"I don’t know him well—we met under extreme duress, and it has only been a matter of days. But I can say pretty confidently that he is a private person. I do not feel comfortable discussing those kinds of personal details…especially over the phone with someone I've never met."
"I mean, I ain't askin for dick pics or a description of how he fucks. None of us but Sophia has ever even laid eyes on him. We only heard his name for the first time a few days ago. We're curious. You met him. You gotta give ussomething. Please."
"I have spoken to him," a new male voice says, this one accented as well—Spanish? Brazilian? "He is educated, intelligent, articulate, and insightful. He cares about Sophia very, very much—as a sister, he told me. He cares about all of us. He is also rather tall."
I snort a laugh. "He is all of that, yes. Including tall."
"This isn't enlightening at all,” Terra says, annoyed. "No sordid details what-so-fuckin’-ever. Yousuck."
I laugh—I can't help it. "He is the best kisser I have ever met, and it's not even close."
Sophia clears her throat. "Terra."
"Soph?"
"You can interrogate Miss Bennett at a later date, although I have a feeling you will have limited success."
"Yeah, yeah. You're no fun." A sigh. "Fine. Brys, I can't wait to meet you. None of us know Jakob, but a man who can do all that he's done for the guys? He's gotta be quite a man."
Another woman's voice joins, now. "And a woman who can grab the attention of a man like that is our kinda gal."
There's a chorus of feminine agreement to her statement. How many of these peoplearethere?
And why is Sophia assuming I'll even be around later to be interrogated?
"Keep your distance, Nico," yet another new male voice says, this one so deep, so powerful, and so…big…I wonder what the owner of the voice must look like. "Don't gotta tell you how dangerous fuckin' Pugli is. You know he doesn’t go nowhere without a fuckin'…what's the word? Bunch of butt-lickers who follow him around like ducklings."
"Yes-men? Entourage? Retinue?" One of the other male voices chimes in. "Butt-lickers works for me, though."
"I was thinkin' retinue," Big Voice says. "Cuz I think that fucker thinks he's some kinda fuckin' king or some shit."
"Butt-lickers with fuck-off big guns, though, I'm guessin’.”
"Nic? Any word on what kinda hardware these bastards are carrying?"
"Unknown for certain,” Nicolae answers, “but assume at least some automatics and mainly sidearms."
"Armor?"
He looks at me. "The man who accosted you. Was he wearing a vest? Did he have a weapon other than his handgun?"
"No vest, and only the pistol. But pistol feels like a misnomer. That thing could have been featured inThe Guns of Navarone."
"Referencing the deep cuts," someone says. "Knows poetryandclassic films?"
"Sax, shut the fuck up. You don't know how to fuckin' read, you dumb lunk. And your idea of a classic film is fuckin'…Ace Ventura."
"'That’s what turns me on about'cha,'" I quote, "'your attention to detail.'"
"Fuck me. She can quoteAce Ventura?
"Do you need a minute, Si? Some lotion? A Kleenex?"
I shoot a look at Nico, because I can't keep up with whatever the hell this banter is.
He just shrugs, grinning.
"Gentlemen, enough." I clear my throat into the silence. "My point is that the man who assaulted me was wielding a handgun the size of a howitzer. But he did not have a rifle or a bulletproof vest. But Icansay that most of theothermen who have been pursuing Jakob and me thus far have worn bulletproof vests and have been carrying machine guns. So, if it matters for preparation, I would prepare to fight off an army of well-armed and well-trained soldiers. They all had the air of former military, if not former special forces, such as yourselves."
