by Jon F. Merz
Ava shook her head. “This is absurd. Allegations of treason are extremely serious.”
“You think it’s serious here,” I said. “You should try looking down the business end of a set-up. It’s fantastic.”
Ava waved her hands. “All I see here is an operation that went awry and dangerously close to exposing our kind. The fact that Lawson was somehow able to pull it off speaks more to blind luck than any sort of tactical savvy. To cover his ass, he’s now making stories up. Assuming, of course, that this Shiraz character is dead and cannot verify or refute this claim. I’m sure Lawson emptied enough bullets into him to make sure of that.”
I grinned. “Thanks for the compliment on my efficacy with a firearm. Touching. Truly. But yeah, Shiraz? He’s still alive. I mean, as far as I know. Things went to hell pretty fast when Hotel Five dropped in to save our asses. But Shiraz vanished. He could be anywhere now.”
I looked around at the other members of the Council. Truthfully, I knew very little about any of them. Ava was always the talker and Wirek was always the voice of reason. The others preferred to stay silent and defer to them. That made no sense to me, but whatever. I knew what I was going to do: investigate each and every one of them until I found the traitor who had colluded with Shiraz.
And then I was going to put a bullet into their heart.
A huge part of me wished it would turn out to be Ava, but I doubted she’d allow herself to get that dirty. Plus, like it or not, Ava appeared to be a patriot. I couldn’t see her selling out her race. Certainly not to the likes of Shiraz. It would probably offend her elevated sense of self to get involved with a lowly terrorist. I’d check it out, of course, just to be sure.
I also felt pretty sure that Wirek was fine. He’d proven himself to me tons of times and we’d had each others backs in the past. There was no way he’d sell me out.
It had to be one of the other ones sitting there staring at me.
“Do you have anything else to add?” asked Wirek then.
I shrugged. “Not really.” I let a big wide smile slowly spread across my face. “But I’ll tell you this: I will find out who tried to sell me out. I’m going to be poking all of your lives until I unearth the traitor. And when I do, I don’t care if the Council sanctions it or not: you’re dead. Whoever you are, you are dead. My advice is to run away and find the best hidey hole you can find. Keep a low profile. Because when I come for you - and I will - there will be no quarter given. Your ass is mine.”
Ava leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Enough of this. You are just as bad as you’ve ever been. Your flagrant disregard for even basic etiquette when it comes to the Council is simply appalling.”
I shrugged. “I thought I was pretty well-behaved at my Centennial…you know, when you guys picked me to be a Fixer.”
“And if that wasn’t a mistake,” said Ava, “I don’t know what is.”
“Fate,” I said.
Ava waved her hand again. “You come from a long line of fateful mistakes, Lawson. Your ancestor was no better than you are.”
I frowned. “What the hell does that mean?” As far as I knew, I was the first Fixer in my family. I glanced at Wirek. “You knew about this?”
Wirek held up his hands. “Well, it’s not like I worked with him. But I knew of him, yes.” He looked at Ava. “As usual, your bedside manner is awful.”
She shrugged. “He would have found out sooner or later anyway.”
I eyed her. “Found out what?”
“About Wolfric Schwarzwalder,” said Ava.
27
“Never heard of him,” I said. “Stop jerking me around.”
Ava shook her head and then looked at Wirek. “You want to fill him in or should I?”
Wirek sighed and looked at me. “I’ll do it. God knows you’ll probably embellish the story to make him look bad.”
“The story needs no embellishment,” said Ava. “It’s quite apparent in its dishonor on its own. No doubt, it will make Lawson incredibly proud once he hears the full tale.”
I held up my hand. “Wait a minute, what does this have to do with Shiraz and the traitor in our midst?”
“Absolutely nothing,” said Wirek. “Ava is merely flexing her right to make you uncomfortable at the expense of accurate history.”
Ava sniffed. “We’ll see about that.” She looked back at me. “You’re dismissed, pending further investigation of your conduct at Palmyra. Which I’m sure will reveal far more than what you’ve reported here today.”
“If that’s your way of saying thanks, you can shove it,” I said. “I did what I had to do to rescue eight good men. I stand by my actions and those of the men who were there.”
Ava squinted at me. “And would they stand by your actions, Lawson? Would they?”
“Ask them,” I said.
“Oh, I fully intend to,” said Ava. “Now get out of my sight.”
I smiled. “You know, that’s what I love about people who take things for granted: you never appreciate what you have until it’s gone. You dismiss me as boorish and unnecessary in your life, but I’m the first fucking person you run to when the shit hits the fan because you know you can count on me to get things done. And then when you’re finished with me, you toss me aside. Right up until the next time you need me. Well, guess what? You can go fuck yourself.”
Ava blanched. “How dare you-“
“How dare you imply that I’m anything but loyal to this Service and to my race. I’ve done everything ever asked of me. Yeah, you might not like my manner, but you can’t argue with the results. And yet you still do every single time. Which makes me wonder if this is all personal, and if it is, why? Either you’ve got a good reason for hating me or else you’ve got the hots for me. Either way, it’s trouble.”
Ava’s mouth opened and then closed and then opened again, but no words came out. Finally she stabbed the air with her finger. “Get out.”
Wirek rose from his seat. “I’ll walk with you, Lawson. It’s time you heard the story of your ancestor and how he got started being a Fixer as well.”
“Sounds like a better time than standing here any longer.” I winked at Ava. “Be seeing you.” Then I spun on my heel and walked out with Wirek.
end
Also by Jon F. Merz
The Fixer: A Lawson Vampire Novel
The Invoker: A Lawson Vampire Novel
The Destructor: A Lawson Vampire Novel
The Syndicate: A Lawson Vampire Novel
The Price of a Good Drink: A Lawson Vampire Story
The Courier: A Lawson Vampire Mission
The Kensei: A Lawson Vampire Novel
Enemy Mine: A Lawson Vampire Story
The Ripper: A Lawson Vampire Novel
The Shepherd: A Lawson Vampire Mission
Mission: Malta: A Lawson Vampire Mission
The Enchanter: A Lawson Vampire Novel
A Fog Of Fury: A Lawson Vampire Mission
The Infiltrator: A Lawson Vampire Mission