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respectful. He should be safe here. We can't take him with us."
By the looks on Ru's and Kyle's faces, the one he was trying hardest to
convince was himself.
CHAPTER THREE
Hawg Heaven, Hull, Massachusetts
Monday, September 20, 2004
The town of Hull sat on a narrow dogleg of land that jutted out into the
Atlantic Ocean. On the way to it, they passed signs for "World's End," which
seemed appropriate as they drove down Nantasket
Avenue, water flanking either side of the road. To their left, the water was
nearly pond still, fringed with trees dressed in fall colors. On their right
ran an empty parking lot, a sandy beach, and the ocean.
Seasonal businesses were closed up, and no one was out on the rainy cold
afternoon.
They scouted the area in the drizzling rain before dusk started to set in, not
that there was much to be learned. The bar sat on a lump of land in the middle
of the narrow peninsula, between the mainland and the bulk of the town on the
bulbous tip. Nantasket Avenue split around the bar and its parking lot, with
traffic going out to the land's end running in front of the bar, and the lanes
heading for the mainland lying behind it. Motorcycles already sat in the bar's
parking lot, so they had no chance to scout the inside before the buy.
When it came time, they parked the Jaguar where Kyle could keep watch on both
it and the bar
and yet stay out of direct sight. They had the money in a backpack on the
theory it would draw less notice than a briefcase. Atticus slung it onto his
back, made sure it didn't interfere with drawing his pistol, and then led the
way into the bar.
Steppenwolf leaked out around the door, wailing about heavy metal thunder.
Atticus opened the door and the music flooded out on a wave of warm air, thick
with cigarette smoke, beer, and hot grease.
Obviously the bar was the refuge of men who had nothing better to do than sit
around and abuse themselves with diluted poisons. Atticus stepped in far
enough to give Ru room to enter, and paused, letting all the little details
sink in. Once the bar became known, his senses would work on automatic, acting
like a "spider sense," alerting him to danger as long as he didn't get too
deep into focus on something.
"Born to be Wild" beat against his skin. The banks of smoke came from Winston,
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Old Gold, and
Marlboro cigarettes. Off to the right was the clack of billiards, the table
screened by bodies. The beer on tap was Samuel Adams and the whiskey of choice
seemed to be Jack Daniel's. Unlike other bars he'd been in, this one was heavy
with cured leather and blue jeans embedded with the exhaust and engine oil of
motorcycles. After the bars and raves of the Beltway, the men were shaggier,
dirtier, and more heavily armed. He picked out knives and in lesser numbers
pistols hidden in boots, in pockets, and under clothing.
It was a WASP blue-collar bar. He and Ru had dressed down in blue jeans and
T-shirts and leather jackets, but everything from the shape of their eyes to
the color of their skin set them apart.
One of Daggit's Iron Horse peons, Draconis, leaned against the bar, looking up
when they came through the door. Recognizing them, he ground out his
cigarette, picked up his beer, and sauntered across to greet them.
"Daggit is waiting for you in the back room." Draconis gave a jerk of his head
to indicate a doorway behind him. After getting a nod from
Atticus interestingly Ru didn't rate attention Draconis led the way down a
long narrow hall past restrooms reeking of urine to a back room.
The walls muted the music, the bass thumping like the heartbeat of a giant
beast.
Five of the Iron Horses sat around a poker table; a single shaded light hung
down, throwing harsh shadows on their faces. Crushed cigarette packs,
overflowing ashtrays, guns, and crumpled bills littered the table.
Animal was dealing out cards, making them flash across the table in easy,
well-practiced throws.
He had a pile of bills in front of him, while the others wore surly looks.
"Seven-card stud, black deuces and red fours are wild."
A groan went up from the players.
"If you're going to do wild cards, j-just make it one or the other," Rebar
cried as the first card landed in front of him. His complaint came too late;
his first showing card was a two of diamonds. "Crap.
This isn't poker; it's a kid's game."
"They're here," Draconis announced.
Daggit's showing cards were a five of clubs and a nine of hearts. He glanced
at his hole cards, frowned, and shoved them back toward Animal without
revealing them. "Game's over. Everybody clear out."
"Ahh, I had two queens," one complained, flipping over his hole cards.
"I had three kings," another said, showing a king of hearts, the two of
hearts, and the four of spades.
Animal laughed, flashing his gold tooth. "
Black deuces, red fours."
"But last time "
"Was last time, and this time is this time." Animal tucked away the bills in a
wallet already fat with hundred-dollar bills.
The sheared lambs fled, leaving the wolves behind to deal a different type of
game.
Atticus gave the opening bid, playing the heavy. "Could you've picked a place
more public? We'll do this deal, but next time we pick the place." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]