“Thanks.”
“But ain’t you worried this’ll scare off the scumbags?” Trey frowned and looked around. Almost everyone in the room wore a nice dress or suit, and most of the men sported ties. There were none of the gangbanger scum or obvious bruiser thugs he might see at the Black Sun back in LA.
“What are you talking about?” Kathy frowned
Trey shrugged. “The fancy and classy atmosphere. No Demon General would come into a place like this. Yeah, I know there ain’t no Demon Generals in Vegas, just using them as an example.”
Zoe gave Kathy a pleasant smile and folded her hands in front of her, a curious look on her face.
“Not worried about that. If anything, it’s an advantage of this place.” Kathy shook her head. “Tyler spent too much time with bottom feeders. That was why it took him so long to crawl out of the bottom, and he needed Brownstone’s help.” She placed her hand on her chest. “I’d rather cultivate contacts with the strivers and the top guys, and they can feed me information from the gutter rats. You don’t have to roll in the sewer to smell it.”
Trey and Zoe laughed.
“So what can I get for you two? This is a bar, after all.” Kathy looked at Zoe and Trey.
Zoe licked her lips, her gaze roaming the bottles with hungry desire. It’d been a whole half a day since she had last drunk any alcohol. “A pear martini.”
Trey scratched his chin. “I’ll have a Manhattan.”
Kathy nodded. “Coming right up.” She turned to grab the glasses and necessary bottles.
Trey turned to Zoe. “You sure about coming to Vegas with me on this trip? I mean, I’m working as part of my agency rotation. Not gonna have much time for fun, you know what I’m saying? I’m gonna have to hit the streets a lot with the boys and Victoria to hunt down bounties.”
The witch smiled and turned to take in the ambiance of the bar. “I’ve rarely left Los Angeles in recent decades, and it’s important to go to a place to truly appreciate the atmosphere there. Since you’re considering moving here, don’t you think that’s a good idea? I can travel around the city and take in the sights without you at my side, at least for a day or two.”
“I’m just thinking about moving. I ain’t made up my mind.” Trey shrugged.
“Still, the possibility is there.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Trey considered that for a moment. “Just maybe figured I could take some days off and we could do it that way, rather than me half-assing it after work, but if you don’t care, I don’t.” He gestured around. “This place is part of work, you know. Kathy passes shit to us we need to know for a price, and we make it clear that people don’t come and bust this place up without repercussions, but at the same time, we make it clear this is just like Black Sun: neutral ground. The Vegas cops ain’t happy about it, but they’ve said that if we take responsibility, they ain’t going to go out of their way to send cops in here.”
Zoe gave him a tight grin. “I’m sure after what happened to that barbeque thief, people are loath to cross the Brownstone Agency.”
Kathy finished preparing the drinks and set them down in front of Zoe and Trey. “That’s the idea, anyway. It hasn’t been tested. Still worried about the cops respecting the neutrality. A few come in, but it’s not like it was in LA, where tons of cops were in the Black Sun all the time. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad one.”
Trey shrugged. “Give it time, maybe?”
Zoe’s gray eyes surveyed the customers sitting at the tables. “Far be it from me to tell either of you how to deal with less than reputable people, but isn’t it an advantage to not have so many police here? Neutrality or not, I doubt that criminals will truly be comfortable and willing to pass along information if there are police around them.”
A few more customers sat down at the other end of the bar. Kathy nodded to Zoe and Trey and headed over to serve them.
A man in a gray suit with gold chains around his neck sat down at the bar just a few feet from Trey. He looked at the bounty hunter with a frown, and his eyes widened.
Trey resisted a smirk. He’d seen the man’s picture on his bounty hunting app that morning—John something-or-other. He couldn’t remember the name, but this was as good as time as any to reinforce the neutrality of the White Sun with the imprimatur of the Brownstone Agency.
“Problem?” Trey took a sip of his drink. “Because I ain’t here for a problem. I’m just here for this sweet-ass Manhattan.”
Zoe sipped her drink, watching in silence. There was no concern on her face.
She ain’t ever really seen me in action. This will be a nice show.
The man took a deep breath. “You’re Trey Garfield with the Brownstone Agency.”
“Yeah.” Trey shrugged. “Last time I checked, I was. You heard different? Because if you have, I’d really like to know who is saying that shit so I could correct them, you know what I’m saying?”
The man looked him up and down. “But you don’t know who I am?”
“Oh, yeah, I know who you are, John. Level one bounty, and all that shit.” Trey shrugged. “Just don’t care.” He held up his glass. “Right now, the only thing I give a shit about is this drink.” He nodded at Zoe. “And this fine-ass woman here. That clear enough for you?”
Confusion rather than relief appeared on John’s face. “You not going after ones anymore? I haven’t heard anything about the Brownstone Agency passing on low-level bounties, even if Brownstone does.”
Trey shook his head. “Nope, we don’t pass on low-level bounties.”
John tensed, his hands inching toward his jacket.
Trey snorted. “Don’t be a dumbass motherfucker, John. If I wanted to bust your ass and drag you in, don’t you think I would have done it already?”
Several nearby patrons turned to watch the commotion. Kathy turned and watched, a slight frown on her face.
The other man’s hand stopped moving and he furrowed his brow. “I don’t get it. You just said you’re not giving up on low-level bounties.”
“On the streets, yeah.” Trey took another sip of his drink and sighed. “But this is the White Sun. Haven’t you heard the deal?”
John’s gaze darted between Trey and the exit. “The word on the street is that this place is neutral ground, but some people are saying that’s just a trick. A trap that you all set up.”
Trey snorted. “What kind of dust-addled plan would that be? It’d only work once. Nah, that shit is real. This is neutral ground. Rules are simple: you come in and drink and don’t cause no problems, you don’t get no problems while you’re here. Building and parking lot are off-limits.” His expression darkened. “But you break those rules, we’ll have all sorts of trouble. Then we have to go and talk to you like we talked to Demetrius. You heard of him?”
John licked his lips. “He robbed Jessie Rae’s, which is the official barbeque place of the Brownstone Agency or some shit like that.”
“Exactly.” Trey smiled. “Consider this the official bar of our agency, except we want to make sure everyone can enjoy it, so we enforce neutrality.”
“Fine, I believe you, but can I go sit at a table? Sitting next to a Brownstone bounty hunter is making me nervous.”
Trey nodded toward an empty table. “Be my guest.”
John hopped off his stool and hurried over to the table, checking over his shoulder every few steps.
Zoe polished off the last of her martini, her cheeks red. “It’s interesting to see how much they fear you.”
Trey shrugged. “It’s more the big man they fear.”
Zoe shook her head. “No, it’s you. You’ve become a burning fire, but one that isn’t raging out of control like James. It’s fascinating.” She gestured around the dimly lit room. “But seeing that interaction and listening to your discussion with Kathy makes some things clear to me.”
“Like what?”
“You have no choice.” Zoe shook her head. “Kathy said it herself. The police aren’t providing
the protection for this place, the agency is, and James is rarely in Las Vegas. The next most powerful bounty hunters have to be viable threats or some enemy will eventually think the neutrality doesn’t apply to them.”
Trey grinned. “It ain’t no thing. I’m here a lot.”
“Not enough.” Zoe picked up her drink and upended it so she could lick off the last few stray drops of alcohol. “Second-order fear won’t work. You’ll need to have a permanent presence here, not merely rotating members. Since James can’t be here, you at least will need to come. If criminals know that you and Victoria are always available to respond to threats, they’ll be less inclined to violate the neutrality you’re attempting to enforce.”
Trey stopped grinning. “You’re saying I should move here then, straight up? You ain’t even seen much. How much vibe could you have gotten?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m like a hardy weed. I will grow anywhere, provided I have enough…sustenance. If you wish to come here, I will accompany you.” Zoe stared at him with a heavy-lidded gaze. “Everything is pulling you to this city, and I think you should strongly consider not fighting the winds pushing you.”
Trey finished his Manhattan and blew out a breath. “It’s tempting, you know? Been thinking about it a lot. It’s not even like I have to leave all my boys behind if some them keep doing rotations up here, but there’s Auntie Charlyce and Nana to consider.”
Zoe nodded. “Family is important, but I imagine your family wants you to do what’s best for you.”
“Yeah, but I ain’t making no decision like this without talking to Nana first. I owe her that much.”
“Of course. I think that’s a good idea.”
Is she really okay with this?
Trey looked Zoe up and down. Other than her rosy cheeks, she didn’t look that drunk, and considering how much alcohol she normally consumed, he doubted one martini was enough to seriously affect her mind. Whatever she was saying wasn’t coming from a place of drunkenness, and even if it were, he wasn’t sure that mattered when it came to a witch following the Dionysian Way. Half her power came from alcohol.
“And you’re sure?” Trey furrowed his brow.
Zoe let out a merry giggle. “You misunderstand me. Of course, I’m not sure.”
Trey frowned. “Then why are you pushing me so hard?”
Zoe reached up to brush her soft hand over his cheek. “Because I don’t need to be sure, my little supernova. When you live as long as I have, you learn to simply flow with life. For now, that’s you. Talk to your grandmother and any friends you think are important, but right now I need another martini.” She raised her hand and smiled at Kathy, who was at the other end of the bar.
Shit. It does sound good, becoming Vegas Trey. Maybe I should change my wardrobe. Nah. Classic dark suit works, whatever city you’re in.
7
Clad in only his boxers, James finished filling Thomas’ food and water bowls before shutting off the kitchen light and making his way to the basement door. He tapped in the code on the keypad and placed his thumb on the DNA scanner.
Once the door had clicked open, he headed down the stairs and over to the shelves filled with different boxes—ammo, weapons, and grenades, more than enough to defend himself if he needed to, along with various tools of the trade. Anything he couldn’t get there, he could get from Shay’s Warehouse Three. Maintaining his own external storage seemed pointless these days, especially after he started keeping his amulet on him all the time at Alison’s insistence.
At some point, I stopped thinking of our shit as separate. The future’s waiting for us. We just have to find the right path to get there.
Even though his enemies’ strength and numbers had grown, James worried less about the future now, if only because he’d learned to better control his amulet and unlock his power. It didn’t matter what he was meant to be on his home planet. What mattered was what he’d chosen to be. The symbiont didn’t rule him; he ruled the symbiont, even when he was pissed.
The Church was still working out the theological implications of so many different intelligent species, and they were only concerned with Oriceran, let alone other planets. James was a simple man, though, so he’d let others figure that shit out. For now, all he’d worry about was protecting what was important to him.
If people threatened him, he’d take them out. If they left him and his people alone, they might live.
Erin or whatever the hell her real name was might still be out there, but until she decided to come at him again, he wasn’t going to worry about her. An enemy who had to hide from him was an enemy who feared him, and an enemy who feared him was one he could defeat.
What are you doing right now? Trying to scheme how to get back to your home planet because you think I’m the Space Bogeyman?
James let out a low growl. Where were Erin and her advanced technology when the Council was killing people, or when he was taking down any of the dangerous magical killers native to Earth?
You better never show your face to me again, or I’ll make you pay for sending people at Shay and me.
James headed back up the stairs and closed the reinforced basement door behind him. After the keypad beeped and the lock clicked, he headed into the hallway toward his bedroom.
When he stepped inside, his gaze shifted to his amulet on the nightstand—his blessing and his curse.
If I didn’t have Whispy, that bitch probably wouldn’t have come after me, but I wouldn’t have been able to kick all the ass I’ve needed to. I wouldn’t have been able to protect Alison from the Drow.
James grunted. For years he’d shunned the amulet, thinking it infernal. It wasn’t demonic, however, but the twisted technology of a race who lived in fear and thought it made them strong.
He shook his head and walked toward the bed.
Shay was already under the covers, looking at her phone and mumbling something under her breath.
She glanced up with a grin. “I’ve gotten ten messages from my department head since that meeting. Mostly they are just forwards of hatchet-job articles on other local universities. I just keep responding with dollar sign emojis and terse little messages like, ‘No tenure track, no Shay.’”
James headed to the other side of the bed. “I’m sure it’s complicated and shit, but couldn’t you just establish some fake foundation or something and pay yourself through grants? Then he wouldn’t care about the money, and he wouldn’t have to worry about funding.”
“Nah, screw that. I’m not paying myself for the privilege of working there.” Shay shook her head. “Besides, I like seeing the asshole sweat a little. There’s a principle at stake here, and a matter of respect. I’m making him show me respect.”
“Whatever you want to do, I’ll support you.” James shrugged. “Just want you to be happy.”
Maybe this would be a good time to practice being spontaneous.
“Hey,” James rumbled. “Want to go see a musician wizard? It’d be in a few days.”
Shay set her phone on the nightstand and stared at him. “Wait, you mean like a concert? Are you seriously asking me to go to a concert?”
“It’s more a performance. I don’t know if you’d call it a concert.” James shrugged. “Don’t know much about the guy other than he uses magic in his music, and that he’s a pretentious douchebag. I’m sure his music is shitty.”
Shay laughed. “You’re really selling this date hard, aren’t you? And you don’t even like music. You spend all that time listening to podcasts but no music, and suddenly you want to take me on a date to some pretentious douchebag’s concert? And you say his music will probably be shitty? You really need to work on your pitches.”
“Oh, well, I kind of have to go there anyway, so I figured, you know, I could double shit up. His-and-hers without the ass-kicking. Trying to mix things up, too. Can’t always go to a fancy restaurant or a barbeque place.” James shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll end up liking this kind of thing.”
Sha
y frowned. “Wait. Why do you have to go see some random wizard musician anyway? Especially one who performs shitty music?”
James took a deep breath. Spontaneity for his actual proposal might be harmed if Shay understood just how much effort he’d put into trying to figure one out and the fact he was recruiting outside help to aid him. He would need to choose his words carefully.
“Remember Anna Forsythe?”
Shay blinked. “That faerie chick who helped you train for the Bard of Filth competition? The leanan sidhe?”
James nodded. “Yeah, her.”
“What about her?” Shay sat up. “I’m very interested in how we got from a random date featuring shitty music to a leanan sidhe.”
“She’s calling in the favor I owe her for her help with the Bard of Filth competition. This musician-wizard douchebag, the guy we’re going to see, is stalking her, and she thinks I can help.” James shrugged. “I’m not gonna kill him, just have a talk with him and make it clear to him that he needs to leave her the fuck alone. Well, I won’t kill him unless he tries something stupid. Then it isn’t my fault.”
“Wizard stalker?” Shay winced. “I know what that feels like if you count Snegurka. Anna might be better served by you just killing the guy. We both know problems like this don’t tend to go away on their own, even after a bloody nose.”
“She made it clear she doesn’t want that.” James shrugged. “And until he has a bounty, I can’t just do whatever I want to him without pissing off the cops. I mean, he’s a pretentious douchebag who calls himself Fifty-six, so how tough can he be? I’m sure if I just show up and growl at him, he’ll run to another state.”
Shay rubbed her hands together, a huge grin on her face. “When you first mentioned this idea, I wasn’t sure I was all that interested, but now I potentially get to see some asshole stalker-wizard get beat down. I’m liking this idea a lot.” She winked. “Also liking your efficiency. It shows you can pull off complicated without even trying that hard, despite how much you like to complain about it.”
The Unbelievable Mr Brownstone Omnibus 3 Page 45