quicker response times if you want to break arms. You need to learn street fightinginstead of that wimpy martial arts crap. You too, Sarah. If you’re living down here, you have to be tough.”
Sarah popped up from behind the bar, stared with big blue eyes, then popped back down to finish her dusting.
“Right, and I have time for that,” I said sarcastically. “You have something against me getting sleep?”
“How long have you been hiding in classrooms?” he asked with equal sarcasm. “Keep it up and you’ll be the world’s oldest student.”
“Jealous, Andre?” I taunted. “You did finish school, didn’t you? After all, I’m the one counting your cash, not you.”
“Not fast enough,” he countered. “Do you have the deposit ready for the bank yet?”
“I thought Cora was taking it. And no, it isn’t ready.”
Milo leaped to a chair and over to the bar, strutting down the polished counter to paw at my deposit bag. Andre started to lift him down, and Milo snarled, his back arching and his tail stub shooting up.
“What’s with the cat?” Andre asked, backing off. “Where did it come from?”
“Courtesy of the invisible thief,” I said recklessly, rather pleased that my kitty had told off the head honcho. And if I had to believe in monkey girls, I could have invisible crooks, too. “Now go suck someone else’s blood and let me finish here. I’ll deliver it to the bank.”
“No, you damned well won’t.” He grabbed the collar of my halter-top sundress and hauled me off the stool, dragging my skirt up my scarred thighs inthe process. “Just look outside and use your head, will you?” He shoved me across the room, toward the narrow window beside the front door.
I peered through the one sliver of daylight allowed in Ernesto’s cave.
A black limo sat across the street. The blue-jeaned kid was leaning against a pole, talking into his phone. The gray-haired loony from Lily’s shambled down the street. Cora’s boss, Frank, was aiming a handheld camcorder at the kid, the car, the bar, and generally anything that moved. An unlabeled van had parked in the lot, and a pair of dudes in suits talked to each other on the corner.
Nothing overtly suspicious for any busy city street. Except this was the Zone. No one was ever out there at this hour except Leibowitz, who was oddly absent.
“I don’t suppose the limo over there has diplomatic plates,” I said casually, hiding my tension. They couldn’t all really want me, could they? Why?
“Not this time,” Andre said, revealing he’d heard about my side investigation. “Frank’s catching them all on film so we can try to identify them. My guess is at least half of them are media.”
He stopped without explaining. I wasn’t into waiting patiently. The media didn’t drive limos. I limped away from the window and returned to my work. “And the other half?”
“After that tornado incident, the other half mostly wants to know if you really might have been responsible for Max’s death.”
10
T he world was not only a scary place, but it was growing creepier by the minute.
I am not a particularly courageous person. In my experience, every time I got noticed, I got hurt. I’d taken martial arts training to prevent being beat up at every new school I attended. I hunkered down over my books because I didn’t want to have to deal with the inexplicable actions of the people around me.
However, neither method would work if those people out on the street really wanted me. After thecollege riot fiasco, I preferred a no-commitment/no-involvement policy. Hell, I even stayed out of Max’s way and tolerated his absences for the same reason. I was not taking responsibility for media thugs and stupidity.
“I did not raise a tornado,” I stated flatly. “If there’s a God, he objected to fighting during a religious service. For all I know, Max’s family are Satanists who called up demons. That’s my theory, anyhow.”
“I don’t care if
Sarah popped up from behind the bar, stared with big blue eyes, then popped back down to finish her dusting.
“Right, and I have time for that,” I said sarcastically. “You have something against me getting sleep?”
“How long have you been hiding in classrooms?” he asked with equal sarcasm. “Keep it up and you’ll be the world’s oldest student.”
“Jealous, Andre?” I taunted. “You did finish school, didn’t you? After all, I’m the one counting your cash, not you.”
“Not fast enough,” he countered. “Do you have the deposit ready for the bank yet?”
“I thought Cora was taking it. And no, it isn’t ready.”
Milo leaped to a chair and over to the bar, strutting down the polished counter to paw at my deposit bag. Andre started to lift him down, and Milo snarled, his back arching and his tail stub shooting up.
“What’s with the cat?” Andre asked, backing off. “Where did it come from?”
“Courtesy of the invisible thief,” I said recklessly, rather pleased that my kitty had told off the head honcho. And if I had to believe in monkey girls, I could have invisible crooks, too. “Now go suck someone else’s blood and let me finish here. I’ll deliver it to the bank.”
“No, you damned well won’t.” He grabbed the collar of my halter-top sundress and hauled me off the stool, dragging my skirt up my scarred thighs inthe process. “Just look outside and use your head, will you?” He shoved me across the room, toward the narrow window beside the front door.
I peered through the one sliver of daylight allowed in Ernesto’s cave.
A black limo sat across the street. The blue-jeaned kid was leaning against a pole, talking into his phone. The gray-haired loony from Lily’s shambled down the street. Cora’s boss, Frank, was aiming a handheld camcorder at the kid, the car, the bar, and generally anything that moved. An unlabeled van had parked in the lot, and a pair of dudes in suits talked to each other on the corner.
Nothing overtly suspicious for any busy city street. Except this was the Zone. No one was ever out there at this hour except Leibowitz, who was oddly absent.
“I don’t suppose the limo over there has diplomatic plates,” I said casually, hiding my tension. They couldn’t all really want me, could they? Why?
“Not this time,” Andre said, revealing he’d heard about my side investigation. “Frank’s catching them all on film so we can try to identify them. My guess is at least half of them are media.”
He stopped without explaining. I wasn’t into waiting patiently. The media didn’t drive limos. I limped away from the window and returned to my work. “And the other half?”
“After that tornado incident, the other half mostly wants to know if you really might have been responsible for Max’s death.”
10
T he world was not only a scary place, but it was growing creepier by the minute.
I am not a particularly courageous person. In my experience, every time I got noticed, I got hurt. I’d taken martial arts training to prevent being beat up at every new school I attended. I hunkered down over my books because I didn’t want to have to deal with the inexplicable actions of the people around me.
However, neither method would work if those people out on the street really wanted me. After thecollege riot fiasco, I preferred a no-commitment/no-involvement policy. Hell, I even stayed out of Max’s way and tolerated his absences for the same reason. I was not taking responsibility for media thugs and stupidity.
“I did not raise a tornado,” I stated flatly. “If there’s a God, he objected to fighting during a religious service. For all I know, Max’s family are Satanists who called up demons. That’s my theory, anyhow.”
“I don’t care if
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