Page 116 of Being Lost

I raise my eyes to Pennywise who flashes his knife. The light glints off it just right. “I’m bored,” he tells me lazily. “While we’re waiting, can I carve him into bits?” Without waiting for my response, he slices into Enrico’s ear. Not deep by any means, but enough to sting and make it bleed. Ears bleed quite copiously, it would seem.

“No, no.” Enrico shakes his head as though to ease the sting, the movement sends blood flying around. His eyes go wide, clearly feeling the warmth dribbling down his face. He looks from Pennywise to me in horror. He hadn’t seemed worried about a quick death but having body parts cut off doesn’t appear attractive to him in the least. “If I help you, you’ll let me go, yes?”

“If you don’t, I’ll let Pennywise alleviate his boredom.”

My threat works. “The trapdoor stays shut. They phone me, and I give them the all clear. It’s only then it’s opened up and I move the planks back. It’s bolted from the other side.”

Thank fuck he’s speaking. If he hadn’t, we’d have fucked it up. But I’m suspicious, and take a menacing step closer, my height making me tower above the smaller, though fairly muscular, man. “You wouldn’t be lying to me, would you?” My voice comes out as a low growl.

He gulps. “No,signor. I’m telling the truth.”

“Can you hear without an ear?” Salem asks, conversationally. “I don’t know how this shit works.”

Pennywise replies in an equally even tone, “Probably the outer ear, yes. But not if I pierce the ear canal.”

Reboot flinches, but Enrico screams. “No. I speak truth.”

His English seems to be failing him, as is his bodily control. It’s Dart who points it out sneeringly, “Man’s pissed himself.”

Sure enough, there’s a wet patch on the front of his jeans. I’m pretty certain a man with such little control of himself is a man literally scared to death. I doubt he’ll be lying to me.

“They call. I reply. They open,” he tells me again, as if trying to convince me.

“Your men,” I ask. “Are they always the same ones?”

Enrico shakes his head. “Mostly, but I sometimes have others. And the men coming through aren’t always the same.”

That’s good news at least. I eye him again. “Your men all Hispanic?” He nods. I glance at who I’ve got. Brakes is the only one who’s half that ethnicity, and he’s with Grumbler in the auto-shop.

But then Enrico continues, “Had a couple of blacks working for me when we were running the drug trade.”

“Brakes and I are coming across. Dusty’s ready to relieve Curtis if that’s your plan. He and I can act as Enrico’s men.”

As Niran’s voice sounds in my earpiece, I think for a moment. Having Curtis on lookout is one thing, having him in the thick of everything going down is another.

“He’s close to being patched in,” Dart reminds me.

“I’ll do it.” I’d forgotten Curtis’s link was still live. “I’m ready, Prez.”

“Dusty? Take Curtis’s place, will you?” It had taken only a second to decide.

“What happens when they arrive?” Another question to the man whose pants are soaked through and stinking.

Enrico is still eyeing Pennywise warily. “One, two come up through the door. Then the merchandise. One, two more come after.”

Niran, Curtis and Brakes arrive and step into the room with the trapdoor. Hastily I go through the plan that I’ve quickly amended. “Help them up out of the tunnel, put them at ease. Get the immigrants up, then when the final fuckers come through, we’ll come in and take them out.”

“They’ll expect to see me.”

Enrico’s right. They probably will.

“You’ll be in my sights, fucker,” Pennywise growls. “One wrong move and I’ll torture you for hours.”

“Thought that was my job,” Salem objects.

“You can help,” Pennywise promises.

“Everyone wants to be a fuckin’ enforcer.” Salem rolls his eyes.

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