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The transvestite stood outside the window tapping his long nail against the glass. Tick tick tick.

Eric ignored him.

Tick tick tick.

Eric turned his back to the window and concentrated on Earl
’
s across the street.

One more tick tick tick and then silence.

Eric kept his attention on Earl
’
s until it was safe. Then he kept
it there a while longer. When he finally turned and faced front the
two Spanish kids had moved in closer to the newsman with the
cane. And the transvestite was sitting on the hood looking in at
him through the windshield.

“
Get off,
”
Eric said.

The transvestite cupped his hand over one ear and shook his head.

“
Off,
”
Eric repeated, louder.

The black man still kept his hand by his ear. Now he pointed to the window and gestured for Eric to roll it down.

Eric hesitated, then rolled it down. Two inches. No more.

“
Let
’
s you and me boogie,
”
the transvestite said, getting off the car, leaning by the window.

“
I
’
m not really much in the mood for boogieing, sir,
”
Eric said.

“
Sir!
”
the transvestite exploded.
“
What you mean
‘
sir
?
’

“
Ma
’
am, I meant ma
’
am, I
’
m sorry,
”
Eric said quickly.

The black man put his lips by the window opening. He whispered,
“
I
’
ll take you places you never been.
”

“
I can
’
t leave the car just now,
”
Eric said.
“
I
’
m meeting my wife and children here any minute.
”

“
Roun
’
the worl
’
—over the falls—
”

Eric made no reply, just watched the Spanish kids tossing their spaldeen. The news dealer with the cane was eyeing them now.

Eric felt the dark fingers now gently caressing his cheek. He cried out, felt foolish, but there it was.

“
God sure been good to you,
”
the black man said. Then he snaked his thin arm back through the window, looked at Eric for a long moment before turning, walking pridefu
ll
y back into the bar.

The crowd at Earl
’
s was even larger now. But the screaming had peaked, and there were no more gun sounds.

Why did you cry out like a baby? Jesus. A skinny sick guy and
you with a right cross that can drop people. With a jab that sets them up and a cross that puts them down. And still you cry out like a jerk.

More action from Earl
’
s now—people from Eric
’
s side of the street began crossing over in larger numbers.

Which meant there were very few people left around the newsstand.

Eric_ watched.

The two kids were very close to the newsstand now.

I wish Mr. Haggerty were here, Eric thought.

The tiny old black newsstand owner glanced around. He busied himself straightening the stacks of papers. But one hand was very tight around his cane.

The two kids stopped playing catch. One of them tucked the spaldeen into his jeans pocket.

And now the sidewalk was empty.

Probably they won
’
t do anything, Eric thought. Probably they
’
re just two kids out for a night on the town. Probably they
’
ll see all the action on the sidewalk across the street and go over and see what
’
s going on. Probably
…
Probably …

I don
’
t want to watch, Eric decided and he turned his body away and stared across the street.

The newsstand was not that far from the car, just up ahead at the corner and Eric had to concentrate very hard on the crowd across the street in order not to be upset by the cry that came, he assumed, from the old man with the cane.

Now another cry.

Eric studied the crowd across the street. No one paid any attention to what was happening at the newsstand; no one even turned.

He
’
d fought enough to know what punches sounded like, and he stared across, listening to the blows coming from the direction of the newsstand.

Please,
Mr. Haggerty, Eric thought. You must hurry.

Now the sound of a body hitting hard against pavement.

Eric was burning up in the car, so he pulled his tie off hard and managed to get out of his suit coat. He unbuttoned his shirt at the neck and then when there was nothing more to do, he whirled in the seat and stared front.

The old man was trying to rise from the sidewalk. His cane was
beside him and they had him down and one of them was going through his pockets and as Eric watched a handful of bills came into view and then they were going for his other pockets but they didn
’
t produce much and one of them held him down while the other grabbed some magazines and then they were done and ready to go—

—but the old man held tight to one of their ankles.

“
Leave him alone!
”
Eric shouted from the car.

The one with the magazines started off and the one with the money wanted to—

—but the old man would not release his hold on the ankle.

The one with the magazines came back and the one who was held tried to kick with his free leg—

—but the grip remained.

At least it did until the one with the magazines picked up the cane and brought it down across the face of the old man, and Eric said
“
aw shit
”
and threw the door open and took off and the kids saw him and took off too, and they could fly and this was their turf and in a blink they were around the corner and tearing up the dark street but they were slow, compared to Eric they were molasses and probably they sensed that because halfway up the block they turned, racing into a deserted lot

Eric trapped them easily. They were caught in the farthest. corner where the walls of the lot connected, and they were breathing heavily. Eric waited for his eyes to get better accustomed. He kept ten feet away, watching them until one of them started screaming,
“
This got nothin
’
to do with you, get the fuck out of it
”

Eric felt he had to say something and he hoped he didn
’
t blow things now. It was important they realize they were in trouble, they had no choices left, they were his to do with just what he wanted—only he wasn
’
t exactly sure how you got all that across. His throat felt dry and he hoped it wouldn
’
t squeak on him.
“
Don
’
t make me hurt you,
”
he said easily in the night, and it sounded—he had to admit it—it sounded so goddam authentic and tough Cagney would have nodded in approval. No bluster. Not yet. Just authority—
”
Don
’
t make me hurt you
”
implied that it was up to them, if they wanted pain, he could deliver it.

In the dark, the two kids looked at each other.
“
You
’
re asking for it, asshole,
”
the one with the magazines said, but his tone was already weaker than before.

“
Give me what you stole,
”
Eric said, again quietly.

Again they looked at each other and there were bricks scattered on the floor of the lot and suddenly the one with the money stooped and grabbed for xme and Eric boomed
‘
77
I
tear you fucking apart you give me trouble
—
”

The brick might have been on fire he dropped it that quickly.

God
damn,
Eric thought, it worked.

“
This ain
’
t your business,
”
the magazine kid said.

But there was whining in his voice now.

“
I want it all, everything you took.
”

“
Can we keep the
Playboy
’
—V

“
You keep nothing, I want it now!
”

“
Okay, shit, okay,
”
the money kid said, and he nervously walked to Eric, held out the cash, and as Eric took it the magazine kid handed over the magazines and the money kid kicked Eric
’
s testicles up toward his stomach and in the beat or two that exists between the blow and the pain, Eric began to say
“
Now get out of here
”
except the
“
nnnn
”
was all he had time to begin before his hands went to his genitals and he pitched forward onto the bricks, the world white now with pain. He was aware as they knelt and scrabbled for their belongings, and nothing he could do would stop them, and after they were standing he wasn
’
t sure which of them began kicking his ribs in and which was the one stomping his face but he did what he feebly could, one arm trying to protect the body, the other the head, and did they enjoy it, Eric wondered, the world whiter, it seemed like they did, and would they stop, Eric wondered, the white shrouding him now and maybe they never would have if Haggerty hadn
’
t come.

Haggerty knelt beside the body, letting the other two skitter away. Carefully he cradled Eric, lifted him, ran
…

Karen, the twin, sat in silence in an uncomfortable chair in the hospital corridor. She said nothing, just stared down toward the end and a window that looked like it was coming up dawn. Haggerty paced. He never felt less in control of himself, never more failed. The parents were in the room with the victim and had been for a while.

I owed the man a favor, Haggerty thought. He saved my son and I owed him and look what I did.
Look what
I
did
!
He glanced at the room, then moved to the end of the corridor and stepped into the exit stairwell so he could light a Camel.