“Shee-it, Mason. This looks like a Glaser round in the glass. Uh-huh, got one here.”
Mambo peered through his scratched safety glasses as he pried a pattern of squashed metal out of the window frame“A Glaser?”. Weapons weren’t my strong suit and I didn’t mind showing it around the mech crew.
“Yeah, man. Great for fuck’n a boy up, but not as good against truck armor. Probably what saved your ass.”
“Thanks. I take it they’re common?”
“Yah, if you’re an Op-erative or just know guns.”
I thought about it as I walked away, leaving Mambo to his work. Realistically it could have been anybody. A lousy sniper wannabe with extra bullets. A Slop with vehicle envy taking out his frustration on my truck. Someone with an axe to grind with the Trade. Or it could have been someone doing a favor for a competitor, any competitor. There really wasn’t a reason to credit it to Macy, but I probably would since it felt right. Call it a gut feeling.
The main priority now was staffing the other two trucks. I was still a few guys down and the survivors of the two crews I had combined were starting to chafe. I figured that Chaz would have some leads on some warm bodies. Failing that, I’d talk to Kemper who might still have a few guys who wanted off the hit team and onto a truck crew. The sooner I had everyone ready, the better off I’d be. I felt like something big was coming for me and I wanted to be ready.
I went to look for Chaz over at Jackson’s and Brion intercepted me.
“Need to talk to you.”, he said. Something about his manner seemed unnatural, almost nervous. It wasn’t like him. Usually he plays the “Me Bad Ass, you little man” line, but not today.
“Ok, talk.”
“Mace really has a hard on for you and I know you gotta be makin moves too.” He shook his head then looked up. “ I heard about what you did to Dieter. That was harsh man…”
“He had it coming” This was more than he’d ever said to me, but I wasn’t going to let my surprise show. Until now, I didn’t know he could even speak in full sentences. It’s amazing what those “Fun with Phonics” tapes will do for you.
“Yeah, guess so. Look, I just don’t wanna get caught in the crossfire between you two. I ain’t involved.”
“Are you still on her truck crew?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you’re involved.” I said and tried to walk through him. He surprised me again by shuttling out of my way. I guess he was more shaken up by things than I thought. Maybe the other side was more unsteady than I thought.
Something was definitely going on, maybe the same thing that spooked Brion. When I came into the lounge, the people near the entrance and bar stepped back to let me through. Did someone stick a “Radioactive Leper Here!” sign on my back? I spotted Chaz sitting with Wang and decided to head over.
After I had a seat next to Chaz, I decided to ask.
“So, why is everyone acting skittish around me?”
Chaz grinned and took a drink. “Ever think ‘bout taking a bath, mano?”
Wang spoke up. “It’s going around that you kak’d Dieter. Pretty much everyone was afraid of him, then you go ahead and do it up close and personal. Man that took balls...” He and Chaz started to grin, then he finished. “ …or it took him IN the balls”.
Both started laughing and someone set a beer in front of me. I looked up and it was Mingo. It was unopened and he just gave me a nod. I knew he had a few scrapes with Dieter in the past, but wasn’t sure if this was a thanks. I just nodded back and checked the seal on the beer before opening it. It didn’t explode, so I figured I was safe.
“Your girl brought what was left of that Taser back to me. You fried it man! That’s gonna cost”. That was the same one that I used on the Slops in the puddle when we lost McNabb. Wang had not stopped grinning since I got there.
“Bill me.”
“How ‘bout I take in trade from her?” and he motioned to Maab who had just come in and was on her way over.
“That’s between the two of you, but I hear she bites.”
Chaz laughed. “So does he, what’s your point?”
Maab swiped a chair from a nearby table and spun it around to ours. After she had plopped down, she rummaged through her jacket pocket for something. It looked like some sort of list.
“Here’s a list of some people I know that you might want to talk to. You can check ‘em out.”
I shook my head and pocketed the scrap. I had told her that I did my own recruiting, but wasn’t going to remind her in front of anyone. Someone dropped a hand on her shoulder and she half turned and looked up. It was Swanson, one of Kemper’s second stringers for the hit crew.
“You took my chair bitch. Give it up.”
What, were we back in the orphanage school again?
“Mine now, but you can always sit and spin if you want.” She cackled and gave him the finger. His face flushed and he grabbed her by the hand. It’s amazing how many misogynist bastards there are in the Trade. She came to her feet and he started to yank her over the top of the chair. Chaz and I stood up to stop him and he stared for a moment at me.
“Let go of her Swanson.”
His dark brown eyes met mine and I decided to see if the stupid rep Wang mentioned was real or in my mind. He held the stare for a few moments then let go and looked nervous. His face flushed further and his ears were now a bright red.
“Sorry, keep the chair”, and he walked away.
Damn. If someone like Swanson is going to back down from someone like me, no wonder Brion was acting nervous. Maybe I ought to try to face down Macy? On second thought, maybe not.
After we took our seats, I looked around the room a bit and everything was normal again.
The beer and the humor took my thoughts off darker subjects and I enjoyed the chance to slightly relax.Soon everything would be the way it needed to be, the way I wanted.
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