on the Enterprise and the bar in Star Wars, minus all the monsters.
The new bar was the centerpiece of the club, its oval shape complementing the swirls of track lights. It was a single, thick piece of glass with a blue ombré tint, darkest blue on the bar side, fading to a light blue on the outside. The whole slab was a lamp and added to the underwater feel.
I followed Nadya past a table of young Japanese businessmen, who all followed her with their eyes as she passed by and greeted them in Japanese. They politely ignored me.
Nadya pushed open the door to her office and gently shoved me inside. The rest of the bar might have changed, but the office hadn’t. A neat, minimal desk was still wedged into the corner, an open laptop computer on top and, I assumed, a couple of safes still tucked underneath. The only decoration in the room was a lava lamp on the corner of the desk—a birthday present I’d given Nadya back when we’d still been sharing a dorm room.
Nadya leaned against the open doorframe as I dropped my bag on the chair. “How’s business?” she asked.
“Gimme twenty minutes and a beer and I’ll tell you all about it.”
She raised a bright red eyebrow, dyed to match her neon hair. Damn, I wish I could pull that kind of stuff off. “That bad?” she said. She tried but couldn’t hide her concern. Usually my answer was much more predictable and monosyllabic. Crap, better , or dig my grave now .
“Depends on how you look at it,” I said. I started to close the office door, but Nadya wedged her spiked Louis Vuitton pump in between.
“Oh come on, really?”
“Not a chance in hell,” she said, and snapped her fingers, the red nail lacquer reflecting the halogen lights. She held out her hand for my outfit. “Friendship only gets you so far with me.”
“Barely in the front door, apparently,” I mumbled. I pulled out my Chanel jacket and matching boots for her inspection. Nadya was a perfectionist; she’d want to make sure my outfit passed muster for the club’s dress code, even if I was only there for a few minutes. She gave her approval by silently handing them back.
“You suck at dressing yourself. I’m just glad you finally took my advice.” She opened Captain’s carrier and led him out. We’d left the red harness on. Captain knew Nadya, but more importantly he knew she babied him. Nadya didn’t bother with the leash; she scooped him up and carried him towards the bar.
The baby talk drifted back. “Did she feed you? Come on, sweetie, Nadya has something for you.”
“Hey! My cat gets a free pass but I get the third degree?”
“Captain always looks nice and clean, don’t you, Captain?” Nadya said, then turned her attention back on me. “ You can’t be trusted to put the same-colored socks on.”
“Great to see you again too, Nadya,” I shouted as I closed the door. In my defense I’d never seen the point in matching socks—I mean, who sees them?
I exchanged my student disguise for my black boots and leather jacket and checked my handiwork in the office mirror. Well, no one was going to mistake me for one of Nadya’s girls, but I was as presentable as I was ever going to get in a five-minute window or less. At least the bouncers wouldn’t throw me out . . . I hoped.
I opened the door and headed back out. The things I do for a job . . .
4
RYNN AND THE GAIJIN CLOUD
11:00 p.m., Space Station Deluxe
I swirled the beer in my glass. It looked really cool over the lit bar. If—when—I got back into my place in Seattle, I’d have to put one of these in. It’d double as a super night-light.
“So?” Nadya said, waiting for me to finish my explanation of the last few days.
“So basically I’m on edge till I find out who this Sabine is,” I said, and downed the last bit of my beer.
Nadya shook her neon red bob and passed me a second Corona, along with a shot of Grey Goose. “I think you’re crazy,” she said.
I took the beer but pushed the vodka back.
The new bar was the centerpiece of the club, its oval shape complementing the swirls of track lights. It was a single, thick piece of glass with a blue ombré tint, darkest blue on the bar side, fading to a light blue on the outside. The whole slab was a lamp and added to the underwater feel.
I followed Nadya past a table of young Japanese businessmen, who all followed her with their eyes as she passed by and greeted them in Japanese. They politely ignored me.
Nadya pushed open the door to her office and gently shoved me inside. The rest of the bar might have changed, but the office hadn’t. A neat, minimal desk was still wedged into the corner, an open laptop computer on top and, I assumed, a couple of safes still tucked underneath. The only decoration in the room was a lava lamp on the corner of the desk—a birthday present I’d given Nadya back when we’d still been sharing a dorm room.
Nadya leaned against the open doorframe as I dropped my bag on the chair. “How’s business?” she asked.
“Gimme twenty minutes and a beer and I’ll tell you all about it.”
She raised a bright red eyebrow, dyed to match her neon hair. Damn, I wish I could pull that kind of stuff off. “That bad?” she said. She tried but couldn’t hide her concern. Usually my answer was much more predictable and monosyllabic. Crap, better , or dig my grave now .
“Depends on how you look at it,” I said. I started to close the office door, but Nadya wedged her spiked Louis Vuitton pump in between.
“Oh come on, really?”
“Not a chance in hell,” she said, and snapped her fingers, the red nail lacquer reflecting the halogen lights. She held out her hand for my outfit. “Friendship only gets you so far with me.”
“Barely in the front door, apparently,” I mumbled. I pulled out my Chanel jacket and matching boots for her inspection. Nadya was a perfectionist; she’d want to make sure my outfit passed muster for the club’s dress code, even if I was only there for a few minutes. She gave her approval by silently handing them back.
“You suck at dressing yourself. I’m just glad you finally took my advice.” She opened Captain’s carrier and led him out. We’d left the red harness on. Captain knew Nadya, but more importantly he knew she babied him. Nadya didn’t bother with the leash; she scooped him up and carried him towards the bar.
The baby talk drifted back. “Did she feed you? Come on, sweetie, Nadya has something for you.”
“Hey! My cat gets a free pass but I get the third degree?”
“Captain always looks nice and clean, don’t you, Captain?” Nadya said, then turned her attention back on me. “ You can’t be trusted to put the same-colored socks on.”
“Great to see you again too, Nadya,” I shouted as I closed the door. In my defense I’d never seen the point in matching socks—I mean, who sees them?
I exchanged my student disguise for my black boots and leather jacket and checked my handiwork in the office mirror. Well, no one was going to mistake me for one of Nadya’s girls, but I was as presentable as I was ever going to get in a five-minute window or less. At least the bouncers wouldn’t throw me out . . . I hoped.
I opened the door and headed back out. The things I do for a job . . .
4
RYNN AND THE GAIJIN CLOUD
11:00 p.m., Space Station Deluxe
I swirled the beer in my glass. It looked really cool over the lit bar. If—when—I got back into my place in Seattle, I’d have to put one of these in. It’d double as a super night-light.
“So?” Nadya said, waiting for me to finish my explanation of the last few days.
“So basically I’m on edge till I find out who this Sabine is,” I said, and downed the last bit of my beer.
Nadya shook her neon red bob and passed me a second Corona, along with a shot of Grey Goose. “I think you’re crazy,” she said.
I took the beer but pushed the vodka back.
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