Oxford’s place was an innocuous little shop in the corner of a seedy strip mall. A buzzer hailed her entrance into the shop and a small, brisk man emerged from a back room and leaned on a glass case filled with tiny, electronic gadgetry. “Can I help you?”
“I hope so.” Dani adjusted her backpack on her shoulder, tried to maintain her bravado. “My friend, Meathook, said you were the man.”
“Meat? How is old Meat?” He looked at her curiously.
“He’s cool.” She looked around. “Like this place.”
“So what can I do for you?”
Dani hesitated, almost too tired to tell him. Oxford looked at her, his light eyes blandly expectant. She dug up the words and forced them out, “I need a portable motion detector. And some pepper spray, in a size I can keep in my pocket.”
“Okay.” He didn’t look surprised
