"There is, you come in here pushing me around."

I steeled myself to jump in, though I suspected Playmate would be all right. The shoe might be on the other hoof. The bad guys might need help before the straw settled.

Playmate is all religious. He preaches turn the other cheek. But he takes an eye-for-an-eye att.i.tude when it comes to professional sc.u.m.

Teacher asked, "Where's Garrett?"

Playmate didn't answer.

The wide loads moved in. Playmate met one with an invisibly fast straight jab to the schnoz that rocked the man's head back like it was about to pop off its stump. He plopped down on his back of beyond with a stunned, goofy look.

The second thug took a punch to the chest. Pure amazement filled his face. This didn't happen when you educated civilians.

Playmate collected a hammer. He showed it to Teacher White. Teacher took note. "Time to move along, boys."

Good thing, too, because I was just about to jump down and make life really harsh for Teacher.

Then I saw what I would've jumped into.

Spider Webb and guys named Original d.i.c.k and Vernor Choke showed up to help the wide loads leave. They hadn't made a sound there under the hayloft.

Vernor Choke had been born to his name. I didn't know the story on Original d.i.c.k. I wouldn't hang the moniker on anybody, but that didn't mean his mother hadn't.

I climbed down half a minute after Spider Webb exited, the last of the crew to leave.

Playmate observed, "Once again there's proof that just knowing you is a bad idea."

"What was that all about?"

"They're looking for some guy named Garrett. Said they followed him here. They didn't say why. They seemed pretty determined, though."

I put on my best baffled face. Without faking. "I don't get it. They've been following me around long enough to see that I can't tell them what they want to know."

"And what would that be, Garrett?"

"Huh? What would what be?"

"What do they want to know?"

"Well, h.e.l.l!" I had no real idea. "Maybe just a closer look at my pretty face."

They did did know that I couldn't find Chodo or Harvester. Didn't they? know that I couldn't find Chodo or Harvester. Didn't they?

"Oh, sure. That's got to be it, Garrett. How did that get past me?"

32.

I gave Teacher and his crew fifteen minutes to hurry off to some far place where they could get out of the wet and forget hara.s.sing a handsome but ignorant investigator. Playmate supported my tactical view.

"I couldn't figure out what they really really wanted," he admitted. "They changed stories three times. The bottom line, though, was that they really, really, wanted," he admitted. "They changed stories three times. The bottom line, though, was that they really, really, really really wanted to lay hands on a guy named Garrett." wanted to lay hands on a guy named Garrett."

"Thanks for not giving me up."

"Grat.i.tude noted in the Book of for Whatever That's Worth."

"I am a handsome young man."

"Duly noted in the Book of Natural Fertilizers. Why don't you get out of here so I can get some work done?"

Some folks are obsessed with being productive.

"I can take a hint." I left messages for Saucerhead and Winger, in case he saw them before they got the word somewhere else.

The rain wasn't heavy, but it was steady. It wasn't one to please the farmers. They want their soakers in the springtime.

A voice husked, "Garrett."

I was a block from Playmate's. I was hunched over, wishing I had a poncho. The ones we'd used in the islands hadn't kept us dry, but they did keep us from being wounded by the larger raindrops.

"Spider." I hit Webb alongside the head with my stick, then spun and got Original d.i.c.k in his namesake. I wove easily past a wide-eyed Vernor Choke, smacked Teacher White between the eyes, and slid behind him while he wobbled. My stick lay across his throat. I lifted him a little.

Spider leaned against a wall, trying not to get dragged under by a concussion. Original lay curled up on the cobblestones in a smear of his own puke, fighting for air. Choke put on a show of dancing around looking for an opening. Teacher complained, "You broke my nose! I got blood all over my new jacket!"

They hadn't expected me to explode.

I hadn't brought enough explosives. I whispered, "Teacher, how about you tell me why you guys keep d.o.g.g.i.ng me?" Then the big boys responded to all the whining.

I popped Teacher again, from behind, with immense enthusiasm, then faked right and ran left, headed for Playmate's place.

One of the brunos grabbed Vernor Choke and flung him like a bola. And Choke did the job, what with all those legs and arms trying to latch on to something as he flew by. I took several solid thumps before I got untangled. Seeing double, I had legs too watery to run.

Where was the Watch when a little interference might be useful?

Following Welby Dell, who was disguised as a handsome investigator by a cute illusion you can pick up for next to nothing on the black market.

I was too busy hurting to care. I got in a good whack at a kneecap. The other wide body kicked me in the ribs. Then somebody hit me from behind with that bucket of rocks than which he was dumber.

33.

"Hey, Teach, I fink da a.s.shole's comin' round," a voice said. It turned out to be Vernor Choke's.

I was tied into an ancient wooden armchair. The setting was the sort of hideout gang guys run to when there's a war on. There were pallets scattered around. Spider Webb and Original d.i.c.k occupied two. Both were in worse shape than me.

Choke got behind me. He lifted my chin, showed me Teacher White slumped in a chair close by, still leaking a little red. *

Welby Dell appeared with a bowl of water, some cloth pieces, and a dirty hunk of sponge. He went to work on Teacher's face.

White mumbled something.

Dell relayed. "Where's Chodo?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. At home, I reckon. He don't get out much."

White mumbled. Dell asked, "Where's Harvester Temisk?"

"He don't keep me posted." I tried to turn my head. I wanted a fix on the wide bodies. Choke wouldn't let me. "Aren't you a little low on the food chain for this kind of c.r.a.p?"

Welby Dell grimaced. Exactly what he thought. All this was going to make life tough later. Teacher was betting their a.s.ses on one pa.s.s of the dice.

So Teacher hadn't polled the troops before hiring outsiders and dumping everybody in the kettle. Nor had he leveled with them yet. They'd have a grand scramble, saving their b.u.t.ts.

Teacher mumbled, "I believe you, Garrett. I was pretty sure you wouldn't know. But you're a whiz at finding things. So you're going to find Harvester and Chodo for me."

I tried to work my muscles so they'd be loose when I jumped up out of the chair.

Teacher grumbled, "Where the f.u.c.k is Skelington? I got Original and Spider down... That a.s.shole was supposed to be... he bail on me?" White's eyes narrowed. He'd had a thought. That was so unusual that he took a while to get used to it before he asked, "You know where Skelington is, Garrett?"

I shook my head. That hurt. "Ask Director Relway." Maybe I wouldn't do much flying around. I had cracked ribs to go with my dented head.

Something was nuts. Teacher White wasn't stupid enough to come at me like this. He had to have an angle.

"f.u.c.king Skelington! f.u.c.king moron Skelington! He chickened out! He bailed. We gotta get the f.u.c.k outta here. G.o.dd.a.m.n Skelington."

White's intelligibility began to fade.

"Brett. Bart. About time, you a.s.sholes. You find Kolda? You get the stuff from him? Give it to Garrett. Now. We got to get the f.u.c.k out of here."

A ham of a hand grabbed my hair and yanked. Another got hold of my chin and forced my mouth open. Another one packed my mouth with shredded weed that had enjoyed a generation as skunk bedding before it got into the herbal-supplement racket. Yet another hand turned up with a lumpy old unfired mug full of water, most of which ended up on my outside.

The several hands forced my mouth shut, then covered my nose so I couldn't breathe. The ancient trick for making a critter take its medicine.

"Swallow, Garrett," Teacher told me.

I fought, but there was no winning. The lump went down like a clump of raw chaw, blazing all the way.

Teacher told me, "You'll nap for a while, Garrett. You just swallowed a drug that will see to that while Kolda's weeds have time to work." Teacher strained to hold it together long enough to give me all the bad news. "When you wake up you'll notice that it's getting hard to breathe. After a while, if you don't think about it, you'll stop. If you stop, you'll die."

I felt something spreading from my belly already. It wasn't the happy warmth of a Weider Select lager.

"Here's the deal. You stay awake and pay attention, you'll be all right. You fall asleep, you'll die. You can't remember to breathe if you're asleep. Bring me Chodo or Harvester before you croak-I'll give you the antidote. You know my word is solid."

That was Teacher's reputation. Though it did rest exclusively on the testimony of people who were still alive. Those he'd done real dirt to weren't around to bear witness.

"Nighty-night, Garrett. Don't waste no f.u.c.king time when you wake back up." White snarled, "The rest of you get this mess cleaned up. We got to get away from here."

The man was an idiot. He'd jumped on what looked like a good idea without thinking it through. His biggest failing was right on the tip of my tongue when the sleepy drug dragged me off into the dark.

The question was, how did I find him when I was ready to hand Chodo over? a.s.suming I found Chodo.

Overall, Teacher White qualified as a smart crook. The proof? He was still alive. He'd reached middle management. He'd stayed alive by being careful never to show any imagination.

His actions now const.i.tuted rock-hard evidence that he didn't have what it took to be a schemer.

He was going to get killed.

There was a d.a.m.ned good chance he'd take me with him.

34.

d.a.m.n, my head hurt.

That wasn't a hangover. This was real pain caused by real blows to the head. Accompanied by pains everywhere else.

I was in the same chair. I wasn't tied down anymore. It was raining. Still. Moist air gusted in through a door that banged in the wind. It was the middle of the night. The rain was no heavier, but the wind was colder and more fierce. Occasional barks of thunder rattled the walls.

I got up. The change in elevation made my head swirl. My temples throbbed. My ribs screamed in protest. I might have made a sound or two myself.

There was no light. I wasted no time looking for a lamp. I headed for the doorway, landmarked by the lightning. I had to get out. I had to get moving. I couldn't get caught here.

I was at street level but didn't recognize where. I tried to get my thoughts wrapped around memories of Teacher White's territory. That didn't help.

It was cold and wet out. I wasn't dressed for it.

Not only had Teacher's guys disarmed me, but they had taken my jacket. They'd taken my roc's egg and my belt. I was going to be cold and wet and miserable before I got home. a.s.suming I figured out which way to go.