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“Of course.”
“You’re what’s left of the Golden Vigil, aren’t you? I mean, any idiot could have bought stolen lab gear from when the Vigil closed down, but how many people would know how to use it?”
“We’re not all of the Vigil. There are other cells scattered here and there. But we all lost our dental plans and 401(k)s when the government shut us down. It was either find a way to earn a living or go on food stamps, and like you, we hate filling out paperwork. ”
I’m trying to place his accent, but there’s nothing to get hold of. It’s like he learned to speak phonetically. The Vigil or Homeland Security sent him to speech classes to erase any regional traces.
“Do I know you?” I ask.
“I saw you at the Vigil offices, but we never had any heart-to-hearts.”
The angel in my head talks to me. He’s a little Sherlock Holmes, which, I guess makes me Dr. Watson. I’m not wild about that. Better that he’s Starsky and I’m Hutch. At least I get a cool car that way.
“Why do I get the feeling that somehow Wells is involved in this? He’s coming back to L.A. and he wants his own private army. Maybe he wants to start a panic with a drug associated with hoodoo and get them to send him back.”
Hunahpu makes a sound. At first I think it’s a sneeze, but realize it’s a little laugh.
“Don’t be stupid. Wells flunked Vills fluout because he was and remains a Boy Scout. He can’t see the big picture. He doesn’t want to because it’s so big there isn’t even anyone to arrest.”
“There’s you and your people in the next room.”
“If he was coming, we’d know it. If he grabs us, he won’t keep us long.”
It’s not a boast. I can read it in his voice. This guy is connected to something or someone higher than the clouds and probably just as hidden.
“So you’re off on your own, causing trouble after your boss takes a bullet. What does that make you? Do you think you’re the forty-seven Ronin? Are you making a samurai movie in Grandma’s backyard?”
“Fuck the feds. Sister Ludi set us up. We work for her now.”
“You mean Aelita, don’t you?”
I lean back in Hunahpu’s chair. He hasn’t said anything for a few seconds. I hit a nerve.
“Call her what you want, white boy. Sister Ludi came to me in a vision and I saw who she really was.”
“You mean Aelita got inside your head and showed you what you wanted to see. She’s good at that kind of thing. She’s a fucking angel. And she’s crazy. You know that, right?”
“She’s doing the work that needs to be done, just like we are.”
“Are you crazy, too, or just stupid?”
“You’re hurting my feelings, Stark. If you really feel that way about Sister Ludi, I suppose you don’t want what she left for you.”
I sit up straight in the chair.
“I take it all back. Aelita is Florence Nightingale, Patti Smith, and Miss America all rolled into one. Now, what did she leave me?”
“A message. Listen. ‘If you’ve made it this far, it’s already too late.’ ”
I lean my elbows on the desk.
“What does that mean?”
“I assumed you’d know. It’s pretty fucking funny that you don’t, don’t you think?”
“Why did you go after Hunter Sentenza?”
“She told us to.”
