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When the next an, it looked just like the others before it The e of white hair clinging to the back of his skull and a craggy face There was soht Prax’s attention A hesitance
“Dr Meng,” the man said He had a slushy accent that rerandfather “I’m very sorry to hear of all you and your fa” The man licked his lips “The security video on your presentation I believe I know the man in it But his name isn’t Strickland …”
Chapter Thirty-Four: Holden
According to the station directory, the Blauwe Blos: a drink called the Blue Meanie and its large nuuidebook warned potential patrons that the station allowed the bar to serve only two Blue Meanies to each customer due to the drink’s fairly suicidal mixture of ethanol, caffeine, and uessed, soh the corridors of Tycho’s leisure section, the guidebook began explaining the rules of Golgo to hioals are said to be “borrohen the defense deflects the drive—he shut it off There was very little chance he was going to be playing games And a drink that rey would be redundant right now
The truth was Holden had never felt better in his life
He’d s up over the last year He’d driven his creay froreed with in exchange for safety He ht have ruined the one healthy relationship he’d had in his life He’d been driven by his fear to beco it into violence Someone who Naomi didn’t love, who his crew didn’t respect, who he hione It was still there, ht about Ganyht now But for the first ti froiven himself permission to be afraid It made all the difference
Holden heard the Blauwe Bloan as a barely audible rhythradually increased in voluing in mixed Hindi and Russian By the tied to two uuitars The bass line changed not at all
Inside, the club was an all-out assault on the senses A massive dance floor do on it were bathed in a constantly changing light show that shifted and flashed in time to the music The music had been loud out in the corridor, but inside, it becaainst one wall, and half a dozen bartenders were frantically filling drink orders
A sign on the back wall read GOLGO and had an arrow pointing down a long hallway Holden followed it, thewith each step so that by the tia muted bass lines
Naoineer and a cluster of other Belters Her hair was pulled back with a red elastic band wide enough to be decorative She’d switched out her juray tailored slacks he hadn’t known she owned and a yellow blouse that made her caramel-colored skin seem darker Holden had to stop for a moment She sht
As he approached, Saroup at the other end reacted with sudden violentfrom where he stood, but the sluroup led Holden to believe that Saood for her tearoup at her end of the table, which included Nao her pal he couldn’t hear Naoave him a speculative look that stopped him in his tracks She didn’t smile and she didn’t frown He raised his palesture For aeach other across the noisy rooht, how did I let it come to this?
Naomi nodded at him and pointed at a table in one corner of the room He sat down and ordered himself a drink Not one of the blue liver-killers the bar was farown to, if not appreciate, at least tolerate the faint oodbye to the rest of her team for a few minutes and then walked over It wasn’t a casual stroll, but it wasn’t the gait of so either
“Can I order you sorapefruit martini,” she said While Holden entered the order on the table, she looked him over with a mysterious half smile that turned his belly to liquid
“Okay,” he said, authorizing his terminal to open a bar tab and pay for the drinks “One hideous hed “Hideous?”
“A near-fatal case of scurvy being the only reason I can irapefruit juice in it”
She laughed again, untying at least one of the knots in Holden’s gut, and they sat together in companionable silence until the drinks arrived She took a small sip and smacked her lips in appreciation, then said, “Okay Spill”
Holden took a lass of scotch in a single gulp, trying to convince hi ware I didn’t feel coht that we should talk Kind of process this together He cleared his throat
“I fked everything up,” he said “I’ve treated ht to do what you did I couldn’t hear what you were saying at the tiht to say it”
Naomi took another drink of her martini, then casually reached up and pulled out the elastic band holding her masses of black curls behind her head Her hair fell down around her face in a tangle,Holden think of ivy-covered stone walls He realized that for as long as he’d known her, Naomi had always let her hair down in emotional situations She hid behind it, not literally, but because it was her best feature The eye was just naturally drawn to its glossy black curls A distraction technique It made her suddenly seem very human, as vulnerable and lost as he was Holden felt a rush of affection for her that must have showed on his face, because she looked at him and then blushed