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"I don’t think you’d know innocent if it rode up and bit you in the balls And, for your infor"

"Then what are you going to do about it?"

Wells sweeps his ar back to work We’re a little busy right now Thanks for stopping by"

He turns away, but I put ht behind hih to snap his neck When I feel him tense, I know he knows it I say it all quietly and evenly

"I can go up there and tear Avila apart on h firepower that I’ to take a lot of people with ht like that, it can’t be helped if so the richest, ine the shitstorm when all those old-money fa down and did nothing about it Or, you and your Mouseketeers can coether"

"You’re a day late and a dollar short, Chuck What do you think all this is? We’re hitting Avila tonight"

"If you’re not going for the civilians, what are you going for?"

"We’re trying to stop the end of the world, asshole Which, by the way, is entirely your fault"

I let go of hi where I held hiht away His heart is haer with a little fear ," I say

"You knohy you piss me off? It’s not that stunt on Rodeo Drive, your schoolyard threats, your pixie friends, or even you wanting to kill every living thing in sight It’s that you think you’re alone in the world and that there’s nothing going on except for you and your proble up there with your Flash Gordon toys to make them turn down their music?"

He looks over his shoulder, then back aton up there?"

"I’ve been there It’s the best little whorehouse in Purgatory So what?"

"Yeah, to the college boys and businessmen in the dumb-ass front rooms, but Avila is a lot ic power site in a city that’s one big power site What’s today’s date?"

"I have no idea"

"That’s what IIt’s New Year’s Eve It’s not just another frat party Tonight is a ritual night The ritual Atin the back roo to sacrifice each and every one, and when they do, they’re going to open up the gates of Hell and let your pal Lucifer and all his Hellion aroddam Easter parade"

"That doesn’t make any sense Mason runs Avila; ould he want to destroy the world? It could be the Kissi They’d love the chaos, but ould they want competition from Hellions?"

"Avila was built for this one purpose They’ve been kidnapping and turning angels into whores for as long as anyone can remember"

"And how is this any of my fault?"

"Because you wouldn’t stay put Because you were in Hell, which is the only place that daot you back here by killing your girlfriend, the one thing he knew you couldn’t let go of"

"Would you have let hiirl we’re talking about You bringing that key to Earth is like opening a tiny crack in the universe The ritual tonight is going to kick that crack wide open That’s why he killed your girl now He needed you to get the key to Earth before New Year’s"

"So, let’s go up and hurt souys"

This time, he puts his hand on my shoulder and turns me to look round the room

"Wait There’s more, sunshine Do you see Aelita? No, you don’t You knohy? Because some hothead fucked her up and left her in an alley where the Kissi could find her, and they carried her on up the hill That’s right Aelita’s in Avila right now and they’re going to kill her in a few hours So, pardon et all choked up about you and yours I’ve got my own people to worry about"

I nod, a little numb I have absolutely no reason to feel bad about what happens to someone who’s tried to killanyone, even a crazy, ho Mason wants, I don’t want hiot et out, listen: I can give you so that no one else in the world can"

"What?"

"I can walk you and your troops straight inside Avila Past security and alars they’ve hired as lookouts"

Wells looks atin his head He so wants to tell et out, but he’s read otten to some of the best-protected Hellions Don It’s fun watching a cop squirm

"You’ll use the key? How? I need to know that ht in If there’s a shadohere, I can get in through it"

"Show ic tricks for you Do you want my help or not?"

He stares at arette He’s a secret smoker I can smell it in his sweat

"Knohat, Tex? I don’t need you givingeye You need me a lot more than I need you I can wait until you and the cavalry charge in through the front door and get blown to rags I’ll stroll in after and use your corpses for shields Have fun getting slaughtered"

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