As for Rodriguez’s news, Guy had known about his college hopes and seemed genuinely pleased for him, only joking that he’d better give him a special deal on technical consultation after he left.
“So when do we get to wager on how fast you’ll be back?” Tony said, peeling a pizza slice from the box. “College was cool, but after one month sweating my ass off in a cubicle, I was so out of there. You don’t get pizza and beer parties in a suit job.”
“Once Rod’s gone, he’s gone for good,” Jaz said. “If school doesn’t keep him there, the California girls will.” He winked at Rodriguez, then took a slug of his beer, his dancing eyes lifting to mine. “Though personally, I’m partial to East Coast girls.” He leaned back. “But as for why anyone would give up this gig to go to college? Totally beyond me.”
“I hear ya,” Tony said, lifting his bottle. “To the sweet life. No worries, Guy. I’m not going anywhere.”
Jaz and Sonny hoisted their bottles and chimed in their agreement.
“Great,” Guy muttered. “Come fall, Bee and I will be stuck with all the loafers.”
I turned to Max. “You’re leaving too?”
He shrugged. “Probably following Rod out to Cali. That’s the plan anyway. No college for me, though. I’ve got some other business out there.”
“Five foot two with eyes of blue,” Tony sang. “His girlfriend moved to L.A. last year.”
“Ex-girlfriend.”
“Yeah, the ex you still text ten times a day.”
Max colored under his tan. “We’re friends, okay? Sure, Jess is working in L.A.-”
“For the Nast Cabal,” Tony interjected, to hisses and boos from Jaz and Sonny.
“Only until she gets her MBA,” Max said.
“Like getting your education from the military. You gotta bet they’re not going to let her waltz away when she’s done.”
Max shrugged. “She knows that. She’ll pay her dues.”
“And pay and pay and pay,” Jaz said.
Tony nodded. “Face it, buddy, she’s in and she’s not getting out.”
Max’s eyes flashed, but Guy cut him off.
“Enough. Max knows what I think.” Guy cut a look his way. “If Jess can pull it off, all the power to her, but Cabals don’t give away free educations. As long as she knows that, and she’s careful…” He shrugged. “Maybe it’ll work out.”
He passed around the pizza box as Jaz and Tony grabbed a second beer, and I could tell the conversation was going to shift away from Cabals.
“So if you work for a Cabal, they’ll pay for college?” I asked.
“Uh-uh.” Guy wagged a finger at Max. “See what you started?”
“Hey, I didn’t start-”
“Yes,” Guy said, twisting to face me. “A Cabal will pay for your degree, in return for years of indentured servitude slaving in their cubicles. If you decide you don’t want to have Mommy and Daddy pay for your education, then we’ll talk about extending your stay. You’d be better off earning your tuition here than getting yourself indebted to a Cabal. Working for me is a whole lot safer.”
“And funner,” Jaz said.
Sonny put his head in his hands and groaned.
“As you can see, there’s at least one gang member who’ll never leave me for college.” Guy put his elbows on the table, leaning toward me. “Seriously, Faith, Cabal life isn’t a route you want to take. Max’s girlfriend-sorry, friend-is a shaman. They’re a dime a dozen. If she’s careful, she can probably quit after a few years, no hard feelings, no bounty for her scalp. But an Expisco half-demon?” He shook his head. “If they get you, they’ll never let you go. Employee for life.”
“But if I’m so valuable, they’d pay me accordingly, right?”
“Have you got a price in mind? Proper compensation for your freedom? Your free will? Because that’s what they’ll demand. Yes, they’ll pay-they’ll pay for you as a commodity, not as a human being, because to them, that’s all you-”
“Oh, God, please, no.” Tony dropped his head to the table, then looked over at me. “You had to get him started, didn’t you?”
Guy pegged him in the head with a bottle cap. “Okay, okay. It’s Rodriguez’s celebration. No more talk of Cabals. That’s an order. You’ve got exactly ten minutes to goof off, then we need to get down to business and talk about tonight.” To me, he added, “If you want to continue this conversation, today’s a write-off, but grab me tomorrow. Don’t even consider Cabal employment until you’ve talked to me, okay?”
“I will.”
AFTER EXACTLY TEN more minutes of eating and drinking and joking around, Guy moved on to our plans for that night. I expected a larger scale version of what we’d done yesterday-maybe knock over a liquor store or hijack a transport, both common gang activities according to Benicio’s notes. What Guy laid out though, made me realize why this gang, despite its size, was such a concern to Benicio.
His scheme was audacious. There was no other word for it. Clever, elaborate and mind-blowing in its boldness.
Bianca assigned us preparation tasks. I was put with Jaz and Sonny again, getting the equipment ready. As everyone filed out, Guy ordered me to wait.
“These marks tonight,” he said when the others had left. “They’re your kind of people, aren’t they?”
Society people, he meant. I considered distancing myself right now-sure I come from that, but they aren’t my people, not anymore. Too easy to see through that lie, so I nodded and said simply, “That’s right.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Any advice you can give? Potential problems I’m not seeing?”
After studying the plans, and rehashing his scheme, I ventured an idea to help him get away with it.
“Smart girl. I wouldn’t have thought of that.”
“The others might not be too happy. It’ll cut into the profits.”
He smiled. “Well, then, you won’t mind if I take credit, will you?”
“Not at all.”
LUCAS: 2
I SWIPED MY KEY CARD at the office delivery doors and parked my motorcycle in the back hall. In this neighborhood, I wasn’t leaving a 1929 Indian Scout in the alley. While it wasn’t yet motorcycle weather, Paige had the car, so I’d brought the bike out of storage. I won’t say I wasn’t happy for the excuse.
I left my helmet on the seat and adjusted my glasses. For comfort, contacts are the preferred eye wear with helmets, but I couldn’t be bothered inserting and removing them for a short ride. Savannah tells me that I could resolve the problem by exchanging my glasses for contacts permanently. I tell her contacts irritate my eyes. A lie. Glasses project an image and I’ve grown comfortable with that image. Investigating supernatural cases sometimes requires more than lobbing a few defensive spells, and I’ve won more than my fair share of fights simply because my opponent takes one look at me and presumes I won’t throw the first punch.