A massive biker shoved him out of the way. “Two thousand on Lars, though I also want to put five hundred dollars down on maiming.”
“Single-file line, please,” Kathy called. “Everyone calm down. We still have time. Brownstone’s not even there yet.”
Tyler surveyed the huge crowd, his heart pounding, his jaw clenched.
Shit. The bets aren’t balanced enough. The odds are way in Lars’ favor, but I don’t know if I have enough to cover all these bets if Brownstone loses. Fuck. If I welch on a bet, my neutrality won’t mean shit.
Tyler did his best to keep a smile on his face, especially when Lars’ two goons looked his way.
Need to find out a way to level this out. Warning Brownstone would be one way.
His phone chimed with alerts of more online bets, but it was in the hand of one of Lars’ goons. The smirking man held it up to taunt Tyler.
Need to get my phone back so I can at least warn Brownstone. At this rate, not only is he going to get killed, I’m going go broke—or people are going to break me when I can’t pay them.
Tyler frowned.
Maybe there’s a different way to work this. Got to use my assets, like my mind. Stop thinking like a thug like Brownstone or Lars.
“Great money-making opportunity if you bet on Brownstone,” the information broker yelled. “You can be rich. At this point, betting on Lars is like putting your money in some savings account. Why not take the longer odds? Bigger risk, bigger reward. Now, that’s what I call gambling. That’s what a real man does.”
A man scoffed and slammed his fist on the table. “Fuck that. Brownstone’s not gonna be able to take out Lars, Patrick, and Victor together. Why should I throw my money away? So you can profit, you little piece-of-shit rat?”
Several other people shouted in agreement.
Oh, you fuckers. You think you can disrespect me in my own place? I’ll remember everyone one of you assholes. If Brownstone comes out on top, maybe I’ll use my winnings to hire some badass magical thugs as security here. Can’t always depend on the cops.
He glanced around. There wasn’t a single cop in the place.
Tyler gave the man a grin and shrugged. “Just trying to make you all some money. Don’t have to be an asshole about it.”
The man yanked the information broker up by the collar of his shirt. “You calling me an asshole, you piece of shit?”
Tyler gave him a defiant stare. “The Black Sun is neutral ground. You want to hit me, fine, but you’re going to lose that neutral status. Then you’ll have to deal with the cops and you won’t have access to shit like this Brownstone vs. Lars match, so I would think long and hard about what you want to do. A few seconds of fun isn’t worth the trouble.”
The man released Tyler and snorted. “You’re right. You’re not worth it.” He returned to the crowd.
Tyler smoothed down his shirt and vest before returning to his seat. “Thought so.”
Kathy leaned over to whisper, “You’ve fucked this shit up badly. I hope you realize that. We’re lucky that’s the worst thing that has happened.”
“This isn’t done,” Tyler whispered back. “A good businessman takes advantage of opportunities as they pop up, and I still have plenty of chances to salvage this shit. A few hotheads aren’t going to cost me a big payday.” He tapped his nose. “I know how to smell a profit.”
Katy snorted and straightened. “Whatever.”
James was on his third Quad Quad when Heather called. He set his burger in its wrapper next to the bag on the passenger seat before answering on speakerphone.
“Think over my offer?” the bounty hunter inquired. “I can give you Sergeant Mack’s number so you can talk about renting his place.”
“I’m still thinking about that, but that’s not what this is about.”
“What? Did taking Eddie out not solve your problem?”
James frowned and switched lanes to pass. The I-10 East was surprisingly packed, but at least traffic was flowing at a reasonable pace. He didn’t want to be late for his beat-down.
“No,” Heather answered. “Eddie’s merc hacker stopped looking, just like I thought he would. It’s just I’ve been keeping an eye on some stuff related to you, including odds for some sort of fight you’re supposed to have with a bounty. There’s a massive amount of betting activity centered at the Black Sun. What the hell is that about?”
James grunted. “Found out about that? It’s not a fight, it’s a bounty capture. Tyler has criminal contacts, and he convinced a bounty to face me at a scheduled time. I picked the place, the Salton Sea, where I know I can go all-out and not worry about innocent people getting hurt.”
“So, what, you’re some sort of fighter now? Going to move to Vegas and get in the ring?”
“No. I’d have to go after the bounty anyway. This way I don’t have to go looking, and I can make some more money on the side.”
Heather sighed. “Whatever. I’m a hacker, not a bounty hunter, but I do know that the odds went from favoring you to heavily favoring the other guy. There’s some talk on the dark web too about this. Everyone’s saying you’re going to get killed, and it’ll be the end of the ‘Brownstone Reign of Terror.’”
“They wish.” James pulled in behind an eighteen-wheeler and briefly imagined what it’d be like to have one to haul a massive barbeque pit. “It’s just a bunch of scumbags convincing themselves of bullshit. I’m used to that kind of thing. It's not a big deal.”
“I do understand a little something about money. Even scumbags don’t like to just give up their money unless they have a good reason to.” The sound of her tapping at her keyboard came over the line. “I’ve got a feed from the Black Sun now, and everyone’s really spun up. They are practically throwing money down to bet. Don’t have any audio, though, so can’t tell you what they are saying.”
James snorted. “Knowing that asshole Tyler, he’s probably just conned them all with some bullshit so he can make more money off betting. Maybe he told them how I was out of town and might be late so the odds would shift and he could win more betting on me.”
“Wait, Tyler’s going to bet on you?”
“Yeah. Every time he does he makes a lot of money, so he’s learned his fucking lesson. Don’t bet against James Brownstone in a fight.”
Heather’s breath caught.
James frowned. “What is it?”
“Nothing. I just thought someone was going to kick Tyler’s ass, but they backed off.”
The bounty hunter grunted. To his surprise, the idea of some asshole beating Tyler down didn’t bring the smile he’d expected to his face.
“Huh,” Heather commented. “Oh, I wonder if this will change anything.”
“What now?” James glanced at his In-N-Out bag. He wanted to know what was going on, but he also wanted to finish eating before his burgers got cold.
“That AET lieutenant…you know, Hall? She just walked in.”
“She’s got a weird schedule, so it’s not strange she’d be there in the day.” James reached over to grab the burger. He could sneak bites in during the conversation. “Remember, Tyler’s neutrality shit only works because he’s got AET helping to enforce it.”
“He might have some trouble with that soon.”
James gobbled down a delicious bite of cheese and ground beef. “Why?”
“She looks kind of pissed.”
Maria frowned and surveyed the bar. The Black Sun could be boisterous at times with all the scum that frequented the place, but this near-riot surprised her.
Her neck muscles tightened, and her heart sped up. Every cop instinct in her was screaming that something was wrong. Very wrong.
She grabbed her badge from her belt and slipped it into her pocket. It was a good thing she wasn’t in uniform.
Maria crept around the edge of the shouting crowd surrounding Tyler and Kathy at a table. An odds board sat next to them.
That can mean only one thing. Something is up with Brownstone. Wh
at has that dumbass gotten himself into now? Waging war on all the Triads in California now, or the Russian Mafia? Did he issue a challenge to the Drow to return?
The frowning lieutenant maneuvered through the crowd until she was only a few yards from Tyler. Men waved money and shouted around her.
“I need to place my bet,” a Demon General yelled from right in front of her. “Fuck Brownstone. I’m putting five hundred on Lars.”
Maria tapped the man on his shoulder. The gangbanger spun around with murder in his eyes until he spotted who’d tapped him. She might not be as famous as Brownstone, but she came to the Black Sun often enough.
“I ain’t do no shit here at the Black Sun. You can’t touch me. That’s the rules. That’s your rules, cop.”
Maria rolled her eyes. “I don’t even know who the fuck you are, so, yeah, I’m not interested in arresting you.” She pointed at the board. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Ain’t you heard? I thought you would know because you’ve bet on this shit before. Brownstone’s taking on Lars Hansen.”
The cop’s hands curled into fists. “Lars Hansen, the level five? The cop killer? The AET killer?”
The gang member laughed. “Yeah, bitch. That dude, but it’s some weird shit. Tyler he got Lars to agree to meet Brownstone at the Salton Sea at a certain time, so it’s more like an MMA fight than bounty shit.”
Fucking Brownstone. What was your brilliant plan? Keep him away from the city? Stop always trying to be such a fucking martyr. Last time you almost got your ass killed.
Maria sighed. She’d hoped the bounty hunter would have learned to trust AET a little more after their recent interactions, but they obviously had a long way to go.
Tyler glanced at her and jumped up from his chair. “That’s right, everyone,” he yelled. The boisterous crowd grew quiet. “The odds are against the famous James Brownstone, because Lars Hansen, being a cowardly piece of shit, is bringing two other people, both levels fours, to gang up on Brownstone. Now, I would have been far more interested in a straight-forward fight, but there’s still money to be made in the Great Brownstone Ambush if you act now.”
Two large men who’d been lounging near the bar shoved their way through the crowd and stomped over toward Tyler.
“What did you just say about Lars?” one of the men growled.
“Just explaining the situation.”
The man shoved Tyler. “No, you said he was a cowardly piece of shit.”
Tyler shrugged. “Hey, he’s obviously afraid, which is why he needed to bring help to take down Brownstone. I’m just disappointed, is all. I thought the great Lars Hansen wouldn’t need help, but instead, he had to go and cry and say he needed backup. How is that not cowardly? It’d be like Brownstone calling for surprise help.”
The thug slammed a fist into Tyler’s stomach. The information broker doubled over and fell to his knees, coughing and groaning.
A roar went up from the crowd. Several people complained about their bets not being taken.
“Fuck, that hurt,” Tyler wheezed. “You sonofabitch.”
Kathy gasped and scrambled out of her seat. “You can’t do that. It’s against the rules.”
Tyler’s assailant sneered. “Fuck you, bitch, and fuck your boss. My boss told me to make sure that Tyler didn’t try any shit, and I think being disrespectful is trying shit.”
Maria shook her head. She reached into her back pocket instead of her jacket. A gunfight in a crowded bar would result in too much collateral damage, but she still had surprise on her side. She grabbed a small silver telescoping baton from her pocket and pulled it out. With a quick thrust, it snapped to full length.
The Demon General grinned at her. “Can I join in, too, cop? Come on. That was a bitch move, sucker-punching Tyler.”
She shook her head. “Stay out of it. It’s cop business now.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Nope.”
Maria raised the baton and advanced on the two thugs standing over Tyler.
He looked up from the ground and flipped off the thug. One of the thugs slugged him, and Tyler slammed to the ground.
He wiped some blood from his mouth and grinned. “You just lost your neutrality, asshole.”
21
Maria continued advancing on the thug, her weapon in hand. Another man joined him to kick Tyler.
It’s been a while since I had to remind people why this place is neutral. Disrespecting the neutrality here means disrespecting the AET, and it’s important that these assholes remember who is in charge.
The thug glanced her way, his gaze dropping to her baton. “You got a problem, bitch?”
Maria pointed her baton at Tyler. “You’re assaulting the owner of this place. You can’t honestly expect me to stand by and let that happen.”
The man snorted. “You want some of this too? Maybe we can offer you a little rod after we’re done with Tyler.”
His friend grinned, feral hunger in his eyes.
Cocky assholes. Good. If they had powers, they would have already used them. They shouldn’t be a problem.
“Leave right now.” Maria raised the baton. “I don’t want trouble here. That’s the whole damned point of the neutrality. Why don’t you and your friend just walk away? You can tell everyone how you kicked Tyler’s ass and laugh about it.”
The first thug squared his shoulders. “You think I’m afraid of some bitch?”
“I’m not just some bitch. I’m a cop with AET.”
“So what? I run with Lars Hansen. He’s killed plenty of cops and AET.”
Maria nodded and looked him up and down. “You’re just his errand boy, I’m guessing. I don’t recognize you, which means you’re not a level four or higher. I don’t need armor and a rifle to take your ass down.”
He frowned. “Fuck you, bitch. You think I’m afraid to beat a cop down?”
“Three-to-one Maria kicks their asses,” Tyler croaked.
The man silenced him with a kick. “Shut your mouth, fucker, if you want to be alive at the end of this.” He looked at his partner. “Three to one? More like ten to one.” He laughed.
Several men rushed toward the table to slap down bets, and the thug stopped laughing. The men placing bets hurried back into the crowd, allowing a circle of space in the center.
The thug narrowed his eyes at the cop. “You should have been the one to walk away, bitch. Now you’re gonna pay.”
Still too many people to use my gun. Need to rattle his cage a little so I have the advantage.
Maria sneered. “You’re an idiot, which is why you’re here instead of helping take down Brownstone.”
“You’re dead, bitch.”
With a grunt, the man lunged. The cop spun, dodging his grasp. Two quick strikes to his knees with the baton had him on the ground groaning. A nice kick to the head with her boot sent him to the Land of Nod.
“My name isn’t ‘bitch,’ it’s Maria.” She kicked him again.
His partner yanked out a knife. “I’m gonna carve you up good.”
Maria snorted. “You’re seriously trying to intimidate me with a knife? Give me a fucking break. I’ve stared down demons and portals to other worlds, you dumb piece of shit.”
The man swiped at her, and she blocked his strike with her baton. She backed off, glancing to either side to make sure no one was planning to join in, but everyone was just watching and cheering as if they were at a boxing match.
Need to end this quickly.
The cop sprinted forward when the thug bumped into a table and smashed his wrist with the baton. He yelled, and his knife clattered to the ground.
Maria followed up with a knee in his groin. The man howled in pain and bent over. A quick blow to the head sent him to the ground, moaning.
“Damn!” shouted the gang member from earlier. “She laid those bitches out like they were nothing.”
The cop sighed and knelt by the second man.
“You…bitch,” he moaned.
A murmur rippled through the crowd as two uniformed officers pushed their way through. They stopped when they hit the clear circle where the thugs had met their fate.
One of the cops looked down at the men on the ground. “We got a call about an assault in progress. Weren’t sure if we should come because of the whole neutrality thing, Lieutenant.” He frowned.
Don’t give a shit if you approve. Only give a shit if you have my back as a fellow cop.
Maria nudged her second victim with her foot. “These guys were beating on the owner of the place. They refused to leave, so it was necessary for me to take them down.”
“We’ll take it from here, Lieutenant.” The cop fished out handcuffs and shook his head. “Stupid idiots.”
Maria marched over to Tyler, who had relocated to a chair at this point and was holding his stomach. His face was swollen and he’d have an obvious black eye soon, but he seemed otherwise okay.
She eyed him in silence, wondering if he’d been purposely trying to get the men to hit him so she could take care of them, or even as a warning that Brownstone was in danger.
He can’t honestly care, can he?
It didn’t matter. She needed him to clarify a few things so she knew how angry she should be with him.
Maria pointed toward the hallway. “I need to talk to you, Tyler. Now.”
He shook his head. “I’ve got bets to take, and I’ve got to pay out for the bets on you. Money goes before comfort.”
Maria rolled her eyes. “This isn’t about comfort, and it wasn’t a request.”
Kathy stepped away from the edge of the crowd. “I can handle the bets, Tyler.”
The cop grabbed Tyler’s arm and yanked him out of the chair. “Come on, before I get really pissed and finish what they started.”
The info broker muttered under his breath as the AET lieutenant dragged him into the hallway and away from the crowd.
The cop took a deep breath. “Before I had to save your ass from those two thugs, I had an interesting conversation with a chatty gang member. I’m hoping he was confused, because if he’s not, you and Brownstone conspired to set up some sort of fight event in the Salton Sea with a level-five bounty, and you didn’t mention any of this to me or anyone else in the department. I’m also really having trouble believing this because it involves you working closely with Brownstone.”
Hail To The King: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Book 8) Page 16