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.In either case, they'd give him at least two hours before coming for him,and they wouldn't go into a crowded bar after him, they'd wait until he came out."In two hours.Is thatokay?"She made a little sound of speculation."This had better be good, Dave.Two hours from now isdamned late to be dragging somebody out in this weather.If this is some kind of a gag, my friends aren'tgonna be real happy.""Yeah, I—""You played enough head games with me, Dave.I'm not as forgiving as I used to be.If you'repulling some cute trick, I might let my friends have you when I get done with you." Another pause."I'm abrown in karate now, Dave.I can wipe the floor with you if I want to, and I'm not kidding.""Oh God, I swear it, Di, I need your help and it's not some kind of stupid frat joke." He looked athis watch again.Ten minutes left in the break."I gotta go.I'll see you in two hours."He hung up the phone without waiting to hear her say goodbye, and ran all the way back to theclub.ELEVENDi hung up the phone, all too aware that her palms were sweating."What was that all about?" Lenny asked, very bewildered."I've never heard you threaten to beatsomebody up before.""That's because my ex-lover never called me up before," she said, flushing, and wiped her handson her jeans before she sat down again."Oh." Lenny looked embarrassed."Uh—I—""The one," she continued, allowing herself no wallow in self-pity, "that dumped me in college.Itold you about him when we both got drunk that one time you really screwed up an audition.""Yeah, you did." Lenny grimaced."I know this's supposed to be the era of peace and harmony andall that, but—let's just say I don't blame you."She managed a wan smile."Thanks.Well, it sounds like he got his, anyway.I was just bringing ithome to him that I'm not the same girl he dumped.He says he's in trouble, my kind of trouble.He waspractically crying, and I don't think he was faking it.""What goes around, comes around," Keith put in."Thing is, can you afford to mess around withhis problems when we've got this other stuff on our hands?"She frowned, thinking."That's the odd thing.The last time I saw him was just about a week ago,maybe two—his band was playing at HeartBeat.That was the same night I saw Jeffries and what I think isthe gaki.I told you that I was beginning to think that there isn't anything connected with this businessthat's a coincidence.Seems to me that if Dave's in occult trouble it would be damned odd if it's notconnected to those two." She rubbed her hands together, trying to massage cramps out of her fingers."Anyway I said I'd meet him—with some friends—at Logres." She tilted her head sideways a little, andlooked pointedly at Lenny and Keith."You don't have to go if you don't want to.""I said I was in," Lenny replied firmly.Keith nodded."I go along with your take on this," thedancer continued."I can't see how your ex's problem could be occult and not be tied in with something asnasty as those two, not when you've seen them lurking in the same club.You know, maybe they own it."" That is an interesting thought, friend Lenny," André said, drumming his fingers on the arm of thesofa."An excellently baited trap for the catching of unwary mice, non? One could pick and choose, andnot need to prowl the streets at all—""Only part of the time," Di interrupted, sure of her ground here.She'd hunted too many predatorsnot to have learned how they thought."You don't want to draw too much attention to a particular area bytaking all your victims from there.But it would be a good place to mark people out for later.""A lot of runaways hang out down there," Keith put in, face very quiet and thoughtful."Anytimeone of the clubs gets lax about checking IDs, it's all over the street.If you're looking for nameless, facelessvictims—""Yeah.With a vested interest in not going to the cops." Di grimaced."I think we've got a lead.Now all we have to do is keep from spooking him."***Di saw to it that the four of them arrived early for the meeting at Logres; early enough to setLenny and Keith up in a booth at the front, and to have a few words of warning with Jim, the bartenderand part owner.She felt sick to her stomach.I don't want to do this.I don't want to see him, or talk to him, or anydamn thing.And I don't have a choice."You have storm warnings up," the swarthy bartender observed sotto voce, when she leaned overthe bar and gave him their orders.Yeah, no kidding.But I didn't think it showed that badly.So much for the Great UnflappableTregarde.Another illusion shattered."You're very perceptive, as usual."I wish I wasn't involving Logres, but there's no place else that's this well protected.And I don'twant Dave in my home.Sorry about this, Jimbo.She stuffed her change back in her purse but did nottouch the four glasses of Harp on the counter in front of her."I'm meeting somebody," she told him, in avoice that would not carry beyond the two of them."There could be trouble.""Physical, or 'other'?" Jim flexed his enormous biceps unconsciously as he gave a quick glancetoward the door.She smiled a little.Oh Jim, you never stop hoping for the day you can ride to the rescueon your white steed, do you? No medieval brawls tonight, Sir Severale.Sorry about that, too.He was aMedieval Society knight, a well-trained fighter with rattan blade and shield, and big and brawny enough totake care of most troublemakers without resorting to anything worse than intimidation—whichoccasionally disappointed him."Other.Who's in that might catch fallout?" I've got to get the innocents out or shielded, just incase— a Guardian does not leave innocents undefended.Logres wasn't just a place where a lot of folk musicians hung out—or Medieval Society members,though there were plenty of both that spent their time here.It was the watering hole of a fair number ofoccultists and sensitives—psis like Di, who had mundane jobs and mundane lives, and extramundaneinterests.They had to have mundane jobs—the bill of drink at Logres was mostly imported, and notcheap."Nobody, at least not tonight.Anybody like that cleared out an hour ago.You'd think they werepsychic." His broad grin invited her to answer it, and she did [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]