Torch Song: A Kickass Heroine, A Post-Apocalyptic World: Book One Of The Blackjack Trilogy (28 page)

They’d even gone to the airfield; the plane was still there.

Somehow, Hannah must have known that they’d found her out. Or guessed. She was smart. Maybe she’d heard that the kids beat up Billy. Or saw him afterward. Maybe she even saw them coming back to Blackjack after the fight. Lizzie’s bleeding knuckles, the spatter, Drew’s torn shirt. It wouldn’t take many pieces of the puzzle. A word, a look, and any cautious merc would get out while she could.

In any case, she was gone. Now who the hell was Jo going to run for mayor?

What about Waldo? She wouldn’t care much if someone offed him and she thought he was, underneath it all, loyal to the family in his way. He’d probably do as he was told, unless the instructions involved women.

But no, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Watching him swagger around town would be more than she could bear.

Timmy? She’d never forgive herself if he got hurt. He was so trusting, not to mention small, old, and effectively one-armed. Oh, hell. She needed some air, needed to clear her head. She locked the office door behind her and trotted down the stairs.

She was striding through the casino, intent on the exit, when Zack waved her over to his table.

“What’s on, Zack?”

“Got a problem now, huh, Jo? No mayor?”

“It’s a problem, Zack.”

“I’d as soon do that as sit around with the cabinet, yakking about nothing. A mayor gets to do things, give executive orders, right?” He grinned at her, his ice-blue eyes sharp and humorous.

“You volunteering?” Not a bad idea. And this was a man who could take care of himself pretty well. How would Samm feel about it?

Zack was smart enough to know she’d be wondering that.

“Why not? I can still stay close to the army, be where Samm needs me. Maybe I can talk Samm into taking a cabinet job.”

Jo burst out laughing. “You do that and I’ll give you a raise.”

Samm wouldn’t go for it, she knew. But with Drew, Tim, Doc and Andy, they had four already.

She still needed a third candidate for the council.

Samm had mentioned that young blackjack dealer, Emmy. Early twenties only, but very smart. He said she was interested in politics and admired the Colemans. She’d been there for six months now, done several jobs and worked her way up to the table. He said she was a rock and that the gamblers, men and women, loved her. Jo hesitated. Samm had recommended Hannah, too. But she had a better feeling about Emmy. She’d consider her, talk to her, see what was what. Monte, the gray-hair, Judith, imposing matriarch, and the strong, good-looking, charismatic youngster. Not a bad slate.

And then there was Rica. What could she talk her into? The thought made her smile, and led to other ideas that she pushed to a far corner of her mind, if only for the time being.

Huddled over a scarred table

When I got to the restaurant later that afternoon, Timmy dashed up to me, a big grin smeared across his sweet pink face.

“Have you heard about Hannah?”

“You mean her disappearing?” Was that what was making him so happy? I knew he didn’t like her much, but this seemed extreme.

“Oh, you know about it then.” He looked slightly disappointed. “But there’s more!” He was beaming again. “Drew says Zack has volunteered to be the mayoral candidate. And Judith and Jo want me to be on the Tahoe cabinet! Isn’t that exciting?”

“Very.” This was all moving pretty fast. Timmy in politics. The cabinet would be keeping few secrets.

“And Drew is going for the cabinet, too, and he says Judith is probably running for Council.”

“Not Samm? Not Jo?”

“Well, not Jo, anyway. Drew thinks Zack might want Samm with him on the cabinet, though.”

Samm was big and pretty and a popular man. He would inspire confidence in the voters, help Zack win the election. But Warrior Samm on the cabinet? He was bigger than life in so many ways, it was hard to picture him sitting in meetings.

As for Jo, someone had to run the casino, especially if Judith won a seat on the council. But I didn’t think that was the only reason she was sticking around the home shop.

Judith was the queen and Jo seemed more like the power behind the throne. She wouldn’t run for office unless she had to; she’d rather plan and coordinate everyone else’s plotting and warring than fight for votes or policy right out in public. Yes, indeed, it could take a lot of time and energy to draw up a master plan for world conquest. The thought made me laugh: Jo, huddled over a scarred table with only a candle to light a dark room, poring over a map of the western half of the continent, her sensual mouth sneering, connecting all the people and all the pieces, laughing evilly. Kind of sexy, actually. Right there at that table with her pretty hands in everything at once. Timmy was looking at me oddly. I stopped laughing. I needed to stop picturing her body parts.

A party of three sat at one of Tim’s tables. “Well, more gossip later…” He dashed across the room.

Drew on the cabinet. So young. I wondered if he really wanted the job. He was smart and thoughtful, but maybe they were pushing him to do something he didn’t want to do. Maybe his moodiness wasn’t about me at all. I didn’t want it to be about me, so I liked my newly-conceived alternative. He and Lizzie were, after all, heirs to the casino. They were going to teach him more than dealing and serving and managing. They were grooming him for power. Pushing him. I could stop taking his unhappy look personally.

I scanned the restaurant for him. He was bussing one of my tables, Lizzie cleaning up another one nearby. Drew was down to just a couple of hours a night in the restaurant now, working the rest of the time at the tables and the bar.

And Lizzie? The girl was only 17. What did they have in mind for her?

What did Drew and Lizzie have in mind for themselves?

When Samm came in for a quick meal, I was reminded that Newt expected me to join Samm’s army now that Hannah was gone. Crap. How was I supposed to conceal my merc-level skills with weapons and hand-to-hand if I was playing soldier for the Colemans? Even more important, how was I supposed to admit I even knew there was an army?

I handed him a menu and he smiled up at me. Dazzling. You just didn’t see perfect teeth like that every day. His family might have died in a hostel, but their genes didn’t seem to be at fault. He took the menu and grabbed my hand, kissing it. I must have looked stupidly startled because he laughed.

“Sorry, Rica. But it was irresistible.” Like his charm. I smiled back at him. What a mixture this man was. Strength and beauty. Brains and spirit. I wondered about his love life. He was alone so much. He flirted with me, but he never followed through. It had occurred to me early on that he might be in love with Jo, but I was beginning to think he simply wasn’t interested in romance. What about sex? I’d noticed him with a woman or two, walking, sitting next to him when he was dealing. But no one consistently. I guessed he just took it as he found it.

He glanced at the menu. “What’s good today?”

* * *

Jo was sitting at her desk stewing about her candidates list. She’d left a message for Emmy but hadn’t gotten an answer back yet.

More and more she was wondering about Rica as a candidate. But she hadn’t been around very long and Jo still didn’t know if she could trust her. The spies she’d asked to check on her hadn’t reported back yet.

And what about the other side? What were the Scorsis doing? She had messages out to her sagging network at Scorsi’s Luck, telling them to find out what they could right damned now. Surely Newt had plans for more than just the one council candidate he’d put up posters for. With Hannah gone, he wouldn’t let the Colemans walk off with the mayor’s office. He’d run someone. He’d be lining up people for the cabinet, and trying to find someone to send to Hangtown.

This was more than an election, it was a war. How safe would her candidates be? Would she have to kill off some of his? She’d rather defeat them with bribes and miscounts and stolen ballots and double and triple and dead-guy voting. She wasn’t above any of that, certainly, if it looked like one of her own might lose. And she thought that she could get money to the right people when it came to counting the votes, if she had to.

Her head hurt. She rubbed her temples. Closed her eyes.

She had only a small army training and a few people working as spies at Scorsi’s Luck, and it wasn’t enough. She should have known, long ago, that it was the Scorsi boys who killed Madera. She should have known that Hannah was a spy. She wasn’t getting enough intelligence, didn’t feel they were building enough strength.

How could she light a fire under her people? Her thoughts flickered toward Rica again. Judith had been right to prod her early on, see if she had interest in real work. But she hadn’t gotten any kind of answer. She might be a good candidate. But she might also be useful as a spy. Scorsi had a small stage in his bar that was used from time to time by unfunny comedians and untalented musicians. Maybe Rica could interest him in having a singer on her nights off.

Fantasy. She hardly knew the woman. It took real talent to be a good spy. Good enough to do the job and stay alive. Newt was a fool but not an idiot. He’d be suspicious of anyone coming to him from Blackjack. Her sys buzzed.

Amazing. It was one of her people at Scorsi’s.

“I found something out.”

Good for you. “What is it?”

“Well, it won’t be a secret much longer, but I thought you’d want to know as soon as possible.”

Oh for god’s sake. “Yes. Tell me what it is.”

“Newt’s going to run for mayor. And his brother Larry?” Billy’s arrogant, overdressed father. “He’s going to run for the council.” Two council candidates, then. Larry and the merc.

“Anything else?”

“No.”

“Good work.” She clicked off. She couldn’t help thinking it: killing Newt’s candidates was looking more attractive. The world would not miss either Larry or the merc.

There was a knock on the door. For just a second, she considered telling whoever it was to go away. But she needed a break.

“Come in.”

The door swung open and the big black poodle hopped in on three legs, grinning a dog grin. Followed by Liz, who wore a proud mama smile.

“Look how great she’s doing, Jo!”

Jo reached down to pat the dog’s head, gently. “Very good, Liz. Just don’t let her overdo it, okay?”

“Okay. What are you doing?”

“Wondering why only one of our spies at Blackjack came up with the information that Newt’s going to run for mayor and his brother Larry’s running for council.” Lizzie raised her eyebrows but didn’t interrupt. “Wondering— what do you think of Rica Marin, Lizzie? Do you think she can be trusted?”

Lizzie sat down on the easy chair next to the desk. The dog lowered herself to the floor with a grunt and a little squeaking cry of pain.

“I never thought about it, I guess. How could we find out?”

“I don’t know, exactly.” Did she really want both kids watching Rica’s every move, tripping over her in the lounge? Probably not a good idea. She should try to keep Lizzie out of that for now.

“Drew’s watching her, right?” Lizzie asked.

Jo hadn’t gotten any feedback from Drew.

“Yes. And I’ve got someone trying to check on her. Never mind, I’m just thinking.”

“Okay.” Liz got up again. “Well, I’ve got some homework. Come on, Soldier.”

The dog struggled to get back on her feet. Lizzie placed an arm under her hindquarters and helped her.

So she’d named the dog Soldier. Lizzie seemed to be staking out her own territory in the family. Another year and she’d be wanting to fight alongside Samm.

Jo’s sys buzzed again. She punched on and saw that she had a message from one of the people she had working from the Delta west into Redwood. About time she’d heard from one of them.

Rica, it turned out, had never worked on the Riverboat Queen. She had in fact, according to a border guard the spy knew, come to Blackjack traveling from the East. That was all he had so far, but he thought there’d be more.

Jo couldn’t wait to hear the rest, depressing as it might be.

“Hurry that information up, if you can.”

“I’ll try.”

Meanwhile, she’d have to step back a few paces in her pursuit of Rica as a candidate. And as something more, as well.

* * *

That night, Jo did show up at the lounge and took a table near the front. She watched me very carefully, but something felt off. The heat was gone. I felt like I was being observed, more evaluated than enjoyed. What had happened? Had I somehow made a fool of myself in her eyes out on the parking lot that night?

When the set was over, she gave me a quick smile and took off. I was disappointed, and I was worried.

But after all, I told myself, trying to stiffen my upper lip, Jo had a lot to do, with the casino and the elections. She couldn’t spend all her time pinned against fir trees.

I sure would like to be cannon fodder

I’d never gotten a return message from the chief about the boys undoubtedly being the mayor’s killers. I thought she’d missed it somehow, so I sent it again.

Her response came in the time it took me to brush my teeth and get undressed.

“That leaves the army and skimming. Keep me informed.” Click off. I’d never known her to be this abrupt. She didn’t seem to want to talk to me. What secret was she holding? Oh, the hell with it, that was just plain paranoid. She was busy, or tired, or lost her lover or caught a cold.

Ah, yes. The army. I was under Newt’s orders to join up. It was true that peeking at them from behind trees wouldn’t give me the whole picture. I would ask Samm to let me in. All I had to do was figure out a way to explain how I knew it existed. Neither Timmy nor Drew had ever mentioned it to me. If I could twist one of them into doing that, it would help.

The sys buzzed again. Gran. I didn’t want to get into it with her right then so I let the sound run. In case it was something important, I’d listen to it the minute she went away. The message ended in less than a minute. I retrieved it.

“Rica, dear, I hope you’re being careful. I consulted with Macris—”