The bar was a dive, with the mosquitoes hanging in clouds around the doors and the near stagnant water of a nearby canal adding nothing to the ambiance, but the whiskey was smooth enough and Kerr was enjoying himself. Tony was still an unknown quantity as far as his choice of bed partner went, although Kerr's doubts were resolving to a near certainty based on very little that added up to quite a lot. Their conversation, ranging from gossip about Tony's former employers and Kerr's past and present clients, to the very real possibility that Prohibition would be lifted soon, was entertaining and the occasional silence that fell was peaceful, not strained.
 

Tony seemed unimpressed by Kerr's status which both piqued and reassured Kerr; he was too accustomed to being wooed and flattered, not for what he was, but for what he could do. It was salutary to spend time with someone who didn't want a screen test and who was reasonably happy with where he was and what he was doing.
 

"I want to open a gym," Tony said toward the end of the evening, spinning an empty glass on the table, a trickle of amber drops marking its path. "Maybe train other bodyguards, or help the stars keep in shape when they need to." He grimaced. "Between movies, they let themselves go."
 

"Some do," Kerr agreed. Destiny had put on twenty pounds in the course of a month once when a part she'd wanted had gone to a rival, gorging herself on bonbons and gin, her beautiful face a set mask of misery when it wasn't contorted with rage. That was when Kerr had taken over as her manager, dealing with her prolonged sulk in much the same way as he would have handled a six-year-old in a tantrum.
 

"I hope you're not planning on leaving Destiny soon?" he asked. "She likes you, I can tell. You've been around for three months now; I think that's a record."
 

Tony smiled. "No, I'll stick around until she fires me. I need capital. I do this, and I want to do it right. I'm in no hurry."
 

Kerr braced himself for a sales pitch, already rehearsing the best way to turn down an offer to invest in Tony's dream, but it never came. Tony poured them both another drink and raised his glass in a toast.
 

"To Destiny."
 

"The lady or fate?"
 

"Both. Either." Tony knocked back the shot and shuddered. "God, I'm drunk."