Dead Six

Nightcrawler came right back. “I’ll—wait a second. What?” There was some commotion in the background. “I don’t have your radio. . . . What do you . . . Son of a bitch! Control, Xbox’s radio is missing. Repeat, his radio is gone.”

“Are you sure?”

Brief pause. “Yes. It’s missing.”

“No!” I shouted as I leapt from my chair. “Damn it, no!”

“Hang on.” Sarah, or whatever her name was, went right into full-blown damage control. “Attention on the net. ComSec breach. I say again, ComSec breach. Emergency protocol in force, Zulu One. I repeat, Zulu One.”

Then the radio went to static.

They’d changed to a different encrypted channel. “Reaper!”

“They’re gone,” he replied.

“Not good enough! Find them,” I bellowed.

“I’m trying, but this stuff is hard.”

Gone!

A bubble of rage uncorked from my soul, rumbled to the top, and erupted like a festering boil. All this work, all the killing, all the effort, all for nothing.

I just lost it.

With an incoherent roar, I picked up my chair and hurled it into the kitchen, shattering it against the far wall. “This Nightcrawler asshole has screwed me three times now! Three times!” I slammed my fist through the nearby Sheetrock, scattering tacked-up photos of the Zubaran underworld like confetti. “Falah, Adar, and now Hosani! And I even kind of liked Hosani! Worthless asshole cock- sucking son of a bitch!”

Jill and Reaper recoiled as I stomped past. “Every step of the way, every part of this suicide mission, complicated because of that piece of shit. Damn it! Not only does he have my box—he’s got my money! And I’ve got—” I kicked a hole through the kitchen door. “Nothing! It isn’t enough for him to ruin my life, but no, I get to make him rich, too. I swear I’m going to gut him like a fish. I’m going to pull his eyes out and skull-fuck him to death! I’ll tear his throat out with my teeth!”

Carl, having seen a few of my outbursts over the years, calmly turned up the TV volume and sipped his beer.

The neighbors started banging on the wall, demanding quiet. My first inclination was to pull my gun and shoot them through the wall. If they wanted loud, I’d show them loud. But I just stood there, breathing hard, chest heaving, veins popping out in my neck, left eye spasmodically twitching, fists clenched so hard that I was shaking. Big Eddie was going to murder everyone, and all because I couldn’t catch Dead Six.

So what the hell do I do now?

“Are you done throwing your sissy tantrum?” Carl asked over the sounds of Walker, Texas Ranger speaking in Arabic. “Or should I go get more furniture for you to break?”

Deflated, back to the wall, I sank slowly to the floor. “I’m out of ideas.”

Reaper had instinctively moved his body to protect his precious computer equipment from my fury. He’d rather me toss him across the room than one of those hard drives. “I can keep trying,” he assured me. The kid wasn’t used to me not having all the answers. “There’s got to be a way. You always figure out something.”

I shook my head. “We need to start thinking about how we can protect our families. How can we get all of them out of Big Eddie’s reach?” But I knew that was futile before the words even left my mouth. He had us by the short hairs, and there was nothing we could do. “Jill, you did your part. I’ll get you out of the country. I’ve got resources, friends. You—”

“Lorenzo!” Jill snapped. “You’re not out of options yet.”

I laughed, and it wasn’t a happy noise. If only she knew. Up until a few hours ago, she had been my final option. But somehow things had changed. I stood up. “You don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” I said.

Jill’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Yes, I do.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but somehow that got everyone’s attention more than my ranting. “We all heard what they said. This Bureaucrat wants me dead, and I’ll bet you money that’s Gordon. You can still use me to get to them. I know you’ve already thought of that.”

That perked Carl’s interest, and he turned down the TV to listen to my response.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Yes, you would. I’m not stupid, Lorenzo. That’s why you’ve kept me around. I figured that out in the last few days. I could see it in your eyes. You didn’t like it, but I was insurance.”

“I wouldn’t do that now.” That time I said it with more force.

And she knew I was telling the truth. “What changed?”

I didn’t have an answer. “Nothing.”

But she wasn’t going to be deterred. “There’s no such thing as nothing.”

Reaper shook his head. “No way, man. Bullshit. Lorenzo wouldn’t sell you out. That’s . . .” He turned to me, scowling. “No way.”

I looked Reaper square in the eyes. “I was going to do what I had to do. This isn’t about me. This is about your mom, and Carl’s family, and a bunch of little kids I’ve never even met, and for Train. I know what Eddie can do. I’ve seen it. What would you do if you were in my place?”

He looked around hesitantly. “I don’t know.”

I turned back to Jill. “But I’m not selling anybody to Dead Six.”

Jill smiled. “So, you do have a heart.”

It was really tense in that apartment right then. “Look, sorry about . . .” I waved my throbbing hand at the new holes in the wall. “Whatever. Just leave me alone. I’ll . . . we’ll think of something in the morning.” I went to my room and closed the door, utterly defeated.

She didn’t bother to knock.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the folder of family photos in the dim light, absently spinning that blood-stained .44 Magnum cartridge between my fingers, and I looked up to see Jill’s silhouette in the doorway, hands on her hips. “Carl wanted me to tell you that he and Reaper went to pick up the spare car.” Closing the folder, I set it aside. “What’s that?” she asked.

Sighing, I responded. “This? This is a forty-four Magnum round. It came from the man that shot me today. And these,” I said, gesturing at the photos, “are a bunch of innocent people who are going to be hurt because of what I am.”

She waited. “Well . . . what are you?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know anymore.”

“I do,” Jill said. She came inside and softly closed the door behind her. There was a sudden energy in the room. “I know exactly what you are.”

I recognized the look that she was giving me. I’d seduced more women than I could count, but it wasn’t like they knew me. I couldn’t do this. Not with her. This wasn’t right. I stood. “Listen, I —”

“You’re a thief, and a liar, and an all-around jerk,” she said with this mischievous little smile. “You’re this just horrendous asshole that takes advantage of everybody around him, and uses people whenever it’s convenient. And you’re so short. I don’t know what the hell I’m thinking.”

That was unexpected. “Me, either.”

“But . . .” Jill was closer now. She stopped, so close that I could just barely feel the soft curves of her body against me. It was electric. It had been a long time. “You’re also the man that saved my life.”

Her fingers were soft on my cheek. Then I was pulling her tight. Against all reason, I kissed her. She responded, quickly, aggressively. She felt so very good. “You don’t have to do this,” I said, and I meant it.