Page 35 of Coup De Grâce
“Does it fucking matter?” Thumper sighed.
“Well, if I used the wrong word, it wouldn’t make sense, so I guess it does. Then again, maybe you don’t care about what word I used.”
“We don’t,” IRIS said in a bored tone. “Is there any chance you could send me out on a job that’s actually exciting? Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve blown something up?”
“You’re not supposed to blow things up,” Slider griped in irritation. “You’re supposed to dismantle.”
“Yeah, that’s totally what I meant,” IRIS corrected, though I could see that gleam in his eyes. He was dying to have some fun.
“Fox, what are you doing?” I finally spoke up.
“Oh, I’m glad you asked,” he grinned. “It’s about time someone showed some interest in me. Not that you should showtoomuch interest. That might be weird. If you know what I mean.”
“Fox, we always know what you mean,” Lock sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Can we finish our meeting?”
“No can do,capitaine! I’ve had a breakthrough. You’re gonna love this. I mean, it’s great, really amazing. Probably better than when Scottie and I danced the tango for the first time.”
“That was not amazing,” Brock snorted.
“You weren’t even there,” Scottie argued.
“It was a fucking dance!” Brock shouted. “Two dudes dancing. How fucking amazing could it be?”
“Clearly, you don’t understand the beauty of mixing guns and the art of fine dancing,” Fox chuckled.
“Fox!” Lock shouted, getting more irritated by the second. “We’re in the middle of a meeting!”
“Yeah, I know,” he scoffed. “Which is why it’s so important we talk about this now.” He finished hoisting the sack on the table, then sat there panting like he’d run a marathon. “Whew! That was quite the expedition.”
“It wasn’t an expedition,” Dash grumbled. “You carried a bag.”
“A very big bag,” Fox corrected.
I shoved to my feet, hoping I could move things along. “Alright, Fox. Tell us what you have in the sack.”
Fox’s face contorted into a look of shock. “Just like that? No big reveal? No fireworks? IRIS, surely you have a little something in your pocket you could pull out to make this more exciting.”
“Fox!” Lock shouted, losing his shit.
“Alright, geez. Keep your pants on.” He started untying the sack and looked at all of us pointedly. “Now, as you all know, I get a weekly delivery of my favorite treat.”
He waited with bated breath for one of us to acknowledge the snack. When no one did, he sighed.
“You know, just once it would be nice if someone took an interest. Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely not interrupted, my weekly delivery arrived. Now, we all know this is special, because…” he said, drawing it out.
“Seriously, guys. When you know the answer, just shout it out. It’s like I have to do all the work around here.”
“Fox—”
I stood, interrupting Lock. It was best if he just got this out. “Tell us what you found.”
“Thank you, my lovely lady,” he said, bowing his head to me. “As I was saying, my weekly delivery arrived. I signed for it as usual. You know, I almost lost my delivery one week because someone else signed for it and placed it in the wrong location. It was this whole horrible experience that I never want to repeat.”
“Fox,” I grinned at him, hoping he would take the hint and move it along.
“Right!” His face lit up as he snapped his fingers jauntily before continuing. “So, in my usual delivery, I get precisely fiftybags. This has never been wrong. Each week, like clockwork, I get fifty bags delivered to my door.”
He looked each of us in the eye before continuing.
