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“Hide it,” I say. “I don’t know where. The augur is smart. Maybe he’ll have an idea.”
“You can’t go to him in broad daylight. You could be recognized,” says Vidocq.
“Way ahead of you.”
I improvise a quick glamour spell and change from my face to Charlie Anpu’s.
“How do I look?”
“Distressing,” says Vidocq.
Allegra wipes her hands on a towel.
“Don’t let Chihiro see you like that. You’re entirely unfuckable right now.”
I check myself in a mirror over the sink.
“Perfect, then. Thanks for the help.”
I give Allegra a hug and she squirms away.
“Ew. Take that face and go do whatever it is you have to do to fix things.”
I head for the door.
“Maybe I’ll see you two at Bamboo House later?”
“Not if you’re going to look like that,” Allegra says.
“Bamboo House is safe. I’ll be me by the time you get there.”
“Please do,” says Vidocq. “And be careful.”
I open the door.
“I’m always careful. I’m just not lucky.”
I head out. Fairuza lets out a little scream when she sees me. Now I just hope I don’t spook all the cabbies. It’s a long walk to Marina del Rey.
IT TAKES A while, but I finally get a ride. The fare all the way out to Abbot’s place is soul-sucking, but I pay the cabbie off with a wad of the cash I get paid for being on the council.
So, this is how regular people live. They get paid to do a job, then have to spend the money on clothes they don’t want to wear somewhere they don’t like, then spend even more money commuting. And that doesn’t count the years of their lives spent going from home to a desk and back again. Fuck that. At least
in the arena in Hell they didn’t charge us for our weapons. And we got to steal better ones from who or whatever we killed that day. Sure, we didn’t have 401(k)s, but if there was a boss who wouldn’t get off your back, we didn’t have to go to HR about it. We just cut the fucker’s throat. That’s job satisfaction.
I go through the locked gate and down the pier to Abbot’s boat. There are a couple of security guys on break, just smoking and shooting the shit. They straighten up when they see me. Toss their cigarettes in the water and stand up straight like maybe the Queen of England is behind me. Only it’s just me and I’m getting nervous and wondering if I’m going to have to hurt someone when one of them starts talking.
“Mr. Anpu?” he says.
He looks me up and down.
“We didn’t know you were coming.”
I’d forgotten on the ride over that I’m wearing someone else’s face. Seeing Charlie’s mug in my boots and ex-con clothes must be frying some circuits in these boys’ heads. I can’t let a moment like this pass.
“Since when do I have to clear my social calendar with the employees?”
I let that float in the air for a minute.
