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.“It’s nothing,” Pierce said.“She just left a message.I can play it for you if you want.I kept it.”“You falling in love with her, are you?”“No.”The smaller guy turned and gave a false smile to Six–Eight.Then suddenly he moved his arm in a quick overhand motion and hit Pierce with the phone on the bridge of his nose, delivering a blow with the full power of the sweeping arc.Pierce saw a flash of red and black blast across his vision and a searing pain screamed through his head.He couldn’t tell if his eyes were closed or he’d gone blind.He instinctively rocked backwards on the couch and turned away from the blow in case another was coming.He vaguely heard the man in front of him yelling but what he was saying wasn’t registering.Then strong, large hands clamped around his upper arms again and he was pulled upright and completely off the couch.He could feel himself being hoisted over Six–Eight’s shoulders and then carried.He felt his mouth filling with blood and he struggled to open his eyes but still couldn’t do it.He heard the rolling sound of the balcony’s sliding door, then the cool air from the ocean touching his skin.“Wha …” he managed to say.Suddenly the hard shoulder that had been in his gut was gone and he started a headfirst free fall.His muscles tightened and his mouth opened to emit the final furious sound of his life.Then, at last, he felt the huge hands grab his ankles and hold.His head and shoulders slammed hard against the rough concrete of the textured exterior of the building.But at least he was no longer falling.A few seconds went by.Pierce brought his hands to his face and touched his nose and eyes.His nose was split vertically and horizontally and was bleeding profusely.He managed to wipe his eyes and open them partially.Twelve stories below he could see the green lawn of the beachside park.There were people on blankets down there, most of them homeless.He saw his blood falling in thick drops into the trees directly below.He heard a voice from above him.“Hello down there.Can you hear me?”Pierce said nothing and then the hands that held his ankles shook violently, bouncing him off the outside wall again.“Do I have your attention?”Pierce spit a mouthful of blood onto the exterior wall and said, “Yes, I hear you.”“Good.I suppose by now you know who I am.”“I think so.”“Good.No need to mention names then.I just wanted to make sure we’re at a point of knowledge and understanding here.”“What do you want?”It was hard to talk upside down.Blood was pooling in the back of his throat and on the roof of his mouth.“What do I want? Well, I first wanted to get a look at you.A guy spends his time sniffing your asshole for two days, you want to see what he looks like, right? There’s that.And then I wanted to give you a message.Six–Eight.”Pierce was suddenly hoisted up.Still upside down, his face had come up to the open bars of the balcony railing.Through the bars he saw that the talker had stooped down so that they were face–to–face, the bars between them.“What I wanted to say was that not only did you get the wrong number, you got the wrong world, partner.And you got about thirty seconds to decide whether you want to go back to where you came from or you want to go on to the next world.You understand what I am saying to you?”Pierce nodded and started to cough.“I … unnerstan … I’m … I’m done.”“You’re damn right you’re done.I ought to have my man drop your stupid ass right here and now.But I don’t need the heat, so I’m not going to do that.But I have to tell you, Bright Boy, if I catch you sneaking and sniffing around again, you’re gonna get dropped.Okay?”Pierce nodded.The man Pierce was pretty sure was Billy Wentz then reached a hand between the bars and roughly patted Pierce’s cheek.“Be good now.”He stood up and gave a signal to Six–Eight.Pierce was pulled over the balcony and dropped on the balcony’s floor.He broke the fall with his hands and then pushed his way into the corner.He looked up at his two attackers.“You got a nice view here,” said the smaller man.“What do you pay?”Pierce looked out at the ocean.He spit a wad of thick blood onto the floor.“Three thousand.”“Jesus Christ! I can get three fucking places for that.”Now just straddling the edge of consciousness, Pierce wondered how Wentz had intended the word fucking to be interpreted.Was he talking about places for fucking or was he just routinely cursing? He tried to shake off the clouds that were encroaching.It occurred to him then that the threat to himself aside, it was important to try to protect Lucy LaPorte.He spit more blood onto the balcony floor.“What about Lucy? What are you going to do?”“Lucy? Who the fuck is Lucy?”“I mean, Robin.”“Oh, our little Robin.You know, that’s a good question, Henry.‘Cause Robin’s a good earner.I have to be prudent.I have to calm myself when it comes to her.Rest assured that whatever we do, we won’t leave marks and she’ll be back, good as new, in two, three weeks at the most.”Pierce scrabbled his legs on the concrete in an effort to get up but he was too disoriented and weak.“Leave her alone,” he said as forcefully as he could.“I used her and she didn’t even know it.”Wentz’s dark eyes seemed to take on a new light.Pierce saw anger work its way into them.He saw Wentz put one hand on the top of the balcony railing as if to brace himself.“Leave her alone, he says.”He shook his head again as if to ward off some encroaching power.“Please,” Pierce said.“She didn’t do anything.It was me.Just leave her alone.”The small man looked back at Six–Eight and smiled, then shook his head.“Do you believe this? Telling me like that?”He turned back toward Pierce, took one step toward him and then swiftly brought his other foot up into a vicious kick.Pierce was expecting it and was able to use his forearm to deflect most of the power but the pointed toe of the boot struck him on the right side of the rib cage.It felt like it took at least two ribs with it.Pierce slid down into the corner and tried to cover up, expecting more and trying to control the burning pain spreading across his chest.Instead, Wentz leaned down over him.He yelled at Pierce, spittle raining down on him with the words.“Don’t you fucking dare try to tell me how to run my business.Don’t you fucking dare!”He straightened up and dusted off his hands.“And one other thing.You tell anybody about our little discussion here today and there will be consequences.Dire consequences.For you.For Robin.For the people you love.Do you understand what I’m telling you?”Pierce weakly nodded
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