Termina was, as was the case with most of the remaining population hubs, a depressing sight to behold. It wasn’t necessarily that much different than it had been before the Realians snapped. The same buildings still stood tall and generally intact, but barricades and fences had been erected along the town’s perimeter. Guard towers dotted the corners, complete with armed civilians that were forced to pass as sharpshooters. No Realians were getting through those gates. Marcus and Lex, however, were thankfully let through unhindered.<br/><br/>“How much do you think we’ll get?” Lex asked for the third time.<br/><br/>For the third time, Marcus responded. “I don’t know.” They normally had more than a few packs of batteries and some non-perishables to sell. He wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to sell the blanket or keep it for the winter. Summer had left them, and the heat had given way to cooler autumn winds; it was nothing that was unbearable, but it was only going to get colder. “Maybe enough to get two or three parts?”<br/><br/>“<span style="font-style: italic">Two parts?</span>” Lex echoed, incredulous.<br/><br/>“...or three,” Marcus corrected after a fashion, looking on to the strip of buildings that constituted Termina’s market.<br/><br/>Lex hummed in contemplation. “We’ll have to start going further if we want to get supplies that are worth anything. People have cleared out most places in a pretty big radius.”<br/><br/>“Get good with a gun and we will,” Marc threw back over his shoulder as he pushed open the heavy door to Manny’s.<br/><br/>The man of the hour stood behind the counter, tending to a tinkerer at the counter. The brothers Ascolani approached and politely waited their turn, Lex bothering the cuffs of his sleeves and Marcus rocking back onto his heels. When it was finally polite to break away from the other customer, Manny regarded them with open arms and a smile. He clapped a hand on each of their shoulders. “And how the hell are you?”<br/><br/>Lex shirked away instantaneously. Marcus was slightly more polite about it, pretending to laugh as he picked Manny’s hand up off of him and gave him a really nice handshake instead. It wasn’t that Manny was bad people - in fact, he was give-you-the-shirt-off-his-back nice - but neither brother had ever been particularly socially-inclined. “Actually we were hoping we could talk sales.”<br/><br/>Marcus placed his backpack on the counter and unzipped it. Manny looked unimpressed as one by one, a series of canned food and battery packs were meticulously aligned in front of him. He waited politely for some sort of sellers’ pitch, but finally sighed. “Boys, we’ve talked about this.”<br/><br/>“These are<span style="font-style: italic">full</span>packs of batteries, Manny,” Marcus pointed out, lifting one and turning it over to assure him that the package hadn’t been opened. “And everyone needs food.”<br/><br/>A deeply apologetic look passed over Manny’s features as he contemplated turning them down. Finally, he relented. “What is it that you’re wanting, Marc?”<br/><br/>He exhaled a breath that he never realized he’d been holding. “I still need a fuse, an on/off switch, a power regulator, a-”<br/><br/>Manny held up a hand. “I’m going to stop you right there, kid. I can give you a fuse and the switch.”<br/><br/>“<span style="font-style: italic">What?</span>” Lex demanded. "Full packs of batteries, Manny. Full packs."<br/><br/>“Yeah, and some food that I can’t sell,” Manny scoffed. “I run a business here, boys. I sell mechanical parts, not some AA batteries and canned pears. A fuse and the on/off switch.”<br/><br/>Marcus dragged a hand backwards through his already mussed up hair. “Can I just get the regulator? 6 volt?”<br/><br/>“You’re killing me, kid,” Manny lamented, looking anywhere but at Marcus. His eyes eventually fell down to the backpack, his sight catching on the rolled up blanket. He reached for it, uninvited, and regarded the material in his hands. “This is warm.”<br/><br/>“Yeah,” Marcus agreed cautiously. “It is.”<br/><br/>“Tell you what. I’ll give you the fuse, the switch, and the regulator, if you throw in the blanket.”<br/><br/>Lex laughed bitterly under his breath. They’d been in this position enough times to know they weren’t going to be much warmer this winter. “Deal.”