The Getaway God (Sandman Slim 6)

would Wells let me give it to her? I doubt it. He doesn’t want to look like he’s doing me any more favors than he’s already done.

I keep hoping for a call that Mason wants me to come in early so we can get things over with. After yesterday’s crash-­and-­burn, I don’t want to lose my cool again. He’s going to try another one of his nonsense games and I can’t let it get to me. Follow Muninn’s advice. Go with whatever Mason wants. Don’t fight back. Watch him. Go total Zen on the little prick and see what happens.

Sometime in the night Kasabian stuffed towels around the bottom of the front door when water started leaking in. They’re soaked through. I go down and replace them. There. That used up a whole two minutes. I keep checking the time.

Kasabian watches the news sometimes. I should ask him if things are this crazy in the rest of the world. But do I really want to know?

My phone rings. I grab it without bothering to check the number.

“You didn’t think I was going to leave him to the vultures, did you?” says Deumos.

“Vultures. Worms. Hellhounds. It’s all the same to me, as long as he’s dead.”

“You could’ve joined us, but that moment has passed.”

“I guess so. Anything else on your mind?”

“Enjoy what’s coming.”

“Nothing is coming. I’m going to stop it and you’re going to live a good long miserable life in Hell with all your idiot followers. Assuming they don’t lynch you.”

“When will your friends turn on you? Your lover is in jail. Your friend’s hospital is burned. Your benefactors at the Golden Vigil are losing faith in you. You’ll long for Hell and then oblivion before this is over.”

“What kind of cell contract do you have? Are these calls from Hell expensive or do you have a good roaming plan?”

“Enjoy the games.”

I pick up a Malediction and light it.

“Enjoy watching your precious Angra eat shit and die.”

The line goes dead.

Kasabian pushes my door open.

“Who was that?”

“No one.”

“It sure sounded like someone. Like someone from Downtown. You don’t get calls from there, do you? That could have helped my swami business. When I had one. That’s as dead as the store.”

“You can’t blame me for that.”

“Maybe. But it makes me feel better to do it.”

I tap some ash from the Malediction into an empty wineglass with Candy’s lipstick on the rim.

“What do you want? If you came up here to panic, I’m not in the mood.”

He comes into the room and leans against the wall, crossing his metal arms and legs. He looks like a nervous lawn ornament.

“I was flipping by the news. There was a fire last night. From the shots it looked like Allegra’s place.”

“We still have local news? How about that?”

“Was it the clinic?”

“Yeah.”