to get them rebalanced while we had them as well, as you can see they react very well to the modifications."

Nikki grinned. "Thanks, my credit covers it right? Good." She then walked off to knock more items off their shopping list. "Ethan dear, lets see about some throwing daggers for yourself."

"I'm thinking of going with throwing chainsaws this time around" Ethan remarked as they walked towards another aisle. "They may not throw so good but they sure look intimidating."

Nikki cut in "Hey they're having a sale on rockets for rocket launchers. Since Cleo apparently bought one of these, maybe we should pick up some ammo for her while its on sale." Nikki grabbed a couple of rockets from the bin and put it in their shopping cart they had grabbed when they entered the ammo section. "Man this wheel sure is messed up, its making all kinds of noise."

The cart was making a lot of noise, that was undeniable. As a matter of fact, they had attracted a sales associate that was walking around helping people with their purchases. "Excuse me, is there a problem here?" he asked.

Ethan smiled and said "Yeah we're having a problem with the wheel on this cart."

"Yeah that happens sometimes." Ethan was about to ask if they should get a new cart but before he could do so, the sales associate drew a firearm from his vest and shot a couple of rounds into the wheel. "Try it now."

The wheel had for the most part been disintegrated by the shots but wasn't squeaking anymore. "Oh um much better" he said as Nikki and him hurriedly walked away. "The service here is ...well they get things done."

"I heard that they have branched out and at least half of their current staff are elite hit men, though hit men don't really adjust well to normal life" Nikki chuckled.

"Actually I was meaning to ask why that old guy at the front door was garroting everyone that he gave a cart to after he greeted them. You notice I didn't talk to him, and I certainly didn't ask him for a cart either." Ethan shuttered. "But what you're saying is they sell death now too?"

"And naturally they have the lowest contract prices in the area putting mom and pop hit man companies out of business all over the place. Its a damn shame, oh here comes an associate!" Both Nikki and Ethan got very quiet as a sales associate came within ear shot.

"Can I help you with anything? Have you checked out our low low prices on weapons grade plutonium?" he asked.

"Thanks but no thanks, we're trying to keep to our list and we where just about done, thank you." Nikki paused for a second, saw the dissatisfaction on the associates face, then smiled a huge grin. "Oh what the heck, impulse buy, show us where it is."

The associates face lit up. "Right this way. Next to the batteries and magazines."