Chapter 7: Decisions, Decisions

"I know what you were thinking," Tommy said afterwards, eyeing her as she pulled her skirt straight and tried to fingercomb her hair into submission.

"When?" she asked, adjusting her bra strap.

"Just now," he said, indicating the rumpled couch with a half-empty beer bottle. He leaned back against the bar, shirt still open, and smiled. It wasn't an entirely pleasant smile.

"Really?" she said.

He nodded. "You were thinking about him. Nicky."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow.

"About Nicky and me and you, and about what it'd be like to fuck twins," Tommy went on, casually. He took a slow sip. "Doing twins is... interesting." He bared his teeth.

"You've done it?" she said, not surprised at all.

"Yes."

"Men or women?"

Tommy grinned, and then Ken and Lance walked in, Lance shooting her a look Mercedes could only describe as jealous. "We got him," Tommy announced and Ken did a little jump on the spot.

"Seriously?" Lance asked. "Beer, Rosenberg?"

"Yeah, sure." Rosenberg almost missed the bottle Lance tossed him. "You found him, Tommy?"

"It was more like he found us," Tommy said. "Fucker was hiding out in one of the guestrooms. We spotted him on the monitors."

"Where's he now?" Lance asked, coming to stand right beside Tommy.

"Cellars," said Mercedes.

"What are we gonna do with him?" Rosenberg asked.

"Haven't decided yet," said Tommy. "I can't kill him and I can't afford to have him walking around Vice, looking like me and fucking up my business."

"We'll just kick him out," Lance suggested. "Tell him to take a long walk off a short pier. Make sure he never comes back here if he knows what's good for him."

Tommy nodded at him. "That's option four."

Mercedes counted on her fingers. "One is killing him, two is releasing him... what's three?"

"Keeping him locked up indefinitely." Tommy shrugged. "I'm not using the cells and there's plenty of food to go around. Although he'll be bored out of his fucking skull, but ask me if I care."

"Won't he be missed?" Mercedes asked reasonably. "Do people know he's here?"

Tommy considered her question, absently scrubbing at the scruff on his chin. "Maybe. Probably." He frowned. "I don't even know why he's here."

"Let's ask him," said Lance.

"We will," Tommy said. "But first, we're gonna let him stew." He looked around the group. "You guys had lunch yet?"