The Jap sat next to him in the front of the Packard. Amish was scared of Mr. Torrio, but he was terrified of the Jap. One time Amish had gotten curious to see if the Japs thought the same as white men, so he'd used his Power to try to Read him, even though Mr. Torrio had warned him not to. It was like his Power had hit a brick wall. Amish wasn't a very strong Reader. His Power barely worked once in a while, and he could only really get into the heads of the really dumb. When he tried to read smart people he just kind of bounced off. The Jap hadn't just bounced him, he'd booted him out of his head and across the street. Amish's head had ached for the last three days straight.
The Jap didn't bother to look at him, like he was too good to give Amish the time. 'The demon returns,' he said simply.
The Jap must have had really good hearing, because Amish didn't hear the wings flapping until ten whole seconds later. Mr. Torrio's imp settled on the side mirror and squawked at him. Amish listened for a second. He didn't speak Demon good like Mr. Torrio, but he could get the gist of it. 'The Heavy's asleep. Let's go.'
The Jap held up a hand. 'Send one man in first to make sure the lobby is clear.'
Amish hesitated. Mr. Torrio had put him in charge, not the Jap. He didn't know who the Jap was supposed to be or who he worked for, but all of a sudden he thought he could give the orders? But Amish hesitated, because first off the Jap scared him to death, and second, it was a good idea.
Daniel Garrett checked his pocket watch for the fifth time. It was almost three o'clock in the morning.
'It is exactly two minutes from the last time you checked,' Heinrich stated, not looking away from the window. The German seemed nonchalant as he watched the nearly empty street and the front of the Rasmussen Hotel, but Heinrich was always composed. The entire world could be exploding around them in flames and Heinrich would still play it cool.
'Well, sorry. I don't have your Teutonic nerves of steel,' Daniel muttered. 'Are they moving?'
'Nein. Only the one went inside, probably to check the registry. The others are still waiting. We should take them now.'
'There's at least six of them.'
'All the reason to go now. Element of surprise, my friend.'
The two of them had arrived on the last dirigible of the evening. A contact at the Chicago police had told them where Jake Sullivan was staying. The Grimnoir Society prided itself on having contacts everywhere.
Daniel leaned forward so he could see out the stolen Chrysler's passenger side window. He did not like stealing automobiles or blimps, but they were in a hurry, and besides, they always left the things they'd borrowed where they could be found when they were done. He had to shove his glasses back up his nose. His natural vision was terrible. 'You don't even know who they are…'
'We're staking out this particular hotel because of our mysterious Heavy, and a group of suspicious men arrive and are also watching the same hotel… Coincidence?'
Daniel thumped his head dramatically on the steering wheel. 'Figures. I wonder what Sullivan did to tick them off?'
'I do not know, but he seems to have that effect on people.' Heinrich rubbed his jaw. Jane had Mended it good as new, but Daniel knew from personal experience that a magically fixed bone would still ache for days afterward. It was obvious the Society's best Fade felt guilty for letting a Heavy knock him out. You don't sneak up on Fades, they sneak up on you. 'I've already said it once, but I do not have a good feeling about this Heavy.'
'Don't feel bad. You should have seen the information the General gathered on this one. You're lucky he didn't eat you. Wouldn't be the first German he's done in, I figure,' Daniel said, trying to make his young friend feel better, and failing. 'They quit pinning medals on his chest when they ran out of room, and you saw how big he was.'
'I don't trust him. Maybe the Imperium is here for the same reason as we are?' Heinrich mused. 'What do we do then?'
Daniel didn't answer at first. He didn't think he had to. It was open season on anybody who worked for the Imperium, and if they hired the Heavy, then he was fair game too. 'You don't even know they're Imperium.'
'I can smell s-' Heinrich shifted. 'He's coming back.'
Daniel leaned forward again so he could see a man walking quickly from the hotel entrance to the parked autos. They conferred through the windows for a moment. After some discussion, doors opened, and men began to pile out. Long guns were removed from the vehicles and quickly covered in loose coats. The man who stepped from the passenger seat of the lead vehicle was familiar, Japanese, dignified, and Daniel swore under his breath as recognition came. He looked just like the photographs smuggled out of Manchuria. 'That's Rokusaburo.'
'Told you so,' Heinrich said. 'Imperium Scheisse.'
The Japanese killer pulled a thin, three-foot, black object and held it under his long coat as he walked casually toward the hotel entrance.
'An Iron Guard, here in the U.S.? I can't believe this! Damn it. I wish we had the rest of the crew.' Dan moved to start the car. They would need to alert the General that one of the Chairman's best men was in the States. There was no way just the two of them could take on an Iron Guard. There were other Grimnoir in the Midwest, and if he could raise enough of a force in time, they might be able to- 'Heinrich, what're you doing?' he hissed as the young German opened his door.
'I'm going to go and talk to this Heavy, like Herr General ordered,' he smiled as he got out. 'Coming?'
'Are you crazy?' Daniel hissed. 'Rokusaburo will cut us to bits. He can't be killed!'
Heinrich shrugged. 'He is magic. He is not immortal.'
Daniel banged his head on the steering wheel again.
Amish and two Torrio men, Brick and Hoss, stepped out of the elevator on the tenth floor. The Jap trailed them silently a few feet behind, his long black coat almost hitting the carpet. Amish had left the two others covering the lobby. He wasn't expecting this to be too hard.
The imp couldn't tell them a room number. It wasn't like it could hop down the brightly lit hallways like a miniature kangaroo checking room numbers. It peeked through windows. That's about all the stupid thing was good for, but the logbook at the desk had Sullivan's blocky signature under Room 109, so that's what Amish was looking for.
He'd draped his overcoat on top of his Tommy gun, not that he needed to bother. The desk clerk had been passed out drunk. He tossed the coat over his shoulder as he rounded the corner and spotted the gold numbers for 109.
Daniel Garret went straight for the front door while Heinrich went for the side. Fades worked better in the dark. Mouths always preferred the public.
There were two gangsters in the low-class lobby. One was sitting in a chair next to the desk, pretending to read the newspaper. The other was acting like he worked there, behind the counter, except he hadn't even bothered to remove his hat. Both of them looked good and stupid. Dan kicked his Power up a notch.
'Good evening!' he said, friendly as could be. 'I'm in need of a room.'
'We're all full. Go away,' grunted the man at the front desk. His posture told Daniel that he was holding a gun under the table.
Dan always did enjoy a challenge. He reached out, his magic telling him the emotional state of the two. They were small-minded and brutal men. The beauty of being a Mouth was that the dumber your audience, the easier they were to steer. Strong minds were much harder to sway, and they could usually sense the intrusion. 'Hey, don't I know you guys? You look really familiar.' So far, so good, so Dan pushed harder.
The two men glanced at each other, feeling a sudden deep sense of camaraderie. 'Uh, yeah… I think I know you,' said the one with the paper.
'We're friends, don't you remember… that one time? We all got together?' Dan asked, pushing as hard as he could. There was no time for subtlety. He was their buddy, their old pal. His magic was based on lies and coercion, but any moral qualms he'd had about using it had been put to rest once he'd seen the Imperium schools in action.
'Oh yeah!' said the one behind the counter.
'I need a favor.'
Both of them were smiling now. 'Anything, bub.'
'What room is Jake Sullivan staying in?'
The goon flipped open the book and scanned down the page. 'Tenth floor. Ninth room. Our buddies are up
