uncle knows a Cutter who overheard his sister’s husband talking to a guy who . . .”
“That’s not soft,” I said, feeling some of the tension drain out of me. “That’s damn near silent.”
“Call it what you want, but the whispers have been circulating for a couple days now. You know me—if something stays on the street that long, I pass it on.”
I nodded in appreciation and finally slipped the orange section into my mouth. Silent or not, the rumor was still something that could grow and get back to Nicco. Having him go on a rampage wouldn’t be good for any number of things, including my peace of mind. But mostly, it would be bad for business.
“Have you heard anything about anything big going down?” I said.
“No,” said Mendross.
“Any important corpses turn up?”
“Nope.”
“Anyone pawing at the edges of Nicco’s territory?”
“Not that I’ve heard of.”
“Me neither,” I said. “Which makes me think this is nothing. Snilches are too hard to recruit to waste on something small, and from what I hear, there’s nothing but small going down right now. There’s no reason for a Snilch to do anything that might get him noticed.”
“What if he made a tiny mistake and it got out?” said Mendross.
“There are no tiny mistakes when you do that kind of work,” I said. “Remember, this is Nicco’s organization we’re talking about here—a spy with half a brain would bend over backward to keep this quiet. Hell, I inform for the man, and the thought of his getting wind of this makes me nervous.”
Mendross considered it and shrugged. “You know the ins and outs better then I do,” he said.
Damn straight I did. But Mendross was right in one sense: I couldn’t just shrug it off. I looked out over the bazaar and decided.
“This could be nothing, or it could be a setup,” I said as I took another bite of orange. “Someone might be wanting to use this as an excuse to settle some old scores.” Or to start a power grab. Chaos in the ranks made for a wonderful distraction. “Put the word out that the rumors are just gutter-mumbles. If they die, so much the better. If they stick around, let me know.” And I hoped like hell they did die; otherwise, I’d need to track down who was behind the rumors before they got to Nicco.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
We went over the rest of Mendross’s news as I finished my breakfast. I filed some of what he told me away for later consideration, but ended up discarding most of it. It was a slow day on the street.
When we were finished, I made a show of wiping my fingers on a towel Mendross kept hanging on the side of his stall.
“All my best to Rizza,” I said as I picked up a fig and hefted it.
Mendross nodded contentedly at his wife’s name and took a step back. I cocked my arm and hurtled the fig at him, missing by inches.
“And don’t even think about coming up short next time!” I snapped, my voice pitched to be heard by anyone nearby. Mendross cringed and stammered apologies as Degan and I turned and walked away. I put an arrogant swagger in my step as I left.
The moment we exited the bazaar, I let the swagger drop and surrendered to a slow, almost dragging pace.
Degan yawned and scratched at his chin. “Do you still have things to do?”
I looked up at the sky. The sun was obnoxiously high—nearly four hours past rising. I dearly wanted to crawl in out of the daylight, but I had one more person to see, and now was the best time to do it.
“Yeah,” I said. “I have things.”
“Do you need me for them?”
“No.”
“Good, because I wasn’t coming, anyhow.”
“Hmm, maybe I need you after all.”
“Tough.” And without waiting for a reply, Degan stepped off into the crowd and headed home. I swear I could hear him whistling as he went, too. The bastard.
I watched him go for a moment, then turned in the opposite direction. I needed to talk to a man about a piece of paper.
Chapter Three
B aldezar was
“That’s not soft,” I said, feeling some of the tension drain out of me. “That’s damn near silent.”
“Call it what you want, but the whispers have been circulating for a couple days now. You know me—if something stays on the street that long, I pass it on.”
I nodded in appreciation and finally slipped the orange section into my mouth. Silent or not, the rumor was still something that could grow and get back to Nicco. Having him go on a rampage wouldn’t be good for any number of things, including my peace of mind. But mostly, it would be bad for business.
“Have you heard anything about anything big going down?” I said.
“No,” said Mendross.
“Any important corpses turn up?”
“Nope.”
“Anyone pawing at the edges of Nicco’s territory?”
“Not that I’ve heard of.”
“Me neither,” I said. “Which makes me think this is nothing. Snilches are too hard to recruit to waste on something small, and from what I hear, there’s nothing but small going down right now. There’s no reason for a Snilch to do anything that might get him noticed.”
“What if he made a tiny mistake and it got out?” said Mendross.
“There are no tiny mistakes when you do that kind of work,” I said. “Remember, this is Nicco’s organization we’re talking about here—a spy with half a brain would bend over backward to keep this quiet. Hell, I inform for the man, and the thought of his getting wind of this makes me nervous.”
Mendross considered it and shrugged. “You know the ins and outs better then I do,” he said.
Damn straight I did. But Mendross was right in one sense: I couldn’t just shrug it off. I looked out over the bazaar and decided.
“This could be nothing, or it could be a setup,” I said as I took another bite of orange. “Someone might be wanting to use this as an excuse to settle some old scores.” Or to start a power grab. Chaos in the ranks made for a wonderful distraction. “Put the word out that the rumors are just gutter-mumbles. If they die, so much the better. If they stick around, let me know.” And I hoped like hell they did die; otherwise, I’d need to track down who was behind the rumors before they got to Nicco.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
We went over the rest of Mendross’s news as I finished my breakfast. I filed some of what he told me away for later consideration, but ended up discarding most of it. It was a slow day on the street.
When we were finished, I made a show of wiping my fingers on a towel Mendross kept hanging on the side of his stall.
“All my best to Rizza,” I said as I picked up a fig and hefted it.
Mendross nodded contentedly at his wife’s name and took a step back. I cocked my arm and hurtled the fig at him, missing by inches.
“And don’t even think about coming up short next time!” I snapped, my voice pitched to be heard by anyone nearby. Mendross cringed and stammered apologies as Degan and I turned and walked away. I put an arrogant swagger in my step as I left.
The moment we exited the bazaar, I let the swagger drop and surrendered to a slow, almost dragging pace.
Degan yawned and scratched at his chin. “Do you still have things to do?”
I looked up at the sky. The sun was obnoxiously high—nearly four hours past rising. I dearly wanted to crawl in out of the daylight, but I had one more person to see, and now was the best time to do it.
“Yeah,” I said. “I have things.”
“Do you need me for them?”
“No.”
“Good, because I wasn’t coming, anyhow.”
“Hmm, maybe I need you after all.”
“Tough.” And without waiting for a reply, Degan stepped off into the crowd and headed home. I swear I could hear him whistling as he went, too. The bastard.
I watched him go for a moment, then turned in the opposite direction. I needed to talk to a man about a piece of paper.
Chapter Three
B aldezar was
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