Read Online The Getaway God by Richard Kadrey - Free Book Online Page B

comes over to me.
    â€œAre you trying to be offensive? This isn’t just a law enforcement organization. It’s a holy calling.”
    â€œWhat this bunch did was a holy calling too. To them. You think you’re immune to bad influences in the ranks? Stop a moment and think who you’re talking to. I’m a bad influence on bad influences, but at least I’m up front about it. If an asshole like me has Vigil credentials, who else does?”
    â€œI do not believe one word of this malarkey,” says Wells. He doesn’t say anything for a minute. “But it can’t hurt to get new security clearances on all the personnel.”
    â€œI left my résumé in a hole in the ground in Yamagata four hundred years ago,” says the Shonin. “Happy hunting for that.”
    Wells looks at me like he’s thinking of taking the ID back.
    â€œGet out of here for now,” he says. “But keep your phone on. I might need you later. I want to sort this Saint Nick thing out fast.”
    â€œWhat about the 8 Ball?” I say. “Shouldn’t the bag of bones be working on that instead of playing medical examiner?”
    â€œUnlike some ­people, I can multitask,” says the Shonin. “So fuck you, round boy.”
    â€œPlease,” says Wells. “The profanity. You’re a holy man.”
    â€œYour nephilim is right about himself. He’s a bad influence. Go home and infect your friends.”
    â€œDon’t leave yet,” says Wells. “I need you to go and see Marshal Sola.”
    â€œJulie Sola is back in the Vigil?”
    â€œMarshal Sola is with us again. And she has some papers to go over with you.”
    â€œWhat kind of papers?”
    Wells smiles.
    â€œPart one of your psych evaluation.”
    â€œExcuse me?”
    â€œEverybody goes through it. I did it. Marshal Sola—­”
    â€œHow about Aelita?”
    That stops him cold.
    He says, “You will go to Marshal Sola, do her paperwork, and pass the evaluation or you don’t get paid.”
    â€œThis is bullshit.”
    â€œWatch your language. And this is nonnegotiable.”
    I start out but stop and look back at the Shonin.
    â€œHey, muertita . You know what an Ommah is? I heard a Jade say it.”
    â€œYou’re involved with a Jade and you don’t know what an Ommah is?”
    â€œI lost my library card. Just tell me what it means.”
    â€œIt’s an old word. Arabic. It means ‘mother.’ The Ommahs are the Jade matriarchs. They control the whole Jade world. Set the rules. Tell them where to go and what to do.”
    â€œWhen to have kids?”
    â€œEspecially that. Breeding is very important to Jades. They like to keep their lineage clean and controlled. It’s why they go for such a high price.”
    â€œWhat do you mean a high price?”
    â€œAt market. When they’re sold. There are few Jades in the world. They live short, exciting lives and are gone. That’s why they’re so expensive.” The Shonin laughs. “How do you not know these things?”
    â€œThanks,” I say, and leave. As the door closes I can hear the Shonin.
    â€œSeriously. How dumb is that boy?”
    Apparently, dumber than even I thought.
    To hell with Wells and his inkblots. I need a drink.
    I go outside and call Candy. No one answers, so I leave a message that I’m going to Bamboo House of Dolls and that she should meet me there if she’s feeling better.
    The rain still pounds down. A ­couple of agents under an awning palm their cigarettes when I come out. They whisper to each other and quietly laugh. Yes, I’m a commander of men.
    Six Vigil agents in expensive golf clothes play a round under oversize umbrellas. Disguised spooks playing a fake round of a brain-­dead game in a billionaire’s playpen in a monsoon while around them, the city reaches population zero. If the Angra have a sense of humor they