“To our lost friend.”

“To Leland. I hope he’s in a better place

than this—one with more tolerable

temperatures.”

“So anywhere? Including hell?”

“I’m not sure what I believe about the

afterlife,” the young man responded

thoughtfully, “but I am positive that the

fires of Hades are a tropical paradise

compared to Alaska.”

The older man laughed at this, temporarily

transforming his sorrowful face. “Cheers,

kid.”

“Cheers, Captain.” The two men nodded at “Cheers, Captain.” The two men nodded at

each other solemnly before clinking their

mugs together. The younger one took a

long, satisfying swig of the brew before

smiling in appreciation. “You know, this

club is a lot wilder than I expected. I figure

if I’m going to kill myself for money, I

might as well spend it on some quality

entertainment in the downtime.”

“Kid,” said the grey-haired man, shaking

his head disapprovingly, “too much of this

kind of ‘entertainment’ will be the precise

thing that gets you killed on the job if you’

re not careful.”

“I’ve been lucky in my life so far. I don’t

intend for that to change. Want to get a

seat

closer to the stage, Captain?”

“No, thanks, Aiden. You go ahead. My leg’s bills!” Aiden joked before clapping his

friend

on the back and heading to the center of

the action.