“Or weakness.” Frost turned away from the window to face Cutter. “What about the woman we saw him with? Could we get to him through her?”
“She’s off-limits,” Cutter said simply, looking him dead in the eye.
“She’s what?” Frost asked in disbelief, cocking his ear as if he was hard of hearing. “Say that again.”
“You heard me. I didn’t fuckin’ stutter.”
Tension filled the room immediately, like a rocket ship’s cabin depressurizing, all the air rushing out. Suddenly, everyone was on edge, scared to take the smallest of breaths.
“You wanna explain to me what that means?” Frost turned back to the man lounging on the sofa, his eyes appealing to him for backup. “When did this become a game with rules?”
“He makes a good point, Odell,” the man agreed. “I mean, would we not be looking at a nice little bargaining chip there? As we all saw, Thomas does seem awfully fond of her.”
“He is. As am I.” Cutter was not shy in the least when it came to admitting it. “We all go way back.”
“Have we got us a little love triangle going here?” Frost asked incredulously. “Is this what this is about?” An epiphany seemed to hit him. “Wait! Are you using this whole scenario to get your competition out of the picture? Of course! Killing two birds with one stone is indeed very clever on your part, I’ll give you that. However, I have a lot of money … not to mention my ass on the line here.”
“And she has nothing to do with the fact you’ve double-crossed your employer, and you’re now using his money to fund our little scam,” pointed out Cutter. “This thing will either work out or go to shit without her involvement.” He looked from one man to the other, making sure they understood him clearly. “That’s just gonna be the way it is.”
“Let me assure you of something, Mister Hawkins,” Frost held the gangster’s gaze, as two sets of cold, deadly eyes dueled from ten feet apart. “The only reason my men aren’t at her doorstep at this very moment is because Cee Tee here can’t triangulate that phone signal. I used to think him a competent Comtech until this mission.”
“Thanks, Boss,” Cee Tee interjected.
“Think nothing of it,” Frost replied unfazed, before continuing. “Make no mistake, sir. If he could’ve gotten a facial recognition scan of her before she covered herself, and we could’ve IDed her, there wouldn’t be one brick left on top of the other at her address right now.”
“And you would’ve never made it out of the Rocket City alive.” There was no smile on Cutter’s face, none of the usual cockiness. A stone-cold, death stare was now transfixed upon the bounty hunter. “You certainly wouldn’t have anything to go back home to in Hotlanta, or more specifically, Buckhead. Or even more specifically, 222 Peachtree Lane. What is it with you Georgians and naming every other street Peachtree? How do y’all keep up with that? Y’all ever took the time to even look at a peach, how that split up it looks like a pussy? A fuzzy pussy? I guess that makes all you Georgia Peaches just big … fuzzy … pussies.” Out of his peripheral, he noticed Cee Tee going into a ready stance. He wouldn’t go without Frost giving the signal. Still, he’d have to be factored in. He continued to twist the blade even deeper. “Anyway, am I getting close enough for you … Snow? That is what they used to call you, right? Up on Mars. Badass Space Authority operative. Anyway, I think your daughter’s home for the weekend. Drove in from in Athens last night. Go Dawgs.”
“You trying to prove something, Cutter?” Frost was a cool customer, but it was apparent the crime boss was trying his patience now.
Cutter was undaunted, “Oksana, isn’t it? Her mother was Ukrainian, wasn’t she? Was quite a beauty herself, may she rest in peace. What was it? Ah yes, the Georgia Patrol termed it a ‘burglary gone wrong,’ I believe, although nothing of real value was taken. Terrible tragedy, considering her and her new lover both were gunned down.” He smiled knowingly. “Tell the truth. Was it just cheaper to kill her than go through a messy divorce? Or could your ego not take her going lez on your ass? You don’t have to answer that. I mean, that has definitely got to suck … knowing you ruined a woman for all other men.” Cutter was sneering now, practically daring Frost to react. “Anyways, where were we? Oh yes, back to your daughter, sweet, little Oksana … I bet she’s probably in her room listening to music with Mister Kitty there on the bed beside her. From what I’ve seen, no doubt, she took after her mother. Quite a primo piece of ass if you don’t mind me sayin’ so. See, I got this li’l side business going … one of those web things. She’d be perfect. Camera loves her if you know what I mean. I gotta lot of college girls that work for me … look just like her. So, if she’s ever interested in making a li’l extra spending money for school …”
“You done yet?” Frost said coolly. The urge to strike the man in the throat and crush his windpipe was almost overwhelming. But he knew Cutter had him. He would’ve never come here, away from his base of power, without hedging his bets. Frost had done some homework of his own. Cutter wasn’t just some local two-bit hood running contraband Martian cigarettes through Von Braun. He had connections with some rather unsavory characters not only rockside, but throughout the System. The same kind of characters Frost had once gone up against on Mars and Luna. Despicable, low-life, cutthroats. He wasn’t bluffing, not in
