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"If I knew what you were talking about, I might have an
answer for you, but since I don't "
"Tiger's under your spell too."
"Are you coming to any sort of point?"
"I'm just curious. How do you do it?"
"Years of training." Moonlight shoved Rain aside and
opened the door. "Good night."
"Is it the sex?" Rain said as he started to follow Moonlight
into the room.
Moonlight turned and Rain stopped suddenly. "What do
you really want?" Moonlight asked. "Did you come here
thinking I'd sleep with you?"
"It's what you do, isn't it? It's why Talon and Tiger follow
you like puppies."
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Moonlight, Tiger, and Smoke
by Connie Bailey
"Are you testing me or yourself?" Moonlight turned away.
"Get out and don't bother me like this again, or you won't like
the consequences."
"I told you, I'm just curious." Rain went to the door. "Good
night, Moonlight."
Moonlight shut the door on Rain and went to lie down on
his bed. It had been a very long day, but his nerves were
singing at too high a pitch to allow him to sleep. He stared at
the ceiling until the adrenaline from his encounter with Rain
drained away and he was able to relax. His mind finally grew
weary of chasing its own tail and he was able to focus on a
single image.
Moonlight imagined that he was back on Saigo Island with
the light of the fire pit embers casting a bronze glow on the
humble objects in the hut. Tiger was pressed against his
back, warm and solid. Tiger's arm was around his waist,
holding him securely. He imagined he could feel Tiger's breath
on his nape just as he drifted off. His sleep was deep and
untroubled until his phone rang at 5:00 a.m.
* * * *
Tiger walked into Blue Iron's ready room and looked
around. The place was deserted except for Dandy, who was
predictably in front of his massive computer screen.
"Where's Rain?" Tiger asked, knowing that Dandy could
locate anyone in the complex within a matter of seconds.
"He's meeting with Lord Mahogany."
"Lord Mahogany's here?"
"A conference call," Dandy clarified.
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by Connie Bailey
"Where's Talon?"
Dandy looked at the time in the corner of the screen.
"Somewhere over India, I imagine."
"Is he going to Russia ahead of us?"
"He's not going to Russia." Dandy swiveled his chair
around to face Tiger. "While you were sleeping, Talon got new
orders."
A thought occurred to Tiger and his stomach filled with ice.
"Have you seen Moonlight?"
"He left with Talon."
"Where were they going?"
"I shouldn't even know this, much less be telling it to you."
Dandy paused and then continued. "The powers-that-be sent
Talon to Paris to meet with some other bosses. I don't know
what the meeting is about exactly, but it looks like admin is
concerned about some kind of rogue outfit, or maybe a rival
network of some sort. Of course, I could be completely
wrong."
"If there was another organization like the Shadow, we'd
know about it."
"I'm sure you're right." Dandy looked at Tiger over the top
of his glasses. "I hear Rain is being promoted to team
leader."
"He'll be a good one. Do you hear if I'm still on the team?"
The words continued to come from Tiger's mouth, but he
couldn't hear himself over the screams in his head. Moonlight
was gone.
"Looks like you'll be the youngest second-in-command in
the field."
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Tiger nodded to acknowledge that he'd heard Dandy.
"We'll probably be shipping out tonight or tomorrow
morning. The equipment is already being crated up. Our
electronics will be the last to go."
Tiger nodded again.
"I thought you'd be more excited." Dandy studied Tiger's
face. "You look a little shocky. Have you had anything to eat
today?"
"I slept too long. My head feels like it's filled with wet
cement."
"You needed the rest." Dandy tapped his monitor. "I
watched the tapes of the mission this morning. You were a
fireball when everything fell apart."
"I can't believe I was so stupid. It wasn't in the plan to put
the syringe on the table, but that bodyguard was too
suspicious of me. I had to get rid of it."
"You were smart to ditch the hypo." Dandy shook his head
in sympathy. "It's just beyond belief that clown thought to
use his napkin with a gun pointing at him."
"And that sharp-eyed bodyguard homed right in on it."
"It's done," Dandy said. "Hey! You want to see some really
hot footage of the Barazoku? I edited a few minutes of film
out of the video that feature him getting decked out in sushi."
"Maybe later." Tiger swallowed hard as his growing nausea
threatened to empty his already empty stomach. "I should
get something to eat."
"Tiger! Bring me a snack," Dandy called out as Tiger left
the room.
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Moonlight, Tiger, and Smoke
by Connie Bailey
Tiger shouted something unintelligible and kept walking.
The tiles seemed to twist under his feet and his stomach was
still on the roller coaster. He couldn't believe it had happened
again. Once more, the Kagehito had pulled the rug out from
under his life. And though he'd been careful not to hope for
too much, his hidden heart had counted on having Moonlight
in his daily life again. Not only was Moonlight gone, it
appeared he'd been given to Talon, like an accoutrement of
Talon's new rank.
Halfway to the mess hall, Tiger ducked into a toilet and
locked the door. After several minutes of struggle in the dark,
he conquered the urge to go on a rampage, swallowing his
grief and rage back down like the bile that rose in his throat.
He turned on the light, splashed his face with cold water, and
exited the men's room.
From that moment, his exterior became one of unshakable
composure. Those who worked with him for even the shortest
period of time invariably remarked on Tiger's poise. His
bearing had the gravity of a man three times his age and
experience. No matter what arose, he continued to move
forward, as relentless and emotionless as a shark.
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174
Moonlight, Tiger, and Smoke
by Connie Bailey
Part Six
The wind that blew down the Moscow backstreet found its
way into every chink of Dandy's clothing, chilling him to the
bone. All he wanted was to end this conversation quickly.
"Look, I know you're a tough guy, but " Dandy broke off
as the Vory soldier he was talking to pulled out a dagger.
"Easy, now. All I want is some information."
"Who do you imagine you are?" Grigori Zaytsev growled as
he threatened Dandy with the blade. "We've all seen you
sniffing around. Did you yellow fellows think you could move
into our house without a fuss?"
"Of course not. That's why I want to talk with Mr. Novikov,
but he won't return my calls or my messages. My boss has
been very patient, but Ow!" Dandy brought his hand up to
his neck as he flinched away from the Russian. "No need to
get physical."
"That was just for a start, pretty boy." Grigori grabbed for
Dandy's shirtfront, but stopped short when he felt the chill of
metal against his throat.
"Why so unfriendly, Grisha?" Tiger said in the Russian's
ear. He held up the straight razor so Grigori could see it.
"We're going to be neighbors, and I'd hate to have bad blood
between us."
"What do you want?"
"My colleague already told you. He wants to see your
boss."
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Moonlight, Tiger, and Smoke
by Connie Bailey
"You can kill me, but my boss won't talk to a messenger
boy. Maybe if your boss came here " Grigori stopped
speaking when the cold steel pressed against his Adam's
apple.
Dandy smiled. "Come on, droog. You've tried freezing us
out. You've tried burning us out. Mr. Rain is not coming into
your den so you can do away with him at your leisure."
"What would you suggest then?"
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