Road To Babylon | Book 10 | 100 Deep

by Sisavath, Sam

  “How long have you been here?” Harvey asked.

  “Two months, give or take a day or two.”

  “Where’d you come from?”

  “My mom’s womb.”

  “Again with the smart mouth.”

  Keo grinned. “Texas.”

  Harvey gave him the side eye. “What the fuck were you doing in Texas, Chang?”

  The big man had stressed Chang for a reason. Keo didn’t think Harvey knew he was half-Korean, but the man would have had to be blind to think Keo was full Caucasian. Keo only had half of his father’s blood running through his veins.

  “I get around,” Keo said. “But I spent a lot of years in Texas after.”

  “After?”

  “After.”

  “Right. After.”

  They rode in silence for a few seconds.

  Finally, Keo said, “So what is this? A job interview?”

  “Nah,” Harvey said. “You already passed that.”

  “Did I?”

  “Back at Roy’s.”

  “I didn’t know I was being interviewed back there.”

  “You weren’t. The kid was. But you passed anyway.”

  “Lucky me. So what now?”

  “Show up with Lance tomorrow at the resort. You’re leaving Shit Duty behind.”

  Harvey started to ride off.

  “What about the kid?” Keo said.

  Harvey stopped and turned his mare around. “What about him?”

  Keo looked forward, past Harvey and at Lance and Steven. Keo’s bunkmate had caught up to the teenager, and they were waiting at the next streetlight about thirty yards ahead, looking back in Keo and Harvey’s direction.

  It was hard not to see Steven’s tall figure in the saddle. Tall, but oh so young. Lance was easier to pick out; he was the one with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, the red end glowing slightly in dark night. That was either Lance’s third or fourth, but Keo had lost count. He always did mean to ask the man where he got all his cigarettes from.

  “What happens to him?” Keo asked Harvey.

  Harvey glanced up the street for a moment, as if lost in thought.

  Finally, he turned back to Keo. “He’ll get another chance. I just don’t know when.” He seemed to sigh. Seemed, because Keo couldn’t be sure. “I thought he had it in him, but I guess I was wrong.”

  “You know him,” Keo said. It had never occurred to him before that Harvey knew Steven. He’d always thought the teenager was just another helper, the one that tied up the horses and got them ready to ride.

  “Yeah,” Harvey said. He reined his horse around. “He’s my son.”

  Then the big man rode off.

  Three

  He woke up to a stranger in his room.

  Reflexively, Keo glanced over at the cot next to him, on the other side of the small room. Lance’s.

  “Relax; he’s gone,” the stranger said.

  Keo groaned as he sat up on his own uncomfortable cot, the rusted springs creaking loudly underneath him. He made a mental note to ask for some WD-40 to shut it up. “What are you doing here?”

  “Listening to you snore like a runaway train.”

  “Nonsense. I don’t snore.”

  “Like a runaway train. I had to plug my ears with tissues.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  The small figure smirked, her blonde hair visible against the sunrise outside the window. Keo didn’t bother to keep his voice down; he could already hear the rest of the building moving around outside his door, not to mention above and below him. Shaker Town woke up early, especially the ones on Shit Duty.

  Keo swung his legs off the cot and ran his fingers through his hair. “What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here.”

  “You need a haircut,” his uninvited guest said. “And a shave wouldn’t hurt.”

  “Thanks for the grooming tips. Anything else?”

  “Maybe a whole new wardrobe, while you’re at it. You’re looking a tad shabby.”

  “Fashion sense is a bit lacking around here.”

  “Excuses.”

  “What are you doing here?” Keo asked again. “Lance could have seen you.”

  “Your boyfriend left hours ago.”

  “And how do you know that?”

  “I know a lot of things.” Then, without missing a beat, “Like what happened at Roy’s last night. Wanna tell me about that?”

  Keo lifted both eyebrows in curiosity. “Who else knows about that?”

  “Not many. Steven told me.”

  “Steven?”

  “Last night, after he came home.”

  Keo peered across the room at her.

  He still marveled at how much Claire had grown up since the last time he saw her, outside of Darby Bay. She was taller—which he didn’t think was possible—and prettier. He didn’t tell her that second part, though. It would have just been awkward.

  “So what happened?” Claire asked. “And why did you screw up something I spent months putting together?”

  Keo got up and walked over to the sink and poured some lukewarm water from a plastic bottle into his palms. He splashed his face. The bottle had been reused so many times that it’d begun to turn a strange shade of gray. The sink was the only real luxury in the room. There was a communal bathroom at the end of the hallway outside. The toilets still worked, courtesy of a water tower in the middle of town that was refilled whenever it got too low. Shaker Town had its shit together.

  “I didn’t have any choice,” Keo said.

  “Do tell. Starting with what happened and how you ended up shooting that poor old bastard Roy.”

  “I had to shut him up. Maybe he would have given me away, maybe not. I couldn’t take the chance.”

  “Damn, Keo,” Claire said. He could feel her eyes on him even though his back was turned to her.

  Keo splashed more warm water on his face before reaching for a ragged towel hanging on a hook. It was the same damn towel he’d been wiping his face with since he got to Shaker Town. He and Lance.

  “What else did Steven say?” he asked.

  “His pops wanted him to shoot the old guy, but you did it first,” Claire said. “He’s kind of glad you did.”

  “He said that?”

  “Not in so many words, but I read his body language.”

  “You can do that now, huh?”

  “Among other things.”

  Like what? Keo thought, but didn’t ask.

  Claire continued. “He doesn’t have it in him. He wants to make his old man proud, but there’s a limit.”

  Keo tossed the towel into the sink, wondering what else Claire knew about the kid Steven. He kept that to himself too as he walked over to where Claire sat on the windowsill, looking out at the brightening streets below. She had one hand on the filthy dust-covered curtain and was peering down.

  He stared at her for a moment. “You okay?”

  She turned her gaze over to him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “I don’t know. Just asking.”

  Claire let the curtains drop. “I’ve been here for five months. You just showed up.”

  “I arrived two months ago.”

  “Exactly. You just showed up.” Then, without missing a beat, “I know what I’m doing. I’m the reason you guys even know about Shaker Town’s dark secrets in the first place. Don’t worry your pretty head about me, Keo.” She grinned. “Or should I say, Chang.”

  Keo grunted. There was nothing “pretty” about his head. He had scars and wrinkles and a hundred other things that would inform anyone who cast eyes on him about the kind of life he’d lived. If they’d bothered to take a look at him sans clothing, they would have been even more speechless.

  “A name’s a name,” Keo said.

  “Not much of one,” Claire said. “You don’t look like a Chang.”

  “What does a Chang look like?”

  “Chinese?”

  “I am Chinese.”

  “No,
you’re not.”

  “As far as everyone here knows, I am.”

  “That sounds a little racist.”

  Keo smirked.

  “What if you run into a real Chinese guy?” Claire asked.

  “I’ll cross that bridge when and if I come to it.”

  “And here I thought I was running around this place without a net.”

  She looked out the window at the streets below again. Keo joined her.

  Shaker Town was an old relic from the past, with architecture that had been around since Georgians were still using African slaves to work their fields. The buildings, including the one Keo was in at the moment, were reminders of that dark past. From a distance, it looked classic and traditional, but up close it was worn down and in need of a new coat of paint. Or two.

  Or five.

  The six-story building Keo was in now was reserved especially for those on Shit Duty—newcomers that hadn’t proven their mettle to the higher-ups, men like Harvey. Keo had been stuck in the same area since he arrived. He was surrounded by men and women who had been here even longer.

  The fact that there were both genders in the building meant not everyone passed the time by him or herself. Loud sounds of lovemaking—or as Lance put it, “bunny fucking”—were easy to hear all day and night. Keo supposed people had to do something to pass the time. He didn’t have that luxury, though.

  The fact that Claire had made her way here, then talked her way up to his room, wasn’t a stretch. The building had guards in the lobby, but they were all well-aware of what went on in the rooms. Most of them were also serving Shit Duty and weren’t beyond having their own company to pass the time.

  Keo had been hoping last night’s adventure at Roy’s would get him out of the building, but that hope had been dashed when he returned here with Lance. But he’d still managed to impress Harvey, so that was something.

  “Show up with Lance tomorrow at the resort. You’re leaving Shit Duty behind,” the big man had said last night.

  Except Lance had left without Keo, which made Keo wonder if his bunkmate knew about what Harvey had said. Probably not, or Lance would have waited for him. Right?

  Keo glanced down at his watch.

  5:16 a.m.

  Shit Duty officially commenced at 6:00 on the dot. That left him with some time to find Lance. After all, Keo had worked too hard to get this far; he didn’t feel like going right back to square one.

  “So, did you find it?” Claire was asking him.

  Keo shook his head. “One of the guards either took a wrong turn or was doing his rounds when he ruined the scavenger hunt. I had to kill him and take off. Never got past the back hallway in the lobby.”

  “So you didn’t find it.”

  “There was no time. I could already hear more people coming.”

  “Dammit,” Claire said. “That’s our best chance so far. Two months of planning…”

  “We’ll get another chance.”

  “Another two months?”

  “Let’s hope not.” Then, looking at her, “You sure about your intel?”

  She nodded. “It’s some kind of weapon. I don’t know what kind. But they’re doing something in that hotel that’s got a lot of people spooked.”

  “I haven’t heard anything about it.”

  “That’s because you’re not talking to the right people.”

  “And you are?”

  “It’s my job, remember? Assess the threat and report back.”

  “But you don’t know what they’re doing up there.”

  “Not yet. All I know is that they’re expecting it to be a game changer, especially when it comes to Black Tide.”

  Keo didn’t say anything. He didn’t have any reasons to doubt Claire. Everything Black Tide had on Shaker Town said the same thing—the place was looking to expand and had been before Danny stepped in to halt their progress. The presence of a weapon that could change the balance of power in the region would allow the Powers That Be in Shaker Town to continue those ambitions.

  Keo glanced out the window. “On the bright side, they thought Roy did it, so I’m in the clear.”

  “I still can’t believe you shot him,” Claire said.

  “I told you, I didn’t have any choice.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, if it makes you feel better.”

  Keo sighed. A few years ago he would have called her a kid, but those days were long gone. People like Claire and Gaby had had to grow up fast. Too fast.

  “So, you and Steven,” Keo said after a few seconds of awkward silence.

  Claire glanced across at him, something that looked like amusement dancing in her eyes. “He’s Harvey’s kid, you know.”

  “I heard.”

  “Since when?”

  “Last night. Harvey mentioned it.”

  “Hunh.”

  “‘Hunh?’” Keo said. “What does hunh mean?”

  “Most people don’t know that.”

  Which makes sense because Lance didn’t, and neither did I until last night, Keo thought.

  He said, “They’re hiding it?”

  Claire shrugged. “Not so much hiding, just not telling everyone, especially you Shitties.”

  “Shitties?”

  “That’s what they call you guys.”

  “Because we’re on Shit Duty.”

  “What else?”

  Keo rolled his eyes. “How long were you on Shit Duty when you first got here?”

  “What makes you think I was ever on Shit Duty?”

  “You weren’t?”

  “Keo. Look at me.”

  He chuckled. “Point taken,” he said, but refrained from asking the twenty-something what exactly the administrators of Shaker Town had her doing if not Shit Duty.

  The truth was, he didn’t really want to know. Claire wasn’t the kid he remembered from Song Island. She hadn’t been that in a long time now.

  “So I struck out. What about you? Any progress on finding out what they’re doing up there?” Keo asked.

  “I’m working on it.”

  “You’ve been working on it for a while.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  He smiled. “I’m just saying.”

  She made a face at him. “Can’t believe you fucked it up. The Keo I used to know was so much more efficient.”

  “That Keo was younger. I’m an older, wiser Keo.”

  Claire grinned.

  “What?” Keo said. “What’s so funny?”

  “Wiser, huh?”

  “Of course. The young Keo would have stuck around to finish the job instead of hightailing it outta there. The older, wiser Keo knows it’s better to not get caught and blow the whole mission.”

  “I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

  “That’s the only way.”

  “Is it, now?”

  He gave her a half roll of his eyes. “So. I take it Steven doesn’t know anything?”

  “He doesn’t. I’ve been careful.”

  “How careful?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  You’re right, I don’t, Keo thought.

  He said, “What about Harvey? Have you got any closer to him? The kid’s a nice way in, but the dad’s the real prize.”

  “He’s a harder nut to crack.”

  “He’s a man.”

  “Yeah, I kinda noticed that, Keo. But he’s still a tough nut to crack.”

  “Can you crack it?”

  “I don’t know.” She got up from the windowsill. “Until then, you need to be careful around him.”

  “Harvey?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s bad news. The guy you saw last night…” She let the rest trailed off.

  “What?” Keo pressed.

  “He’s dangerous.”

  “I know he’s dangerous.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “So tell me something I don’t know.”

  “He’s more danger
ous than you think. More dangerous than most people know.”

  “Kid, I saw him try to make his son kill an old man in cold blood. You don’t have to tell me Harvey is dangerous.”

  Claire smiled at him.

  “What?” Keo said.

  “You just called me kid.”

  “And?”

  “No one’s called me kid in a long time.”

  “You’re still a kid to me.”

  “No, I’m not.” Then, before he could say anything, “I should be going.”

  “Stay frosty.”

  “Always.”

  She walked across the room to the door. Claire put her hand on the doorknob but didn’t open it right away.

  She looked back at him first. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

  He smiled. “Lara hasn’t done an ultrasound. And we probably won’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl. We’ll love him or her just the same.”

  “Oh, how romantic. I think I’m gonna barf.”

  Keo chuckled.

  “You stay frosty too, Chang,” Claire said, before she opened the door and stepped outside, the door clicking quietly shut behind her.

  Keo stared at the door after her, wondering if he suddenly had someone else to worry about other than himself. As if this damn mission wasn’t already complicated enough.

  Four

  “Look at who it is. Big Man on Campus. And here I thought there was a chink in your armor, Chang.”

  Keo sighed. As if he’d never been insulted using his ethnicity before. His half ethnicity, anyway. The guy who was doing the insulting now probably thought he was being extremely clever, too. Keo wanted to tell him he wasn’t even close.

  “Open the door, dummy,” Keo said instead.

  “What’d you call me?”

  “Dummy.”

  “That’s not my name. Say my name.”

  Keo stared at him.

  The guy with the big mouth was Sean, a six-foot-three skin-and-bones douchebag that had taken a dislike of Keo the first day he showed up at the Bunkhouse, which wasn’t really a bunkhouse but just what everyone called it. They were numbered from 11 to 33, though Keo had no idea whatever happened to the first 10 or if they ever existed.