Chapters (42)
- DEDICATION
- EPIGRAPH
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- ALSO BY RICHARD KADREY
- CREDITS
- ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
AT NINE THIRTY-FIVE IN THE EVENING COOP SAID, “Remember that getting the box isn’t enough. We have to get it to the buyer before midnight.”
He and the crew were on Fifth Street, parked in a van provided for the occasion by Mr. Babylon. The Blackmoore Building was half a block north, between Figueroa and Flower Streets, with a picturesque view of the Bonaventure Hotel.
“You’ve reminded us of that like twenty times in the last hour,” said Sally.
All four of them were seated in the back of the van with their equipment—a bag of gear for Coop, plus a jar about the size of a coffee can. Small scrabbling sounds came from inside it, like an insect mosh pit. Tintin sat in the very rear of the van, as far from the jar as possible.
“Well, it’s good to remember,” said Coop.
“Right,” said Morty. “But what happens if Fast Eddie doesn’t make it in? I mean, what if he falls off the roof or something?”
Everyone looked at Coop. He picked up the jar and shook it. The scrabbling got louder. Morty nodded. Sally moved to the back of the van with Tintin.
“Any other questions?”
No one said anything. Tintin looked at his watch. “It’s almost time.”
Coop opened the side of the van. He reached for the bag with his tools, but Sally grabbed it first. “I’ll get this. You just make sure not to drop that,” she said, pointing to the jar.
Coop nodded. He and the others got out and walked the rest of the way to the Blackmoore Building, looking as inconspicuous as four people dressed in ninja black, carrying a bag full of semimystical tools and a mason jar full of little six-legged nightmares could.
Fast Eddie stood on the roof of the Ketchum Insurance Tower, just a few yards away from the roof of the Blackmoore Building. Eddie wore black jeans and a black T-shirt with an arrow pointing down and the words BEER GOES HERE above it. He was tall, with a beard and an impressive, some might say heroically sized, gut. The look suited him, though probably not in the way he intended. To most people, Eddie looked less like a thief and more like a grizzly bear trying to pass for human by wearing people clothes. It didn’t get him a lot of dates, but it was great for maintaining discipline among his crew.