“I mean come on. That’s a big thing, getting married.”
“Well, if they love each other and think they want to spend the rest of their lives together, why not?”
“Because of what you just said.”
“What do you mean?”
“If they think they want to spend the rest of their lives together. I would want to know for sure before I got married, and how the hell are you supposed to know that? I mean really know.”
“You going to give me that shovel or just keep digging that hole,” Sandy said.
Jacob started to answer, but to his relief, they reached the parking garage. “We’ll talk about this later,” he said.
“Oh?”
“God, I can’t win with you.”
Sandy laughed. “That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said.”
“What are you two laughing about?” Kat asked, holding open the door to the garage.
“Nothing,” Jacob said.
Jacob took the door from Kat and she walked ahead, joining Gomez. He noticed a shape in the back of her jacket near the small of her back. He looked at Gomez’s back, seeing the same shape outlined by his jacket.
Jacob sped up, catching up with them. “Do you two have guns on you?”
Gomez nodded.
“Do you think that’s smart?”
“If we don’t need them, it’s no big deal. If we do, you’ll be glad we have them. I don’t trust that Li guy any more than you do. I used to be able to trust Evgeny, but I don’t think we can now. I get a feeling he’s getting pressured by Li. That’s why I wanted to meet them at the top level. There will be a lot of people there, so I figure they won’t start anything. The guns are insurance,” Gomez said.
Jacob looked at him. Gomez had been in more situations like this than Jacob. He had an instinct for them. “Well, I trust you.”
“Thanks.”
“Did you bring me one?”
“No, so if shit starts, take cover. And get Sandy out of the way.”
The top level of the parking garage was home to a small community of Steamers and Pigeon Eater and his pigeons. A dozen or so shacks built from eclectic materials covered what used to be parking spaces. Vertical gardens lined the edges of the parking garage, large container gardens lined the walkways between the shacks, outdoor stoves and grills dotted the area, and laundry dried from lines running between some of the shacks. Portable cell towers and solar cells took up space wherever they could be placed. In a far corner sat Pigeon Eater’s pigeon coops. The rows of coops almost mimicked the shacks and their gardens in their layout and building material. However, Pigeon Eater enclosed his entire area with chicken wire attached to a large wooden frame. Despite his efforts to keep the pigeons caged, several circled in the air above the parking garage, mingling with a few drones flying overhead. Pigeon Eater roamed around the enclosure, spreading feed for the pigeons, and the Steamers went about their business, ignoring the two SUVs sitting between the shacks and the pigeon coops. Evgeny, Mr. Li, Yuri, Chen, and two other SRS men stood next to the SUVs.
Evgeny stepped forward when he saw Jacob and the others emerge from the stairwell near the Steamer’s shacks. “Gomez, Jacob, how are you doing?” he called.
“Doing well,” Gomez said.
“Well? That is all? What you did for us against the Aryan Brotherhood was wonderful. They are, what is the word, reeling?”
“That’s the word,” Gomez said.
“Finding a way to refund their customers was brilliant. A bonus. Don’t you agree Mr. Li?”
“Yes,” Mr. Li said.
“Thank you. It was Jacob's idea,” Gomez said.
“Well, I understand that your entire team operated wonderfully,” Evgeny said.
“Thank you,” Jacob said. “We just want our ID cards and credits, so we can get on with other projects.”
Evgeny and Mr. Li exchanged a look.
“Yes, other projects,” Mr. Li said.
Gomez said, “Yes, other projects after you give us the promised payment.”
“Oh, you will have your payment, Gomez, is it?” Mr. Li said.
“You know my damn name,” Gomez said, unable to hide his mounting anger.
Mr. Li held his hands up, feigning apology. “Of course. No need to turn to violence.”
“No one said anything about violence,” Jacob said. “We just want our payment.”
“As you have said. I assure you, we have the ID cards.” He motioned to Evgeny who took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Gomez. “The credits,” Mr. Li continued, “are ready to be transferred.”
Jacob looked at the SUVs. Yuri and Chen stood, looking ready to take action. The other two SRS men leaned against the front of one of the SUVs, equally alert.
“Look, we had a deal, and you changed it once already,” Jacob said.
“That is true Mr. Quince,” Mr. Li said.
“Just call me Jacob. I don’t need your fake respect.”
“Mr. Quince, you must understand, we have superiors…”
“This already sounds like a line of bullshit,” Gomez said, his body tensing.
The two SRS stood up straight, the relaxed expressions they wore gone. Yuri and Chen each took a step forward.
Evgeny took a step between Gomez and Mr. Li. “Gomez, my friend, let us not be angry.”
“Well, Evgeny, I think there’s a lot to be angry about right now.”
Evgeny put his hand on Gomez’s shoulder. “Just hear us out. As an old friend, I ask you.”
Gomez looked at Evgeny, then at Evgeny’s hand on his shoulder. Evgeny removed his hand and held it up as if to apologize.
Jacob could see Gomez struggle to control his anger. “All right, what do you have to say?” Jacob asked, stepping forward, trying to defuse the situation.
Mr. Li smiled. “As I was attempting to say, our superiors are concerned. We do appreciate what you have done for us recently, but we also understand that you did not do these things out of the kindness of your heart. You have performed these tasks for payment, and now, as you have said yourself, it is clear that this payment is to be utilized in some other, what did you say, project.”
“I think what we do with our payment is our
