The Perdition Score (Sandman Slim 8)

They mill around the zoo for a few minutes, then the men go into the mansion. The woman talks to the angels while the Hellions fan out around the grounds.

The jabbering goes on for a few more minutes, until the woman heads inside the mansion and the angels spread their wings and swoop into the sky.

“How about that?” says Bill. “In all my years down here, I’ve never seen such a sight.”

I take out a Malediction.

“Yeah. Someone ought to do a fucking painting.”

“What’s your problem?” says Candy. “You wanted to see the place and we’ve seen it.”

Bill puts out a hand.

“Maybe you oughtn’t spark that right now. There are still guards around the front of the house.”

I put the smoke away.

“So? What is it?” says Candy.

“The six Hellions don’t worry me. We can handle them. They probably have a few more like them inside, but it’s unlikely to be more than what’s on the outside.”

“And how do you know all this?”

“I used to sneak into Hellion palaces and murder people.”

“Right.”

“That’s twelve guards in total. Anything else we should be worried about?” says Bill.

“They might have wards on the place, but I think that with a setup like this, they won’t. They’re Wormwood. They own this burg right now and no one is going to fuck with them.”

“Then what’s got your panties in a twist?” says Candy.

“The angels. Three warrior angels is a lot bigger problem than twelve Hellion mercenaries.”

“You’ll notice they didn’t go inside,” says Bill. “That woman talked to them and they flew away, peaceful as doves.”

“The question is, how often are they around and how many of them are here at any one time?”

“What you’re saying is that we have to stay here and see who comes and goes,” says Candy.

“I’m afraid so.”

“For how long?”

“I don’t know. A day maybe.”

“Makes sense to me,” says Bill. “But no use all of us staying up, getting in each other’s way the whole time. We can watch in shifts. Two hours each while the others rest. With three of us swapping turns, time shouldn’t pass too disagreeably. You two rest up. You had a long journey. I’ll take first watch.”

“Thanks,” says Candy.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

There’s a small storage area in the cab behind the seats. It’s just big enough for Candy to lie down. I shift over to the driver seat and lean it back a few inches. Bill scans the grounds with his spyglass. I close my eyes, trying to relax, and eventually drift off into a light doze.

BILL SHAKES ME awake two hours later.