“We were the best,” he said.
And then she threw herself over the edge, disappearing into the darkness and the night.
***
The balcony doors were open, and King hated the sight of them. They felt like a trap. But there was nothing he could do but marvel as Alex slipped across the balcony like a phantom, then breezed through the doors like a ghost.
She was almost weightless, formless. Fearless. She moved like smoke, and she danced like fire, and he almost felt sorry for anyone who got in her way as she slipped across the old stone floors. With the sounds of the waves breaking against the rocks down below, it was almost tranquil except for the sound of... shooting?
The lights were off, but the room was full of flashes of color and littlepings andbangs that echoed off the old stone floors. That must have been why the figure in the chair didn’t turn—didn’t even falter—until he felt Alex’s gun against his temple. “Remember us?”
The controller in the man’s hand dropped, shattering on the floor. His face turned red and Dr Pepper dribbled down his chin. He looked like he couldn’t decide what to do with the bottle because he’d never been held at gunpoint before.
On the screen, there was a bang and a flash of fire, and Alex said, “You’re dead.”
King turned off the television and switched on the overhead light, but the man in the chair just sat there, staring.
“I don’t think he remembers us?” Alex looked up at King. “I’ve got to say, I’m gonna be disappointed if he doesn’t.”
The guy had to be at least thirty, so he wasn’t a kid, but that was the word that came to mind, maybe because he was drinking Dr Pepper at three a.m. while playingCall of Duty. Or maybe it was the softness of his face and his features that made Alex cut King a look that said,Thisis the most fearsome arms dealer in the world?
The man fumbled and put the Dr Pepper on the side table, and then he picked up a bag of something orange. “Cheez puff?”
“No thank you?” Alex didn’t sound so sure.
“Okay. I just... I wasn’t expecting company.”
“We dropped by.” Alex smirked. “Hope that’s okay, Mr.... You know... I don’t think we ever got your name.”
“Call me TriBlade.” The guy gave a cocky smirk, so King cocked an eyebrow and Alex cocked her gun. “Or Franklin,” the guy mumbled. “My real name is Franklin.”
They could have asked if it was his first name or his last, but in the end, it didn’t matter and they both knew it.
“Okay, Franklin.” King crossed his arms and leaned back against a credenza. “Now we’re going to ask you some questions and you’re going to answer them or else I’m going to let her do that toyou.”
“Do what to me?” the guy asked, so Alex pulled an action figure off a table and hurled it through an open window and out toward the sea.
“That was a collectible.”
“And now it flies,” King said.
“There’s no reason to do anything to me.” He threw his hands up. “I’m not a bad guy.”
“You’re the definition ofbad guy.” Alex sounded annoyed.
“No, I’m not. I’m...” He thought of something. “Ask Merritt!”
King felt Alex go still—everything but her grip on the gun—that went tighter.
“Seriously?” Franklin’s jaw went slack in disbelief. “Merritt didn’t tell you? I’m a broker—a dealer. After the two of you paid me a visit and left me your little... gifts.”
“I think he means the bugs,” Alex whispered.
“Yes. I surmised as much,” King told her.
“Merritt reached out, and now she’s... like... one of my best clients.”
“So you’re an informant?” Some things were starting to make sense to King. But not everything. Not yet.
