Free Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh Page B

your aunt’s store was, before I moved to Yonkers when I was twelve.”
    “It was probably just some kids who got hold of sophisticated timers and fuel mixes,” Mandy said.
    Chuckling, Holliday shook his head. “Wanmei has a store in Philadelphia, if I’m not mistaken. Why don’t you go bust his balls?”
    Mandy didn’t answer; she didn’t even nod, just went on looking at Holliday sporting a tight half smile.
    Holliday shrugged. “I don’t know what I can do to convince you. How do you prove you
didn’t
do something?”
    “Thanks for the tour,” Sully said, gritting his teeth but determined to be polite. “I’ve enjoyed getting a chance to see the Midnight Blue up close.” He wasn’t about to give Holliday the satisfaction of playing the part of the reasonable man hosting immature kids.
    “When I heard you were here, I had to do something to welcome you.”
    Sully offered the Midnight Blue to Mandy, but she shook her head, so he set it on the marble counter. Holliday reached over and retrieved it. “David, let’s take a walk.” He gestured down the hall, then handed the sphere to Cosette, who had reappeared with a tray of drinks in glasses made of stained glass.
    Sully exchanged a glance with Dom, then turned down the hall, leaving his friends with Cosette. He was astonished by the attention Holliday was giving him and curious as to why. Holliday led him down a hallway that opened onto a vast lobby with a glass ceiling and lavish fountain, then on into a room that looked to be a combination luxury suite and control room. The walls were screens displaying data, scrolling stock prices, and camera feeds that showed various parts of this store and others.
    “My office.” Holliday raised his eyebrows. “You want anything? We’ve got pretty much everything.”
    Sully shook his head.
    “Been doing a little Christmas shopping?” Holliday gestured at the bag holding Hunter’s gloves.
    “That’s why we came down,” Sully said. “We stopped in here on a whim.” What the hell was going on? Holliday was acting like they were old buds.
    Holliday folded his arms across his chest, studied a screen of numbers that kept updating. It resembled a stock feed, but Sully quickly recognized that the letters in the columns weren’t stock symbols, they were abbreviations for sphere colors.
    “This is where it all happens, all the strategizing,” Holliday said. “Three years from now I’m going to be the biggest seller in the United States. In five I’ll be bigger than Bao.”
    Sully wasn’t sure how Holliday expected him to respond to such an egotistical pronouncement. He went on looking at the screen.
    “Want to see what I really do in here?” Holliday lifted a little remote like the one Cosette had used to open the case. The data disappeared, replaced by a hyperrealistic prehistoric jungle scene. In the distance, a T. rex was prowling among the trees. “Video games.” Holliday pointed a finger at the T. rex, pretended he was shooting.
    The screen switched back to data.
    “You know, I was raised by a single mother in a shitty neighborhood, just like you.”
    “Yeah, I’m familiar with your biography,” Sully said.
    Holliday looked at him. “Oh, really? Why is that?”
    Because rage had been boiling inside Sully since the day Holliday cheated him, and he couldn’t help but want to understand everything he could about the bastard. “Everything sphere-related interests me.”
    “I’m glad to hear that. Me too.”
    Sully turned to face Holliday. He was getting tired of this game. “Why are you glad? What difference does it make to you?”
    The door opened and a woman came in carrying a bottle of water on a tray. As soon as Holliday plucked the bottle up, the woman disappeared back through the door. “Because I’m always on the lookout for good people.” He shrugged. “You’ve been on my radar. Why do you think I invited you to that opening?”
    It took a moment for the words to register. When