Page 34 of Nobody's Hero

‘Exotic,’ Steeleye said. ‘Not been asked to get these for a while.’ He pulled a crumpled notebook from his jacket pocket. It looked like one of the complimentary notebooks the hotel chains dished out like candy. Each page would have the hotel logo on the bottom. Free advertising and they travelled far beyond the local catchment area. Steeleye’s was small, about the size of a dollar bill folded in half. It didn’t have a protective cardboard cover. Scribble pads, Koenig thought they were called.

The barman handed Steeleye a half pencil, probably from the bookmaker’s next door. He licked the end as if he were a 1920s newspaper man. He started writing down Koenig’s order. He held the pencil awkwardly, like a monkey would.

Koenig looked over Steeleye’s shoulder as he wrote. ‘The “house” in “Westinghouse” is spelled with anS, not aZ,’ he said. ‘And “Lawgiver” only has oneV.’

Steeleye frowned but made the corrections.

‘That all?’ he said.

‘It is. How long?’

‘We have these in stock. As soon as we see your money, we’ll place the order.’

‘And as soon aswesee the hardware, you’ll see the money. You know how this works.’

‘I’ll make some calls,’ Steeleye said.

He got up and walked out of the bar.

Chapter 32

Steeleye walked back into Big City Nights like he owned the place. Which he probably did. Probably owned the bookmaker’s and the doughnut shop as well. He sat on the stool he’d just vacated.

‘We have everything you want,’ he said. ‘Not going to be cheap, though.’

‘How much?’

‘Eight grand.’

‘That’s steep.’

‘This isn’t the States; it’s a seller’s market here. The price is the price.’

Koenig looked at Danielle. She nodded, like she was the money and he was the muscle.

‘Fine,’ Koenig said. ‘But tell me, how’d you manage to get hold of everything so quickly?’

‘We know people, if you know what I mean?’

‘And do these people work in the movie business?’

Steeleye’s brow furrowed.

‘The Lawgiver Mk II is Judge Dredd’s handgun,’ Koenig said. ‘The DL-44 is the heavy blaster Han Solo used inStar Wars. And the Westinghouse M-27 is the plasma rifle Skynet’s hunter-killer droids used in the Terminator franchise. A cynical man might think he was being exploited. But I’m areasonableman, Stan. I prefer to think this has simply been an unfortunate breakdown in communication. That instead of offering the impossible, you were merely opening negotiations. Do I have that right, Stan?’

Instead of answering, Steeleye nodded at the guy with the pincushion face. He got to his feet and slouched to the door. Koenig assumed he was going for reinforcements. He was wrong. Instead of leaving, he slipped a key from his pocket and locked the door. He smirked at Koenig and rejoined his friends at the card table. They moved their seats and spread out. Leaned forwards, ready and waiting.

Steeleye reached into his jacket pocket and came out with a handgun. He placed it on the bar, just out of Koenig’s reach. It was a Glock 46. New. Probably stolen in Germany. The Glock 46 was designed specifically for the German police when they were upgrading from their SIG Sauer P6s. It was rare everywhere else. Externally it was the same as the Glock 17, law enforcement’s weapon of choice the world over. The differences were mainly internal. It was reliable and robust. A deadly weapon.

‘How about this, wanker?’ Steeleye said. ‘Isthisfictional?’

Koenig turned to Danielle. ‘Is this guy for real?’ he said. He then reached behind his back and came out with his Fairbairn– Sykes. ‘Looks like I’ve brought a knife to a gunfight.’ He rolled his eyes and added, ‘I’m always doing that.’

Chapter 33

‘You’re that guy,’ Steeleye said. ‘The one those Russian gangsters will pay five million dollars for.’

‘I am?’ Koenig said.