M is for Myg

The day after Myg’s showdown with Millenia, Pauly came into the Pwnshop and closed the door behind him. He stood there glaring, arms folded.

“What?” I asked.

“ ‘What?’ ‘What?!’ ” He shook his head. “I thought so. You’re still saying ‘what.’ You’re gonna be saying ‘what’ right up to the time they kidnap her or kill her or worse.” Pauly spit on the floor. “I’ll give you a ‘what.’ What the fuck were you thinking?” I’d never seen him this mad. “You don’t deserve a girl like that you can’t keep tabs on her.”

“Easy, Pauly . . .” I said, trying to calm him down before I snapped too. I could feel the adrenaline surge into my neck and shoulders.

“Fuck you. Easy is the problem.” He kicked a chair across the room. “That Swiss gumshoe with the faraway look in his eyes grilled me for two goddamn hours about something you shoulda told me. I know you think you’re all modern with your open relationships but it’s a bunch of fucking garbage if you ask me. You gotta look out for a woman. Especially a strong one like Myg. Sure she can take care of herself with average assholes—she handles you, don’t she?—but you go and set her up with a demon therapist?” He stood there shaking his head, too angry to speak.

I put my hands up in acquiescence. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s your job to know. Motherfucker.”

“Hey fuck you, old man.” I lost it. “She’s all right, isn’t she? The demon is dead. And who the fuck are you to tell me what to do? I saved your sorry ass out of that fucking Y, paid your debts, gave you a place to sleep, and a job that you never do. So don’t come in here and tell me about responsibility, you degenerate.”

For a second I thought he was going to hit me. He had that dark, empty look in his eyes like a cat with mortal intent. Then the gray returned and he softened.

“Okay. Look, you don’t know about these things. You said the demon was dead. Does that make sense to you? What’s death to a demon? And why was she after Myg? Ever wonder about that, Tesla? And why is Interpol creeping around here? You think it might be smart to know the answers ahead of time? Or do you want those dicktectives to beat them into you?”

He had a point. There was a ton of strange shit going down and I’d been oblivious. All I’d been paying attention to was opening the club and supervising the constant construction around Topgol. Now, with the Leviathan suits all over me, every day was a headache. The touchstone in my pocket felt cool under my fingertips. “Well, I’ll try to keep a closer eye on her,” I said. “She needs something to do. Trouble finds her like a puppy finds shoes when she’s unoccupied. She tried to get a job at the WaWa, but the manager was pretty hesitant.”

Pauly picked up the chair he’d kicked over and sat down. “A job might help. At least it would make it easier for you to look out for her. And God knows you need it easy.” He exhaled long and I caught a whiff of espresso and L&Ms. “WaWa, eh?” he said. “I’ll see what I can do.” He moved toward the door, turning back just before he exited. “But working or not, you don’t let her run off alone. Understand?”

I saluted him. “Will do.” Poor guy, that cop really rattled him.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 at 7:00 am and is filed under Met a stranger.