Page 94
“Then that’s one reason why I’m the Augur and you’re not. I like you, Stark, whether you believe it or not. I enjoy doing things for people I like, and I have the resources to do it.”
“That sounds like the kind of thing that could get a person in trouble.”
“Not true. Even if you’re not getting paid, we still have a contract. I can use any resources I want to help an employee.”
I look at him.
“An employee?”
“Sorry. Contractor.”
“That’s better.”
“It’s settled then. I’ll get people started on the problem, and you’ll get in touch if you learn anything. And here, take this.”
Abbot gets out his wallet and hands me what looks like a small gold coin. When I look closer I see that it’s a lot more like a milagro in the shape of an eye.
“What’s this for?”
“Your shadow-walking trick is impressive, but if you get sicker, you might not be able to do it. If you get stuck somewhere and need help, just break the coin in half. We’ll find you.”
I turn the coin over in my hand a few times.
“Thanks.”
“My pleasure,” Abbot says. “Do you want to go and see the apartment?”
“Can you just give me a key and let me find it on my own? I can move faster than your van through LAX traffic.”
“Of course.”
He takes out an ordinary house key and hands it to me.
“The entrance is through a strip mall on Cahuenga near the In-N-Out Burger by the Hollywood Freeway. There’s an out-of-business nail salon. The key opens the front door and the apartment entrance is through a supply closet at the back. It’s one of the bottles of skin lotion on a shelf by themselves. I forget which one, but there are only three. Just pick up each one until the door opens.”
I can’t help but laugh at the setup.
“Nail salon. Skin lotion. Got it.”
Abbot points to the kitchen.
“Do you want anything to eat before you go? The cook makes amazing garlic lamb.”
“Some other time. I appreciate all this.”
“Thanks for saving us tonight.”
“I’ll see you.”
“Stay in touch.”
“Right.”
I go out before any of the guards come back. I’m tired of the way they’re looking at me.
MAX OVERDRIVE IS closed when I get there, late enough that even Kasabian isn’t screwing around inside. I go in near the storage room, terrified that someone found Howard or that he woke up and wandered away.
There’s no reason to worry about Alessa and Candy tonight. The faction will be doing cleanup and recon in Marina del Rey. Looking for bodies. Picking up shell casings. Maybe sending divers down to the boat to search for bodies. They’ll find a few, but not the one they want. With luck they’ll either keep looking or assume Abbot burned in the fire. Me? All I want right now is a little clear head space. No Wormwood. No faction. Just me and Howard, a couple of regular guys doing regular-guy stuff. No pressure. Maybe some beer and pizza. Then he does his hoodoo and I send the fucker on his way. That’s all I want, which is exactly why I’m sure I’m not going to get it.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94 (Reading here)
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182