Kim Oh 2: Real Dangerous Job (The Kim Oh Thrillers) by K. W. Jeter Read Free Book Online Page B

standards.
     
    “Not that much. And it was a while ago.”
     
    “Even so. The more I hear about guys, the less problem I’m having with keeping it on ice.”
     
    “Fine,” said Monica. “When you’re done killing people, don’t think about the clubs. You can go be a nun, instead. All this stuff with Cole’s given you the training for it. Especially one of the teaching orders – you’ll fit right in. If the kids are scared of you, they’ll have good reason.”
     
    I let all that slide. One of my foster families had actually sent me to a parochial school for a couple of months. I’d gotten along fine with everybody there – especially the Jesuit priests. Maybe that had been the first sign I’d be good in my new line of work.
     
    “So that’s it?” I peered closer at Monica. “All we have to do is tell this Braemer guy that we know he’s been talking to Michael?” I shook my head. “I’m not following this. You could’ve done that much on your own. Why bring me into it?”
     
    “It’s not that easy. He talks a lot – to everybody. Especially to other dealers in illicit equipment. They all hang out together and swap stories. We need to make sure that those other smart bastards don’t start thinking they could get in good with McIntyre by telling him what they know about Cole and what he’s been doing.”
     
    “It’s starting to sound like everybody in the world knows by now.”
     
    “Not yet.” Monica leaned over the table toward me. “But we’ve got to blow Braemer’s cool in public. In front of the other equipment dealers. So they all get the message at once, that it’s not a good idea to roll over on Cole and think that they can get away with it. Like nobody would know that they’re blabbing their heads off. We want them all to clam up. Braemer’s just the guy we’re going to use to get that message across . . .”
     
    I listened to the rest of her plan, the step-by-step details.
     
    “That’s it?” It seemed awfully simple. “That’s all we have to do?”
     
    “Sorry to disappoint you,” said Monica. “You can’t just kill people to get everything you want. Sometimes you have to use other methods. Jeez, even Cole knows that much.”
     
    “No, I mean –” I scratched the side of my head, feeling the little scar that had been left from the motorcycle accident I’d had. “This will work?”
     
    “Trust me. I know what kind of balls the guy has. This will be enough. And it’s something we can take care of ourselves. Cole doesn’t have to know anything about this. And it’s better if he doesn’t.”
     
    “Okay. If you say so.” I pushed my chair back and stood up from the table. “Do we have anything else to sort out? Because I’ve got to fix dinner.”
     
    “We’re good.” Monica pulled the front door open. “See you tomorrow.”
     
    * * *
     
    Later – much later – I was glad that Monica had come by.
     
    I sat at the kitchenette table, long after my brother Donnie had gone to sleep – and long after I should have as well. This whole business about some guy named Braemer rolling over on Cole, telling somebody like Michael stuff that it would’ve been better if he’d kept his lip zipped about – that might not have been the biggest can of worms that’d been opened up in front of me lately, but it was still something else to think about. At least Monica had a plan for taking care of it, which hadn’t sounded like it would take too much to pull off.
     
    Which was a relief, actually. I closed my eyes and took one deep breath after another, trying to relax. With all the other stuff that’d been going on, between me and Cole, I’d been getting worried. About whether I had the resources inside me to keep up with him, and our plans for taking care of McIntyre. Not that I exactly knew yet what those were going to be, except that they apparently would involve impressively large armaments. Something else to worry about, given that I