* * *
“I needto tell you something, but you can’t get mad about it.”
We were making bullets in Gizmo’s bedroom when Kitten approached me with this request.
“Okay,” I said and waited for him to continue.
“In private.”
Gizmo glanced up at me and adjusted his safety goggles. His green eyes looked huge behind the plastic lenses, and his eyebrows were raised as if there might be trouble brewing. Gizmo and I connected on a lot of things, namely security and our common interest in tools and gear that would make our lives easier and last longer. That said, he tended to shy away from the interpersonal drama of our crew.
“All right,” I said to Kitten. “Let’s go to our room.”
I followed Kitten to our bedroom and shut the door behind us, wondering if he had a rash or something. He was tugging at his shirt, his cat lounging like a fur stole around his shoulders, which was a weird way to hold a cat, but what did I know?
“So, I was talking to this guy,” he began.
“Yeah?” I said, crossing my arms out of habit. Who the fuck was this guy and what was I going to have to do about it?
“He said I looked familiar and asked if I had a brother. I said that I did and I told him his name, and he said that he knew him, that they’d been on the same floor at Prosperity Tower.”
“Go on.”
“So, I asked him if he knew where he was now, and this guy…” He bit down on his lower lip and shuffled around like he was nervous.
“Is your brother all right?” I asked.
“I don’t know. He said he’d only tell me if I did something for him.”
My shoulders tensed up straightaway, temper flaring as my fingertips tingled with the urge to inflict violence. I had murder on my mind. “So, what did he want?” I asked, having my suspicions already.
“He wanted me to give him a blowjob.”
I swallowed and braced myself for the answer to my next question. “And did you?”
“What? No.” He scowled, eyebrows slanted downward. “You really think I’d do that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Wouldyoudo that?” he demanded hotly.
“No.”
“Then why do you think thatI’ddo that?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I asked.”
“Well I didn’t.”
“Okay,” I said, not wanting to get him worked up. My anger I could handle, but Kitten’s temper was extremely upsetting to me. Anything other than his smiles and laughs put me in a tailspin. “So, just to review, he offered to trade you information for a blowjob, and you said…”
“No,” he practically shouted, hands balled into fists.
I nodded. “So, maybe this guy has information, maybe he doesn’t. Either way he’s a creep, so describe him to me so I can separate him from his balls.”
“Cipher,” he exclaimed. “You can’t do that.”
I was already thinking about logistics, the alleyway beside our building was relatively secluded. If I could lure him there unsuspectingly…
