Page 19 of Iron Will
“Stop us,” I say.
My calm tone takes him by surprise. Flinching a little, he takes a step back. Just then, Paisley’s mom comes running down the hall towards us.
“What’s going on?” she stammers, looking at Mickey.
“Your boyfriend’s gettin’ taught some manners,” I tell her.
“Mickey…” she murmurs plaintively, her face crumpling. “Please don’t…”
Angrily, he wrestles himself away from Rogue and Dante. “I ain’t done a damn thing!” he explodes. Grabbing her arm, he yanks her toward him, pulling her with him toward the elevators.
Laney takes a half-step forward, like she wants to help the mom. The look on her face as she watches them go is full of shock and sadness.
Mickey turns back to us as he struts down the hall, flipping the bird as he tries to salvage what’s left of his dignity. “I ain’t gonna put up with this shit!” I hear him shouting as they go.
I consider going after him. But as I glance over at Laney’s crumpled expression, I decide against it.
With Mickey gone, the tension in the hallways eases. But the administrator prick isn’t done with his pissing contest.
“I don’t want to hear about any more trouble from you. Understood?” he announces. He raises a hand and starts to point a finger at me, but I think the look I give him convinces him pretty quick it ain’t a good idea.
He lowers his hand.
“Look,” I growl at Blake Fucking Pissant Barber. “You get that ass wipe outta here,” I say, flicking my thumb toward Mickey’s retreating form, “And you won’t have anything to worry about. He’s the only one we got a problem with around here.”Other than you, that is.
Instead of replying to me, he turns to Laney. “I need to see you in my office,” he tells her in a clipped voice. “Now.”
Laney shoots me a look, rolling her eyes.Keep things calm, she mouths at me as she turns away.
As I watch them go, Yoda comes up beside me.
“So, that asshole was Mickey, eh?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“Piece of shit.”
“Yeah.”
“I got the intel you asked for.”
“Oh yeah?” I turn to him. “Good deal. You find out anything interesting?”
He nods. “Full name’s Michael King. No job that I can tell. Looks like Paisley’s mom supports him. She’s an exotic dancer at that strip joint over in Kendrick.”
My ears perk up. “The one owned by Jimmy Mazur?”
“Yup.”
Huh. Interesting. Mazur runs a protection racket and loan shark biz. His one legitimate business, the strip club, is a front for a small-time prostitution operation. Not to mention an illegal gambling casino in the back of the place.
If Paisley’s mom works there, she’s either just stripping or hooking, too. Either way, it’s gotta be because she’s desperate for money, or she’s hooked on drugs.
From the looks of her, she’s not strung out. I’d say it’s probably the former. Which makes sense if she’s supporting Mickey.
“Mickey got any association with Jimmy Mazur?” I ask.
“Oh yeah.” Yoda snorts. “Apparently our buddy Mickey’s got a gambling problem. I guess he met Paisley’s ma at the club. I hear he’s also got a nose for the snow, when he can get it. And rock when he can’t.”