Page 161 of Gunner

I had forgotten about the three women Nav had vowed to find. I imagined, with everything that had happened since, everyone else had too.

Except Nav.

“No surprise she’s dead. But what I did find interesting is that she died before she was engaged.”

“What? How the fuck do you get engaged after you’re dead?”

“Necromancy?” Jack asked.

We all looked at him.

“You know, when you have sex with dead people…”

“That’s necrophilia, Jackass.” Blade punched Jack in the shoulder, laughing at him.

“I don’t think that’s it. I’m thinking these girls didn’t have an identity.”

“Spell it out for us, brother.”

“Ever heard of the Trick Pony?” Nav asked.

“The BDSM club in Miami?”

Nav pointed at Ghost. “Exactly.”

Nav started clicking the keys on his computer and brought up a picture of a striking older man.

“Why the fuck does he look familiar?”

“This was Devlin Scott. Owner of the Trick Pony and father of Gideon Scott, aka. Malice.”

“Holy shit, they could be twins.”

“Devlin Scott was one twisted son of a bitch,” Nav started.

“Was?”

“He’s dead,” Nav confirmed. “Killed last year in California. He ran the Trick Pony for decades. He was known for buying, selling, and torturing men, women, and children. Including his own children. Thousands of babies have been born there over the years. From what I can find, it’s possible the three womenthat disappeared could have all come from the Trick Pony and been given identities of women who had previously passed away.”

“So what have you found?”

“Unfortunately, I hit another dead end. Back in November, the Trick Pony was raided, and all the files disappeared. The servers were wiped clean. I may never be able to find who these women are or even who they really were.”

“Walk away, Nav.”

“What?” Nav looked over at King. “I can’t just walk away.”

“The Trick Pony is done. The files are wiped, and the business was shut down. If these women were products of the Trick Pony and born there with no identification, what chance do you have aside from running DNA you don’t have? Walk away.”

“I can’t.”

“That’s an order.”

The knock on the door cut the tension that had risen over the last few minutes. Colt stood and walked to the door, pulling it open.

“Sorry to interrupt, Prez. Sheriff’s here.”

Dec and Blackwater walked in and looked around the room.

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