“All right, but I’m bringing Honey.”
Oberon shrugged. “That’s fine. I don’t hold grudges.” That was a lie—he held them better than just about anyone. “There’s one more thing, Domino, a somewhat more serious matter.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s Terrence Cole’s outfit. We’re concerned. We feel as though we’ve left the back door open while our family sleeps.”
“I’m handling it, King.”
“I’ve no doubt you’ll do what you can, within the limitations of the political situation. I understand you’ve given him Simeon Wale’s crew.”
That didn’t take long, but then Oberon’s spies were better than most. “Wale crossed on his own. Wasn’t my idea. I can live without the bastard, though—if it helps Terrence, that’s just a happy coincidence.”
Oberon nodded and smiled. “I don’t know this man Wale as well as you do, of course, but I’m concerned that it won’t be enough. I’m concerned that I was…too diplomatic…when I agreed to surrender Cole’s territory.”
I let the feeling drain from my face and looked at him. “Your diplomacy meant we didn’t have to kill each other. That’s still what it means.”
Oberon held up his hands in mock surrender. “Easy, Domino. I’m not proposing a breach of our treaty. I’m merely pointing out that I could hold Cole’s ground better than he can, with or without Simeon Wale.”
“You couldn’t hold it without the other outfits behind you. And we’re not. Remember that. Maybe there’s something for you in Reseda if you’re feeling cramped.”
“What the fuck would I do with Reseda? Open a carwash?”
I shrugged.
“And it’s not about feeling cramped, Domino. It’s about security. You of all people should understand that.”
“Yeah, I do. I remember when another outsider tried to move in and take my ground.”
“Precisely. And the same thing can happen to Cole, only this time, the outsider may not be as understanding as I was.”
“That’s why we have a treaty, King. Something comes in, we’re united against it. That’s the way we do it. We protect each other. The strong don’t feed on the weak.”
“That’s the way you’d like to do it. That’s not the way it was done in the past. You can’t even be sure your way is going to work. You still don’t know if you can make an army out of a gang. The old way was less risky.”
“Maybe now it is but not in the long run.”
“In the long run we’re all dead.”
“That’s an odd thing for an immortal fairy king to say.”
“Okay, in the long run you’re all dead.”
I laughed and the king did, too. “That’s better,” I said. “The point is, you should appreciate that we can’t be shortsighted about this. You’re the master of the long-term plan. We’re going to need Terrence. We’re going to need all the outfits to be strong.”
“Very well,” Oberon said. “You’re right, of course—I’ve been called many things, but never shortsighted. But as one who has a great deal of experience with long-term plans, let me offer a word of caution. The most dangerous thing about thinking ahead is that you wait too long when the time comes to act. The line between the short run and the long run is indistinct, Domino. Sometimes you can cross it without even realizing it.”
“I understand, King. Terrence is on a deadline but we give him a chance to stand up. That’s the way it’s going to be.”
“I concede, my dear, and once again you’ve proven that I’m no match for you in negotiations.”
I smiled even though it was bullshit. Oberon’s only reason for bringing this up was to put Terrence and me on the clock. We’d established the Seelie Court couldn’t move on Terrence immediately. But if the clock ran down, I’d be all out of excuses and Terrence would have more than the Jamaicans and Koreans to worry about.
I promised Oberon I’d see him at the party and left the club. I wasn’t real happy about how it had gone, but I wasn’t exactly surprised, either. I’d learned Oberon was someone I could deal with, but the deals always left me feeling like I’d gotten the short end.
But again, what do you want from fairies?
three
I woke up to a phone call from Adan just after dawn the next morning.
“Simeon Wale hit the Jamaicans last night,” he said when I picked up the phone.
“Yeah, good morning to you, too. What fucking time is it?”
“It’s about five-thirty. Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, Wale hit Mobley. What did you think was going to happen?”
“He burned a couple apartment blocks in Imperial Courts, Domino. A lot of people are dead.” Imperial Courts was the largest housing project in L.A., and it was the heart of Francis Mobley’s territory between Watts and Compton.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “What the fuck did he do that for? How many people?”
“According to the news, no confirmed deaths but a lot of serious injuries.”
“I thought you said people were dead.”
“They are, but the news teams haven’t figured it out yet. They’re calling it ‘The Miracle in the Projects.’”
“Oh, fuck me. Zombies?”
“Yeah. Maybe a hundred.”
“Jesus Christ. What’s happening there now?” I heard Adan take a deep breath. “We’re losing it, Domino. I think we maybe lost it already. They’re taking them to the hospitals. There’s not much we can do about it.”
“What’s Mobley doing?”
“Community service. He’s got his posses out there helping with the relief effort. But you can forget about getting him to sit down with Terrence. There won’t be any sit-down, not after this.”
“Stupid fucking Wale,” I said, and slammed the receiver against my skull a few times.
“What are we going to do, Domino?”
I really had no idea but I had to think of one, fast. “It sounds like containment isn’t an option. We’ve got to start thinking about a cleanup. I’m not as worried about the projects, but we’re going to have to put soldiers in the hospitals.”
Adan laughed and there was an ugly edge to it. “That’s it? You want to send death squads to the hospitals? Domino, it’s on the news!”
“Okay, not our soldiers. We’ll handle the projects—we won’t attract much attention there. We can send the fey to the hospitals. They can deal with the zombies and glamour the civilians. They can keep a lid on it, if anyone can.”
“That might work, if Oberon agrees to help. You’ll be indebted to him, though.”
I didn’t answer. If I played my cards right I wouldn’t need Oberon for this. “Why don’t you go ahead and say it, Adan.”
“What?”
“I told you so. You’re thinking it, might as well be man enough to say it.”
The line was silent for a few moments. “I wasn’t thinking it, Domino. You didn’t know Simeon Wale was going to do this. And the zombie problem definitely isn’t your fault.”
“It was my plan