Page 59 of The Deeper Game
“So far,” Zeus said. “A blank part of a scroll and thenmotherfuckers.”
Thor returned with a bottle of champagne and four glasses. “Seriously, Odin? You had to do it now?”
Odin returned to his seat and dabbed my arm. “I want to finish them.”
I took a deep breath. “Odin wants to complete the tattoos because he has a bad feeling about the Prime.” I could feel Odin’s gaze boring into me, but I kept on, looking straight at Zeus and then at Thor. “He has a bad feeling, and I think you guys need to consider canceling it.”
“Odin.” Zeus frowned. “You worried we’ll die?”
“Not specifically, it’s just a bad feeling,” Odin said.
“For how long?” Thor asked.
“A few days,” Odin said.
Zeus’s voice was full of emotion. “That’s why you want our tattoos complete.”
“We can’t go out with them partway done,” Odin said.
I waited. Surely they would reconsider their dangerous plans now.
“Well, let’s get going!” Zeus popped a cork. “That would be fucked up to die like that with an unfinished tattoo message of nothing.”
“That’s not what’s fucked up,” I said.
Thor kneeled and inspected. “We’ll be getting tattooed all night at this rate, but it’s going to look awesome.”
“Odin has a bad feeling!” I said.
Thor looked up at me with his blue, blue eyes. “We all get bad feelings now and then, goddess. A bad feeling is never a reason to stop.”
“Says who? A million years of human evolution? Oh, wait, a million years of human evolution says just the opposite.”
“Actually, a hundred thousand years,” Thor said.
“Oh, a hundred thousand years,” I said, tears threatening. “Chump change.”
“Don’t cry, goddess.” Zeus put a muscular arm around me.
“We’ll be fine,” Thor said. “I have a good feeling about the Prime. Shouldn’t that balance out Odin’s bad feeling?”
I sniffed, shocked they were going through with it. I had to find a way to stop them, but not one that would mess up the robbery or get them arrested. I was just the driver; it wasn’t like my refusal to participate would prevent the heist. Because one of theGigiscould always drive.
Zeus pushed the hair from my eyes. “Hey. A bad feeling never killed anybody.”
Odin brought me a glass of champagne. I took it with a scowl.
Everybody agreed we could all getmotherfuckerson our arms, and then Odin would putYou WISH we were deadon it later tonight.
“My turn,” Zeus said, sticking out his arm.
“Hold on.” Odin bandaged my tattooed area, and then he held onto my arm and looked up at me. “Two hours you leave that,” he said.
I nodded.
“Okay,motherfuckersfor you,” Odin said to Zeus. “The rest tomorrow.”
He cleaned Zeus’s arm and started up his tool.
