“The Wild Whip?” Anne said, sitting with Shade on her couch. “She was drunk, old, and weird. The way she said ‘in the flesh’ freaked me out.”
Shade let out a bit of a smile. “She’s eccentric.”
Anne was kind of turned on by the way she said that word. Eccentric.
Shade continued, “She’s also worth millions. Used to be a cat burglar back in the day.”
“So?”
“So,” Shade said, “I’m a career criminal. When I see rich people, I get excited.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“I don’t mean to be pushy,” Shade said. “But I hid a dead body for you. Literally. You owe me a lot of favors.”
“Oh god.”
“It’s nothing,” Shade said. “I just need your help getting Wild Whip’s Whip.”
“Wild Whip’s Whip?”
“It’s hidden in a safe that I’m going to need you to break into.”
“I’m not a safecracker,” Anne said.
“I know, but the guy I usually work with is…” Shade stopped mid-sentence, eyes shifting around the room as if she was looking for any possible excuse to change the subject.
“He ended up in prison, didn’t he?”
“Prison’s such a strong word,” Shade said.
“Is it accurate?”
“In a word? Yes.”
MEGAPULP 