“Pay up,” one of them said.
The four boys paled but each one nodded in turn.
Aaron turned to Jeremy. “Go ahead,” he said. “Do your thing.” He turned to the four. “We're going to let you off lightly. It'll just be Jeremy this time.”
Jeremy stepped up. The first boy offered his left shoulder. Jeremy reared back and punched him twice sparing no effort. The boy went down on his knees, hanging his head in pain but didn't cry out. The next stepped up. Jeremy put his body weight into it and he too, doubled over in pain. And so it went for the third. Only the fourth and larger boy stayed upright, gritting his teeth. “I'll remember this and you,” he said. “Both of you.”
“A pleasure doing business,” Aaron said.
“I think we should go,” Jeremy said. “We've had our fun.”
“You have, you mean.”
“W
