Maximus dropped into a seat, satisfied with the implicit confirmation. He wasn’t bothered by Ken knowing he was a hybrid. If CJ was right, and it was a trap, he’d make sure Ken paid first. All Maximus needed for the moment was information. The other man might pass his presence on to someone else, but if the hybrids acted quickly, it wouldn’t matter.
Maximus locked eyes with Ken, not caring enough to try and lie about being a hybrid. “Wolves can both stand out and blend in with their environment as needed, but it’s also a good thing not to screw with them.” He lifted his hands and cracked his knuckles. “You never know if they’ll tear your throat out to defend themselves.”
“Sure, sure.” Ken raised his glass, a playful smile on his face. “Don’t get me wrong. I always figure it’s good to be on the right side of certain kinds of people, and I’m a big fan of your kind. It’s like I said, brother, I would have offered you a discount if I’d known. I’m serious about that.”
“I don’t give a shit about if you like us or not,” Maximus growled. “You were wired money for info, and I’m here to get that info. If you know half as much about my kind as you’re implying, then you should know not to mess with me.”
Ken set his glass down with a sigh. “Dial it down, Wolfy.” He sighed. “This is the islands. Aloha spirit, brother. You all should settle down here and take up easy living, especially now that the Horatius Group’s all done.”
The blasting hard rock music filling the air didn’t strike Maximus as being part of the aloha spirit. There were times having such good hearing was a literal pain, but he did his best not to show it. He didn’t want Ken to think he had any advantage over him.
Maximus also didn’t bother to correct Ken about the Horatius Group. Most humans didn’t appreciate there were at least three distinct groups of hybrids with different enemies. The groups included the Luna hybrids led by Titus, a faction led by a hybrid named Remus who had disappeared into the Pacific Northwest, and Maximus’s group. High-level government officials understood the difference and that the Phoenix Corps wasn’t a subsidiary of the Horatius Group. He wasn’t sure if that confusion was useful for the different hybrid groups in the long run, but confusion on the part of humans might help him for this mission.
Maximus inclined his head toward the rest of the bar. “You telling me all these people embody the aloha spirit? I’m not an expert on prison tats, but I’m pretty sure that guy at the end of the bar has killed a lot of people. I suspect most of them didn’t have it coming.”
“Don’t judge. Some people are farther along than others in developing the spirit.” Ken tugged on his collar with a smile. “I’m from a pretty rough part of Baltimore, and even I find myself more relaxed since moving here. It’s all in the mindset, brother. It’s hard to be a complete pile of trash when you’re in paradise.”
Maximus didn’t know if this was an exercise in banter or delay. He breathed in deeply through his nose, trying to pick up any suspicious scents, but the stench of the patrons and the aroma of the alcohol and food was almost overwhelming. Hints of guns and blood weren’t a surprise considering the number of armed people there.
“My kind will never be safe until our enemies are annihilated,” Maximus said. “They didn’t have the aloha spirit when they created us as slaves. So, no, I’m not going to dial it down.”
“Yeah, that’s the problem with this world. Everybody’s always living in the past.” Ken clucked his tongue. “But I understand you. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have to run from some bullshit in my past. And don’t worry. I respect you and, more importantly, I respect your money, and I do appreciate a man who pays in advance. Don’t worry, brother. I’ve got something nice for you.”
“What do you have for me, then?” Maximus asked.
Ken looked past him before leaning in. “There’s an old decommissioned Army facility out in the forest. I think they stored grenades or bombs or poison or some crap during World War Two there. Don’t know the fine details, but word on the street is that something’s going on there all of a sudden, and some local gentlemen who don’t always embody the aloha spirit moved some money around related to that place.” He grinned. “None of that’s obvious, though. You’d have to know what companies are in front of these guys to even pick up that they’ve been pulling some strings. Which is why you’re lucky your money made its way to me and not some other loser who talks big but doesn’t know crap.”
“Do they still have explosives or chemicals there?” Maximus asked. “Is this about arming someone up?”
He was dubious of that. Decades-old explosives could be dangerous, but they weren’t reliable. The Corps didn’t need vintage weapons or old poison gas. They could easily source something modern and deadly.
Ken shook his head. “Nah. They haven’t had anything like that in a long time, which is why it’s so odd, especially with the timing.”
“Timing?”
“Yeah. There is some big hot-shot star filming a commercial on the island. Someone was trying to get permits to film in the area near the old Army buildings, but some of that money sloshing around made that not happen. And I’m confused why anyone cares that much about stopping a commercial.” He took a drink. “It’s way too much. It’s how you can tell it’s some new arrivals throwing their weight and money around. They don’t know how to work the local channels enough not to be
