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The storage rooin with and lined with boxes, e boxes with flat green adhesive readouts on the side that listed what they contained and whether the cheap, disposable sensors in the foam had detected rot and corruption The table in the cramped open space at the center was pressed particleboard, as lue as wood Ti the shadow of his bron into his eyes He was barely halfway into his second decade of life, but the red-brown hair was already receding fro capacity for stillness He looked up when the threehis childhood friend, the professional thug he’d just disappointed, and the thin, well-dressedimportant in his life

“Hey,” Timmy said to any of them

Erich moved to sit at the table, saw that Oestra and Burton were standing motionless, and pulled back If Ti

“I hear that you killed Austin,” Burton said

“Yeah,” Tied not at all

Burton pulled out the chair opposite Timmy and sat Oestra and Erich carefully didn’t look at each other or at Burton The object of all their attention, Timmy waited amiably for whatever came next

“You care to tell me why you did that?” Burton asked

“It’s what you said to do,” Timmy said

“That et whatever you could froao from what I actually said to what you did?”

“I got whatever I could get,” Timmy replied There was no fear in his voice or his expression, and it left Burton with the sense he was talking to an idiot “I couldn’t get uy He didn’t have any If he had, he’d have given it to you Only thing you were getting from him was a way to make sure everyone else pays you on time So I took that instead”

“Really?”

“Yup”

“You’re positive—you’re convinced—that Austin wouldn’t have gotten my money?”

“I don’t ave it to hiuy never met a dollar he didn’t snort, shoot, or drink away”