soled black shoes, baggy white pants, a white T-shirt. A better target if that's what they wanted. He's never weaponless.
The immaculate green Rover pulled in a few minutes later. Clarence killed his lights, got out of the car, lounged against a fender, his body not quite making contact with the metal.
I popped the trunk. Max and I got out, walked around to the back. I took the package in my arms. We walked over to Clarence.
'Clarence, this is my brother, Max the Silent.'
Max bowed.
Clarence extended his hand, slim and delicate. Max took it in his bone-crusher of a paw, shook.
'Let's put this in your trunk,' I said to Clarence.
His eyes were distressed, but he said nothing. Unlocked the trunk, didn't look as we put the bag inside.
'I heard of you,' Clarence said to Max.
Max bowed again.
'He really doesn't talk?' Clarence asked me.
'Not with his mouth,' I told him.
A black Chevy Caprice rolled into the lot, followed closely by its twin. A tall, slim black man got out of the passenger seat of the lead car, walked toward us. He was dressed exactly as I was except his tie was string-thin. And he had a tiny red ribbon in his lapel.
'Mr. Burke?' he asked.
'That's me.'
'You will come with us, please?'
'Yes.'
'And your friends, they will come too?'
'Only one friend,' I said, nodding at Clarence. 'My brother will be leaving.'
'Certainly.'
Max closed the gap between him and the messenger, gliding without a sound. He stared at the man's face, eyes slitted, memorizing. He bowed slightly. Moved over to the cars, walking around them front to back, taking it in.
'Would you ask your people to get out of their cars?' I asked politely.
'Certainly,' he said again. Walked over to the driver's window of one car, then another. They lined up in the darkness, all dressed alike. Max stared deep into the face of each one, bowed his thanks. Squeezed my shoulder, climbed into the Plymouth, and took off.
'Will you come with us now?' the man asked.
'Yes, I'm ready.'
'Very well,' he said, gesturing toward the lead car.
'Hold up, mahn,' Clarence said, his voice barely under control. 'I'm not leaving my ride out here for some thief to steal. I'll just drive right behind you, okay?'
The messenger smiled. 'Yes, you and your friend can follow me. You have nothing to fear.'
'Do you want your…?' I asked.
'No. You must present the offering to Queen Thana yourself, sir.'
I shrugged. Went with Clarence to his car.
110
Clarence followed the Caprice's taillights to Ninety-fourth Street, made a left toward the airport.
'The other one's right behind us,' he said.
'Makes sense.'
'I don't like this, mahn.'
'It's okay. They could have wasted us right in the parking lot, they wanted to. They're not going to do anything.'
'You sure, mahn?'
'Yeah.'
'So why was the monster-man there? The Silent One. I heard scary things about him.'
'In case I turn out to be wrong.
'So what's he gonna do
'It's never too late to get even.'
111
The Caprice swept east on Ditmars, turned right on Northern Boulevard, back toward the city.
