She walks towards the steps and stops at the top. She’s all sweaty and flushed from the heat, and her hair is still wet from her earlier shower. The scratches from the thorn run-in this morning are still there, but now that the dried blood has been properly washed away, they are not so bad. She looks better and worse all at the same time. She looks unstable.

“When you make a call to an associate from a phone that’s supposedly not secure, a phone that had some cryptic message you tried to blame on me, then yeah. I have a big f**king problem.”

“Watch your f**king mouth around me, kid. Or I’ll smack the shit out of it.”

She reaches behind her and pulls out a gun and points it at me. “Is that right?”

“You better shoot me right the f**k now. Because if you don’t, I’ll kill you just for pointing that weapon at me.”

She reevaluates her target and decides on a spot above my head. Smurfette is clever. “Who were you talking to?”

I eye the diameter of the chamber on her weapon and guesstimate .40. “You sure you can handle that thing? It’s got a nice kick to it. And if you miss me, I won’t miss you.”

“I don’t miss. And I’ve been shooting this Glock for a while now. So I’ll happily take my chances. Now, who were you talking to?”

“I already told you. My secretary, checking for messages. And Merc, returning a call.”

“You were checking in. Who’s running this operation?”

“I thought you knew?”

She thinks about this for a few seconds. Gives it some consideration before she answers. “I know who I’m working for. I know who sent you to get me. And I don’t think we’re on the same side anymore.”

“That’s too bad then,” I tell her with a shrug of my shoulders. “I was just beginning to like you. I was starting to hope I wouldn’t have to kill you.”

“Funny,” she says with a coolness that sends a chill up my arm. “I was thinking the same thing.”

My guffaw echoes off the ceiling and I have a genuine moment of amusement. “Looks like we’re at an impasse, then.”

She stays silent, but her hard stare never wavers.

“So let’s make a deal.”

“I don’t make deals with terrorists.”

Another laugh bursts forth. “Kid, even the American government cuts deals with the terrorists these days. So dismount the high horse and listen.”

She waves her hand at me, like I need her personal invitation to keep talking. I ignore her bravado because she’s earned it at the moment, and start picking my way through the minefield. “You have a measurable objective? Or just doing recon?”

“Why would I tell you that?” she snorts. “I must look like an idiot to you. You must think I’m a joke. And that’s fine, you know. Because I like to be underestimated. If those guys out at my grandparent’s ranch had assessed me properly, well, I’d be dead right now, wouldn’t I? So be my guest, Tet. Give it your best shot. But I’ve grown up around every scumbag killer you can imagine. I know how to pick out the good ones. And it only took my nine-year-old self thirty seconds back at the Boise gun show to figure out you were never even in the running. You… are a very bad guy.”

My fists are clenching the entire time she’s talking and by the time she’s finished, my palms are aching to hit something. It’s not what she said that pisses me off. It’s what she didn’t say. But I’m the professional here, so I keep my cool. “Yeah, got it. You still worship the ground Ford walks on. He’s the hero and I’m the villain.”

“You and Merc are both the bad guys. I saw it in Merc too. Before he got my dad killed he was just another ass**le. But after the accident I had a lot of time to think it over. He’s not really an ass**le.” She pauses. Choosing her words or reconsidering or who the f**k knows what this little monster is doing.

I get impatient. “What is he then?”

“Evil,” she replies with a cold edge to her voice. “He’s evil, just like you. You’re using Harper to get to Nick.”

“Another good guess from the Smurf. But sorry, not the case, kid. I’m not even remotely interested in Nick at the moment. I’m not saying it will stay that way forever, but that’s not my objective. And while I am using Harper for lots of things—sex for one. Comfort. Passion. Friendship. Conversation. Take your pick, because I am using her for all those things right now—I’m not using her to get to Nick because I don’t need to. And I’d just like to make it clear that I won’t be doing anything that could hurt her. So if you’re suddenly feeling loyal to the Lionfish, you can rest your weary mind. I’m on her side.”

“I don’t believe you,” she says immediately.

“I can respect that,” I tell her back. “I can. I’m no one to you. You think I’m scum. You think Merc is scum. And maybe we are. But there’s another level of low beneath me, Sasha. There’s people out there who eat the scum like me alive. Bottom-feeders. And you’re on the verge of scum yourself, so I’d like you to put down the gun, sit on that step right there, and listen to my offer. We can decide what to do about the impasse once you hear it. But you can’t act out of ignorance. Your father taught you that much, I’m sure.”

Her mouth tightens at the corners when I mention her father. It’s pretty clear she does not put him in the company of scum. But whatever. He was an illegal arms dealer working for a shadow global governance. In my mind, he was every bit as scummed up as the rest of us. She steps down, then lowers herself into a seated position as she lowers the gun.

“Good girl.”

“Don’t, Tet. I grew up being patronized.”

I throw her a nod. “Fair enough. You do not know who I work for. It’s not Merc. He’s not involved in any of this, OK? He’s off doing recon on a project you will probably be interested in. Paybacks, Sasha, always come due in our world. And someone got your dad killed, but it wasn’t Merc. We know who did it though.”

“You do not.”

“Shut up and listen,” I scold her like the child she is. “Because I’m not f**king around right now.” I stare her down until she looks away and then I continue. “He knows who did it. And maybe the reason he’s gonna get his revenge has nothing to do with you, but does it matter why he sets things right? Does it matter why he gets his payback? Do you care if the person who ruined your life is dead for your reasons or his?”