Cibola Burn (Expanse, #4)

by James S.A. Corey

The old lady leaned in toward the camera, her face swelling on the screen until Holden could see the fine detail of every wrinkle and blemish. “If Fred is showing this to you, Holden, know that your home planet appreciates your service. Also try not to put your dick in this. It’s fucked enough already.”

“That sounded like a threat,” Murtry said. “Oh, it really was,” Amos replied with a grin. Holden realized both men had their hands below the table. “Hey, now.” “I think maybe one of us is going to end bloody,” Murtry said. “How about now?” Amos replied with a shrug. “I’m free now. We can just skip all the middle part.”

Holden let out an exhalation that he’d been holding for what seemed like an hour. “Yeah, I think we are in way over our heads here,” he admitted. “I’m gonna need to shoot that guy at some point,” Amos said, then tossed back another shot.

There were other things the tool was good for. The investigator knew how to kill when it needed to. More than that, it knew how to die.