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Fiona and I sat down on the other side of his desk.
“First off, I’m normally one fifty an hour. For an out-of-town gig like this, it’s a thousand a day, plus expenses,” the old guy said.
“Jesus Christ,” I said, taken aback. I hadn’t expected it to be that much.
“Sid… come on,” Fiona pleaded. “Friend Prices.”
“You tryin’ to bankrupt me, kid?”
“I told you, I’ll work for free.”
“No,” I said to her. “I told you this was purely professional.”
“Look, I owe you – ”
“Shut up, the both of you,” the old guy barked. “FINE, 500 a day plus expenses. If I was you, Easy Rider, I’d take her up on the offer. Otherwise it’s an extra 250 a day, even at Friend Prices. So take yer pick.”
I did some quick calculations in my head. The body shop was going to close a lot sooner if I hired this guy, but it was going to close no matter what if I sat back and did nothing. With Sid’s help, I might have a chance at taking down Lou and getting my old life back. And having to pay an extra 250 a day would eat up my money that much faster. It might make the difference between an extra week of his time, or him going home early.
“…fine,” I agreed grudgingly. “You can help for free.”
Fiona smiled.
“Alright,” the old guy said. “I know about you already, so tell me what I don’t know and don’t bore the fuck outta me.”
“How do you know about me?” I asked, but realized it was a stupid question as soon as the words were out of my mouth.
Sid looked at Fiona and shook his head. “I hope for your sake he has a ten-inch personality.”
She blushed. “SID – ”
“I’m just sayin’.”
I squinted at him in disbelief, then looked at Fiona. “Is he like this with all his clients?”
“He tends to be nicer to women,” she said. “He flirts with them.”
“Quit yer yappin’, I’m workin’ on Friend Prices here, not by the hour. What’s the story, Easy Rider?”
I started telling him about the club and Lou –
“You’re borin’ the fuck outta me. Next.”
I told him about how Lou had outed Fiona and used that as a pretext for a coup.
As I talked, Fiona couldn’t look at me.
Sid, of course, was sensitive as ever. “You’re borin’ the fuck outta me again. Next.”
So I told him the only thing I was sure he hadn’t heard: about the two robbers not being Santa Muertes, and how I’d heard it straight from Hector and Rodrigo.
“Okay, that’s officially interesting,” Sid conceded.
Fiona stared at me. “You’re sure?”
“Did you even listen to the story?” Sid chastised her. “‘Three scumbags walk into a bar’? Of course he’s sure.”
Three scumbags walk into a bar. I wanted to be pissed, but that was kind of funny.
