Salzman moved his gaze from Coop to a green file folder on the table and said, “You’ve been filled in on what we do around here?”

“Yeah, but it’s a funny place to repair stereos.”

Salzman smiled. “Stereos. Yes. And you’re going to help us fix the biggest stereo of all.”

Coop rubbed his wrists and said, “Yeah? And what’s that?”

Salzman took a photo from the green folder and slid it to Coop. He looked at it and saw a familiar fat face.

“I understand that you know this man,” said Salzman.

“Yeah. He’s a big spender who calls himself Mr. Babylon. Not that I buy the Babylon part.”

“No. That’s his real name,” said Salzman. “He’s a magician of sorts.”

“That’s funny. He told me he couldn’t even shuffle cards.”

“He lied. Babylon had a decent little occult criminal empire going at one point. But he’s old and his power is fading. That’s why he hired you and your merry pranksters to find the box.”

Coop shrugged. “He said it was a family heirloom.”

“Another lie. Would you like to know what it is?”

All Coop wanted was to get out of there, but he’d been grilled enough times to know he had to let the scene play itself out. “Sure. If it’s not for Aunt Sadie’s earrings, what is it?”

“It’s a bomb, you moron,” said Nelson.

“That’s not quite it, but it is as deadly as a bomb,” said Salzman. “What’s in the box is a device capable of destroying the world’s electronic infrastructure, sending us back to the nineteenth century. Think of it. Planes would fall from the sky. Satellites would spin out of control. Hospitals couldn’t perform surgery.”

Coop didn’t say anything for a minute. He just scanned the room and their faces. He’d been stealing things and running scams pretty much since he could walk and he was good at picking out liars. What bothered him was that none of these lunatics seemed to be lying. Babylon was the liar. He’d stuck him with a bomb after all.

“You sure all that’s in there? It wasn’t a very big box,” said Coop.

“Trust me. That’s in there.”

Coop opened and closed his hands. “That sounds like a big deal for the world, Mr. Salzman. But what does it have to do with me?”

“You stole the box for Babylon. Now you’re going to steal it for us.”

Coop leaned forward. “Excuse me? I just saw Buck Rogers gear and a fucking fish who could walk through walls in the other room. If you want the box so much, why don’t you send one of those Buzz Lightyears, or Hansel and Gretel here, and get it back yourself?”