Monster Hunter Legion-eARC Read Online Free PDF Page A

getting our mug shots taken. I suppose it was good policy to not put too many members of the same rumble into the same cell afterwards. Sure, it was an ugly place that smelled like barf and was filled with losers, but it wasn’t that bad. “Come on, dude. Way nicer than the last jail I was in.” I slapped my bench. “See this? Not a single scorpion in sight.”
    “We’re not in Mexico, and your mother-in-law probably isn’t going to show up and murder all the guards, either.”
    True. All things considered, though, despite having just been in a fight, both of us were relatively unscathed. My abs hurt and Lacoco had clipped me a few times, and I had a terrible headache from landing in the fountain, but overall I was doing fine. “Just trying to keep things in perspective is all.”
    “You’re not helping.” Trip lowered his voice enough that the dregs of society we shared the holding area with wouldn’t overhear. He looked around nervously. “I’ve never been arrested before. I’ve never even got a speeding ticket! I’ve got a spotless record.”
    “Had,” I corrected. “Does it matter? All the goody-two-shoesness in the world didn’t keep the feds from beating you like a piñata that one time anyway…And look on the bright side, now you’ll have way more street cred with the gnomes.”
    From what we could put together about the chaotic aftermath of the events at the Last Dragon Buffet, most of my dinner party had ended up in jail. A few had been taken directly to the hospital, but Trip said that he was pretty sure he saw Tanya escape through the kitchen. Elves were sneaky like that. Matters had been complicated when the responding officers discovered that almost all of us had been carrying at least a gun, and in some cases, two or more guns. The cop patting down Cooper had nearly had a coronary when he had found the first hand grenade.
    I couldn’t speak for Paranormal Tactical, but on our side the concealed weapons were perfectly legal, with all the paperwork done and fees paid. If a Hunter knew he was going to be somewhere, he was going to make sure he would be there armed, and the peculiar legalities of our career field allowed us quite a bit of leeway when it came to determining what exactly constituted armed .
    Despite the thirty-six handguns, thirty-two knives, four wooden stakes, three collapsible batons, two frags, a block of C4, Lee’s sword cane, and the piano-wire garrote collected by the Las Vegas PD, not a single weapon had been introduced into our brawl by either side, unless you counted the chair that somebody had whacked Shawn Haight over the head with. The good stuff was in case of monsters, not people…Though I felt sorry for any bozo who might decide to try to mug a Monster Hunter.
    A jailer stopped at our cell. “Jones and Pitt.” There was a buzzing noise, a loud click, and our cell door rattled open. “You’re free to go.”
    That was quick. We had only been here for a few hours and hadn’t even been questioned yet, let alone brought in front of a judge. “Really?” The assorted hoodlums, drug dealers, drunk drivers, and johns that were sharing our holding area looked at us with no small amount of jealousy. “Already?”
    “It’s your lucky day. This way.”

    Earl Harbinger was in the waiting area. Hands shoved deep into the pockets of his leather jacket, which was what he did when he needed to keep his hands occupied because he was somewhere where he couldn’t smoke. I’d like to be able to say that he seemed relieved to see us, but on the contrary, my boss was rather perturbed.
    “Hey, Earl. Thanks for—”
    He cut me right off. “You have any idea how many favors I had to call in to keep anyone from pressing charges on you idiots?” The more annoyed Earl was, the more southern he sounded, and right about then, he sounded like he was ready to fry up some catfish and watch some NASCAR.
    I looked to Trip, who shrugged. “Lots?”
    “Lots? Funny, that’s the