Read In this Night We Own (The Commander Book 6) for Free Online

take you up on this, but because of my experience dealing with the Arms, I need to tell you that your proposed course of action is more likely to cause a range war than stop one,” Tonya said, attempting to dodge Polly’s hammer.  “Keaton won this round.  If you want to avoid violence, take the hit and do things her way.”
    “You’re not thinking,” Polly said.  “If we do it Keaton’s way, we’ll end up recognizing the Arms as an independent organization.  That’s not going to happen.  There’s only one organization: the Focus Council.  Period.  End of question.  So.”  Polly paused.  “You are going to rein in Hancock for us.  Understand?”
    Tonya winced at the obvious stupidity.  “Are you making this an official order?”
    “This is an official and public Council President order,” Polly said.
    With Focus Schrum’s backing, Polly didn’t need to say.  Not if she used the term ‘public’.
    “So be it,” Tonya said.  Hancock, again, who already thought Tonya was an irrational enemy.  This wouldn’t be easy.  These were Arms.  Blood would be spilled.  People would die.
    The worst thing about this was that Tonya had a bad feeling Polly wasn’t done punishing her for her so-called transgressions.
     
    Gilgamesh: August 12, 1968
    Gilgamesh rang the doorbell at Shadow’s stationery shop and waited.  He had put this meeting off as long as possible, but Rogue Focus was no longer a threat, and the time had come to finish his mission.  He needed to make his presentation in person, as he didn’t trust the letters or even the phones for something so important.  The risks involved here were immense.  Shadow himself might be Rogue Crow.
    Shadow opened the door and invited him in.  Gilgamesh took a deep breath of the warm evening air and entered.
    “How are you doing?” Shadow said, leading Gilgamesh down a dusty aisle to the back.  The wooden floor squeaked and the shelves of staplers, tape dispensers and desk pads seemed to loom ominously.  “Thomas the Dreamer and Innocence have been quite worried about you, down in Houston with your Tiamat.  They’re afraid you might fall into her clutches, the same way you fell into Kali’s, before you finish your project.”
    Right.  Sure.
    This conversation was never going to be easy.  He meant to shake up Shadow, one of the reasons he had chosen to come by Shadow’s shop just a few minutes after closing, before any of Shadow’s other Crow students showed.  “We’re sleeping together these days,” Gilgamesh said.  “We’re partners, allied against a common enemy we now call Rogue Crow.”
    Shadow stopped cold, took a breath, and led Gilgamesh upstairs to his apartment.  If anything, Shadow looked shaky.  The Crow Guru did something with his dross constructs, outside the apartment.  Protective.
    Gilgamesh racked his brains for some crumb to throw to Shadow to quell his panic.  “Carol’s taken me out clothes shopping,” he said, patting the fine lines of his current outfit as they entered the small living room.  When he had been on the Crow killer mission he had only owned one suit, and he had worn his suit into scrap.  These days he had an entire wardrobe of suits.  “I’ve taken her to the local museums and down to NASA.  She cooks for me.  I trade for dross artwork to give her, and she’s taken to drawing things she’s seen, to give to me.  We talk strategy and philosophy in the Philadelphia style.  We’ve even gotten Sinclair and Midgard to join in.”  Once.  “It’s nothing like the relationship I have, or had, with Kali.  Our main problem is we’re both working ourselves to the bone and we never get enough time together.”
    Shadow closed the door behind him and turned to look Gilgamesh over, carefully.  The older Crow lost the faint air of panic.  “I understand,” Shadow said, and chuckled.  “You’ve grown immensely, haven’t you?”
    “I hope so.”
    “You’ve solved the