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
“He’s not a gentleman. He’s making a charitable donation to the Home for Wayward Skanks,” said Eddie. Ariel gave him the finger. As she walked away he shouted, “He’s going to need a receipt for that twenty.” Drunk, Fast Eddie’s laugh was like a hacksaw and an angle grinder making sweet love.
Harrison shook his head. “You’re in a mood and a half tonight,” he said.
Fast Eddie swallowed his shot. “It was a good job.”
“Yeah. It was,” Racer X said. “Sucks that it got all twisted up like it did.”
Eddie shook his head. “Not bad luck. Bad associates. What was Coop doing there?”
“Working, by the look of things,” said Harrison.
“Exactly,” Fast Eddie said. “And what are the odds of us both working the same building on the same night at the same time?”
“You think he knew we were on the job?” said Racer X.
“No question. What I want to know is what he was after.”
A brunette sat down at their table.
“Hi. I’m . . .”
“Not interested,” said Fast Eddie. “Tell the other girls this is a business conference, not prom night at Hayseed High. And tell the bartender to send over another round of drinks.”
“Sure thing. Should I have him spit in all of them or just yours?”
“Dealer’s choice, sweetheart,” said Fast Eddie as she stalked away.
Racer X leaned forward. “Eddie, man, we’ve been here all night and you’ve brushed off like a dozen girls. What are we doing in a strip club if we don’t want to meet them?”
Fast Eddie waved a dismissive hand. “I can enjoy tits without wanting to talk to them,” he said.
Racer X looked at Harrison. His brother shook his head slightly, telling him not to poke the bear. Racer X took the opportunity to shut up.
“So, what happens now?” said Harrison. “Are we going to hunt down a new job?”
Fast Eddie shook his head. “No. The other job isn’t over yet. We didn’t get the goods, so there was no payday. That’s unacceptable.”
“What are we going to do about it?”
“I don’t give a Tallahassee fuck what you Girl Scouts do, but I’m going to find Coop. I’m going to ask him questions and other things.”
“What kind of other things?” said Racer X.
“I’m going to make his slow demise a personal priority.”