A smile lit up Peyton’s face. Man-Boy wasn’t the right name for him. Man-Puppy was more appropriate.
“It seems to me,” he began slowly, testing the waters, “that you’re interested in your rep.”
Shay nodded slowly. “Bigger rep means bigger connections. I have an alias I’m using online right now for jobs.”
“And how do you go looking for jobs?”
“Different sources… a couple of dark web forums out there for tomb raiders. A lot of people swapping information out there.”
“People give information away for free? You can’t trust those sources.”
Shay sat on the comfortable leather couch set up in the office. “Not for free. You have to give a little to get a little.”
Peyton rubbed his chin. “Okay, consider looking less at the end result and more at who might be interested. You know, reverse the process basically. Not the object but at the future owner. Hell, I could do it and cross-reference with a bunch of other stuff to really narrow down some good job candidates from people already highly interested. That way you could focus your efforts.”
“It’s worth trying.” Shay crossed her long legs and sat back against the couch. “Tell me you got more than one of those.” She nodded at the cup in his hands with the familiar green logo.
Peyton swallowed hard as he raised his eyebrows. “Next time? Hard to know when you’re gonna make an appearance.”
“Time to invest in one of those machines.”
“Office perk. I can swing with that. Used to have one back in my old apartment.”
“Of course you did.”
Peyton gave a nervous smile. “If I’m going to be effective for you I’ll need access to the forum.”
Shay stared at Peyton for a long moment. Giving him forum access meant she’d be giving up her first major secret. He could easily fuck her over if he screwed up.
Take a fucking contrary action. You can do it. Shay took in and slowly let out a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll show you the forum.”
Trust. It was more foreign to her than most of the strange Oriceran creatures she’d heard about.
Congrats, Tech Magician. I guess you’re the first official member of my inner circle.
Shay went out and got a high-end coffee maker that involved a lot of moving parts and could make more than she needed. Peyton was thrilled when she got back and immediately set it up.
Shay tucked herself into a comfortable overstuffed chair in a corner of the warehouse set up with a goose-neck brass lamp. She kicked off her heels and tucked her feet underneath her, settling in to read. She slowly worked her way through a German news article on her phone detailing the recent public assassination of one Hans Mayer in Munich. The picture revealed Hans was the old man from the café.
Shay arched an eyebrow as she read Herr Mayer. A fellow hitman. Well, both of us are in the past tense. You a little more.
He had in fact carried out hits for numerous organized crime groups throughout Europe, Africa, and South America. The Munich police and Interpol had no leads on the death.
Apparently, unlike old soldiers, old killers don’t fade away. They just die in the cheapest places possible, kitchens and alleys.
“I’ve got a good possibility,” Peyton shouted from the office.
“That didn’t take him long. Good sign.” Shay pocketed her phone and slipped her feet back into her shoes, loping across the floor to the small office. She went and stood behind Peyton, peering down at the computer screen.
“More fucking gold?”
Peyton shrugged. “Yeah, I know, I know… artifacts are your main business model, but if you mix in some normal stuff, it’ll still let you build a rep and pay your bills.” He looked up at Shay like he wanted to say something but closed his mouth and looked back at the screen. “Besides, I think there’s some magic involved, and dealing with that will definitely be good for your rep.” He tapped the screen. “In Arizona, in the middle of the 19th century, the Peralta family of northern Mexico found a gold mine in the Superstition Mountains. They worked the mine and shipped the gold down south until they got taken out by some angry Apaches who ambushed one of their gold caravans.”
“Can’t spend gold if you’re dead.”
“Clever how you’ve managed to redefine dead.”
Shay thumped him hard on his shoulder, but a smile was spreading across her face. “We are a couple of pretty fresh zombies.”
Peyton held still, not sure what to do next, his hands lightly resting on the computer.
“Go on, already. If you’re going to be afraid of me at every turn, we’re done here.”
“Noted… Let me know if there’s a policy change in the company.”
Shay let out a loud laugh and patted him on the back. “We are going to get along just fine, Man-Puppy.”
“I’m going to need a new nickname. Something like Tech God. When I get close, computers just start working.”
“That’s going to need a tweak or two. Later… First, tell me about my next job.”
“Right… first things first. Most predictable thing about you. Okay, back to our story.” He flexed his hands, cracking his knuckles and pointed at the screen as he looked back at Shay. “Later, a German immigrant claimed he found the mine again. He went by the nickname the Dutchman, so they took to calling it the Dutchman’s Mine. Even though he allegedly told another person about it, no one’s ever been able to find that mine or any of the gold that was shipped out. These days it’s known more as the Lost Dutchman’s Mine.”
Shay frowned. “Lots of lost mines legends out there. Why is this one any different?”
“There’s a treasure hunter who already went after it, Adolf Ruth, who was mysteriously murdered in the desert,
