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John sat and put his forearms on the armrests. Ringo moved away from Ariel, folded the knife and put it in his pocket before walking across the room to stand beside Dessaline. Two of the
other men in the room approached John, each carrying plastic flex-cuffs. One of the men John recognized as the man he slammed to the ground on Hollywood Beach. The man limped as if he had a bad back.
Ringo and Marc watched as the men bent to bind John’s wrists to the armrests. Ariel felt a sudden premonition of what was coming, and she looked at John as he turned his head towards her.
He winked. Ariel caught her breath as John exploded out of the chair, grabbing both men by the throat and slamming their heads together so hard it sounded like someone banging together two coconuts.
The two men dropped, and John spun and grabbed the oak chair, flinging it at Young Anson, getting his whole body into the throw. Anson’s back was against the wall and he yelped an instant before the chair hit him and exploded into pieces. Several pieces stuck in the wall as Anson dropped to the floor with blood running from his forearms and his scalp. His revolver clattered on the tiles and John dove for it just as Ringo and Marc closed on him.
John dodged away from the pistol and came to his feet as Ringo grabbed for him. John caught the taller man’s wrist and pulled him close as he twisted and threw Bazin over his hip. The black man slammed hard on the floor and John kept his grip on the wrist as he spun again, stepping over the wrist to extend Bazin’s arm to full length, then he dropped one knee down with all his weight behind it, striking with the point of the knee like a sledgehammer on the man’s forearm.
Everyone heard the bones break. Ringo made a sound like “Haah” and fought to get away from John.
Dessaline came like a shadow and dropped on John’s back, sliding his forearm across the detective’s throat and pulling back.
John went with it and grasped Dessaline’s forearm with both hands as he put his feet against the wall and walked up it, coming full circle over the top and dropping backward, forcing Dessaline to fall off balance on his back, with John on top of him.
Marc twisted at the last minute and both men landed on their sides, with the impact separating them. Marc came to his feet an instant before John.
Ringo Bazin rose at the same time behind John. Ariel screamed, “Watch out!”
Bazin snapped a high, powerful kick that connected with John’s temple, and the detective dropped to the floor.
Young Anson picked up the revolver and ran to the downed man, wanting to shoot. Dessaline yelled, “No!”
Young stopped, then looked at Marc. Marc said, “We save him for the ritual. His strength will make a powerful offering.”
Young nodded, rubbed the places where the chair struck him, and said, “One of my ribs are broken, and my head is buzzing. He threw the chair so hard it was like a bomb blew up in my face. I have to sit down.”
Marc looked at Ringo Bazin, who stood there as if nothing had happened. He asked, “Your arm?”
“I will get ready in the bedroom so you can set and splint it.” He glanced at the unconscious man on the floor, then said to Dessaline, “Li se danjere, he is dangerous. Kill him now.”
Dessaline said, “No. In the ritual.”
Marc said to Jean Claude, “Tie him. We’ll move them before dawn, and I don’t want a repeat of what just happened. When you finish with the detective, try to rouse our men from the floor, and bandage Anson.”
~*~
Randall’s phone rang at 3:30AM. He fumbled for it, then checked the caller ID. It was Grandfather. Randall said, “Grandfather?”
“Itza-chu is in trouble.” Grandfather said. He’d used John Quick’s Apache nickname, Eagle Claw. “There are things involved I do not understand, a huge black thing with jaws and teeth, fire and wind. It is bad magic.”
John sat up, “It’s okay, Grandfather, I’ll tell him about this in a few hours when he gets up. We’re meeting first thing this morning.”
“They already have him.”
Randall felt his scalp prickle, “Let me call you right back. I’m going to call John.”
Randall hung up and redialed his friend’s number. It went straight to voicemail. He said, “John, call me. It’s important.”
He called two additional times, but no one answered. His next call was to his Grandfather. He said, “I’m going to his house. He’s not answering his phone.”
Grandfather said, “I hope you find a clue, like they do on those television shows I watch.”
“I do, too.”
“Grandson.”
