with the other guys, even had a chance to pour some of my drink on the floor once when I was facing Bear and he was looking away. I only pretended to drink, but I was starting to feel distant and weak anyway, just from that first gulp.
“You okay, Sasha?” Kolya asked after a while.
“Yeah . . . maybe shouldna’ skipped lunch, huh? I guess I gotta hit th’ head.”
I got unsteadily to my feet and had to grab the chair back to steady myself.
“Sasha, you’re turning into a lightweight,” one of the guys shouted, and there was laughter all around. I smiled drunkenly and gave them the finger.
“Bear, why don’t you go with him?” Kolya said. “Make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.”
“Sure,” Bear said and stood up beside me and slapped my shoulder fondly. “C’mon pal.”
So Bear was part of it.
We walked back toward the bathrooms, and I didn’t have to act much to look groggy. My knees were starting to buckle under me, and I had to concentrate on where I was walking. There was a little hallway leading to the bathrooms, out of the line of sight of the dining room, and I stopped there by the two doorways to the heads, leaning against the wall.
“Wha’ d’you guys slip me, Bear?” I asked.
“What do you mean, Sasha?”
“C’mon. ’Sall over, I know that. Jus’ bu’iness. So wha’d you slip me?”
He looked ashamed.
“I don’t know. One of those stoopie drugs or something. Kolya said you’d be easier to handle . . . I’m sorry, Sasha. Just how it is.”
Nobody ever saw the trick punch coming, and messed up as I was, it still caught Bear hard enough to take the wind out of him. Then I grabbed him by the Adam’s apple, thumb and fingers on either side, inside the throat tendons, and pushed all the way back behind the windpipe, and that paralyzed him. I kicked open the door to the ladies’ room, pulled him in, and looked around.
Someone was coming out of a stall, so I gave Bear a big kiss on the lips, looked back at her, and yelled, “Hey! Can we get some privacy here?”
She hurried out, and I locked the door behind her with my left hand. I still had Bear by the throat with my right, no air getting to his lungs; he’d already turned bright red, and now the red was shifting to purple. He stopped struggling after a few more seconds, and then slowly slid down the wall to the floor. I held him for a full minute after that—never trust a thief. When I let him go, he still had a pulse, but he was definitely in dreamland.
I’d picked the ladies’ room because it had a window overlooking the alley; the men’s room was an interior room, a closed box. But when I started over to the window, I fell on my ass halfway there. I was in pretty rocky shape, but I got back up using the sink for support. Three of me looked back from the mirror, all soft and glowy.
I got to the window and cranked it open, but I wasn’t sure if I could even crawl out. My legs had no strength left. The alley was four meters down—I sure couldn’t climb down. I could fall down, but then what, even assuming I didn’t split my head open or break a leg? How far was I going to get? I wasn’t armed, of course. Not polite to come to a sit-down packing. Only one thing to do.
I pulled off my sport coat, wadded it up, and threw it as far out into the alley as I could, out in the splash of yellow-orange light from the windows in the delivery entrances. Then I went back and got in one of the stalls, crouched up on the toilet seat, and braced myself against the wall. I was light-headed, so I kept my head as low between my legs as I could and still keep my balance; this wasn’t going to work if I passed out and fell on the floor. It probably wasn’t going to work anyway, but it was as good a plan as I could come up with on such short notice. I didn’t latch the stall door—that would be a giveaway. I just leaned as far over to the right side as I could, out of the direct line of sight.
After what seemed
“You okay, Sasha?” Kolya asked after a while.
“Yeah . . . maybe shouldna’ skipped lunch, huh? I guess I gotta hit th’ head.”
I got unsteadily to my feet and had to grab the chair back to steady myself.
“Sasha, you’re turning into a lightweight,” one of the guys shouted, and there was laughter all around. I smiled drunkenly and gave them the finger.
“Bear, why don’t you go with him?” Kolya said. “Make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.”
“Sure,” Bear said and stood up beside me and slapped my shoulder fondly. “C’mon pal.”
So Bear was part of it.
We walked back toward the bathrooms, and I didn’t have to act much to look groggy. My knees were starting to buckle under me, and I had to concentrate on where I was walking. There was a little hallway leading to the bathrooms, out of the line of sight of the dining room, and I stopped there by the two doorways to the heads, leaning against the wall.
“Wha’ d’you guys slip me, Bear?” I asked.
“What do you mean, Sasha?”
“C’mon. ’Sall over, I know that. Jus’ bu’iness. So wha’d you slip me?”
He looked ashamed.
“I don’t know. One of those stoopie drugs or something. Kolya said you’d be easier to handle . . . I’m sorry, Sasha. Just how it is.”
Nobody ever saw the trick punch coming, and messed up as I was, it still caught Bear hard enough to take the wind out of him. Then I grabbed him by the Adam’s apple, thumb and fingers on either side, inside the throat tendons, and pushed all the way back behind the windpipe, and that paralyzed him. I kicked open the door to the ladies’ room, pulled him in, and looked around.
Someone was coming out of a stall, so I gave Bear a big kiss on the lips, looked back at her, and yelled, “Hey! Can we get some privacy here?”
She hurried out, and I locked the door behind her with my left hand. I still had Bear by the throat with my right, no air getting to his lungs; he’d already turned bright red, and now the red was shifting to purple. He stopped struggling after a few more seconds, and then slowly slid down the wall to the floor. I held him for a full minute after that—never trust a thief. When I let him go, he still had a pulse, but he was definitely in dreamland.
I’d picked the ladies’ room because it had a window overlooking the alley; the men’s room was an interior room, a closed box. But when I started over to the window, I fell on my ass halfway there. I was in pretty rocky shape, but I got back up using the sink for support. Three of me looked back from the mirror, all soft and glowy.
I got to the window and cranked it open, but I wasn’t sure if I could even crawl out. My legs had no strength left. The alley was four meters down—I sure couldn’t climb down. I could fall down, but then what, even assuming I didn’t split my head open or break a leg? How far was I going to get? I wasn’t armed, of course. Not polite to come to a sit-down packing. Only one thing to do.
I pulled off my sport coat, wadded it up, and threw it as far out into the alley as I could, out in the splash of yellow-orange light from the windows in the delivery entrances. Then I went back and got in one of the stalls, crouched up on the toilet seat, and braced myself against the wall. I was light-headed, so I kept my head as low between my legs as I could and still keep my balance; this wasn’t going to work if I passed out and fell on the floor. It probably wasn’t going to work anyway, but it was as good a plan as I could come up with on such short notice. I didn’t latch the stall door—that would be a giveaway. I just leaned as far over to the right side as I could, out of the direct line of sight.
After what seemed
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