Twelve and One-Half
It was pretty much what I had expected. But I was there, and I didn’t know what I could do except follow the script they had written.
“I thought this was a friendly meeting,” I said.
“It is, sucker,” Larry Blake said. He looked beyond me. “Is he clean?”
“I think so,” Bacci said from behind me, “but we’ll make sure.” He patted me beneath both arms and then patted my pockets. “Yeah, he’s clean.”
“Sit down, sucker,” Blake said, motioning to the chair across from him.
I went over and sat down. I looked up at Bacci. “What the hell is all this?”
“We don’t like double-crossers,” Bacci said, “and we’re going to teach you what happens to them. It may be the last thing you ever learn.”
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” I demanded.
“I’ll tell you,” he said softly. “First,
