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.He could have just sent her a message across their private network, but given the amount of computing in the penthouse he fully expected to be hacked and monitored.As good as a hacker as Jericho might be, one thing he couldn’t do was hack someone’s brain.As Gabe came up to the back of the sofa on which Jericho was sat, he reached out a hand ready to grab the guy by the neck.He was determined to recover the information Shelley wanted in the quickest possible way, and his experience had told him people were much quicker to help when their lives depended on it.“I wouldn’t do that, man,” Jericho said, casually exhaling a plume of green-tinged smoke.Gabe stopped, unsure of what to do next.He wasn’t expecting that.Jericho turned to face him.“I wondered how long it’d take you.I guess you enjoyed the home comforts too much to act quickly, eh? Most people do, you know.It’s why I got so many enemies these days.People who want to avenge the death of their friends who came to me, tried to take advantage of my hospitality.Holly, be a darling.”The young girl jumped from her seated position and pointed a pistol at Petal.“You see, Gabriel, I’ve been at this game for a while now.I knew what you wanted before you even got to my door.I saw you both snooping around.I saw that you came from the east.Only one kind of person comes from the east these days.”“And what kind’s that?” Gabe said, letting the blade inch down his arm ready to flash it out if he needed.He gave Petal a quick glance.She looked relaxed, still sipping on her beer.He knew she’d already anticipated this; she’d moved his coat from the chair.It now lay in a pile on the floor next to the chair she was sat on.She’d likely have already pocketed the pistol.He doubted Holly would be quick enough for Petal.“Those doing jobs for that crazy bitch Shelley.What is it she wants now? A server, DNA-drives, information on them damned planes she’s trying to fix?”“Something like that,” Gabe said.Jericho stubbed out the joint on an ashtray sitting on the arm of the sofa.He stood up, brushed the ash from his jacket.He walked past Gabe, who tracked his every movement, ready to strike.But Jericho didn’t seem to care as he left his back exposed.He reached the fridge and took out two more beers.He removed the tops, and held one out to Gabe.“Take it, man.Chill out, we can work something out.”Gabe didn’t take the beer, wanting to keep his hands free.Jericho shrugged his shoulders and walked past him, almost brushing against him as he went, provoking Gabe to strike, but he didn’t take the bait.Gabe was reckless at times, but he wasn’t stupid.No one was that calm unless they had something going on.Jericho took his seat and sipped from the beer.“You know she’s fucked-up in the head, right?” Jericho said.“Shelley’s cracked, man, completely.The last time I saw her she was chowing down on the liver of my best friend.That was after she stunned us both and tied us up.She started with him first, making me watch as she skinned him alive.Have you seen a man being skinned alive, Gabe? Petal?”Gabe shrugged.“I’ve seen things you could barely imagine.” Sure, skinning someone was awful, barely imaginable, but Gabe had seen what a gang would do to a rival gang member in order to stamp their authority.When people got hungry, real hungry, the level of debasement they would sink to knew no bounds.“So you can relate,” Jericho added.“How will you feel when you slice me up and take what it is you want back to Shelley, and she has you and Petal trapped? How will you feel when that mad bitch takes her blades to Petal’s pretty face, slicing it off with the expertise that can only come from years of practice, eh? How will you feel when you’re forced to watch your friend scream and cry in agony as she systematically removes all her organs and preps them for lunch and dinner?”“That ain’t gonna happen,” Gabe said.“We ain’t stupid.I saw her handiwork, I know what she’s capable of, but frankly I don’t care.She has something I want—”“Then just kill the bitch and take it.You’ll be doing this world a favour.”Gabe had to admit he had a point, but how many more people did he have to kill to survive? He’d done enough of that back in Hong Kong, vowed to curb that side of him.If he started now, he didn’t know if he’d be able to stop, and given the things he’d had to do to survive, he was no one to judge Shelley, Jericho, or anyone.Everyone got by in his or her own way, as screwed as it might be.He weren’t some wandering judge.It weren’t his responsibility to snuff out the crazy and the dangerous.All that mattered to him was surviving each day in the best way he could, and with the least blood spilled.“I can’t do that,” Gabe said [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]