Page 35

“Their place,” he says. “Not yours. Theirs. I told you. Things have changed.”

There it is. Things have changed. I’m not surprised, but it’s still a kick in the teeth.

“Are they happy?”

“Like a basket of kittens. And it gets a little aggravating sometimes for those of us, you know.”

“Alone?”

“Yeah.”

“What ever happened to Fairuza?”

Fairuza is a Lurker, a Ludere. Blue skinned and very sweet. She and Kasabian were an item last time I saw them.

He taps some ash on the counter.

“She’s long gone. Remember that night Allegra killed the French chick who poisoned Vidocq?”

“I ditched the body, so yeah.”

He shakes his head.

“She never got over it. Had a nervous breakdown and everything. Doesn’t want to have anything to do with any of us.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t sweat it. It’s the story of my life.”

“Speaking of Vidocq, I didn’t see him when the others left. How is he?”

He looks at me.

“You’ve been spying on us? There’s a word for that: stalker.”

“That’s why I came in tonight. I don’t want to be that person.”

“Thanks for making me your shrink.”

“So, where is Vidocq?”

He shrugs.

“Don’t know. I haven’t seen him for a while. Allegra dumped him after the thing with the French chick.”

“He was kind of an idiot, chasing after a girl he hadn’t seen in two hundred years.”

“I’m not sure you’re in a position to judge, window peeper.”

“How’s Brigitte? Working?”

He reaches back and pulls a Blu-ray box set off the wall.

“She’s doing fine. She’s the star of a big cable series. Plays an international spy and hit woman. But she’s a good guy, you know? Anyway, she spends a lot of time kicking the shit out of everybody in six-inch heels.”

I turn over the box set. Queen Bullet, it says in shiny red letters. The back is mostly stills of her snapping necks and shooting bad guys, dressed in miniskirts and evening gowns. She looks like she’s having a ball. Good for her.

I slide the set back to him.