Can't Shoot Straight Gang Returns by Blaze Ward

Can't Shoot Straight Gang Returns by Blaze Ward

Author:Blaze Ward [Ward, Blaze]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knotted Road Press


17

Rob leaned back with his coffee mug in one hand and smiled at the afternoon sunlight streaming in from the patio. Life was good.

Longbow seemed to agree. They toasted silently with coffee mugs as the others filtered in from elsewhere.

“Vishnu, do I end up looking like that?” Jorge asked the room as he sat at the head of the table with a martini glass in hand. “After a night of excellence?”

“Like those two?” Roxy asked. “Yes. Frequently. But both those boys look like they got their coals thoroughly raked last night. Am I right?”

Rob just smiled at her. Felt Longbow do the same.

“Jorge, you’re like that all the time,” Roxy interjected. “Good for you to see what the rest of us have to suffer through.”

Jorge harrumphed sourly, but didn’t offer any more commentary. His exploits in the bedroom were legion and legendary.

“Nigel, where are we?” Jorge asked instead as the cowboy made his way into the room.

Rob noted that the dude was carrying some sort of personal-scale scanner today, one that played both white noise and quiet, instrumental music in the background as he walked all the way around the room. The doors were all closed, but the curtains were open.

It was weird, being on the top floor of a tall building that only stuck one story above ground. At least triple-thick windows kept the temperature nominal in here.

“So far, so good,” Nigel replied. “No bugs. You bribed the maid with enough money and threats that nobody has been able to outbid her.”

“Yeah, but that’s likely to change when we get down to end-game,” Jorge snapped. “Calculations change.”

“Are we?” Roxy asked. “Getting to end-game?”

“Maybe,” Jorge sipped at his endless martini and watched Rob and Levi with near-disgust on his face, mixed with grudging jealousy. “Had long talks with both of the captains Handsome invited last night. Got some of what I needed to know from Nakano. Handsome, did you managed to gain any useful intelligence while you were interrogating that midget chick?”

“She’s not a midget, Jorge,” Rob smiled serenely at the man. “Might be able to outlift Mrs. Jones, if we wanted to stage a competition. She had needs, and I provided a useful outlet.”

“No, I did not want to hear the gory details,” Jorge growled. “Yes or no?”

“She won’t confirm anything except Bergier, but I got the impression that Black Aurora was more likely the Syndicate than Ahearn & Toledanoi,” Rob answered. “They’ve managed to keep that secret from everyone around here.”

“Yes,” Jorge agreed. “Nakano danced around the topic as well. I’d hate to try to hire the man to attack his own base. Not even pirates are usually that crazy. But we’re also not under the gun for time here, like we were before. Longbow, where are you at with our overarching distraction?”

Rob liked the way Levi’s eyes lit up. He wasn’t sure he’d seen the man actually happy. Like, ever. Always either totally locked in on his mission, or melancholy about things he never mentioned.

Today, the man positively glowed.



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