Read Online Gumshoe Gorilla by Keith Hartman, Eric Dunn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Keith Hartman, Eric Dunn
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blade of grass in his mouth, like a farm boy sucking on a piece of straw.
"You're only doing that because you know it makes you look cute," I said.
"Well thank you for noticing."
He nodded to the south.
"The Pepsi mirror is coming up in a few minutes."
I sat down next to him, and handed him the money that I owed him for the evening's work. He stuffed the bills into his jeans without even looking at them.
We sat for a couple minutes without saying anything. I considered bringing up the Bliss again. But that would be a mistake. Daniel obviously didn't want to talk about it, and he already knew my stand on the stuff. So there really wasn't anything to say.
A few minutes later, the Pepsi mirror passed overhead. The downtown skyscrapers caught it first, lighting up in a silver glare that rushed towards us like an advancing wall of light. I watched it engulf the Liberty Media Tower, and then the buildings of Midtown, and then it was upon us, and we were in the footprint. The Pepsi logo shining like burning silver, turning the night into an eerie, colorless twilight. I've read somewhere that the mirror is ten times as bright as the full moon, and that seems about right. Confused birds woke up and serenaded it as the morning sun.
"Go ahead guys," I muttered. "Knock yourselves out."
I've heard that Greenpeace is collecting donations to buy a missile and blast the thing out of orbit. They even have a Chinese arms maker lined up to sell them the warhead and the launch system. Maybe I could spare ten bucks to send them. The mirror had been mildly interesting the first couple of times I'd seen it, but the novelty had long since worn off. Well, at least Atlanta only comes into its footprint twice a year.
Daniel was looking up at it, fascinated.
"You know," he said, "that must really burn up the guys at Coke."
"Probably," I agreed.
"I wonder why they haven't blown the thing up. I mean, you know that Coke's gotta have an attack satellite stashed up there somewhere."
"It wouldn't surprise me. But I guess they don't want the cola wars to go hot."
Daniel mulled over that one, and we sat in silence for a couple of minutes.
"So, did we get the bad guy?" he asked.
"Uh.... that would be a yes. I found what I needed on his system."
"Good."
He picked another blade of grass and sucked on it. I hoped that the gardener for this condo wasn't using pesticides.
"You know, Drew, I was thinking that I would make a really good spy. Like for Coke, or the CIA, or Microsoft."
I laughed at that one.
"You probably would-- if you can learn to sit still and stop wandering off in the middle of the job. I had all kinds of trouble finding you and the mark."
"Hey, you asked me to keep the guy busy."
"Yeah, well as you keep pointing out, I worry too much. So stay where I can see you."
"Aw, we only went out to the parking lot. And besides, he's cute. And did you see that car? The guy must be loaded! You did say that he's getting a divorce, right?"
"I thought you were already in love with someone?"
"In love, not blind. And besides, Vince understands these things. A boy's got to make a living."
"I guess."
I tried to imagine how Daniel was going to explain all this to my new client. I'm sure it would be an interesting conversation. And who knows? After a messy divorce, the guy might actually prefer a rental boyfriend. It was probably cheaper for him, in the long run.
A few seconds later there was a beep from Daniel's palm top. It was his service, trying to get in touch with him for his first "date" of the evening. He got up, and I helped him brush the grass off his back. Then we walked down the block to his building, through the strange silver twilight. We said our goodbyes in the parking lot, and then I climbed into my beat up old Ford, and watched as Daniel ran up the stairs to his apartment.
His new boyfriend met him at
"You're only doing that because you know it makes you look cute," I said.
"Well thank you for noticing."
He nodded to the south.
"The Pepsi mirror is coming up in a few minutes."
I sat down next to him, and handed him the money that I owed him for the evening's work. He stuffed the bills into his jeans without even looking at them.
We sat for a couple minutes without saying anything. I considered bringing up the Bliss again. But that would be a mistake. Daniel obviously didn't want to talk about it, and he already knew my stand on the stuff. So there really wasn't anything to say.
A few minutes later, the Pepsi mirror passed overhead. The downtown skyscrapers caught it first, lighting up in a silver glare that rushed towards us like an advancing wall of light. I watched it engulf the Liberty Media Tower, and then the buildings of Midtown, and then it was upon us, and we were in the footprint. The Pepsi logo shining like burning silver, turning the night into an eerie, colorless twilight. I've read somewhere that the mirror is ten times as bright as the full moon, and that seems about right. Confused birds woke up and serenaded it as the morning sun.
"Go ahead guys," I muttered. "Knock yourselves out."
I've heard that Greenpeace is collecting donations to buy a missile and blast the thing out of orbit. They even have a Chinese arms maker lined up to sell them the warhead and the launch system. Maybe I could spare ten bucks to send them. The mirror had been mildly interesting the first couple of times I'd seen it, but the novelty had long since worn off. Well, at least Atlanta only comes into its footprint twice a year.
Daniel was looking up at it, fascinated.
"You know," he said, "that must really burn up the guys at Coke."
"Probably," I agreed.
"I wonder why they haven't blown the thing up. I mean, you know that Coke's gotta have an attack satellite stashed up there somewhere."
"It wouldn't surprise me. But I guess they don't want the cola wars to go hot."
Daniel mulled over that one, and we sat in silence for a couple of minutes.
"So, did we get the bad guy?" he asked.
"Uh.... that would be a yes. I found what I needed on his system."
"Good."
He picked another blade of grass and sucked on it. I hoped that the gardener for this condo wasn't using pesticides.
"You know, Drew, I was thinking that I would make a really good spy. Like for Coke, or the CIA, or Microsoft."
I laughed at that one.
"You probably would-- if you can learn to sit still and stop wandering off in the middle of the job. I had all kinds of trouble finding you and the mark."
"Hey, you asked me to keep the guy busy."
"Yeah, well as you keep pointing out, I worry too much. So stay where I can see you."
"Aw, we only went out to the parking lot. And besides, he's cute. And did you see that car? The guy must be loaded! You did say that he's getting a divorce, right?"
"I thought you were already in love with someone?"
"In love, not blind. And besides, Vince understands these things. A boy's got to make a living."
"I guess."
I tried to imagine how Daniel was going to explain all this to my new client. I'm sure it would be an interesting conversation. And who knows? After a messy divorce, the guy might actually prefer a rental boyfriend. It was probably cheaper for him, in the long run.
A few seconds later there was a beep from Daniel's palm top. It was his service, trying to get in touch with him for his first "date" of the evening. He got up, and I helped him brush the grass off his back. Then we walked down the block to his building, through the strange silver twilight. We said our goodbyes in the parking lot, and then I climbed into my beat up old Ford, and watched as Daniel ran up the stairs to his apartment.
His new boyfriend met him at
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