Peace Company by Roland J. Green

Author:Roland J. Green [Green, Roland J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Caliber Books
Published: 2024-07-27T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

The big blond man at the corner table had obviously drunk more than even he could carry. He’d started off muttering in Scandic, low enough that Parkes, Dozer, and Shapely could get on with the business of wetting down Tyndall’s new stripe. Now he was talking out loud in Anglic, in spite of his smaller dark-haired companion’s efforts to calm him down.

He was also attracting the attention of a good many of the other customers in the Mouton d’Argent. The watchful eye of the three Port Guardians didn’t surprise Parkes, but he’d also noticed a table of four men who looked like off-shift dock workers watching the drunk even more intently. It was those four men who really started to spoil Parkes’s mood for a quiet celebration and made him nudge Dozer under the table.

“Call a rally?” she whispered after taking in the three tables.

“This might be none of our business. If that big Viking walks out before he blows his top, nothing may happen anyway. Be ready to move though.” The other three nodded.

The blond man took long enough over his next drink to let all four PFers shift their chairs to allow for quick stands. None of them was carrying a gun, but anyone who expected that would make them easy meat would have plenty of time in the hospital to ponder their mistake.

The blond man finished his drink and signaled the waitress for another. She came, but the blond man’s companion shook his head at her. She hesitated a moment too long, and the drunk snatched the glass off her tray. She tried to grab it back at the same time as the dark-haired man tried to grab his companion’s hand. Drunken strength was too much for the two of them put together; the waitress toppled over onto the table with a crash, scattering empty glasses onto the floor. Her scream sounded more angry than hurt.

The three Port Guardians jumped to their feet and started for the two men. The blond man stood up, saw them coming at him, bellowed a curse, and launched a roundhouse punch at the leading policeman. His friend grabbed his arm, turning the punch into a glancing blow. The dark-haired man’s free hand darted toward the inside of his coat, then hesitated and withdrew.

The movement hadn’t escaped the attention of the four workmen. While the policemen’s attention was on the blond, they quietly moved around behind the dark-haired man. Suddenly two of them were grabbing him from behind and starting to turn him around. A knife gleamed in the hand of the third man. At that point Parkes jumped up on his own table and shouted, “Rally!”

The shout stopped the movement of everybody except the Peace Forcers and the waitress, who was getting out of harm’s way as fast as she could. Tyndall jumped up and headed for the door to spread the rally call, while Shapely picked up a chair and held it out in front of him and Dozer pulled on her gloves.

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