Free Hero Rising by H.T. Night

Harold was no fool, I could tell. “That’s like twelve hours, man. That’s barely minimum wage. Give me two-fifty and I’ll do it.”
    I rolled my eyes. But in all fairness, when he pointed it out, he was right. “I’ll give you two hundred,” I offered.
    “And you add the fact that I’m kind of going undercover for you. You really want me to do a good job, it’s two-fifty. I really don’t need to get into any trouble with a stranger. You’re not from around here, are you?”
    I didn’t want the old man asking any more questions. He was street-smart, which was a good thing. And really, Hector was worth much more than what I was going to pay this guy.
    I pulled the money out of my pocket. “Okay, two-fifty.” I’ll give you a hundred dollars now and the rest later.” I pulled out a hundred extra; I didn’t know how much it would cost to stay there.
    He eyed the money. And me.
    “You get this now, and the extra hundred-dollar bill is for you to pay for the room. If there’s any left over, get yourself a good meal.”
    The old man looked both ways before he took my money, snatching it from my hand. Apparently, he understood it might look like some drug deal was going on or something. To be honest, I wasn’t used to doing business out in the open either. It made me feel a little like a gangster.
    I gave him the name of the hotel I was staying at and I got his cell number from him. Of course, he could take the money and run, but he would have another hundred and fifty in his young pocket if he followed my instructions.
    “I’m going to call you tomorrow,” I explained, “around ten. You’ll be out of there by then. We’ll arrange a place to meet and I’ll give you the rest then. All right?”
    Harold sighed. “Man, you really messed up my plans for tonight. But I guess my friends will have to wait.”
    “Well, you can make it up to them with the money you’re earning,” I said. “Remember to memorize faces, and names of the staff there, and any layout of the building you can get. How many floors are there? Is there a locked room or basement? What’s off limits? That sort of thing. Can you do it?”
    Harold pocketed the money. “Sure, man, I can do it. It’ll be a piece of cake.”
    Suddenly, my cell phone rang. It was Tommy.
    “Okay, go. Do your best and you won’t be sorry.”
    He turned to go.
    “Oh, and Harold?” He looked back at me.
    “Thank you,” I said simply.

 
    Chapter Fourteen
     
     
    Tommy was waiting for me in the lobby when I entered the hotel. I could tell he was excited but he was trying to hide it since he didn’t want to draw any attention. He waited for us to get into our room to talk.
    “Where’s my room?” Tommy asked.
    “This is it,” I answered.
    “Then where is your room?”
    “You’re looking at it.”
    “Are you kidding me? We are sharing a bed? And a very small bed at that. This feels like we are in a closet.”
    “I took this room because there is only one window in the bathroom. I asked for a room with no windows and this is all they had.”
    “I forget you vampires have to worry about those things. Still doesn’t explain why we are sharing a room.”
    “The room cost $450. Plus, it will be good for us to be together, just in case things go down. I’ve got your back. You’ve got mine. From inches away.”
    “There will be no going down…and I repeat, there will be no going down by either of us on this venture.”
    “You wish, Tom.”
    “You wish it more, Josiah,” he ribbed me back.
    “We will sleep opposite each other,” I said.
    “It doesn’t change the fact that our groins are going to be eye to eye. Sleeping opposite just means I don’t have to smell your stinky vampire breath.”
    “Don’t forget my breath is also part werewolf,” I said jokingly.
    “That’s even worse. Your vampire-dog breath must be hell for poor Lena. How does she even kiss you?”
    “She’s never complained. And look who’s talking about being a