A Gathering of Widowmakers (The Widowmaker #4) by Mike Resnick

swaying in his chair from the effects of the mexalite he was smoking.
    "Sure there is," chimed in another. "The Widowmaker doesn't just go after Men. There's the Younger Brothers, whatever the hell they are."
    "Right," said the thin man. "They've got to be worth more than eight million for the lot of them."
    "And what about that woman who arrived yesterday?" asked a man from the corner. "What was her name?"
    "Cleopatra Rome."
    "Right—Cleopatra Rome. She might be worth more than any of them."
    They continued to toss names around. Nighthawk was content; there were at least three more, maybe as many as five, that would have to come to Jeff's attention within day or two of his collecting them.
    Curious word— collecting , he reflected. He never thought of it as killing them. The killing was a foregone conclusion. It was finding them, cutting off their escape routes, taking them without collateral damage, and presenting the bodies for the rewards. Collecting. It seemed much more businesslike than killing, and the trick was never to forget that it was a business, that emotion had no place in it. He could be warm and relaxed with Sarah, he could toss off a wry or sardonic line with the best of them—but that was when he was Jefferson Nighthawk. When he was at work—when he was the Widowmaker—humor, love, friendship, tenderness, fear, all of them were locked away into the same closet in his mind that contained Jefferson Nighthawk. From time to time he wondered what a psychiatrist would make of it. Then he reminded himself that at least he'd survived long enough to be of some interest to a psychiatrist.
    Kinoshita entered a few minutes later and sat down next to him.
    "We're registered at fourteen hotels and rooming houses," said the small man.
    "You worked fast," said Nighthawk approvingly.
    "They're all within a few blocks here. I can hunt up more if you want."
    "No, fourteen should be enough."
    Kinoshita handed him a sheet of paper on which he'd scribbled down the names and addresses of the various hostelries. "Have you got any preference for tonight? I assume we're going to just keep rotating to a new one every day."
    "We're staying right here," said Nighthawk, lowering his voice.
    "In Horatio's?" said Kinoshita, surprised.
    "In the same building. When we leave we'll go to the top floor and see what we can find."
    "Then why the hell did you have me rent all those rooms?"
    "At least one man, maybe more, followed you to every hotel," said Nighthawk. "If we stay in one, the odds are 13-to-1 we won't be killed in it. This way the odds are 14-to-0." An amused smile. "There are Men and aliens who want us dead. Let's let 'em stand watch. Why should they have a good night's rest just because we intend to?"
    "You know," said Kinoshita, "Jeff would never have thought of that."
    "Jeff doesn't have to," said Nighthawk. "He's as good as I used to be. But us old men need our sleep."
    "Are you referring to you old men who just killed an invulnerable giant and his henchmen?"
    "If I killed him he wasn't invulnerable, was he?"
    Minx approached the table. "Can I get your friend anything?" she asked.
    "Ask him ," said Nighthawk.
    "I'll have whatever he's drinking," said Kinoshita, indicating Nighthawk. As she walked off, he turned to the older man. "Did you pick up any information?"
    "A bit."
    "At one of the hotels I heard them saying that Cleopatra Rome just arrived in the District."
    "So they say."
    "Did she really do everything she's supposed to have done?"
    "Probably not," said Nighthawk. "She's too young."
    "Does it ever bother you?" asked Kinoshita. "Killing a woman, I mean?"
    "Do you think all the killing she's done bothered her?" responded Nighthawk.
    "I know. But—"
    "Who's more dangerous at ten paces?" asked Nighthawk. "The heavyweight freehand champion of the Oligarchy, or a ninety-pound woman with a burner?"
    "Okay, I just asked."
    "A woman can kill you as quickly and efficiently as a man can. Your problem is that you haven't