AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had the urge to stick my tongue out at him, which really wouldn’t have given the right impression at all. Instead, I wrinkled my nose, and he laughed.
He sauntered out of our booth and wandered to our nearest neighbors, and then the next occupied booth, and the next. From the nods and words exchanged, it looked like everyone was aware of who he was. His demeanor shifted slightly as he approached each group, subtly reflecting their pre-existing energy. I watched his chameleon-like skills with a flicker of admiration.
I’d never seen him so fully at work before. He was masterful.
Not all of his friendly overtures seemed to be met with equal enthusiasm. I noticed a couple of the men whose groups he approached tense up slightly as the others spoke to him, and made a mental note to remember them later.
A different server sashayed into our booth and asked for our drink orders. “A whiskey highball,” I said, picking the low-alcohol cocktail I usually turned to on missions so I could sip it without being worried that it’d go too much to my head. “Extra ginger ale.”
“Just club soda and lime for me,” Julius said.
The server giggled. “Right, you’re the teetotaler.”
Talon asked for a beer and Blaze a marguerita, putting in Garrison’s order as well. As the server headed out, I glanced at Julius. “You don’t drink.”
He lifted his shoulders slightly. “I have on occasion in the past, but only very rarely since I started the crew. You never know when you’re going to need a totally clear head.”
“And Julius is the one who makes sure we all keep our heads attached,” Blaze said with a chuckle.
“Exactly,” Julius said without any humor of his own. “I won’t risk the crew’s lives by being in any way mentally compromised.”
It made sense, I supposed. Because he was the one who led most of the missions, he felt responsible for seeing them through entirely. And maybe even in between missions, he wanted to be on guard for unexpected problems. I didn’t think drinking was an irresponsible decision, especially when we needed beverages in front of us to hold our cover, but I understood why Julius wouldn’t do it.
The server came back in just a few minutes and set out our glasses in front of us. Remembering Julius’s words, I only took the smallest sip from mine, rolling the tangy liquid around in my mouth.
As the woman left, Garrison strolled back in and plucked his Old Fashioned off the table before sinking into the free chair. I watched him take a small swallow. Was that really his drink of choice, or was it part of a persona he was putting on even now? I guessed any face you wanted to show to the criminal underworld, you had to keep it up every second you were in this place.
We relaxed back into our seats as if we were only there to enjoy the atmosphere. “Observations?” Julius asked Garrison.
Garrison cradled his drink against his chest and cocked his head. “I’d say there are four teams currently here who are aware of the bounty and seriously considering pursuing it, if not already working on finding our usual base of operations. The Chicago Turks, the Burning Whips, the Jackhammers, and the Angel’s Fiends.” He surreptitiously pointed out the groups as he spoke—one on the top floor near the tiger’s enclosure, two on the second floor with us, and one down by the elevator platform. Among them were the groups I’d noticed getting edgy at his arrival.
“I thought we had pretty good relations with at least the Turks and the Fiends,” he added. “It must be an awfully big pot for them to be jeopardizing that.”
Talon hummed darkly. “They aren’t friends if they’re willing to betray us.”
“How can you be sure?” I asked.
Garrison made a vague gesture and took another gulp of his drink. “I read it in the way they looked at me and talked to me. The tension was obvious, as much as they tried to hide it. They were startled to see us here, so between that lack of preparation and the nature of the Funhouse, I doubt they’ll make any move on us.”
I glanced at the glass floor beneath my feet and realized how impossible an attack would be in this place, at least one that hadn’t been meticulously planned. One misplaced shot and you could easily damage the entire structure of this part of the building, shattering the floor beneath you or the ceiling over your head as well as destroying your target. Peace was enforced through a sense of mutually assured destruction.
But we were going to rise above that mutual assurance. Julius was the most meticulous man I’d ever met, and I knew he’d considered every possibility. The statement he meant to make would be a powerful one as long as we survived it.
“Just those four groups?” Julius asked.
Garrison shrugged. “As far as I can tell. The others might have hid it better, but that’d mean they’ve developed much better poker faces since the last time I met them.”
“Four is plenty.” The crew’s commander scanned the club. I could practically see the final pieces lining up in his head. “Talon, you deal with the Turks up top. Dess, you take the Jackhammers down below. I’ll handle the two on our level, although feel free to jump in if either of you finishes with your targets before I do. We need them all down ASAP, before they have a moment to think about striking back.”
I nodded, enjoying the deeper thrum of authority that’d come into his voice. It was only the three of us doing the shooting for this operation—the three of us who were the most skilled. Blaze and Garrison were proficient enough to handle backup during a regular mission, but this one required too careful a touch.
They were contributing in their own ways, of course—Garrison with his rounds and Blaze now, glancing at his phone and watching the movements of the employees around the club. “Ready on your signal,” Julius said to him.
“Just a few minutes,” Blaze murmured.
We needed to time our attack perfectly. No servers or dancers could be in the way, but Blaze had said they followed obvious patterns. If we worked around their circuits of the room, we’d get a small opening to make our move without hurting any innocent bystanders.
I casually adjusted my visible gun, refamiliarizing myself with its exact position. We drank from our glasses and exchanged a few random remarks that passed through my mind without sticking. I was too focused on the task ahead, braced for the moment when Blaze would say—
