I shrugged. "Okay, I won't."
"That's not even a good name," Nathan muttered. "Why doesn't he announce what he is to everyone he meets?"
"You sound like an old man right now," I told Nathan, bypassing the line and moving to the back of the truck and knocking.
"Hey! No cutting," a middle-aged man with glasses said. He had a bit of a belly and was wearing open toed sandals. "We've been waiting thirty minutes to place our order."
"Keep your sandals on. I'm not here for food," I snapped back, banging on the back door again.
"You better not be," the woman beside the man muttered.
Nathan chuckled, pleased that I was the one they were targeting with their verbal bad will. Neither one of those two would try anything physical even if I was here for food. They'd mutter and huff, but in the end let me have my way, content to shout their anger in my wake. At another time, I might have fucked with them just for the hell of it, but I had a schedule to keep and a babysitter to shake.
"Argus, come on. Open up. I have a delivery." I waited a beat. When the door didn't budge, I sent a kick its way. Stupid satyr and their stupid games.
"Need some help, baby." Nathan's arms were folded over his chest, and he had an amused grin on his face. He got a kick out of watching me struggle it seemed. "You'll owe me though."
I let out a huff of air. Not a chance. Owing another vampire anything did not factor into my life plans. Especially not one who worked for the bane of my existence.
"Thanks, but I've got my own way of doing things." I thumped the door one last time. "Last chance, Argus, or I give it to the nymphs."
The door opened, almost hitting me in the face. Nathan pulled me out of the way in time, his quick reflexes saving me from a black eye or busted nose.
"You wouldn't dare," Argus said. He was a hot mess, his face red and drenched in sweat. His dark hair plastered to his head and kept out of his eyes by a bandanna. He wore a simple white shirt and long pants that covered his goat legs and hooves. He wore no shoes, and I briefly wondered how he passed health inspections.
Except for the hooves and legs, he looked nothing like what I’d pictured. He wasn't particularly attractive, his nose too big for his face and his eyes too small. His middle and arms were also just a little too soft when compared to Greek art featuring his kind.
He was a hell of a cook though. The crowd in front of his truck could attest to that.
I lifted an eyebrow, ignoring the fact that I'd almost suffered an unfortunate accident and projected the calm, confident courier I hoped to someday be. "Wouldn't I?"
"You'd have to deal with the punishment clause."
"I tried to deliver in good faith. The clause doesn't kick in when the recipient acts like a dick and refuses delivery." I gave him a grin.
He gestured at the front of his truck. "Come on, A. You see the crowd I'm dealing with. It's been like this all night. D called off, and I'm barely keeping up with orders as is."
I sympathized. In the few minutes he'd been out here talking to me, his customers had started getting restless, more than one glaring at us as if they could mentally force us to stop distracting the god of food they'd like to worship with their ten-dollar bills.
"The harpies are making my life hell too," he continued before I could say anything, the pent-up frustration of the evening spilling free. "They keep sabotaging the generator and poaching my customers when I come out to fix it. I think one of the little jerks was in here messing with my food earlier."
"That all sounds like it would be frustrating," I said, not caring in the least. "I've got your package so you should be able to at least serve your specialty for the rest of the night."
His eyes lit up, and his gaze went to my bag. "Is it the good stuff?"
"They're from the Strix on Fourth. You know they don't truck in anything but the best." I dug out my phone, clicking through the Hermes app to the screen where he could verify delivery. "Your secret ingredient straight from Greece. Should make your gyros taste out of this world."
Just saying it made my mouth water. As I said, Argus was an amazing cook. He did Greek with a twist, and that twist was what kept people coming back for more, and had them standing in line for long periods in the heat. It would have been nice to grab some food from him before I went on my way, but in light of my conversation with Nathan, that might not be the best of ideas.
Argus put his thumb on the screen and drew back when it gave a low hum. It turned green, signaling he was the correct recipient. The app was a weird melding of technology and magic that I didn't profess to understand. I just knew it worked, and if someone tried to cheat the system, consequences that were better left unimagined befell them.
"Ah, before you go, I've got a job for you," Argus said as I turned over his package.
I’d thought he might.
Nathan stiffened at my side. "I thought you said his delivery was your last job for the night."
"Who's this?" Argus asked, pointing at Nathan. He looked him up and down with a derisive glance.
"No one important," I told Argus as he folded his arms over his chest and looked down his nose at us. To Nathan, I said, "We give our clients the courtesy of extending a job if there’s need."
Nathan looked disgusted at the thought of prolonging this experience. I fought to hide my snort. This was a short night for me. If he thought this was bad, he needed to tag along on some of the nights that went until the sun was threatening the sky.
"Is this going to be a problem?" I asked. "We can call Liam again if you have another issue with this."
Nathan fixed me with a flat glare, and I took that as a sign to get on with it. Covering my victorious smile by turning back to Argus, I asked, "What do you need from me?"
Argus' arms relaxed, and for the first time since we interrupted his night, his expression lightened. "I need you to get the harpies to lay off me. My secret ingredient will help, but if I keep having to deal with their pranks, I'm not going to be able to keep up with demand."
I nodded. It wasn't an atypical request since Hermes couriers often served as an intermediary between the different species. We walked in that weird no man's land where we had no firm allegiances to any of the sects. It enabled us to be impartial when acting as a mediator—or as impartial as any of the spooks ever got. All the species had prejudices against the others, so it wasn't something we did all that often.
"Point me in the right direction, and I'll see what I can do," I said. "You know I can't promise."
Argus nodded, his expression saying he didn't really care. "I'll send the fee to the usual place."
"See that you do."
"They've been hanging out around the stage. No doubt to steal food from the unwary." Argus clicked his teeth.
Sounded like them. I'd never known a harpy who didn't get a kick out of stealing from a human, especially when it involved food.