”Kevin, Kevin, I want us to go home,“ Bartlett said. He was crying.
Harroway got there ahead of me. He caught a handful of the back of Bartlett’s work shirt and threw him sprawling toward the end zone.
”I want to stay with you, Vic.“ Kevin was crying too now, and behind me I could hear Marge Bartlett begin to wall. Jesus. Maybe I should get out of this line of work. Get into something simple and clean. Maybe a used-car salesman.
Politics. Loan sharking.
Harroway said, ”No one’s taking you anywhere, Kev. No one.“
Bartlett came up on his feet, the red spots on his cheekbones much brighter now. ”Stay out of this, Spenser,“ he said. ”That’s my kid.“
Harroway’s arms and shoulders gleamed with sweat, and the afternoon sun made glistening highlights on the deltoid muscles that draped over his incredible shoulders.
”Bartlett,“ I said, ”don’t be crazy.“
”Let him try it,“ Kevin said. ”No one can beat Vic. All of you together can’t beat Vic. Go ahead, Roger.“ The first name dripped with distaste. ”Let’s see you try to handle Vic.“
Bartlett did. He must have been nearly fifty and probably hadn’t had a fight since World War II. He was a wiry man and had worked with his hands all his life, but compared to Harroway he was one of the daughters of the poor. He ran at Harroway with his head down. Harroway caught him by the shirt front with his left hand and clubbed him across the face with his right. Twice. Then he let him go, and Bartlett fell.
He tried to get up, couldn’t, caught hold of Harroway’s leg, and tried to pull him down: Harroway didn’t move.
”Okay,“ I said and reached back for my gun, ”that’s…“ and Marge Bartlett jumped at Harroway, still wailing, and swung at him with both clenched fists. He swatted her away from him with the back of his right hand, and she sprawled in the mud on her back. Told her to stay up there. There was blood showing from her nose. Kevin said, ”Mama.“
I had the gun out now and held it by my side. ”Enough,“ I said. Bartlett was oblivious. All he had left was going into bending Harroway’s leg, and he might as well have been working on a hydrant.
Harroway said, ”Get him off me or I’ll kick him into the river.“
I stepped closer with the gun still at my side and pulled Bartlett away by the collar. Marge Bartlett was sitting on her heels with her head back trying to stop her nose from bleeding. Bartlett sat on the ground and looked at Harroway.
Harroway had his arm around Kevin’s shoulder.
”He’s staying with me,“ Harroway said.
I held the gun up and said, ”We’ll have to see about that.“
”No,“ Harroway said. ”We won’t see. He’s staying with me. I don’t care about your goddamned gun.“
”That’s the only way you can get me,“ Kevin said, ”if you use a gun. You don’t dare try and stop Vic by yourself.
Nobody does. Nobody can. We’re staying together. If you try to shoot him, you’ll have to shoot me first.“ The kid moved between Harroway and me.
Marge Bartlett said, ”Kevin, you stop that right now.
You are coming home with us. Now don’t be ridiculous.“
Kevin didn’t look at her. ”You see what he did to Big Rog.“ I could feel the distaste like a force. I wondered how his father must feel. ”He’ll do that to anyone that bothers me. He takes care of me. We take care of each other.“ The kid had big dark eyes, and on his cheeks, just like his father’s, two bright spots of color showed.
I flipped the cylinder open on my gun and, with the barrel pointing up, shook the bullets out into my left hand. I put the bullets in my pants pocket, put the gun in my holster.
Then I took off my jacket, folded it, and put it on the ground. I unclipped my holster and put it on the jacket.
Kevin said, ”What are you doing?“ I said, ”I’m going to beat your man.“
Marge Bartlett said, ”Spenser,“ in a strained voice.
Harroway smiled.
”I’m going to beat your man, Kevin, so you’ll know it can be done. Then I’m going to let you decide.“
Marge Bartlett said, ”He can’t decide. He’s not old enough.“ No one paid any attention. Harroway gently took Kevin’s shoulders and moved him out of the way. ”Watch this, Kev. It won’t take long.“ He shrugged his shoulders forward, and the triceps swelled out at the back of his upper arms. ”Come and get it, Spenser.“
I wasn’t paying attention to his arms. I was watching his feet. If he set up as if he knew what he was doing, I might be in some trouble. We both knew I couldn’t out muscle him. He stood with his feet spread, flat-footed in a slight crouch. Good. He didn’t know what he was doing.
Sometimes an iron freak will get hung up on karate and kung fu, or sometimes they’re wrestlers. Harroway was none of those. If I could keep my concentration, and if he didn’t get hold of me, I had him.
I shuffled toward him. The ground was dry and firm. I had a lot of room. We were in the middle of the football field. A few people had begun to gather in along the sidewalk and a couple in the stands. They were uneasy, looking at the trouble. We who are about to die salute you. I was dressed for the work; I had on sneakers and Levi’s jeans, my Stakeout clothes. I put a left jab on Harroway’s nose. He grabbed at me, and I moved out. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Come to think of it, he wasn’t champ anymore, was he? Harroway swung on me with his right hand. Better and better. I let it go by, stepped in behind it, and drove two hard right-hand punches into his kidneys;
