Abel Baker Charley Read Online Free

sucking in of air. His shoulders curled forward and his arms drifted out from his body in almost a wrestler's stance. It reminded him of...he wasn't sure what. The more remarkable change was transforming Baker's face. The mouth broadened, stretching across his lower teeth, and his eyes took on a shine that hadn't been there before. They locked upon those of the man with the knife as he turned back to Baker. He sees it too, Biaggi realized. He sees the change and he's stunned by it. Biaggi saw the rush of fear that clouded the younger man's face. He knew the fear was there before he felt it too. In that instant Biaggi understood, at least in part, the inter est of Duncan Peck and Connor Harrigan. The man was a monster.
    “You're going to make me hurt you, man,” he heard the one with the knife say. The words were spoken without con fidence.
    “You're not going to hurt me, Jace. I'm going to hurt you. And then I'm going to hurt your friend.”
    The voice shocked Biaggi. It was not the voice he'd heard on Baker's wiretaps. And the words themselves car ried no glimmer of bluff or doubt. Biaggi believed them. He believed them as he knew that the sun would rise in the morning.
    Baker raised his right hand with an almost mocking slow ness to the level of his shoulder, then reached inside his jacket at his chest. Jace flicked the knife toward the hand nervously but did not move forward. Baker ignored his feint. The hand came free again, holding a plastic, felt-tipped pen. This Baker held up for Jace to see. Confusion clouded Jace's face and he lowered himself into a wary crouch. Baker smiled. Still slowly, he twisted off the cap and snapped it in place on the pen's butt, then displayed the result for the man with the knife. The smile widened.
    “Cut him, Jace,” came the big one's voice. “He's gonna stick you with that.” Jace's shoulders trembled once and he lunged, bringing the blade in low toward Baker's abdomen.
    In the same instant he snapped back violently, like a teth erball at the end of its string. He gave a short cry of surprise, and his free hand pressed hard against his cheek. What had happened was almost too fast for Biaggi to follow. Jace dropped his hand and stared at his palm. There must have been blood there because the agent could see two black punctures, one just beneath each of Jace's eyes.
    Rage and pain blunted Jace's fear, and with a scream he leaped forward, slashing backhanded at Baker's chest. Baker barely moved. It was more that he sucked in his body as the blade flew past. Easily, he snatched the passing wrist with his left hand and jabbed twice more with the right. Baker's left hand gave a twist, and the smaller man slammed heavily to the ground.
    He looked up at Baker, disbelieving, helpless, waiting for the attack that would follow now that he had fallen. An at tack with feet and knees. That's what he would have done, he knew. No one ever got up once he put them down. But his hand made no move. Jace backed away slowly, crablike. Then, out of reach, he scrambled to his feet. With both hands, he brushed over the holes on his face. There were four of them now, and they neatly bracketed his eyes.
    “Do you begin to get the picture?” asked the man who was Baker.
    “Hey ... Hey, shit, man” was all Jace could manage. The truth struck him like a blow from an ax. This man meant to put out his eyes. This man could have put out his eyes already. But he was toying with him. Jace felt his bowels go flaccid. He wanted to break and run but he couldn't. Not with Sumo watching.
    Abruptly the man tensed and straightened. The animal eyes fluttered shut and his lips quivered at the edge of form ing words. “Stay there” is what Jace thought he heard among the whispered sounds that came. “Stay there f Baker” came now more clearly. Baker. The young man's eyes widened. Baker! He knew that name. But this couldn't be...
    “Baker?” he whispered.
    The tall man seemed startled. Jace saw the man's body sag,