want them along—they shut the door and darted looks at the club we’d entered.
“Uh, you guys want to sit, or what?” the manager asked us.
I flashed a smile, or at least tried to. “We’re looking for Club Gouge. We wanted to see this Body Artist everybody talks about.”
“Oh. They burned down last night. But we have a good act coming on in half an hour, a stand-up comic. Take a seat, you’ll see.” His heart wasn’t in the spiel.
I watched Konstantin and Ludwig kneel behind parked cars as I opened the door all the way.
“Konstantin! Ludwig! We’re in here. Come on, the act’s going to start in half an hour!” When they didn’t stand up, I shouted, “Come on guys, no games tonight—it’s too darned cold!”
The two smokers outside the door looked from me to the two thugs. The manager hovered nervously behind me. “If you’re drunk, maybe you should come back another night. You’re kind of making too much noise.”
“You’re so right,” I said. “Petra, just hold the door here while Tim and your friend and I go tell those two bozos to head for home. If anything happens, well, dial 911.”
The three of us ran across the street. Anton’s men got to their feet, guns drawn, but Tim hurled himself at one man’s knees, knocking him into the path of an oncoming car. The driver slammed on his brakes, stopping inches from the thug’s head.
I pressed my own gun against the base of the other man’s skull. “Drop your gun. Now!”
The driver of the car had rolled down his window and was yelling at Tim. My thug thought about turning around to slug me, but I had my left leg outside his and slammed him behind the ear with my left hand. It wasn’t hard enough to knock him out, but it dazed him, and he dropped his weapon. My anonymous teammate scooped up the gun and put our guy in a choke hold.
I hurried to the car and bent down to talk to the driver. “I’m so sorry,” I said. “Our friend is drunk. We were trying to get him to come with us to the L, and he tried to fight us off. You okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. If I’d hit him, it would have been your fault.”
“You’re absolutely right. We’ll get him out of here right now.”
The thug in the street was groaning but getting to his feet. “They attacked me,” he said blearily to the driver.
“That’s right, Ludwig, we attacked you. That’s right, that’s what we’ll tell your wife when we get you home. Upsy-daisy, now. Tim, get him back on his feet and out of the street before someone really gets hurt.”
Petra hurried out to join us. “Guys, the manager, he’s, like, calling the cops. What are we going to do?”
“I’m parked just over there on Lake Street,” our new helper said. “Can we get these lowlifes that far?”
“Marty, we’ll cover them,” Tim said. “You go get your truck, if that’s okay with Vic, here: double-time.”
Marty sprinted down the street. The manager and the waiters were crowding the sidewalk outside the club entrance. Tim had taken over the choke hold on Marty’s thug. The guy who’d been knocked into the street was too dazed to fight, but I kept my gun on him, anyway. Petra’s teeth were chattering, and she kept up a flow of nervous, worried commentary: Where is he? Doesn’t he know we have to get out of here? What will we do if the cops get here first?
“Say your prayers, sweetheart,” I finally said to her.
A battered pickup bounced to a stop next to us. Marty got down and helped Tim and me shove our captives into the backseat. Tim and I joined them, leaving the front seat to Marty and Petra.
I leaned back in my corner as Marty pulled away from the club. We’d reached the intersection of Racine before blue strobes swept up the street to the club.
36
A Trip South—Alas, Not to Sunshine!
Now what?” Petra said.
The backseat hadn’t been designed for four. None of us could maneuver well, and I wasn’t happy at the possibilities this gave the thugs when they regained their equilibrium. I told Marty to pull over and let me put Petra into a taxi home. If we had more violence tonight, or the police caught up with us, I didn’t want her involved, anyway.
We were just a few blocks from the heart of the restaurant scene, where taxis were plentiful. My abdomen was so