Greed

A different voice. “The actor?”

Corsco’s voice. “Yeah.”

Lynch clicked off the recorder. “There’s more, but that’s the gist of it.”

Fe

“You gotta understand your position here,” Lynch said. “With the tape, and Hardin testifying, we got you and Corsco. We don’t need to deal with anybody. But I don’t want you. You’re nothing. You’re just another Hollywood piece of shit. I want Corsco. I want him nailed down and bleeding from every extremity. I get you on top of Hardin, then it’s a lock. And I’ve already greased the skids on your deal. You roll, you walk. You don’t, then I take my chances with what I got. And maybe you end up in the pen, too. That’ll be something to see. People’s Sexiest Man Alive on the yard with the big swinging dicks.”

“What do you figure, Lynch?” Hardin asked. “Cute guy like Shamus here, all the brothers lining up for a shot at him, I say two weeks before you could rent his asshole out for off-street parking.” Hardin turned to Fe

“I need my lawyer,” Fe

“You want to talk to somebody,” Lynch said, “then I got a stenographer and a video guy waiting downstairs. You wa

Hardin picked up the watch off the table next to Fe

Fe

“Screw fair,” said Lynch.

CHAPTER 106

The elevator door opened. The Eagle had a hand in the shoulder bag, wrapped around the .32, ready to nail a cop if there was one there. Practiced shooting through the bag all the time, accurate as hell at ten feet, never fired from further out than that.

Nobody. Fe

Walked straight across, pushed the door open, gun ready, picking up the bed, the target, squeezing off one shot before the door was even fully open, catching Fe

Fe

Lynch hit the door hard, knocking the old broad sidewise. Lynch snatched out his gun. The broad had good balance, hadn’t lost her feet. She was, spi

What the fuck?

The Eagle was ready to pull the trigger on the second guy when she got blindsided by the door, almost lost her footing. Felt the long-forgotten urge toward panic, fought that down. Improvise and adapt. The guy behind the bed went down to the floor, so she spun toward the door, saw a big guy there, the guy going for his belt, sliding behind the door, narrow target now, head and arm out, arm with a gun at the end of it now. Go

Her first shot was just wide, hit the door maybe two inches right, had the range now. That’s when the guy opened up and she took the first round in the fat vest. And the second third fourth fifth sixth. She’d tripled up on the Kevlar in the fat vest – plenty of room, no need to be skimpy. Didn’t make getting shot in it any more fun. Still felt like taking a baseball bat to the gut.

The guy behind the door paused a second, probably trying to figure out why she hadn’t gone down yet. Gave her the break she needed, she brought the bag up, not rushing it, getting her line. He was doing the same thing, switching his aim point up to her head now, too.

Gotta be a vest, Lynch figured. That or she’s some kind of android Terminator. He brought the gun up, got a sight picture on her face and fired, her gun going off so close behind his it was almost a single noise. The edge of the door splintered, blowing bits of wood into Lynch’s face, stu

Fe

“What the fuck?” Hardin said.

“Don’t know,” said Lynch. “Tell you this, though. I am really fucking tired of getting shot at.”

Lynch put a hand to his face, some blood, splinters. Felt around. Nothing seemed serious. Close thing. Damn close thing.

Fe

“What?” Lynch asked. His ears were ringing.

“I’ll talk!” Fe

CHAPTER 107

An hour later, Lynch was sitting on a gurney down in the ER. Nurse was finally done picking shit out of his face. Hardin was sitting in a chair across the way. Lynch told him he could go, knew he was blowing town, but Hardin said he’d stay, wanted to hear how things worked out.

Starshak and Bernstein walked in.

“How you doing?” Starshak asked.

Lynch just shrugged. “What’s up with Fe

“Round skipped off his pelvis, nothing serious. Already trying to talk to us, told him he has to wait until he’s out from the anesthetic. DA says his being under could screw the deal. But I think they’ll have to sedate his ass to shut him up. We’ll get what we need. Doing the interview in an hour. Hickman’s getting a warrant ready on Corsco. Trying to get on our good side, I guess.”

“Trying to get his face in front of another camera, more likely,” said Bernstein.

“What about the old lady?” Lynch asked. “What the fuck was that? Corsco?”

Starshak smiled. “You want to tell him, Bernstein?”

“You bagged the Eagle,” Bernstein said.

“The Eagle? That was the fucking Eagle?”

“I know,” Bernstein said. “I expected somebody a little more badass.”

“From where I was sitting, she looked pretty badass,” Hardin said.

“You weren’t sitting, tough guy,” said Lynch. “You were hiding under the bed.”

Hardin laughed, stood up. “So we’re good? We got our happy ending?”

“Yeah,” Lynch said.

“That shit you told Fe

“Yeah, I know.” Lynch said. “We’ve got what we need. Corsco’s toast.”

“And that’s all you wanted out of this?”