Douglas Hulick - Among Thieves

One of the Arms stopped me before I could reach it.

“Careful,” said Nicco. He was rubbing the hand that had hit me. “Be careful here, Drothe.” He leaned forward, putting his face close to mine. I noticed he had had onions with breakfast. “You know why you got that?”

I nodded and slowly retrieved my hand.

“Because you agree with Rambles?” I said.

“In part. And?”

“And because I indirectly called you a fool?”

Nicco’s fist drove into my stomach. I started to double over, but the Arms hauled back on my shoulders, arresting the movement. I sat there, gulping for air, my body trying to convulse in on itself. I decided that if I threw up, I was going to aim for Nicco’s shoes.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” said Nicco, straightening up. “And?”

He waited while I gasped and gagged. Finally, when I could move enough air to talk, I said, “And because I didn’t answer him the first time you told me to.”

“The first two times I told you,” corrected Nicco. “You don’t want to go for three.”

I nodded weakly and took a deep, ragged breath. There was definitely something going on here-Nicco might be a violent bastard, but he didn’t usually knock me around for arguing with him. Something was bothering him.

I blinked and tried to clear my head. Between the pain and my lack of sleep, I wasn’t exactly putting the pieces together as well as I might.

“It’s all about how Ten Ways works,” I said, trying to buy some time. My voice came out far steadier than I expected. I credited the ahrami. “The place is a hole. The cordon’s full of thugs and petty bosses. Almost every one of them is making a move at some time or another. It’s how a person establishes himself, and it’s how you get out. If you make enough things happen, or pull off a big enough dodge, you can use it to leverage your way into better things.

“That’s what’s happening here,” I said. “Someone’s trying to look tough by seeing how far he can push you in the cordon. We’re not exactly big in Ten Ways, so we’re a prime target. Send in a couple of Cutters, have them hand out some bruises, maybe make a corpse or two, and the Kin down there will get the message.”

“I already sent people,” snarled Nicco.

“Good,” I said.

“They didn’t come back.”

“Oh.”

Nicco walked over and sat down behind his desk. “Tell him,” he said to Rambles.

“Three Cutters went in,” said Rambles. “None came out. That was two days ago. Last night we sent two Arms in with four more Cutters. One of the Arms staggered out this morning, cut up. He died an hour later.”

I whistled softly. The Cutters I could almost see. They were decent enforcers, but you could find freelance toughs who were just as good if you looked. Arms, though, were another matter. They were the best the Kin had to offer, the select muscle in an organization. For a boss like Nicco to lose two Arms and twice as many Cutters in a pissant cordon like Ten Ways wasn’t just a bad sign-it was downright embarrassing.

Now I understood why Nicco wasn’t happy. He needed to pay back whoever was responsible, fast, or risk losing face among the Kin. Lose enough, and he might find other Upright Men sniffing around his turf, deciding which portions they could carve off for themselves. Top dogs didn’t stay on top in this business if they let the smaller dogs get away with pissing on them.

“I hadn’t heard any of this yet,” I said, “which is good.” Both men stared at me. “Not hearing anything means our people have been able to keep it quiet. That gives us some breathing room.”

“I don’t give a crap about ‘breathing room,’ ” said Nicco. “If people are complaining on the street, then someone is talking.” He scowled at Rambles. “That’s not supposed to be happening.”

Rambles shrugged, and suddenly I understood. Rambles had been put in charge of Ten Ways. I almost laughed out loud. I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather see consigned to that gutter of a territory.

Nicco looked over at me. “What the fuck are you grinning at?”

“Uh… ” I said.

“You walk in two days late, you argue, you give me information I needed to know yesterday, and then you sit there smiling?”

“Well…”

“Shut the fuck up.”

I did.

Nicco smeared a scrap of bread through the drippings on the plate and put it in his mouth. “I’ll keep this short,” he said, his mouth working around the bread. He pointed at Rambles. “I want the bastards behind this to pay-hard. No one fucks with me, no matter where they are. You remind those bastards in Ten Ways of that.”

Rambles considered for a moment. “How far do you want me to go?”

“As far as you need to. But,” Nicco said, pausing to swallow, “I don’t want the whole damn cordon coming down around my ears, got it?”

Rambles seemed mildly disappointed, but he nodded, anyhow.

I nodded as well. Nicco was being smart. Ten Ways may be a hellhole, but it was a proud hellhole. Outside bosses were barely tolerated, and then usually at the fringes. Hell, even the city guard garrisoned the men stationed there outside the cordon. If Rambles went in looking for serious trouble, he’d end up with most of the Kin in Ten Ways lining up against him in a matter of days.

“Good,” said Nicco. He flicked his fingers at Rambles. “Now, get the hell out of here.”

Rambles bowed slightly in Nicco’s direction, smirked at me, and left. Since the Arms were still looming behind me, I took the hint and stayed.

Nicco took a sip of whatever was left in his cup, made a face, and set it aside. “You’re going, too.”

I sat up straighter. “What?”

“To Ten Ways. You’re going in.”

Shit. That was what I’d been afraid of. I’d spent five years in that pit before finally clawing my way out. The climb hadn’t been easy or pretty, and I’d sworn I wouldn’t go back. Besides, if I was busy in there, I wouldn’t be able to track Ioclaudia or my relic out here.

I wet my lips and thought fast.

“I don’t know if I’m the best person for this job,” I said. “I have history down there.”

“I figured that would help-you know the cordon.”

“Knew it,” I said. “That was a long time ago. And if anyone does remember me, they’re as likely to stab me as talk to me. I didn’t leave a lot of friends in my wake when I left.”

“So take some Cutters in with you.”

“You know that’s not how I work,” I said. I ran a hand through my beard. “Dammit, Nicco, I-”

Nicco snapped his fingers. Hands clamped down on my shoulders. The Arms behind me bore down so hard, I thought they were going to push me through the chair. I winced and tried to look unfazed. I doubted I fooled anyone.

Nicco leaned back in his chair and examined his fingers. “Are we having another disagreement, Drothe?”

“No,” I said. “I just-”

“I said, are we having a disagreement?”

The Arms put their full weight into it. I heard something creak dangerously. Probably the chair, but I could have sworn it was my spine.

“No,” I gasped. “Absolutely not!”

“Good.” Nicco gave a nod, and the pressure went away. “Leave.”

The two Arms walked out of the room and closed the door behind them. Nicco waited for the sound of their shoes on the stairs to fade before he spoke.

“You’re lucky I like you, Drothe.”

“Yeah,” I said, rubbing at my shoulders. Everything still seemed to be where it belonged. “Lucky.”

“Damn it, Drothe!” Nicco pointed past me to where the Arms had been. “I should have had them beat the living crap out of you. What the hell were you thinking? Arguing with me in front of them, in front of Rambles? Shit.” He sat back in his chair and glared at me. “Sometimes I think I give you too much freedom, even for a Nose. You forget your place.”