His hand darted to the small of his back, coming out with the glimmer of polished, razored steel. The needle point of the throwing knife was pressed against the merchant’s throat, shutting his mouth like a trap.
“Not freak. Not mutie,” Jak gritted, pushing the blade hard enough to draw a trickle of blood down the sweating neck. “No more talk. Just drink. Quietly. Understand?” A jerk of the knife punctuated his words. “Understand?”
“You’re killing him,” the original speaker gasped. “Leave him be. We made a mistake and we’re real sorry. Leave us be.”
Jak’s knife vanished again into its concealed sheath. The man swallowed hard, fumbling for a kerchief to mop away the streak of crimson, staring at it with wide eyes as though he’d never seen blood before.
Ryan sipped at his beer, checking his wrist chron. It would be close on an hour before they activated their plan.
TWIN FORKS CONTAINED a number of main streets, linked with a maze of alleys. The Montana Queen had a row of three outhouses that stood in a dark courtyard, opening onto one of the narrow lanes. Even at midday it was a gloomy place, ill lit and noisesome.
Ryan had been waiting out there for four or five minutes, standing patiently behind an untidy pile of empty ale casks. To anyone coming from the bright oil lamps of the saloon, he was completely invisible.
Doc was in the alley with Krysty and Mildred as backup, if it was needed. J.B. and Jak would remain in the saloon, drawing attention to themselves so that there was no danger of their being implicated in the robbery.
It was Ryan’s plan, and he was ready to activate it.
He’d borrowed Doc’s swallow’s-eye kerchief and knotted it around his lower face to help muffle and disguise his voice. A balaclava, bought from a busy maritime-supply store, was pulled down over his head, concealing the missing eye.
Normally the outhouses were busy, but nobody had come out for several minutes. Doc appeared in the entrance, calling to Ryan in a loud, piercing whisper.
“Is all well, my dear fellow?”
“Yeah. Get back outside. Call you if I need any help.”
“Just that several minutes have drifted by and”
“Nobody’s come out. Get on back and keep quiet.”
“Of course, of course. Leaving right away, old friend. Right away.”
The rear door of the Montana Queen swung open, letting out a rectangle of golden light across the cobbles of the yard, then clattered shut.
Ryan drew the SIG-Sauer and peered into the blackness, making out a man alone, walking unsteadily toward the nearest of the outhouses, going inside and trying to tug across the bolt. He cursed under his breath when it wouldn’t shut properly. That wasn’t surprising, since Ryan had levered it loose with the tip of his panga only a half hour before.
The steel tips on Ryan’s combat boots breathed across the damp cobbles. Though the sun was at its height, very little light filtered through into the yard between the steep walls of the surrounding buildings.
The merchant in the outhouse was whistling to himself as he went about his business. Ryan glanced around, making sure nobody else was leaving the Montana Queen, then took the rusting handle of the door in his left hand and tugged it sharply open.
“Someone in here!” the man snapped out angrily. “Close the door, will you?”
Ryan wrinkled his nose at the foul smell coming from inside, then stepped in closer, half shutting the door behind him, pressing the barrel of the SIG-Sauer against the chubby man’s cheek hard enough for the foresight to break the skin and draw a warm thread of blood.
“What the?”
“Quiet.” Ryan adopted a harsh voice, giving it a bayou twang. “Just gimme your jack and you live.”
“You can’t”
“One more word and you go headfirst into the shit with a bullet in your brain. Gimme now.” He pushed harder, making the merchant yelp in pain and fear.
“Sure, sure Just move the blaster out of my face, will you, mister?”
Ryan eased the pressure a little, bracing himself against the door. Behind him he heard feet moving across the yard, someone going into the next outhouse along. His victim also heard it and stiffened, holding his breath.