morgan

Vina, Hannah, Baird... we walk into the wind on the great avenue, our shirts hanging open in the wind.

The Originium lights never sleep. Norport's border checkpoints are like huge gaping mouths, churning through imports and exports.

Weighers' joints ache with tendonitis from overwork. The calluses on the shoulders of loaders grow thick and solid.

The streets grow wide.

The shops grow numerous.

Norport will become Victoria's most prosperous borough.

Norport Borough will belong to the Glasgow Gang.

Whoever controls Norport controls Londinium, controls Victoria.

From Norport to the world.

This is our journey.

—Torn page from Morgan's Memoirs

What's the coppers doing?

Dunno. We was occupied wif sendin' the boss to hospital.

What 'appened to the boss?

Crate ta the head. Knocked out cold straight up. Blood everywhere. A right picture that was.

Who started it?

Them! And I know they pushed the boss into that forklift on purpose!

Saints alive, those Sudean bastards is shittin' down our necks now that they've got sixpence to rub together!

We left us some boys there. Should get word if there's any news.

Any time now.

You really expect the coppers'll play fair?

Hold it for a minute, Hannah, love.

Outsiders? Who let them in?

Lane Brothers' Gang, right? We're here representin' the Glasgow Gang. We heard about Mr. Lane's injury and wanted to pay our respects.

Glasgow Gang... I've heard the name...

Thanks, anyways.

(I told you he'd be in hospital, but you insisted on coming to their hideout.)

We'll do more good here than at the hospital. It's called 'in the hour of need.'

(Keep it down!)

*pant* Lemme catch my breath...

What's the word from the coppers?

Locked up a few boys and said they're takin' the boss in for questioning once he's out of 'ospital.

Word is they plan to crack down on Norport gangs causin' trouble for Sudean factories, and that any ringleaders would be punished severely.

Well, somethin' like that.

What about the bastard who hurt the boss?

Coppers let him off with a small fine.

Piece of shit brass-bollocking,

PC Plod wankfest parade of...

PC Plod wankfest parade of...

Ah, shit, I need the whole dictionary!

Calm down.

I told you, ya can't count on the coppers.

I say we go into Sudean, find the son of a stockbeast who hurt Mr. Lane, and rip his bloody head off.

They've been tramplin' us for long enough! It's about time we got back at 'em!

She's right, our friend here from, er... Glasgow! Glasgow Gang!

Let's get 'em!

We'll get 'em!

I'm comin' too!

Hannah, love, Vina sent us to find Mr. Lane.

Don't get mixed up in their business.

This is about all of Norport! We've all gotta step up!

Two more draught beers. Make 'em big.

Don't drink too much, Hannah. There's a soapy taste to today's beer.

I knew you were addin' flavor capsules to it. Just didn't bother to call you out.

Hehe...

Why'd you stop me?

Hannah, you daft cat. You forgotten what happened at the cinema last week?

Yeah.

The glassworkers were hogging up tapes and places at McClaren's video store. They got into a fight with our people, brought the coppers right in.

But they went back to Sudean without losing a hair.

Makes me mad just thinkin' about it.

The cops are taking their side even on our own turf. I'm not the slightest bit surprised at how they dealt with this.

That's why we need to get back at 'em. We can't count on the cops!

Ai-yi-yi, no one's counting on the cops. Use your brain, love.

This is a big deal. They did it this way on purpose, just waiting for somebody to make a move to give them an excuse to clean up.

The real question is, why are the coppers taking sides?

This ain't anything new. It's been happening for years.

Bloody 'ell, I got no idea.

Two bowls of beer soup, Paul, nice and hot.

Extra croutons on top.

I guess the envelope was too thin to catch the attention of those bigwigs at the Sudean Labor Office.

But that's already a year's savings...

Don't think about it now. This one's on me.

Thanks...

Still need to look for a way to move to Sudean. Having to cross boroughs to go to work every day is rough...

Sure 'nuff...

Who would've thought ten years ago that people from Norport would be flocking to Sudean factories and docks?

Times change. When you're down, you're down.

We used to have the most depots in Londinium, and the biggest ones too. We were the door to the city. Ever since light industry in Sudean took off, though...

Textiles, glassware, cans, appliances... they just keep building factories and producing more stuff.

Then came the depots, and you could see Norport falling before your eyes.

Only two things keep growing on the streets: one, young people who've joined the gangs, spending their days at the cinemas, billiard clubs and bars.

The other, poorhouses, which barely scratch the surface of the problem. There are so many people living off unemployment aid in Norport, and Londinium wants no more to do with us.

Morgan thinks back to the page of Morgan's Memoirs that she tore off. Beer goes down, memories come up.

Trucks and carts loading and unloading, tailor shops and magazine stalls all over the streets, smiles everywhere.

Hotel bellboys on Sunset Street, so busy they hardly get a drink of water all day.

Merchants and high society from all over Victoria and as far away as Leithanien and Kazimierz, checking in one after another.

It was the face of Londinium.

How did it turn out like this?

Morgan gulps down the rest of her mug. Twenty years of Norport, two decades of her life, down the throat with the beer.

Well, stuff me.

Let's go. Early shift tomorrow.

I'm stopping by the Labor Office again tomorrow. You oughta come along, move to Sudean too, if you know what's good for you.

I...

I know what you're thinking. I'll miss it too. But you never know when Londinium will decide to cast it away.

You remember those two, Hannah?

They used to be weighers on the docks. True blue Berties. People I looked up to when I was little...

If the Berties stopped caring about Norport, there might really come a day when Londinium casts Norport aside, as they said.

This is our fight.

I never said it wasn't.