Blues in the Night (20 page)

She, too, was pointing a Hammerli 280 at Mace.

‘Get Fucked giving you trouble, Jerseyboy?'

‘I've got him covered, Morgana,' the soldier said. ‘We'll just keep him here until—

The door to the room opened and Jerry Monte entered, followed by Corrigan and Drier.

‘What the hell . . . ?' Drier said, gawking at the two images as they shifted their attention from Mace to them. He drew his gun and aimed it at the soldier.

‘Put it away, Drier,' Monte said. ‘They're not real.'

‘No shit?' Drier said. He kept the gun in his hand.

‘Identify yourselves,' the soldier said.

‘I'm Captain Combat, Jerseyboy,' Monte said. ‘At ease.'

The two figures lowered their weapons. The male was grinning, the woman smiling seductively. ‘I've been waiting for you, Captain,' she said, thrusting out her breasts.

‘Uh, this is creeping me out,' Drier said.

‘Turn the bullshit off, Jerry,' Corrigan said. ‘It's a distraction we don't need right now.'

Monte shot him an angry look. ‘That “bullshit distraction” is my future, asshole.'

‘I'm sorry,' Corrigan said, backing down. ‘I didn't mean—'

‘Lemme tell you a little story, Corrigan,' Monte said, taking an odd-looking cellular device from his pocket. ‘A few years ago, when I was trying to launch MonteMagic, the precursor to MonteVision, the Chinks came sniffing around. A dude named Zhang and some skinny bitch who thought she was the goddamned Dragon Lady.'

He tapped his device twice with his thumb and the two armed holograms vanished. ‘They figured they were dealing with some supernerd dickhead. The bitch giving me the fuckeye, like I'd touch her skanky bod without hermetically-sealed gloves.'

Mace had been busily searching the room for some way out. But the shaded windows were too narrow for a dive-through, even if he had been inclined to try a three-story leap. There was only one exit and the men were in the way.

‘This Zhang dude was playing the war lord, tossing the infidel a few coins from his treasure chest,' Monte continued. ‘He offered me five point five mil for MonteMagic. And when I took it, he and his bitch laughed like the goddamned jackals they were.'

Corrigan, ostensibly doting on Monte's every word, gave a subtle eye-shift command to Drier that started him moving slowly toward Mace.

‘But I laughed harder,' Monte was saying, ‘because all their fucking millions bought 'em was a worthless name, a bunch of computer games that had lost their cache two gens ago. And a set of eyeglasses with prisms that had no practical use. Now the fuckers are wasting their time and coin with
virtual reality
, while I'm gearing up for the next generation in computer gameware: interactive holograms.'

‘Brilliant,' Corrigan said.

He turned to Mace. ‘OK, brother, it's come-to-Jesus time. What's your story?'

‘It's not as interesting as Mr Monte's,' Mace said.

‘I'll be the judge of that,' Corrigan said. ‘I saw you at Mount Olympus. Did Lacotta send you here?'

‘Why would he?' Mace asked.

‘That's what I'm wondering. He had his shot. He fucked up. What's he want now?'

Mace was puzzled. ‘What's he want? What he paid you for.'

‘I thought I'd explained our position to him,' Corrigan said. ‘I handled my end of the deal. He was the one let it unravel.'

‘How exactly did it unravel, Corrigan?' Mace asked. ‘Who knew when the shipment was coming in besides you? Your pal Drier?'

Corrigan frowned. He turned to his host. ‘I don't want to keep you from your party, Jerry.'

‘Don't worry about it,' Monte replied. ‘This is more interesting than the party.'

‘Yeah, but I'd like a couple minutes alone with Mr Mason.'

‘Oh. Sure. Enjoy. I've got the hologram boxes turned off, so you won't be bothered.'

He hesitated a few seconds before leaving the room.

Corrigan waited for the door to click shut before asking, ‘How much did Lacotta tell you about our arrangement?'

‘Basically, that something went missing,' Mace said.

‘And you know what that is?'

‘Is it bigger than a dime but smaller than a half dollar?' Mace asked.

Corrigan and Drier exchanged looks.

‘You know why the coin's so valuable?' Corrigan asked Mace.

Mace nodded. He said, ‘I'm a little surprised you didn't make a copy of the formula.'

‘Maybe you need that AND an analysis of the goddamn coin to complete the package.'

‘That does increase its value.'

‘So here's the thing,' Corrigan said. ‘I love the green and I'm certainly not a saint. But this is my country. My beloved mother's in a home here, and I'm not about to put something like this in the hands of a bunch of gibbering third-world maniacs, regardless of the money. So I limited the auction to the US and its so-called allies. It got down to five serious bidders. One each from Japan, Germany and India and two from the US.'

‘The locals being Lacotta and the new King of Pop?' Mace asked.

‘No. Jerry . . . I hadn't been thinking that far outside the box,' Corrigan said. ‘Tiny Daniels was my other bidder. And, in point of fact, he became the high bidder. It surprised me because the final offer from Lacotta and his people was an eye-opener and I didn't think Daniels was that heavy a hitter. Then I discovered he wasn't. He had a backer: Maxil Brox. You may have heard of him. Russian Mafia boss and now Putin's best buddy. Fuck him. I threw the deal to Lacotta and Lacotta let me down.'

‘Did you happen to mention to Tiny how you'd be transferring the formula?' Mace asked.

‘Do I look like I'm simple?' Corrigan said.

‘You have him killed?'

‘Not me, brother. I don't kill US citizens. Even ex-cons.' He grinned. ‘Speaking of ex-cons, what about you, Mason?'

‘I didn't kill him,' Mace said.

‘I guess we're just a couple of guys who didn't kill a fat man,' Corrigan said. ‘Too bad, because I figure whoever killed him has the coin. And if you don't have the coin, then what the fuck are you doing here?'

‘If I'd come to sell a coin engraved with a nearly priceless formula to the host I don't think I'd have had to crash the party,' Mace said.

‘Then why are you here?'

Mace wondered if he might have given Corrigan too much credit for corruption. Maybe he wasn't a master criminal, just another hustler trying to hold a deal together. That's why he was huddling with Monte and Enrico Acosta. To lay the ground rules for a business arrangement that was missing a key part.

‘I asked you a question, champ,' Corrigan said.

‘I came to see a lady,' Mace said. Half-truths were always better than lies.

‘Don't yank my chain, Mason.'

‘Some women are worth risking your life for,' Mace said.

‘Uh, I did see him cozying with the Lowell broad, Cap,' Drier said.

Corrigan frowned. He stared at Mace, thinking it over. Then he leaned in closer and said, ‘I kinda go for that ice-queen type myself. But, she just fingered you.'

‘Little lover's spat. A misunderstanding,' Mace said.

‘For Christ's sake,' Corrigan said, ‘don't tell me we've wasted all this time and tension just because you've got a woodie for Jerry's piece of ass.'

Mace swung at his head. The stocky man was faster than he'd suspected and the blow only brushed an ear. But Mace's other fist connected with Corrigan's gut, sending him back into Drier.

Drier was a pro. He sidestepped, keeping his gun on Mace while his boss hit the carpet with a thud. ‘God Dammit,' Corrigan yelled, wheezing and gasping for breath.

‘Sorry, Cap,' Drier said, his hand steady.

Mace, breathing hard, pretended to be having a difficult time getting himself under control. ‘You don't talk about her like that,' he said to Corrigan.

‘Awww shit,' Corrigan said, grunting as he pushed himself off the floor. ‘I'm too fucking old for this kind of crap. Getting drawn into some asshole's dream of romance.'

‘What do you want me to do with him, Cap?' Drier asked.

‘Christ, I don't care. Feed him to Monte's dogs.'

Drier gave him a patient look and kept his gun trained on Mace.

‘Let him go,' Corrigan said. ‘A low-rent Lochinvar. I got no use for him.'

Drier returned his gun to its holster, but he wasn't happy about it.

Mace didn't wait for Corrigan to change his mind. He headed toward the door.

It opened before he got there.

Jerry Monte entered, followed by two security guards and the muscled Rufe, looking angry as a tiger in his striped pajamas. ‘You finished with Mason?' Monte said to Corrigan.

‘Had your ear to the door, Jerry?' Corrigan asked. When Monte replied with only a bored look, he added, ‘He's all yours. We're out of here.'

Monte said to the security guards, ‘Will you escort Mr Corrigan and Mr Drier to their car?'

Corrigan frowned and seemed about to respond. Instead, he shook his head and left the room, hand pressed against his abdomen where Mace had punched him. Drier paused at the door and, grinning, asked Monte, ‘Sure you and tiger man can handle him?'

‘We'll chance it,' Monte replied.

As soon as the guards led the two men out of earshot, he added, ‘Fucking losers.'

He turned his attention to Mace. ‘So what do I do with you, Mason?'

Mace assumed that Monte had overheard the reason he'd given for crashing the party and that he now was dealing with a jealous lover. ‘Wish me well?' he said.

Monte smiled. ‘I'm inclined to go the opposite. Unless you change my mind.'

‘How do I do that?'

‘Where are you carrying your valuables?' the pop star asked.

Puzzled, Mace raised the right pajama pants leg, exposing the bulge under his sock.

‘See what he's got for us, Rufe.'

The black man bent down and removed Mace's wallet and the device that started the Camry. He handed them to Monte, who opened the wallet and ran a finger around its various compartments. He handed the two items back to Mace.

‘I didn't really expect you to be carrying the coin,' Monte said. ‘How much do you want for it?'

‘Like I told Corrigan, I don't have it.'

‘He believed you, like the asshole he is,' Monte said. ‘You either have the coin or you know where it is.'

‘Why would you think that?'

‘Because you're here, dude.'

‘You know why I'm here,' Mace said.

Monte smiled. ‘I heard what you told the gray man. Angie's top-drawer material, but, if that's what rocks your boat, you'd be better off hopping the wall at Hefner's. So stop fucking around. Name your price.'

‘I don't have the coin. I don't give a shit about the coin.'

Monte moved closer until he was barely a foot away from Mace. He stared into his eyes, as if he were looking for something that puzzled him. Finally, he stepped back and began to sing. ‘Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee?'

Mace understood the questions did not require answers, even Karaoke-style. He also understood that the man who sang them was clearly shy a few keys on his piano. He looked at Rufe, who was staring at the floor, trying to keep what he was thinking off his face.

‘The melody work for you?' Monte asked. ‘The words are brilliant, of course, but I'm not sure about the melody.'

‘I'd have to hear more,' Mace said.

Monte's face broke into a wide smile. ‘Straight talk. You listening, Rufe? That's what I've been telling you. When I
ask for an opinion, that's what I want. Not a kiss on the ass.'

Rufe nodded, then glared at Mace.

‘You leveling about not having the coin, Mason? It's worth a lot to me. I might even be willing to add a certain beautiful blonde to the deal, if that's what it takes.'

Most of Mace's anger at Corrigan's demeaning of Angela had been manufactured, but this was different. He felt the fury building inside him and knew it could erupt into something beyond his control. Before that happened, he said, ‘It's impossible to make a deal for something I don't own.'

‘OK. You say you don't have the coin, I've gotta believe you, because you strike me as a guy traveling the straight-talk express. So, here's some straight talk from me to you. For a reasonably smart guy, Mason, you evidently don't know the first thing about bitches. Put 'em up on a pedestal, they'll piss on you every time. They don't want you to do stuff for 'em, they want you to do stuff to 'em. That's a lesson in love from the new King of Pop.'

‘Thanks for the lesson,' Mace said. ‘I'd better be going.'

‘We're not quite finished,' Monte said.

Mace stared at him.

‘You busted up an employee of mine at the drug store. You crashed my party and you tried to make time with my main bitch. I'm not gonna let you just stroll out of here. Now I'm going back to my party and Rufe's gonna let loose on you a little. Nothing hardcore. A broken jaw tops. You hear me, Rufe?'

Rufe nodded.

‘Just to clarify,' Mace said, ‘you don't want Rufe to kill me, right?'

‘Not this time,' Monte said with a chuckle and made his exit.

When the door closed, Rufe smiled and took a step toward Mace. He had the advantage of two inches and maybe forty pounds. And, judging by the way he moved, he'd spent some time in a ring.

He was expecting Mace to do something. At the very least to assume a fighting position. Mace merely stood there, staring at the bigger man.

‘Take a good look at me, Rufe,' Mace said. ‘What do you see?'

‘A guy gonna get his jawbone broke.'

‘Maybe. But that won't be the end of it.'

Rufe paused. ‘What you sayin'?'