Page 88 of Degradation
I climb the stairs and, sure enough, a figure walks out in front of me, cutting me off.
‘Sark.’
‘Shade. You’re a hard man to pin down when you don’t wanna be found.’
‘It’s not like that,’ I tell him.
His eyes bore into mine. ‘No?’
I see Sandy eyeing us curiously from the bar. She knows a lot of what goes on here, but I’d like to keep her away from the worst players in this town if I can help it. She’s a nice girl. She doesn’t deserve the bad things.
‘Come on. We can talk in the office. Want a drink?’
‘Not while I’m working.’
He follows me up the much nicer stairs to the office and settles into the couch in the corner.
‘There’s only so long I can delay Sauvage. He wants the money to start flowing. He’s been patient because his kid is your friend, but he’s not gonna wait forever. Doesn’t matter who you are, or who your daddy is.’
‘It won’t be long.’
‘You’ve been saying that for months and nothing is moving. You’re not producing. What’s the holdup?’
‘Science,’ I mutter. ‘That’s the fucking holdup. But we’re close. A few more variations and we’ll narrow it down and go straight into production right underneath your feet. Remind him what we’re trying to achieve. A drug that gives a powerful opiate-like high, undetectable within two hours, low cost to make, and with minimal negative side effects and no addictive qualities.’
‘There are some who think it’s a pipedream.’
‘It isn’t and they know it. I showed Sauvage the first prototype. He even had someone try it in front of him and verified everything I just said.’
Sark leans forward. ‘That means nothing if you can’t guarantee a high.’
I lean back with a sigh.
‘A month,’ he says. ‘That’s all I can give you.’
‘It’s not enough,’ I say, standing up and pacing the room.
‘It’ll have to be, or he’s taking the club and you’ll be working for him for a very long time, my friend.’
‘I understand.’
Sark stands up. ‘Actually, there was something else. A girl.’
‘A girl?’
‘We keep hearing about some nutty girl who lives in the KIP house. Sauvage wanted me to ask if her pussy is the reason the drug is still in vitro.’
My blood runs cold in my veins.
‘No,’ I grind out. ‘She has nothing to do with any of this.’
‘Who is she, then?’
‘My stepsister.’
Sark frowns. ‘I didn’t know your stepmom had a kid.’
I try my best to look relaxed and I force a shrug. ‘She was in school in England. She came back for the funeral and decided to stay.’
