The old fox accepted it with a pleased grin, then pushed his luck.
"Got any ice? The air's so damn muggy today."
John laughed, signaled Wenna, and scooped two ladles of ice out of the machine.
Kim Wright flashed the bartender a smile, lifted his hand to wipe his forehead, and did a very polite, ridiculously theatrical, old-school thank-you gesture.
He took out his cigarette case and flicked out two sticks of [Tua].
"Can I smoke?"
"No ban for now. If you burn the furniture, you pay for it."
"Very fair."
Kim Wright started puffing away. "Actually, having some hotheaded punks come stir the pot is a good thing. It's a new joint, after all."
He kept his tone light, playing it like idle chatter. Seeing that John wasn't annoyed by his babbling, he went on.
Once the restaurant's renovation is done, it opens for business.
Doesn't matter if they come for John's legendary past, or just for a good meal—sooner or later, all kinds of customers show up.
