Читать книгу Sqerm - James A. Moore - Страница 21

Chapter 17

“Well, crap. That’s nice to know.” Sage’s mind shifted into a quicker mode and began to race. “Hey, Parker, you ever saw the tattoo for Veni, Vidi, Vici?”

“I have seen many…but my favorite tat is the tramp stamp,” teased Parker.

Changing the topic back to the subject at hand, Sage said, “Okay…anyway…there is one that has three Vs in it.”

“Yeah, seen it.”

“What if we were to turn it upside down?” asked Sage.

Parker quickly hammered out some keystrokes. Sage listened to the tactile clicking through the phone.

“Okay, got an image. Flipping it…”

Sage asked, “You see it?”

“Yeah, three of the apex symbols, but no fang.”

“And if we stack them?” Sage asked, waiting for Parker to catch up to his thought process.

“Kind of looks like sergeant stripes.”

“Yup.”

“So?” asked Parker.

“What if these guys were the progenitors of the military system? How often do we see chevrons on uniforms and on”—he paused—“well, everything?”

“Wow, good point. The chevrons are everywhere: billboards, advertisements, patterns, military uniforms, and cops,” said Parker.

“Speaking of cops, I need to reach out to Detective Johnson,” said Sage, remembering a forgotten task.

“I wouldn’t mention your new benefactor,” Parker’s tone of voice sounded like a whisper, but Sage understood that there was gravity in what Parker had mentioned.

“Of course not. Thanks for everything, bro,” said Sage. He fished out the skin and laid it on some paper towels. Picking up the bowl that had been utilized for the skin project, he sniffed it and made a face of disgust. He dumped the water down the drain and gently dropped the bowl in the garbage.

“Watch your back. Someone else might be as well.” Parker hung up and glided backward in his chair. A few seconds later, his phone rang. He scooted forward to answer the phone.

“Did you make the transfer?” asked Parker. His tone indicated that he was more demanding than asking. Parker continued, “Time is running out—as is my patience. You know there are other buyers. I am holding this because you did me a solid, but business is business.” Parker hung up and dialed a number on his phone. Parker’s demeanor changed to flirtatious. “Sup, baby?” he said. Parker flirted with the lady on the phone as he sorted through a few parcels. He picked up one that had labels from a camera company and opened it.