She was covering us both with her pump-action shotgun, and I didn't like her smile.
"Hello, Suzie," I said. "You're looking very fit. Been busy?"
"You know how it is," said Suzie. "So many people that need killing, and so little time." She lowered her shotgun. "You're getting soft, Taylor. Was a time I wouldn't have been able to sneak up on you like that."
"I've been somewhat preoccupied," I said, trying for dignity. "Killed anyone interesting recently?"
She shrugged easily and slipped her shotgun over her shoulder and into the holster hanging down her back. "No-one that matters. There's a lot of hysteria around. People saying the End Times are coming, like we haven't heard that before. But it's definitely good for business. Lot of people out there determined to pay off old scores while they've still got the chance. I've been looking for you, Taylor."
"Oh yes?" I said. Suzie might be an old friend, but it wasn't always wise to drop your guard around her. She only separated her business and private lives when it suited her. Five years ago I ran away from the Nightside, away from all the troubles and unanswered questions of my life, and I left with a bullet in my back from Suzie's gun.
"I've been hearing rumours about you," Suzie said lazily. "Disquieting rumours. About you and your mother, and what's going to happen now she's revealed herself at last... I went to Strangefellows, but you'd already been and gone. I could tell you'd been there; they were still clearing up the wreckage. So I asked around, and after bruising my knuckles a few times, I learned you were planning a trip through Time. So I came here and waited. I've decided that if you're determined to do this incredibly risky and stupid thing, you're going to need serious backup. And they don't come any more serious than me."
"True," I said. "But this isn't for a client or a case, Suzie. This is personal."
"So no money, then. Ah, what the hell. I owe you one, Taylor."
Tommy's ears pricked up, sensing gossip. "Really? How intriguing ... Do tell."
"Don't go there," I said.
Suzie drew her shotgun in a blur of motion and stuck both barrels up Tommy's nose. "Right."
"Of course," said Tommy, standing very still. "None of my business, I'm sure."
Suzie put her shotgun away again. "I don't normally do warnings. I must be mellowing."
"It had to happen eventually," I said.
"Everyone's so touchy these days," said Tommy, fingering his nose gingerly.
"Who is this person?" said Suzie.
"This is Tommy Oblivion, the existential detective," I said. "He's coming along. He has a very useful gift. Don't break him."
The two of them studied each other dubiously. I looked at Suzie, and the cold hand that had gripped my heart the moment I set eyes on her squeezed a little more tightly. The last time I saw Suzie Shooter, it had been a version of her from the future. The bad future I encountered in the Time-slip. The future Suzie had been terribly injured, and rebuilt by my Enemies to be an engine of destruction. A weapon they sent back through Time to kill me, before I could do whatever terrible thing it was that would lead to their destroyed future. And the awful thing was, that future Suzie had volunteered for everything that had been done to her. Looking at her now, so whole and hale and hearty, so alive ... I couldn't bear to think of her being hurt and used in such a way. Not because of me.
"You don't have to come along, Suzie," I said, abruptly. "This one is going to be dangerous. More so than anything you've ever faced. And there really isn't any money involved..."
"Not everything is about money," said Suzie. "You need me, Taylor. You know you do."
'The odds are stacked against us ..."
"Cool," said Suzie. "You always know how to give a girl a good time, Taylor."
I looked at her for a long moment. "You do know I would stand between you and all harm, don't you, Suzie?"
She stirred uncomfortably. "What brought that on? You start getting sentimental, and I'll shoot you myself. You need to be razor-sharp and dangerous for Time travel."
I nodded. Suzie wasn't very good at emotions, for good reasons. So I had to be strong for both of us. And there and then I swore to myself that I would die before I let her become the terrible thing I'd seen from the future. I nodded briskly to her and changed the subject.
"Did you ever find that elusive bounty of yours, Big Butcher Hogg?"
Suzie grinned unpleasantly. "I got a good price for his head. And an even better price for his heart, lungs, and kidneys."
Tommy looked at me. "Is she joking?"
"I find it better not to ask," I said.
"It's a good thing I'm here," said Suzie, glaring disparagingly at Tommy. "I heard you nearly got your head handed to you on your last case. See what happens when you try to get the job done without me? I mean-Sinner, Madman, and Pretty Poison as your backup? What the hell were you thinking?"
I shrugged. "I needed someone scary, and you weren't around."
She sniffed loudly. "Is it true about your mother? That she's Lilith?"
"Looks that way."
"I had to look her up," Suzie admitted. "I only knew the name from an old Genesis song. I hate it when the world starts going Old Testament on my arse; those guys are
hard-core." She looked like she was about to say something else, then shook her head sharply. "Come on, we need to get moving. If I can track you here, you can bet your enemies will, too. There's a lot of people in the Night-side who want you dead, Taylor. Even more than usual."
"Anyone interesting?" I said.
Suzie started counting them off on her fingers. "First up, we have Sandra Chance, the consulting necromancer. She's mad at you because you destroyed that revolting old Power, the Lamentation, on your last case. (And when you've got the time, I'd really like to know how you did that. The Lamentation was seriously creepy.) Anyway, it seems she had some kind of relationship with it, and she's sworn a blood oath against you."
"Bad news there, old thing," said Tommy. "You're not even safe in your grave, when that demented little filly is out to get you."
"Shut up," I said. I find a little effete goes a long way.
"Then," said Suzie, glaring at Tommy, "there are all the very well connected families of the thirteen Reasonable Men you killed. These grieving families have been putting out some serious paper on you, backed up by very serious money. Enough to tempt every bounty hunter in the Night-side. The families want you dead, and they aren't at all fussy about the details. They did try to hire me."
I raised an eyebrow.
"I was busy," said Suzie.
"But for the right money you'd take me down?"
Suzie smiled briefly. "For the right price I'd take God down. But I'd have to be paid a hell of a lot to go up against you, Taylor."
"Well," I said. 'That's reassuring. Who else is after me?"
"Walker, for the Authorities, but then you probably already know that."
I nodded. "He sent the Shadow Men after me."
It was Suzie's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You defeated the Shadow Men?"
"Not as such," I said. "We ran away."
"Finally getting smart in your old age," said Suzie. "I wouldn't go up against the Shadow Men for all the gold in Walker's fillings. In fact, a trip through Time is probably the safest thing you could do right now. Even Walker has no power over Old Father Time." She glanced disparagingly at Tommy again. "You sure you want to drag him along with us, Taylor?"
"Yes," I said firmly. "I have a use for him."
"Oh good," said Tommy. "Am I going to like it?"
"Probably not," I said.
"Some days you shouldn't get out of bed in the morning," said Tommy. He glared at Suzie. "I don't think we should take her along, actually. She has a reputation for sudden and unexpected violence and a complete disregard for things like consequences. And unthinking acts in the Past can have terrible consequences. Change things too much in the Past, and the Present you return to might have nothing in common with the Present you left from."