Chapter 262: Eve & Me & Leon Makes 3

I might have been a little over forty, but Leon was a just on the sunny side of sixty. To give myself as big a break as I possibly could, I would describe myself as rough around the edges. If I had been at Rosewater's, I would have been dressed better and probably worn one of the fancy wigs. Since I was at cowboys, I was in jeans, which were at least clean. I was also in a moderately heavy tee top. The heavy fabric of the tee was to help hide my small tummy and the bulge in my pocket.

My bulge was even harder than Leon's bulge. Mine was cold hard steel. Since I didn't plan to fight, I was traveling light. It was the double barrel .410 gauge derringer that created the bulge. I also had a folding knife and my newest toy, the stun gun. The stun gun was my replacement for the leather and lead slapjack of my military days. I no longer carried pepper spray, but I still owned it. I would still carry it, if I thought I might need to convince more than one man to leave me the fuck alone.

Leon was just a tad on the prissy side of macho, but not a sissy by any means. He just dressed and spoke with a little more class, than almost any man I knew who wasn't gay. Even his casual clothes were more 'with it' than anything I owned period. I tried to steer him away from Eve as much as possible. She seemed to be gravitating to him. I figured her handlers knew what they were doing, so I let it move ahead.

They should realize that Leon was no college professor, but who was I to second guess the controller, whoever that might be. Some computer nerd no doubt. It was probably even a pimply faced boy. Yes I realized that I sounded jealous, and I didn't think much of myself for the emotions. Even if Eve had been real, it would have been stupid. Considering who she was, it bordered on insane.

I watched the two of them dance to the jukebox music at Cowboy's and wondered how well they would do at a real dance club. They were very fluid and frankly made a beautiful couple. I danced with a couple of truckers or the like, while the two of them spun around the floor. I didn't really mind.

I was completely sober at midnight and of course Eve was as well. On the other hand Leon was a little 'in his cups' as he had said earlier. "So Leon can we give you a ride home?" I asked.

"Of course, I would love to go home with you," he said with a wicked grin. Maybe he wasn't as drunk as I thought.

"I meant a ride to your home, or at least where you are staying," I suggested.

"Oh I checked out of the place this morning, before I became a homeless bum," he said.

"Oh really, where are your things?" I asked.

"I have no things. I left all that behind, when I left my last job and I mean it was my last job." he said.

"Oh, traumatic departure?" I asked it imagining a run to the airport in a hail of gunfire.

"Let's say I won't be heading back to the birthplace of Dracula anytime soon," he said with a giggle like girl. Maybe he is gay, I thought.

"So how did you wind up here?" I had a pretty good idea.

"My old Russian friend told me about this place. I had to come see for myself though. You do know tourists don't see anything my dear. You have to get down to the streets to see how people treat you. It all runs from the top down, getting a little dirtier as it settles." He informed us.

"So how did you find Aster?" Eve asked.

"I found it to be everything Vlad said so far. I need a few more days to make a decision though." he informed me.

"Where had you planned to stay while you are deciding?" I asked.

"With Vlad of course," he assured me.

"But alas Vlad isn't here yet," I suggested.

"Now you tell me," he replied light heartedly. "Actually I knew that, he will be along in a couple of days. In the meantime I was hoping you knew a place."

"Leon, I don't have a place yet. I am working on it, but at the moment I really don't," I admitted.

"Then dear, I guess you are going to have me as a house guest until we can find a place," he said.

"And what makes you think I would entertain a complete stranger, even a charming one?" I replied.

"I know this is an open city and therefore, no matter what side I played for, I'm no threat to you. So let's call it a professional courtesy," he suggested. "Besides Vlad and Anya will be here by Friday latest."

"Tomorrow is Thursday so okay, but you entertain yourself, I have things to do," I informed him.

"Well, if you are too busy, perhaps the beautiful Eve could show me around." he suggested.

"That is up to the beautiful Eve," I admitted. Might as well let her learn to make her own excuses.

"We will have to wait and see what I have planned," Eve said smiling sweetly. The next two days had the potential to be a huge cluster fuck.

"None of the ordinary people in this town know about the pending invasion of over the hill spys," I said.

"One does for sure," he said looking at me.

"If you mean Jennifer, she isn't really one of them or of us. She is kinda in the middle and all of us need her. Somebody has to deal with the straight people. We aren't exactly going to be able to walk into a bank and apply for a credit card." I said.

"Why would I do that, I can just steal someone else's?" he said.