The Getaway God (Sandman Slim 6)

Kasabian holds up his metal hellhound hands in a “calm down” gesture.

“It’s cool. Sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Now you do. Find her for me.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

There’s a knock at the front door. I open it. A blond Ludere girl comes in. She’s all wet and all smiles. It’s Fairuza, Candy’s drummer.

“Hey, Stark. Hey, Kasabian,” she says.

Kasabian hides his beer. I’ve never seen him do that before. But I’ve never seen him around Fairuza.

“How are you doing?” he says.

“Great. Thanks for the movie. It was cool. I never thought I’d like a silent flick.”

She hands him a copy of Metropolis.

“You said you liked sci-­fi, so I figured.”

“Good choice. You have anything more like it?”

“Are you kidding? We specialize in shit . . . stuff . . . no one’s seen. Let me dig around and see what I can come up with.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

“I don’t know how you watch your movies. Lots of ­people do it on computers these days . . .”

“Yeah. That’s me.”

“Well, if you ever want to see something like it’s supposed to be seen, a good screen and sound,” he says. Then stops. When he starts up again he speaks in a rush. “I have a real good setup in my place. If you ever, you know.”

She hesitates.

“I like to eat Chinese food when I watch movies. Do you, I don’t mean this in a bad way, eat?”

“Sure. All the time. Ask him,” he says.

I nod.

“He’s a great white shark. Nature’s perfect eating machine.”

Fairuza shrugs.

“Sure. Why not? Find me something good and it’s a date.”

“Okay. Great,” he says.

Candy starts torturing “Ace of Spades” again in the practice room. Fairuza points.

“That’s my cue,” she says.

“I’ll have something for you when you’re done,” says Kasabian.

She smiles.

“Impress me.”