Dark City (Repairman Jack - Early Years 02) (42 page)

Yes. Her own brother.

But he was no longer her brother, was he? He had disowned her. And that left her free to stop him any way she could.

5

Jack stopped on the sidewalk and stared at the two new signs hanging outside The Spot—or what had formerly been called The Spot. The old sign above the windows was covered with a cloth that had been spray painted with
Julio’s
. Under that hung a banner proclaiming the place
Under New Management
.

Jack had been wondering how the deal had gone this morning. No need to wonder any longer.

He stepped through the door and looked around. The place looked exactly the same. Julio stood behind the bar, Lou and Barney were in their usual places. A few of the regulars hung out at the tables. A guy Jack didn’t recognize sat alone at a table against the rear wall.

“How about some truth in advertising out there?” Jack said as he approached the bar.

Julio looked up. “What you mean?”

“It’s the same old management—nothing new about it in the least.”

“Well, it’s a new
owner
.”

“Everybody’s happy then?”

Julio grinned and started pouring a Rolling Rock. “When Zalesky don’t show up—”

“Really?” Jack said, widening his eyes. “I wonder why not? He really seemed to want the place. Think he’s okay?”

“Ain’t got a clue. Maybe he had a, whatchacall, change of heart. Anyway, when I put that cash on the table, the deal was good as done.”

“Congrats.”

“Just some paperwork to go through, then a closing.”

Julio slid the pint toward Jack, who took it and raised it high.

“To the new owner of—I almost said ‘The Spot.’ It’s Julio’s now. To Julio’s. Julio’s forever.”

Lou said, “I’ll drink to that,” and he and Barney clinked glasses with Jack.

Jack took a hefty quaff and gestured toward the windows. “Now you can get rid of those damn ferns.”

Julio stared at the hanging pots and their wilting inhabitants. “I think I keep them.”

“Better water them, then,” Barney said. “They look pretty damn thirsty.”

“They look pretty damn dead,” Lou said.

Jack took another sip. “I thought you hated them.”

“I do, meng. Nita thought keeping them all green and shiny would bring in the yuppies. I’m figuring leaving them hanging in the windows all dead and dusty will keep ’em away.”

“Might work,” Jack said. “But I wouldn’t count on it. People are weird.”

“And yuppies are the weirdest,” Lou said.

“We’ll see,” Julio said. “Meanwhile, I got someone I want you to meet.”

“Who?”

“Friend of Rosa’s.”

Jack raised his hands. “Oh, no. No blind dates. Don’t go trying that cupid thing. I’m doing just fine.”

Julio made a face. “I look like Cupid? I’m talking ’bout a guy friend.”

Lou slapped the bar. “Jack! I never would’ve guessed!”

“Yeah,” Barney added. “Slipped right past my gaydar.”

Julio ignored them and pointed toward the guy at the rear table. “He works with Rosa. She was telling me about this problem he’s got.”

“What kind of problem?” Jack said, suddenly wary. “You didn’t tell her anything about…”

“No-no. The less she know about that the better.”

“About what?” Barney said.

“Yeah,” Lou said. “What’re we missing?”

Those nosy coots had ears like bats.

Julio lowered his voice. “Something he can’t go to the law about. He’ll tell you about it.”

“What’s it got to do with me?”

“Sounds like something a sneaky guy like you might be able to fix. Who knows? You might have fun with it.”

“Fun?”

“Hey, meng, I saw your face last Saturday. You was having
mucho
fun. And this guy’s even willing to pay for your time.”

“Fun and pay.” Jack couldn’t help smiling. “How can I say no?”

“He’s back at your table. Come on—”

“
My
table?”

“Yeah. Your table. Nobody else sits there—unless they here to meet you. I don’t care how crowded we get, if you ain’t here, it stays empty.” He pointed again toward the table. “Come on. I introduce you.”

My own table, Jack thought as he fell in behind Julio. I knew I liked this place.

He finally had some sort of a life. He had friends. He had Cristin—well, as much as anyone could have Cristin. He had a cool apartment. With Rosa’s friend here, he might be looking at a way to bring in a few bucks fixing problems, adjusting situations.

The last months had been totally crazy, but things seemed to be settling down now. He hoped they stay settled. He could do without surprises for a while.

6

Reggie shivered and turned his collar up against the wind as he limped through the Lower East Side along Allen Street. Not a great neighborhood, but Allen was a busy street and he was dressed like he belonged here, so no one paid him any mind. His knees were killing him. Some days they weren’t so bad, some days they sucked. Today was a major suckage day.

But he’d had to get out of that little room. The walls were beginning to move in on him. Really, how long could you practice with your bow? And how long could you wait for some sign that the outside world knew you were still alive?

Yeah, neither the cold wind nor the pain bothered him nearly as much as not hearing from Drexler in a week. He didn’t know what to make of that. His whole clinging-by-the-fingertips position with this Order was based on Drexler’s hard-on for the guys who busted up the kid deal and stole the money. After last week’s complicated setup to nab those guys turned out to be such a huge bust, had they given up? Were they simply gonna write off the three mil? Was that why he hadn’t heard from anybody?

Or were they pissed at him? Did they think the fuckup was somehow his fault? That was all al-Thani had wanted to know as they were driving away from what was left of the truck and the Arabs it had been hauling.
How’d the bomb get there? Who could’ve put it there?

Yeah, well, Reggie wanted to know too. That took planning. It had to. Unless they were dealing with a guy who just happens to ride around with a brick of C4—that was what the bomb squad had told the papers—rigged with a remote detonator on the offhand chance he might need it. What kind of nut job does that?

Had Drexler figured Reggie and Camel Boy had left the truck unguarded? Hell, it had only been for a coupla minutes at that rest stop. How the fuck could someone rig a bomb in the time it had taken them to call in?

Whatever it was, the Order sure as hell had left him hanging. Like he was being shunned or something. At least they hadn’t kicked him out of the place they’d given him. Not yet, anyway. But he was running out of money. If this kept up he’d have to get a job.

He shook his head. Me—working a fucking straight job.

That was like an insult.

He was coming up to Delancey Street, at a standstill as usual at this time, what with all the outbound traffic trying to get on the Williamsburg Bridge. Not that he cared. His plan was to reach Delancey, then turn around and walk back. He’d gotten some fresh air and exercise, got himself out of that tiny room for a while. That was all—

He froze, staring at the taxi crawling along directly in front of him. Reggie could see the passenger only in profile—the guy’s attention was fixed straight ahead—but damn if he didn’t look familiar. Who—?

A warning preceded recognition—
Don’t let him see you
.

Reggie backed away and edged into a shadowed doorway. He peeked out for another look. Damn if that didn’t look like Tony.

Impossible, of course. Tony was dead—killed in the Outer Banks house by Tim or one of his crew. Reggie still felt kinda bad about that. Tony had been a good guy but, hey, Reggie and Moose and Tim had been cooking up a gigundo omelet and Tony was one of the eggs that wound up broke. Too bad, but shit happened.

Then the guy glanced out his window and Reggie got a good look at his face full-on.

He slammed back against the shadowed door.

Tony! Holy shit! Tony’s still alive!

But that couldn’t be! Al-Thani had told him about Moose, who’d been found in the dunes with his head bashed in, and another guy done execution style. Reggie had figured Tim had done both of them—Moose because Tim had been pissed at him, and Tony because Reggie had neglected to call in once the shooting began up north.

While Reggie had been recovering from his knee surgery, he’d read everything he could find on the Duck murders, as they were called at the time. The guy killed execution style had been identified as Tony Zahler. Reggie had never known his last name, but the first names matched. And that’s the way Tim would do it: two quick ones to the head.

So what was the dead guy doing alive and well in a New York City cab?

Had to tell Drexler. This could change everything. This could put Reggie’s name back in the “Needed” column. Because this could mean Tony was behind the hijacking.

Tony … alive! This changed
everything
.

www.repairmanjack.com

Coming soon …

All debts will be paid, all accounts settled in

FEAR CITY

the final volume of The Early Years Trilogy

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD

The preponderance of my work deals with a history of the world that remains undiscovered, unexplored, and unknown to most of humanity. Some of this secret history has been revealed in the Adversary Cycle, some in the Repairman Jack novels, and bits and pieces in other, seemingly unconnected works. Taken together, even these millions of words barely scratch the surface of what has been transpiring behind the scenes, hidden from the workaday world. I’ve listed them below in chronological order.

Note: “Year Zero” is the end of civilization as we know it; “Year Zero Minus One” is the year preceding it, etc.

THE PAST

“Demonsong” (prehistory)

“Aryans and Absinthe”
**
(1923–1924)

Black Wind
(1926–1945)

The Keep
(1941)

Reborn
(February–March 1968)

“Dat Tay Vao”
***
(March 1968)

Jack: Secret Histories
(1983)

Jack: Secret Circles
(1983)

Jack: Secret Vengeance
(1983)

“Faces”
*
(1988)

Cold City
(1990)

Dark City
(1991)

YEAR ZERO MINUS THREE

Sibs
(February)

The Tomb
(summer)

“The Barrens”
*
(ends in September)

“A Day in the Life”
*
(October)

“The Long Way Home”
****

Legacies
(December)

YEAR ZERO MINUS TWO

“Interlude at Duane’s”
**
(April)

Conspiracies
(April) (includes “Home Repairs”)

All the Rage
(May) (includes “The Last Rakosh”)

Hosts
(June)

The Haunted Air
(August)

Gateways
(September)

Crisscross
(November)

Infernal
(December)

YEAR ZERO MINUS ONE

Harbingers
(January)

Bloodline
(April)

By the Sword
(May)

Ground Zero
(July)

The Touch
(ends in August)

The Peabody-Ozymandias Traveling Circus & Oddity Emporium
(ends in September)

“Tenants”
*

YEAR ZERO

“Pelts”
*

Reprisal
(ends in February)

Fatal Error
(February) (includes “The Wringer”)

The Dark at the End
(March)

Nightworld
(May)

*
available in
The Barrens and Others

**
available in
Aftershock & Others

***
available in the 2009 reissue of
The Touch

****
available in
Quick Fixes

ALSO BY F. PAUL WILSON

Repairman Jack Novels
*

The Tomb

Legacies

Conspiracies

All the Rage

Hosts

The Haunted Air

Gateways

Crisscross

Infernal

Harbingers

Bloodline

By the Sword

Ground Zero

Fatal Error

The Dark at the End

Nightworld

The Teen Trilogy
*

Jack: Secret Histories

Jack: Secret Circles

Jack: Secret Vengeance

The Early Years Trilogy
*

Cold City

The Adversary Cycle
*

The Keep

The Tomb

The Touch

Reborn

Reprisal

Nightworld

Other Novels

Healer

Wheels Within Wheels

An Enemy of the State

Black Wind
*

Dydeetown World

The Tery

Sibs
*

The Select

Virgin

Implant

Deep as the Marrow

Mirage
(with

Matthew J. Costello)

Nightkill
(with

Steven Spruill)

Masque
(with