***
Meanwhile, in the city center...
The Blade was pulsating with the loud, insidious dance beat. The music didn't drown out the low, persistent buzzing of voices in the air. Razor City's underworld was talking. Petra didn't need to listen. She knew what they were talking about. Or rather, whom they were talking about.
Prince Dante.
She glanced around the club. There were more than the usual small groups of outlaws, rebels, bounty hunters and masked dancers. None of the King's Marshals had dared enter, but there were nobles sitting alone or in groups of two or three. It seemed as though the bounty hunters, too, had come out in droves. They scattered around the room, eyeing the patrons intensely. They all wanted to be the one to find the prince. If there was a price on him, it was steep.
A huge, scarred man in a long, black duster and a battered old cowboy hat sat at the bar, sipping on a drink that looked too small for his enormous hands. There were two huge guns strapped in leather holsters on his hips. His dark blonde hair was longer than she remembered. It brushed his broad, muscular shoulders.
He was young, only a few years older than she, but his face looked as though he had been to hell and back. Petra sat beside him at the bar. He didn't glance at her. She raised her hand to attract the bartender's attention. He nodded to her.
"Tripp."
The bounty hunter at the bar turned toward Petra in surprise. He lifted a thick, dark blonde eyebrow. He looked as though he'd been in a fight recently. There was a cut over his left eye. "Petra."
The bartender handed her a drink. It was clear and crisp. It tasted tart and tangy on her tongue. She felt almost normal again. She waved her hand toward the bounty hunter. "Another round for my friend Tripp here."
"You want something, Petra?" Tripp didn't look happy to see her. He never looked happy to see her.
She lifted a shoulder. She waited for the bartender to slam a pint of beer in front of Tripp. She smiled at him. He didn't look as though this swayed him, but he didn't refuse the drink. He took a swig with a pensive look in his dark eyes.
"You looking for information?" he asked finally. He didn't glance at her. His eyes stared blankly up at the television screens above the bartender's head.
She shrugged again and sipped her drink. "I've been hearing things around town."
"Oh?" He didn't sound as though this were interesting.
"I heard the King's guys are out in the streets, patrolling hard. Looking for something."
Tripp's mouth broke into a smile. He chuckled. "Yeah. They sure are."
"What is it?"
He glanced around them as though he expected one of the Marshals to be hanging around. No one was listening to them. They were all talking about the same thing, anyway. "Not what. Who."
"Well? Who?"
He lifted an eyebrow. "Are you looking to snake another bounty, Petra?"
She laughed. "I don't think I'd give you much competition."
"Is this professional or personal?"
She considered. "Professional."
"Yeah? So is there any money in it for the person who gives you the information?"
She smiled. "There's another drink in it, and I'll promise not to snake your bounty."
He laughed. He liked Petra, even though he didn't act like it. "All right. But how about a deal."
"Yeah?"
"Fifty percent of whatever you make off it."
She considered. "Forty."
"Two more drinks, then."
"Okay."
"The word is, the King is looking for his son."
"Dante?"
"Yeah."
"He's missing?"
Tripp shrugged. "He might be. Or he might be on a bender and shacked up with some young girl."
Petra scowled into her glass. "Does he do that a lot?"
"It wouldn't be the first time. He's got a reputation."
She scowled and grunted in reply.
"Anyway, the King doesn't want anyone to know about it, but his people have leaked it. Word got around to the hunters. It always does. I don't think the King is too happy about it. He might be ashamed Dante's drunk and shacked up with some slut or worse. He doesn't want anyone to know if he ran away and breeched his loyalty."
"I get it. But isn't he worried? It is his son."
"Worried?" Tripp snorted. "I don't think Scarlet worries about anything. He's one cold guy. I've heard he and Dante aren't exactly on good terms. They argue a lot. From what I hear, Dante's a bad guy. He takes advantage of the family name to drink and womanize and terrorize everyone who gets in his way."
Petra's stomach sank, but she nodded.
"I hear Scarlet wants him to grow up and start behaving like he's going to be taking over the city one of these days."
"So he might have run away to avoid doing that."
"Maybe. There's no bounty on him yet, not officially. He doesn't want to admit he's really missing. No one's seen him or heard from him in days. So no one knows where he really is."
"So Scarlet's got men out there patrolling, keeping an eye out for him to pop up and show his face?"
"That's the general idea, but some of the hunters are looking."
"What happens if you find him and turn him in? Is there a reward in it?"
"There's always a reward for things like that. They just don't advertise it. The King likes to keep his personal business quiet. He'll have his own people investigating, but if one of us gets to Dante first, Scarlet will honor it."
Petra considered this. She felt as though her insides had turned to liquid ice. It was as bad as she'd feared. The compound was in danger as long as Tripp and the hunters wanted Grey. She had to get him out of there as soon as she could. "Any ideas yet where he might be?"
Tripp laughed. "Nah. But if I did have, I wouldn't tell you." Then he glanced at her. "We could work together. Maybe you could work your magic and figure out where he's been. Maybe we could track where he's gone."
Petra forced a smile. "I'll think about it." She slapped a bill on the counter. "Thanks for the tip."
Tripp smirked and lifted his glass to her. "Don't forget our deal."
"Yeah." She rose and spun away from him. She had her cell phone out of her pocket before she stepped into the alley outside the Blade. She punched up Lux's number.
Lux answered on the second ring. "Yeah?"
"It's Petra."
"I know who it is."
"Is the safe house ready?"
"Yeah. There were a band of outlaws outside. I had to deal with them."
"I assume the problem is solved."
"It's done. It's ready. We can move Grey when I get back."
"Okay. Good. I don't think we have any time to waste."