Face/Mask Read Online Free

shouted over the noise of the crowd. His breath smelled like something had died in his mouth, and Janus recoiled from the stench.
    “I guess so,” he answered, trying to sound more confident than he felt.
    “Betcha five hunnert Big Sam wins.”
    Janus guessed the man was speaking of the first dog. He had brought five hundred dollars with him in total, and he had no intention of betting it all on one long-shot.
    “Too rich for my blood. I’m only looking to bet a hundred.”
    “Fuckin’ pussy,” the man laughed at him. “I’ll take your hunnert anyway, cause Sam’s gonna be shittin’ out chunks of that other mutt tonight.”
    Leblanc leaned across Janus to yell toward the toothless man.
    “If you’re so sure of yourself you fucking loudmouth, why don’t you give him better odds?”
    Janus was stunned at the transformation of his colleague, whom he had never heard raise his voice in six years working together. Leblanc had made himself at home in this adrenaline-charged atmosphere. He watched as the toothless man’s mouth worked, clearly trying to weigh his chances of an easy win.
    “’kay,” he finally said. “I’ll give ya six to one. But for five hunnert.”
    “Three hundred,” Janus responded before his common sense could stop him.
    “Three hunnert then, ya pussy. What the fuck!”
    Leblanc grabbed the man’s arm, and pulled him closer so the man could hear.
    “That’s eighteen hundred you owe him if you lose. You sure as shit better have it on you.”
    “I got it, I got it. Don’t have to be so fuckin’ grabby. Whaddya think, I'm a welcher?”
    With that Leblanc let the man’s arm go and slid back to Janus’s left. Janus stared in admiration at him, then leaned over to speak into his ear.
    “I don’t know where you’ve been hiding those balls, Normand, but you should wear them at the office some times.”
    Leblanc smiled in embarrassment and shook his head.
    “When in Rome, right? If you show any fear with some of these characters they’d throw you in the pit with the dogs.”
    Janus nodded uncertainly. He was about to find out if he had any Roman inside him. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and got a lungful of stink for his troubles.
    In the pit Michael and the fat man were struggling to hold their dogs back, the animals trying to bite each other through their muzzles. As if on cue the two men pulled on straps which had been holding the muzzles in place and let go of the dogs’ collars. While the dogs instinctively jumped toward each other the men scrambled out the door to safety. In the case of the fat man, it was an unexpected display of speed and agility.
    On their initial release the dogs ran into each other with such force that they bounced back, their paws scrambling to regain their purchase in the dirt. Then the two animals stood back for a moment, facing each other and barking threateningly. Big Sam began circling the smaller dog, looking for an opening to go for its throat, but he clearly wasn’t expecting a full-on attack at his face. The smaller dog jumped straight at Big Sam’s head, clawing and biting, and before anyone knew what was happening the large beast was blinded in one eye. Whimpering, in extreme pain and unable to see he turned his back on his opponent, and that proved to be his undoing. The other dog was on Sam in a flash, his jaws clamping like a vice around his throat, not letting go no matter how much the larger dog thrashed his head around or hit him with his forepaws.
    Finally, Sam did what so many dogs in his hopeless position had done: he rolled over onto his back, leaving himself defenceless and showing the smaller dog there was nothing to fear from him. But he was granted no mercy, and in seconds Sam’s one remaining eye stopped looking around desperately for help. Its fierce glare was replaced by emptiness, the dog’s body totally limp.
    As those in the crowd who’d bet on the underdog roared their approval, Michael stepped carefully into