“I'm not going to even say what I did with that microchip I took out of that kid’s arm,” Apple mumbled, coming into the kitchen to find Helen at the table.
The bag of money was open, and two neat, even piles sat on the table; he assumed one for him, the other for her.A sandwich with a bowl of hot soup and a cup of tea waited for him.Both of her phones were on the table.She stared at them both like a cat waiting for the red light to start again.
“Thanks,” he said, looking at the food.His empty stomach had woken him from the peaceful, drug-induced sleep.Patience had been instilled in him at a young age, and he employed the technique now, waiting as well for the moment when she would bring all the pieces together for him.Then the Technician phone rang.
“Go for Cranberry.You're on speaker and the Bad Apple is present,” she said clearly.
“Report.You were late with your info.I assume you were tired from the drive,” Azrael said.
“Apple fractured his hand on the woman's hard head,” Helen said.“We secured the package, returned it to Pear, removed the tracking device, and placed it on the Sommelier.I rounded the truck, and Apple had the man's pants down.If he stuck it where the sun didn’t shine, that is beyond me.I didn't question.”
The line was quiet, but she heard a chuff as if Azrael were trying to hold back the laughter.“What did you learn?”
“Payments are made at the concierge desk, based on your kink or desire for your date for the evening.We walked out with 80,” Helen said.“I gave ten to Pear since that big bitch knocked out her teeth then punched Pear in her titties.That is just a mean thing to do to another woman.I left five to start an account for the girl, the other sixty-five Apple and I are splitting.”
“Without consent?”the voice said.
“If I didn't tell you I had it, you wouldn't have known.I'm many things; dishonest isn't one,” Helen said.
“What else?”
“Apple put an arrow in that Donovan dick,” she said.“Not his actual dick, but his shoulder.He still has it in his mind that this is some sort of game.Requesting permission to connect to The Archangel of Storms to shut this fool down.”
Azrael's voice noted surprise.“You ran into him again?”
“He was hiding in the shrubs as we were unloading the wine.Don't know if he was tracking the chip in the girl or happened to show up at Swallowtail's hoping she'd be my next target, and lo-and-behold, there I was,” she said.“He's not going to give up.I want to send him a gift.Can we request an assist?”
“We can try,” Azrael said.“Hold the line.”
Apple ate his food as he listened to the conversation.He was still unclear about the man he’d shot and why, but he'd soon find out as the operator connected the call to Ariel, the Archangel of Nature and the leader of the Storms of the Midwest.He answered after the operator informed him who was on the line.
“State your need,” Ariel said.
“Requesting to have a package delivered to a pest that won't go away,” Cranberry said, pausing.“Donovan Turnbull, a branch manager of a bank in Amarillo, Texas was hired by Kurtzwilde to locate me, The Cranberry, for a sit-down.Although the Fer de Lance has made it perfectly clear that I am off-limits, Kurtzwilde still wanted to chat with me and hired this man to locate me.”
“Did he?”
“Yes, however, to find me, he somehow back-hacked Sour Grapes and tracked her dark web activity and payments, showing up on her doorstep the same day I arrived,” Helen said, looking up at Apple.“He read wrong to me and put a tracker on my vehicle, which I removed and placed on Kurtzwilde’s SUV.I did a job last night in Detroit, and in the bushes was Mr.Donovan.He seems to want to play with the Technicians.I don't have the time nor the desire to come to Texas to deal with this fan in person, I am asking for an assist to let this man know he's barking up the wrong trees, trying to pluck forbidden fruit while gnawing on it in the midst of a storm.”
“Verbally intrigued,” Ariel said.“State your need.”
“I was readingThe Killing Stonesby Ann Cleeves when we interacted in St.Paul where he found me at the home of Sour Grapes,” Helen said.“I would like a copy of this book placed on his pillow after he enters his home, goes to take a shower, and comes out to find it there.In the center, shoved deep in the pages, through the hardbound cover, is one of the types of my personal favorite knife, a Toor, Specter R in Phantom Gray, splitting two juicy cranberries so it looks like blood running between his sliced nut sack.”
“Well, that is a disturbing visual,” Ariel said.
“Disturbing is a person being able to track a technician to their private residence,” she added, “and the last thing any of us want is for that ass wipe to start sharing how he did it.I am requesting an assist.I can forward funds for the services, if need be, but a danger to one of us is a danger to us all.”
“We will make it happen.Peace be unto you,” Ariel said, ending the call.
Azrael asked, “What do you think his obsession with you is?”
“I could see the real him through his own eyes, and he looked into mine and didn't like the reflection,” Helen said.“He wants to prove to me that he is worthy.He's not.Just another man who has gotten through life on his looks and a few key phrases.The woman on his ass was probably justified in making his life miserable because no one ever called him out on his bullshit before.”
“What is next?”
“Waiting on a call from Yield,” she said, looking down at her phone.“Funny, he's calling now.Can I patch him in, or do you want to call him back and three way us so we can all chat?”
“Wait one,” Azrael said.
