“Need to heal,” Hash replies. “Then I’ll bring them back in.”
Over my fuckin’ dead body, I wanna say, but I know a battle lost when I see one. “All the kids want one now.”
King protests. “They’re too fuckin’ young for that shit.”
Trigger pipes up. “Think of it like microchipping.”
We look at Trigger like he’s grown a horn.
“What the fuck are you on about?” Hangman says.
“That’s what Evanee does to dogs and cats. Microchips them. Then they can be tracked down if they go missing.”
“The strawman finally got a brain,” Reaper says with a grin.
Trigger gives him the finger.
Hangman turns to Coyote. “Can kids be microchipped?”
Up until now, Coyote’s been quiet, enjoying the banter, but now he looks like he’s seen a ghost. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Of course, it’s a fuckin’ good idea. Hash gives them tattoos. We’ll get Evanee to microchip them.”
Joker leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. “Prez, Evanee won’t microchip them because she’s a vet not a doctor and I’m pretty sure from a professional standard, she could get in trouble.”
Hangman grimaces. “What the fuck’s wrong with your mouth? Shit’s spilling out of it.”
Joker grins. “Sometimes I can actually be a grown-up.”
“Stop it,” Hangman demands. “I don’t like it.”
“Can’t Dicer do it?” Rocky asks.
Right, the drunken doctor. “He’s not getting anywhere near my kids,” King snarls.
“Coyote can microchip them,” Zero suggests.
“Not a bad idea,” Stark adds. “After what happened last night, we would have got there in time to prevent the tattoos from happening at all.”
Coyote studies him. “Then we wouldn’t be having this conversation, would we?”
Finally, I put an end to the insanity. “Which of your women are going to agree to this bullshit?”
“We should get them microchipped too,” Hash says. He doesn’t care one way or another, but he’s Hash. Likes stirring the pot.
“Yeah, I like that idea,” Hangman says.
“Are you kidding me!” I exclaim. “Selkie would pummel me into the ground if I even suggested it to her.”
“Why the fuck would you want that cunt microchipped anyway?” Hangman snarls. “I thought by now you’d have had enough of her!”
Reaper, Rocky and Trigger share uneasy glances. “Probably shouldn’t call her a cunt, prez,” Joker says.
“Why the fuck not?”
I’ll call him on the cunt part later. Right now, I need to set the record straight. “Because I haven’t had enough of her. We’re staying together.”
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” Hangman roars. He’s on his feet, his face red. His hands clenched. “You want her to be your ol’ lady?”
