The Other Crowd by Alex Archer

Author:Alex Archer [Archer, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Action & Adventure, Fiction, Suspense
ISBN: 9780373621491
Publisher: Gold Eagle
Published: 2011-05-03T04:00:00+00:00

23

A montage of past season successes for the Shamrock Rovers, a Dublin-based soccer team, played on the plasma television above the bar. O’Shaughnessy’s pub catered to the men from the fight.

They’d come to this bar because Wesley had said it offered the best craic around. Even though the word was pronounced like an illicit drug, Annja knew the Gaelic word meant rousing conversation, fun people and lots of it.

Wesley’s split lip had reopened, and he sported the beginnings of what would be a remarkable shiner on his right eye come morning. Annja still couldn’t figure out how he had won the fight. No, she knew how he had—Slater had thrown the fight. But she wouldn’t mention her suspicion to Wesley. And she couldn’t figure out why.

Wesley clanked his mug against a few of his buddies’ mugs and settled across the table opposite Annja on a high stool. Triumph glittered in his eyes. He’d already replayed the entire fight to her on the walk over, but she suspected she might hear it again, once or twice, before the night was through.

After putting up with Slater’s “security” on the dig, Wesley deserved the kudos, if only for the evening.

A waitress dropped off Annja’s second pint. The creamy head spilled down the side of the frosted mug. She swallowed the dark ale. She’d told Slater she much preferred to be on a real adventure, which usually meant barren wastelands, poor sanitation and eating bugs. She’d enjoy the amenities this nonadventure offered while she could.

“So how did the two camps ever manage to come together for these Saturday night excursions?” she asked Wesley. “Did you invite Slater or was it the other way around?”

“You trying to figure who wanted to punch the other the most?” he asked.

A flash of his movie star smile made Annja glad she’d chosen to end the night in Wesley’s company rather than continue to try to pry information from the uptight Slater.

Wesley raised his mug to a bunch of fellows nearby and then drank heartily. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he carried out a long, satisfied ahhh. “One of the kids on the dig—my side, that is—his brother runs the fights. He was excited telling his friends to come and check it out, but he hadn’t figured that the newest people on the dig were not the friendliest. I think Slater showed up that first weekend out of curiosity. But it’s all good. When we’re standing toe to toe in the ring we don’t necessarily want to kill each other.”

“You just want to show you can take the other guy. Who’s the boss?”

“You got it. And I like the workout.”

Annja smirked. Not to mention the adulation that came with the win. She wasn’t going to criticize him for that one.

“So do you know this guy Slater works for?” she asked. “Frank Neville?”

“Nope. And I’ve been on a lot of digs all over the world. I recognize most names in the industry, as I did yours. I have a weird sort of sixth sense that Neville doesn’t have ties to our trade.

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