Teague
Chapter 03
grue

Teague left the flat with Echo around 9AM to see Grue, sometimes called the Gruesome Dealer. Big name for a rat. He was a piggy-looking man with a face like an ant-eater and according to Echo had an overactive libido. Whenever they were within three blocks of his place in Chinatown, she took the safety off her spare automatic, just in case. (Not that he’d try to jump her any time soon. Last time that happened he was literally an inch away from losing his only proof of manhood. He’ll limp for the rest of his days.)

Upon seeing the dingy little shop, Teague grimaced and braced himself for the encounter. There was a reason the man was called ‘Gruesome.’ He always looked—and smelled—like he hadn’t bathed in months, his manners made Echo look like Ghandi or the Holy Trinity, and his place was a toxic waste dump. As in, no one touched anything in there unless they wanted to catch something.

“Grue, my man! How’s it going?” Teague said cheerfully. He visibly refrained from touching the man behind the counter.

“If it isn’t LA’s number one human disaster.” Grue’s voice was like gravel, as if he smoked too many cigarettes or swallowed a box of nails. “What’s brings you to my humble abode?”

“I need another job and some information.” If you wanted info or a high-risk high-paying job then Grue was the best man for the job. It’s probably the only reason no one’s off-ed him yet.

“Didn’t you go up against the Karne two days ago?” He was also a sniveling coward who didn’t like to get on the bad side of the big organizations.

“Water under the bridge, I’m sure. Got anything new, worth one thou or more?”

“3000,” Echo reprimanded him. “Or we’ll never get the debts paid.”

Grue attempted a laugh but ended up coughing instead. “Still carting around the kid, Teague?”

Echo pulled back the slide of her auto and smiled. Grue changed the subject quickly. “So, a 3000CC job. Not many of those right now.”

“I’m sure you can dig up something,” Echo cooed.

A small smile tugged at Teague’s lips. “Down Echo, down. If we can’t get a job here, then maybe we’ll just have to do with the info.” Turning back to Grue, he asked, “Where were you yesterday?”

“Hold it! Even that’s going to cost you.”

Echo walked forward and took out her prize shooter. “No, it’s gonna cost you! Tell us what you know about the guys who put a stop to the riot yesterday, or I’m gonna rip you a new one.”

“Ingrum’s guys?”

“Ingrum?” Teague said interested. “Now that’s a name I haven’t heard before.”

“Fuck!” Grue realized he had given away something for free. Despite being a coward, he was as greedy as a starved pig fed a trough full of slop. It was hard to get anything out of him without offering a few notes. Echo was probably the only person on the planet who could persuade him with a threat.

“Keep going,” Echo said, waving her gun playfully.

A businessman is one of three things in Los Angeles: a big boss, a lucky coward, or someone just itching to die. From what they heard, Ingrum was a big boss from the east coast. He had power and knew how to use it. His face is wrapped in bandages and didn’t stay in a lofty office like a coward. He led the troops on the battlefield that was downtown. His person wasn’t weak either. Assassinations have been attempted before he made it in LA. Rumor went that the power of his armies and within his person could probably eradicate whatever was left of the old government.

“So, another loser after the riches of our fair city. Huzzah,” Echo said with a theatrical twirl of her revolver. Grue couldn’t see it because she had pounded him into the rotten floorboards a while ago. She applied more pressure to Grue’s face with her boot. “Anything else?” His words were muffled. “What was that?”

“He says, “Get off my face, little whore,” Teague translated helpfully.

As Grue received the Echo Treatment, Teague thought about what they learned. It wasn’t unusual for someone attempt a takeover the whole Los Angeles area. It was a disgusting place but powerful. Home to millions of mercenaries, assassins, thieves, cons, and the like, if someone could actually control them they’d have an army that could take on the world. Men who don’t fear death, women who don’t play by the rules (if they ever have), and children who wouldn’t give a second thought about killing if it meant getting fed. There were gang leaders here and there, and a few controlled the larger districts, but there was no formal organization of law in LA. The strong get the kill and the weak get the scraps: survival of the fittest, Angeles style.

But if one man were to manage such a dangerous mass… Teague let the thought trail off, slightly disturbed and worried. He’s had a bad feeling since yesterday and it was just getting worse.

“Echo, we’re going.”

The rage in Echo’s eyes died down at his three words. When she was calm, she realized she was pummeling Grue with her bare fists. “Ew! I touched it, I touched it!”

“You can go home and take a bath,” Teague suggested. However, Echo caught the tint of hopefulness that she would go. She tilted her head, considering the thought. If she didn’t go home, she’d probably have some weird growth by the end of the day. But if she did go back, Teague wouldn’t let her in on the job again.

As she pondered, she walked right into Teague who had stopped short of Grue’s door. “Hey, keeping mov—” Instinct suddenly told her something was wrong; it was latent in LA’s survivors. Automatically she pulled her guns and forgot all about Grue once she saw the problem.

“Evening gentlemen,” Teague said, even though it was just past noon. “Are you here for another performance?”

its faster if I keep chapters short but personally I don’t like short. But I feel like updating. writing makes me feel better and I’ve had a rotten week due to end of the quarter madness. And I burned my left hand with boiling water last Friday, too. More fun.

So to make myself feel better, I wrote a bit for this story. Writing is a therapeutic wonder.

And reviews make me happy, too.