Who said I know Gav?”
“Where you lived before?”
“Fifty-sixth and Mercer. Why are you asking?”
“Just tryna be friendly, aye?” Terrible gave him a look he knew wasn’t friendly at all. “Gettin to know you.”
“I knew Gav.” Archie folded his arms. “Don’t really have any information for you. Didn’t know him well. Don’t know what he might have been doing that got him killed.”
Terrible looked at him for a long moment. Long enough to make Archie fidget. “Killed? Ain’t said aught on he bein killed, or on wondering what he been doin. What you talking on?”
An eyelid flicker. “Just heard he got killed. I figured that’s why you’re here, because something he was doing made him get killed.”
“Then why you ain’t asked me on it when I get here, you think it’s why I came?”
Archie opened his mouth, but Terrible didn’t let him answer. “Thinkin you wanna gimme the tell now, what you know on it. You friends with Gav, you say.”
“I wouldn’t say friends.” Archie’d been standing by the door the whole time. Now he moved, walking real slow like he was some kinda badass and sitting down on the leather couch. “We knew each other. He was going to work with me. We met, he mentioned wanting a job, my work was hiring. That’s all.”
“He say any to you on other ways he getting lashers?”
“Money? Um, no, I don’t think so. We didn’t talk a lot. We were just acquaintances.”
“Where you work?”
“Why?”
This was bullshit. Terrible folded his arms and stared, letting I-could-just-kill-you show all over his face.
“I work in Cross Town. Right on the border. The Peace Factory.”
The Peace Factory. “What the fuck kind of place is that?”
“We make yoga supplies, meditation supplies. Some magic supplies.”
“And you got Gav work there.”
Archie shrugged, but his eyes and voice were defensive. And nervous. “Gav had some sales ability. We’re always launching new products and need salespeople to get them into stores. That’s all.”
“What you launching now?”
“Some new meditation discs, some new spells. Why do you care?”
Terrible stared at him for another minute without speaking, making sure Archie saw the threat, saw Terrible wasn’t done with him. But his mood lifted, even though it shouldn’t have. A company made magic supplies. Chess would know about that one. Might have some thoughts for him. He bet she would. And now he had an excuse to go see her and ask her on it—well, he’d had an excuse anyway, or he ain’t needed an excuse, but now he really did. And it’d be easy to ask her if she’d heard of the place without having to bring up anything might upset her. “The fuck you care why I care? Just askin. Gav gets he involved with you, now turning up dead. Awful suspicious, aye?”
“Look, I don’t know what he might have been doing in his own time. And this isn’t exactly the safest area in the world, is it? I’m sorry he’s dead but all I know is he was going to come work at the Peace Factory. I don’t know anything else.”
Bullshit. Bullshit he ain’t knew anything else.
Problem were, Terrible couldn’t do too much on it. His suspicions weren’t solid enough yet to start hitting; would be fun to beat on Archie, but it’d be pointless iffen Archie were just an asshole who got Gav a job. Specially since Callie’d made it sound like Gav were going legit with that job. Might not have shit to do with being a lookout.
More’n that, though, beating on Archie now would tip Archie off that he knew Gav had been the lookout. Would make Archie tip off whoever he worked for, if he were working for somebody. Would let Archie know exactly what Terrible was looking for.
Better to let him keep thinking they ain’t knew shit. Better to let him keep thinking Terrible were too dumb to know anything—or, better again, that Terrible were all threat and no action, that he were scared to just beat on anybody for any
“Where you lived before?”
“Fifty-sixth and Mercer. Why are you asking?”
“Just tryna be friendly, aye?” Terrible gave him a look he knew wasn’t friendly at all. “Gettin to know you.”
“I knew Gav.” Archie folded his arms. “Don’t really have any information for you. Didn’t know him well. Don’t know what he might have been doing that got him killed.”
Terrible looked at him for a long moment. Long enough to make Archie fidget. “Killed? Ain’t said aught on he bein killed, or on wondering what he been doin. What you talking on?”
An eyelid flicker. “Just heard he got killed. I figured that’s why you’re here, because something he was doing made him get killed.”
“Then why you ain’t asked me on it when I get here, you think it’s why I came?”
Archie opened his mouth, but Terrible didn’t let him answer. “Thinkin you wanna gimme the tell now, what you know on it. You friends with Gav, you say.”
“I wouldn’t say friends.” Archie’d been standing by the door the whole time. Now he moved, walking real slow like he was some kinda badass and sitting down on the leather couch. “We knew each other. He was going to work with me. We met, he mentioned wanting a job, my work was hiring. That’s all.”
“He say any to you on other ways he getting lashers?”
“Money? Um, no, I don’t think so. We didn’t talk a lot. We were just acquaintances.”
“Where you work?”
“Why?”
This was bullshit. Terrible folded his arms and stared, letting I-could-just-kill-you show all over his face.
“I work in Cross Town. Right on the border. The Peace Factory.”
The Peace Factory. “What the fuck kind of place is that?”
“We make yoga supplies, meditation supplies. Some magic supplies.”
“And you got Gav work there.”
Archie shrugged, but his eyes and voice were defensive. And nervous. “Gav had some sales ability. We’re always launching new products and need salespeople to get them into stores. That’s all.”
“What you launching now?”
“Some new meditation discs, some new spells. Why do you care?”
Terrible stared at him for another minute without speaking, making sure Archie saw the threat, saw Terrible wasn’t done with him. But his mood lifted, even though it shouldn’t have. A company made magic supplies. Chess would know about that one. Might have some thoughts for him. He bet she would. And now he had an excuse to go see her and ask her on it—well, he’d had an excuse anyway, or he ain’t needed an excuse, but now he really did. And it’d be easy to ask her if she’d heard of the place without having to bring up anything might upset her. “The fuck you care why I care? Just askin. Gav gets he involved with you, now turning up dead. Awful suspicious, aye?”
“Look, I don’t know what he might have been doing in his own time. And this isn’t exactly the safest area in the world, is it? I’m sorry he’s dead but all I know is he was going to come work at the Peace Factory. I don’t know anything else.”
Bullshit. Bullshit he ain’t knew anything else.
Problem were, Terrible couldn’t do too much on it. His suspicions weren’t solid enough yet to start hitting; would be fun to beat on Archie, but it’d be pointless iffen Archie were just an asshole who got Gav a job. Specially since Callie’d made it sound like Gav were going legit with that job. Might not have shit to do with being a lookout.
More’n that, though, beating on Archie now would tip Archie off that he knew Gav had been the lookout. Would make Archie tip off whoever he worked for, if he were working for somebody. Would let Archie know exactly what Terrible was looking for.
Better to let him keep thinking they ain’t knew shit. Better to let him keep thinking Terrible were too dumb to know anything—or, better again, that Terrible were all threat and no action, that he were scared to just beat on anybody for any
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