Free Hero Engine by Alexander Nader Page B

sequined dress comes over with drinks. She leans over River. He whispers in her ear as he takes the drink. The woman’s cheeks tinge red and she giggles as she walks away.
    “SHI has sent me here to question you about Gravitess.”
    River raises a blonde eyebrow. “Formally?”
    I shrug. “More like, no one but Vince knows I’m here.”
    “And you are here alone?” River watches me over the rim of his glass as he takes a drink.
    “No, of course not. My partner is over there at the craps table. The one with her hair back that looks completely out-of-place at a casino at three in the morning.” I turn and wave at Ann.
    Her eyes go wide as she catches River and I staring. She diverts her attention back to the craps game. Someone at her table gives a roll. Bystanders whoop with excitement.
    River laughs, dribbling his drink down his chin. He wipes it clean with the back of a sleeve. “You seem an honest man.” His lips pull back in an almost smile. Canine teeth show wolf-like.
    I look him in the eyes, deadpan. “Someone who spends as much time as you around shitholes like this is probably pretty good at spotting a bluff. Why fuck around?”
    “Man, Quig, you’re one cool cat. Anyone ever tell you that?”
    I sigh. “More than once.”
    The dealer passes out hands.
    River taps the table for another card, never taking his eyes off mine. “It’s my impression that SHI would have a hero investigate a hero crime. That would probably keep investigators from turning up dead when questioning the wrong hero about things they don’t want to talk about.”
    “Well, that’s probably the ‘By the book’ way of SHI investigations.” I check my hand. Eighteen. Tap the table. Draw a two; call it done. “Seeing as how this is off the record, we can just assume I’m expendable. I guess it’s up to me to not piss-off the wrong hero.”
    River shows his cards. Twenty-one. Dealer shows nineteen. I’m back up twenty bucks.
    “You’ll do good with hands like that.”
    I’m not sure if he’s talking about cards or lives, so I let the comment glide off me like butter, leaving only a hint of grease behind.
    “So what makes you think I know anything about the Gravitess situation?” River downs the rest of his drink. Sets the empty glass next to the whiskey bottle.
    “A little bird told me that you two used to be a thing, before she moved on to The Patriot.” I take a drink of my beer. Tastes like piss, but I’m beginning to wonder if anything in this city doesn’t.
    A particularly loud buzzer goes off behind me. A little old lady in a fanny pack and ‘Viva Las Vegas’ sun visor leaps up and down as coins pour out of her machine.
    “The Patriot,” River says his name in a derisive snort. “That fucking red-white-and-blue Ken doll can go fuck himself.”
    I want to tell him I beat the shit out of The Patriot earlier today, but that would bring up a lot of questions I just don’t want to answer right now.
    “What about Tess?”
    Dealer Tony sends out another hand.
    “Give us a couple minutes, would ya, Tony?” River slides Tony a hundred.
    Tony tucks the money in his vest pocket, puts a ‘Table Currently Closed’ sign on the felt, and steps away from us.
    “Tess.” The name comes out of River’s lips with more care than The Patriot’s had. His eyes stay trained on the stack of cards, unfocused. Hazy with memory, maybe. “We had a time together. She tried to keep me straight. Helped me get a lot of my shit together when SHI probably wanted to pull the plug. Same old story I guess, Good Girl thinks she can help Bad Boy turn his life around.”
    River rolls a thousand-dollar chip across his knuckles back and forth. A roar erupts from the crowd around Ann’s craps game. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her watching us as the crowd exchanges hugs around her.
    “So what happened?”
    “Same things that always happen. She helped me get better, but my urges never went away. Tess wanted me to give up