Chapter 23 Part 2
When Sal had taken the opportunity to run from the Inner Sanctum man, he wanted to go by his apartment to get a few "low tech" items for his trip to Undertown. Something told him, though, that this would be a terrible idea as Inner Sanctum would probably be crawling all over the place if they weren't already. He didn't have much by way of precaution because of this. The only non-holonospheric item he had was an antique knife given to him by a man that was as close to family as he could remember.
Sal had been an orphan at an early age. He learned quickly that the only way to survive was to be cleverer than those around you. Once he had had a loaf of bread and another orphan had asked him for a piece as he was near starvation. When Sal went to break a piece of it off, another orphan seized the moment of his distracted state, dug his fist into Sal's stomach, and took the whole loaf for himself.
An onlooker, by the name of Maltrus Perstorm, took pity on Sal. Maltrus was a moderately talented hacker. He was good enough to pull off the occasional odd job, but not good enough to go pro. Maltrus had walked over to Sal while gently hitting something in the palm of his hand.
When he reached Sal, he placed his empty hand on his shoulder and turned Sal's tear stained face toward him.
"Do you know why that boy took your loaf of bread?" inquired Maltrus.
Sal didn't reply, but stifled his sobs as he shook his head.
"He took it because you allowed him to, boy. In this world, we have to fight for what is ours, or else people will take it from us. If we choose to give them something, we do not allow them more than we wish them to have."
Sal looked up at Maltrus's scarred face. He could smell the faint undertones of what he assumed was leather in the duster that Maltrus wore over his shirt.
"I've got something here for you, boy. I am giving it to you because I expect that you will use it well, and not allow anyone to take it from you. It is a relic these days. My father gave it to me, and his father gave it to him." Maltrus took his hand off his shoulder and opened the blade to show Sal. "You don't take this out unless you intend to gut someone with it, and you don't allow anyone to take it from you under any circumstance. It is yours because I am giving it to you, and because you need it as much as I need to find an owner for it."
Maltrus folded the blade back and opened Sal's tiny hand and slapped the knife in his palm.
Sal stopped crying and stared at the object in his hand. Nobody had ever given him anything before. he wasn't sure what to do. His eyes widened at the sight of the steel. So cold to the touch, but so shiny. How could something so beautiful be so deadly? Sal placed the knife carefully in his pocket, checking to make sure it was secure.
Maltrus softened his gaze. "I tell you what, boy, I could use a little bit of help from time to time. How would you like to be my apprentice for awhile?"
