"Karen Koehler - Slayer 02 - Dragon Blood" - читать интересную книгу автора (Koehler Karen)

Waiting for him to say something. Jesus, but they knew about the banpaia, even if they had never actually
seen one in action before. What did they expect him to do?

тАЬIтАЩk neva seen anyfing like tha,тАЭ Rich muttered through his mush-mouth.

тАЬWipe your fucking blood up, youтАЩre getting it everywhere!тАЭ Charlie barked.

Rich sniffed. тАЬAwkay...Sheezus...what the hell was that?тАЭ He found some fast food paper napkins
lurking under the seat and used them to mop up some of the spillage. He did it mechanically, as if he were
still in shock from the fight.

Yeah, some fight.

тАЬI donтАЩt knowwhat the fuck that was,тАЭ Xav admitted meekly from the back seat.

Charlie thumped his hands against the steering wheel. тАЬIt was fucking the Easter Bunny. Didja see the
pointy ears?тАЭ Christ, he so wanted to haul out and bang Rich in the face, except that would make him
bleed more over his good leather interior.

тАЬYeah, he had pointy ears all right,тАЭ Xav said. тАЬPointy teeth too.тАЭ

тАЬAnd a great big pointy sword IтАЩm gonna shove up your asses if you donтАЩt shut the hell up!тАЭ

They were his soldiers. They shut up. But the driving-silence made everything worse, because now, as
Charlie glided up the white gravel driveway of the Ryuujuu, the House of the Dragon Lord, he had to
think about what he would say to Mr. Ashikawa. He played out a half dozen scenarios in his head--hell,
his crew would back up anything he said--but what was the point when they were arriving
empty-handed? Mr. Ashikawa just wouldnтАЩt buy it, whatever he said. He wouldnтАЩt care. He would only
see that they had failed. They had gotten into it, almost gotten the bitch, and then got the shit beat out of
them by a stranger from out of fucking nowhere! By a goddamn banpaia, no less! Shit, he knew plenty
were out there--Mr. Ashikawa had warned him of that and Charlie had been around Kage long enough
for it not to bother himtoo much--but what was the chance of him and the troops running into one of the
motherfuckers in that blind alley?

The suits that worked for Mr. Ashikawa took the Caddy from them and left Charlie and his crew to
creep into the mansion like criminals. He couldnтАЩt tell if the suits were passing looks between
themselves--too many pairs of shades stared back at him--but he could imagine. Dark suits, pressed
shirts and ties, shined shoes, and combed hair. Like good little choirboys, all of them, except they all
moved liked natural-born killers. In the foyer, his boys gave him a look like a farewell--or maybe the
look you give a dead relative during a wakeтАФjust before he detached himself from the safety of their
numbers and went to pay the proverbial piper.

Charlie chewed his tongue until he tasted blood. It wasnтАЩt a good day all around, his fung-shui totally
blown to hell, and he knew it the moment he ran into Kage in the hallway outside Mr. AshikawaтАЩs office.
Christ, but he hated these banpaia.

It was like being in the alley again with the other one, except Kage was vastly different--and yet, not. He
was much smaller than most other men, but that wasnтАЩt something you noticed. Instead of disappearing in
a room like a lot of small men do, Kage seemed to fill it. Right now he was doing his usual Kage-thing,
which was doing nothing at all--just standing there outside the door of Mr. AshikawaтАЩs office. A human