The Oracle (Fargo Adventures #11) - Clive Cussler Page 0,20
boys. Checking to make sure no one else was in there, she moved the rags that doubled as her bed, pulled the money from her pocket, and lifted the floorboard.
Her breath caught.
Empty. All of it gone.
“So, it’s true.”
Nasha spun around, seeing Bako glaring at her from the doorway. And behind him, Chuk and one of the older boys, Len. Chuk wouldn’t even look at her.
Bako crossed the room, grabbing her by the arm, ripping the cash from her hand. “You steal from me? After all I’ve done for you?” His grip tightened, his face filled with disgust, as he held out his hand for the rest of the money.
“That’s all there is, I swear.”
He eyed it, then her. “If you weren’t so small and nimble, I’d toss you back where I found you.” He shoved her against the wall, pain shooting across her shoulder as she hit the wood siding. Gritting her teeth, she tried not to cry out.
“Quit your whining,” he said, before turning his attention toward Len. “Go get my brothers. We’re going to get that truck and their car.”
“How?” Len asked. He’d been the lookout in the store. His job was to delay their marks, giving them time to steal the Land Rover.
“Same way we took the last one.”
The boy shifted on his feet.
“What is it?” Bako asked him.
“I don’t think you should. This man. He’s not like the others. He watched us. He knew. I think he’s—”
“He’s what?”
“Dangerous.”
Bako’s black eyes narrowed as he lifted his shirt, revealing the butt of a gun. “So am I. If he puts up any fight, we’ll kill them all. Very simple. Now go.”
The boy ran out the door and Bako’s attention returned to Nasha.
Pulse pounding in her ears, she cowered in the corner. He grabbed the hammer from the table, his gaze boring into her for several seconds. “You remember what happened to the last boy who stole from me?”
She nodded, tucking both hands beneath her arms. Chuk stood in the doorway, looking sick to his stomach. Not as sick as she felt. He was the only one who knew where she hid the money.
Heavy footsteps in the hallway drew Bako’s attention. He turned to see both of his brothers and Len shuffling into the room past Chuk.
The oldest, Kambili, leaned against the doorframe. “What’s so important we had to come running?”
“Remember that truck we robbed a few days ago?” Bako said. “From the girls’ school? They’re back.”
“No. We don’t hit the same people. Too dangerous. They’ll know to expect us.”
“Yes. But this time may be easier and more profitable. Len here tells me they have many friends.”
“How many?”
“Four. Three of them are Americans. And they’re carrying cash.”
“You’re sure?”
He nodded, weighing the hammer in his hand as though testing his grip.
Kambili focused on the hammer. “What are you doing with that?”
“Nash stole their car, but got caught. So, one strike for getting caught. The other for stealing from us.”
“That boy is one of our best pickpockets. You’ll end that if you smash his fingers.”
Bako slapped the flat side of the hammer’s head against his palm, his gaze locked on Nash the entire time. “He’s also one of our best beggars. Think how much more he’ll bring in if he’s injured. Sympathy.”
Bako took a step toward Nash, raising the hammer.
“But not now,” Kambili said, stopping him. “If you’re serious about taking that truck, you need to leave now.”
Bako glared at Nash, then suddenly smiled, his stained yellowed teeth looking like fangs. “Later is better. I can take my time. One finger at a time.” He tossed the hammer onto the washstand, pushed Chuk from the room, and followed his two brothers out the door, slamming it closed.
Nasha heard the key turn in the lock, their footsteps receding down the hallway. She ran to the door, tried to open it, and slid to the floor, her knees giving out beneath her.
Bako had caught another boy stealing and had smashed every finger of his right hand. Two had become infected and had to be amputated. Though the boy had tried pickpocketing with his left hand, he couldn’t, and now had to beg to earn his keep.
Nasha, like her mother, was ambidextrous, able to use both hands equally. Even so, she wasn’t about to wait around and risk losing any of her fingers. She’d long ago given up any hope that her uncle was returning for her or Chuk.