We had nothing but peace at the Lion\u2019s Paw for as long as I can remember. Ted Parros was a connected fellow, and he looked the part, with matted white hair and a face that rarely smiled. He used to frequent the place, now and then doing business deals in the back poker room, and he didn\u2019t want some punk causing a fuss and drawing any unwanted attention. <\/p>\n
He never had to get physical with anyone, but he made damn sure that any troublemaker knew who he was. All it took was a sharp glance, or a tap on the shoulder. <\/p>\n
Kenny Heachem was the exact type of guy Ted didn\u2019t want around. He was a bit of a rowdy fellow, but not the loudmouth drunk type that I\u2019ve seen over the years. On occasion, Kenny would wander into my establishment buying rounds of drinks and throwing money all over the bar. He\u2019d place bets with strangers, which wasn\u2019t abnormal at the Lion\u2019s Paw, but he\u2019d want people to put down their earnings for the week, and such a thing rattles the room with all kinds of commotion.<\/p>\n
From what I knew at the time, aside from the bets at the Lion\u2019s Paw, Kenny wasn\u2019t involved in any illegal activities. But there was something peculiar about Kenny. He was a large, soft looking man, and he had a shuffle when he walked. The peanut shells on the floor would collect around the tips of his shoes. And whenever I served him drinks he\u2019d give me a long look as if he was waiting for me to say a little more to him. I never let it bother me though. He was a generous tipper, polite enough, and I\u2019d be fine with twenty more customers just like him. <\/p>\n
I knew for sure that Ted didn\u2019t care for Kenny. He was quite vocal, once saying, \u201cThat piece of shit makes any more noise I\u2019m going to find a way to sew his mouth to his barstool.\u201d Ted said it loud enough so that Kenny would hear it, but Kenny just turned around and looked back at Ted with a laugh.<\/p>\n
And there was also that night in the spring, when Kenny sat at the bar drinking some scotch, watching baseball on the television monitors over the bar. A young patron, likely from the college just up the road, sat in the only empty seat in the house, which to his luck happened to be right next to Kenny. <\/p>\n
\u201cDo you care for baseball?\u201d asked Kenny.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t mind it,\u201d said the college kid. \u201cI used to play in high school. I follow it enough I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you know about this game, Yankees and Indians?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the Yankees are going to win. They have Tamada pitching.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the Orioles have this new kid dealing. Pichardo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The college kid shrugged. \u201cI don\u2019t know much about him, but his triple-A numbers don\u2019t look all that impressive. They called him up because Crangle got hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell I\u2019m a bit of a believer in this Pichardo. I\u2019ll even bet you on it. Yankees are big favorites, but I\u2019ll give you even odds.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kid tipped his head from side to side. \u201cI don\u2019t have all that much to bet you. Maybe a twenty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA twenty? But you think the Yankees are a lock.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do. It\u2019s just all I have really.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201dYou can\u2019t dip into your college fund a little?\u201d Kenny said, and he gave the kid a playful nudge on the shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, sir. I can give a call to my father. He likes playing the ponies, and he loves baseball. He might be willing to put up some money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, sure. Go on and give him a call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike hell,\u201d said Ted as he walked up to the bar between the two of them. He pointed a finger close to Kenny\u2019s face. \u201cYou can go ahead and bet the kid twenty, but like hell you\u2019re going to let the kid go on and tell his dad about it. His dad could be chief of police for all I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe isn\u2019t,\u201d said the college kid. \u201cHe\u2019s a factory worker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d said Ted keeping his focus on Kenny. \u201cDon\u2019t do it, and I\u2019m not going to tell you again.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kenny nodded, but as Ted walked away he shrugged his shoulders and turned to the kid. \u201cI\u2019m fine with keeping it a small bet. I\u2019ll even sweeten the deal. I bet you Pichardo throws a no hitter against these Yankees.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kid nodded with a smile as he put his twenty on the bar. Kenny put his twenty on top of it, ordered a beer for the kid, and a whiskey for himself.<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t paid much attention to the game. The bar started to fill with more people, coming in from the concert around the corner that just ended, and damned if my hired hand, Jen, didn\u2019t call in sick to have me all by myself for serving the customers.<\/p>\n
I really only noticed the change to the atmosphere when someone shut off the jukebox in the corner, and when all the bikers stopped playing pool to look up at the TVs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis bet still going?\u201d I asked. <\/p>\n
\u201cSure as hell,\u201d said Kenny. \u201cBottom of six.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re swinging at bad pitches,\u201d said the college kid. <\/p>\n
The ballgame continued, and as it did, the bar got real quiet. <\/p>\n
\u201cLast hurrah for the Yanks,\u201d said Kenny. <\/p>\n
With two out, and two strikes, the Yankee shortstop ground his cleats into the dirt of the batter\u2019s box. Pichardo dealt a perfect curve that arched through the strike zone, and down and away from the batter. The shortstop swung a big hack over top of the ball to end the game.<\/p>\n
The silence and tension inside the Lion\u2019s Paw broke and the room erupted with cheers. Everyone but the college kid celebrated with drinks. Kenny picked the two twenties off the bar, and the kid laughed, shook Kenny\u2019s hand, and walked outside for a cab.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when I saw Ted lean in and say something into Kenny\u2019s ear. I couldn\u2019t hear what, but Ted asked me to come to the back room after he returned from taking a piss. <\/p>\n
When he left the washroom, I headed to the back poker room. \u201cYou stand guard outside the door,\u201d said Ted.
\n
\nI closed the door and rested my head on it so that I could hear their conversation. In all honesty I was worried Ted was going to kill him right then, and I felt anxiety about the thought of a bloody crime scene to clean up. <\/p>\n
\u201cHow\u2019d you know that guy would pitch a perfect game?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t. I only said a no hitter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s not get cute with the answers. I don\u2019t know if anyone\u2019s told you who I am\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey haven\u2019t, but I\u2019m well aware.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery good. So I will be direct with you, and as a courtesy, I ask that you do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo how did you know the kid would pitch like that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWasn\u2019t certain he\u2019d pitch a perfect game, but I know he\u2019s a good pitcher.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBullshit,\u201d said Ted. \u201cThat college kid said the guy was a no good bum.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see you make a lot of bets in here, and I don\u2019t recall you ever losing one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just do it for the fun of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I don\u2019t do anything for the fun of it without getting paid. You\u2019d be wise to do the same.\u201d There was a long pause in their conversation, and I was tempted for a moment to peak in through the doorway, but I didn\u2019t. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe got numbers,\u201d continued Ted. \u201cDid you already know that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could make a lot of money. You could either work for us or against us. I wouldn\u2019t recommend working against us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said, I just like having a little fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s for fun,\u201d said Ted, \u201cthen you keep it for pennies like they do the poker games in here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The door opened behind me and I stumbled back into Kenny as he shuffled his feet out of the room. I looked back and Ted put an unlit cigar to his mouth, looking down at the ground as if it would give him some answers.
\n<\/p>\n
It was a Sunday afternoon and there was no one in the bar except for a few of those bikers playing pool. Ted walked in with a dark-skinned, tall kid who looked no older than about twenty-two.<\/p>\n
I walked to the table as they sat. \u201cAny drinks or food I can get you guys?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGet the chef to do up some of those fish and chips for my friend here,\u201d said Ted.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly. And a drink?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgua,\u201d said the young man.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019ll be water,\u201d said Ted. \u201cGet me a Cutty.\u201d<\/p>\n
I put in their orders to the chef and returned to watch as Ted and a couple of his pals spoke to the kid. <\/p>\n
The kid seemed able to understand English, just not as comfortable with speaking it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want to know how,\u201d I heard Ted say. \u201cIt was impressive is all.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could have smacked my head off the brass bar rail for being stupid, not realizing that it was Luis Pichardo, in my bar, just days after he threw a perfect game for the Indians. <\/p>\n
Kenny shuffled in the front door, but he stopped when he saw Pichardo. I thought maybe he was dumbfounded, star struck, something like that, but then he raised a flabby arm at the table. \u201cLuis. Don\u2019t bother with these guys. Don\u2019t listen to any of their bullshit.\u201d <\/p>\n
He went to the table, and Ted and his entourage stood. He took Pichardo by the arm trying to pull him out of the seat, but Pichardo didn\u2019t budge. \u201cYou don\u2019t listen to anything from these guys. Bad guys. Malo.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd how the fuck do you happen to know him, Kenny?\u201d asked Ted.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot important. He needs to come with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike hell he does. He wants to enjoy the Lion\u2019s Paw\u2019s finest foods.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLuis, I\u2019m going to be just over there,\u201d said Kenny, and he pointed over to the bar. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are your chances on winning another game?\u201d asked Ted. <\/p>\n
Luis held up a thumb. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not tired or anything?\u201d <\/p>\n
Pichardo shook his head dismissively.<\/p>\n
Fifteen minutes later I brought over the fish and chips, and Pichardo ate in silence. Ted didn\u2019t say much to him, he just flashed a few smiles, which was weird to see coming from him. <\/p>\n
After Pichardo finished eating, Ted shook hands with him, and had one of his pals drive him home.<\/p>\n
Ted scrambled toward the bar as Pichardo left. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever saw him so angry. His face was tense as he yelled into the back of Kenny\u2019s head. \u201cJust how the hell do you know Luis so well?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an old friend of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have an obvious inside edge you never told me about. I asked you a few days ago and you were all mum.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an old friend is all.\u201d <\/p>\n
When Kenny up and left, saying he had to go to work, Ted asked me to do him a favor. I\u2019d never done a favor for him before, and I never had the inclination to do so. But I obliged with him being him, me being me. <\/p>\n
Since his pals were gone, he asked that we get in my car and follow Kenny to his work. Ted sat in the passenger seat real low so that his eyes could peer just above the dash. I tailed Kenny by letting a couple cars move up ahead of me. It was only a ten minute drive, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever been so stressed behind a wheel, that includes those snow storms so white where you can\u2019t see the lines in the road.<\/p>\n
Kenny pulled into some warehouse, passing the security at the front gate with a wave out of his window. I pulled up and parked across the street as Ted leaned over my shoulder, watching Kenny walk up the stairs. As he opened the door, we noticed the small, rusted sign that said, Tumbler Robotics.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe ever tell you what he does for a living?\u201d Ted asked me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that I can remember. He might have told me he was an engineer, but I can\u2019t quite remember if that\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour girl, the buxom brunette, Jen, she told me he worked in sales.\u201d<\/p>\n
I started remembering. \u201cYeah, I did hear that once. He went to school for engineering, but he\u2019s a salesmen. <\/p>\n
I guess you need to know what you\u2019re selling for those robotics.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPull on up there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough the gate?\u201d I asked. \u201cI\u2019m thinking you need to work here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPull on up. I\u2019ll do the talking for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I drove up and stopped before the candy striped stick. A guard in a blue shirt leaned out of his little box. \u201cAre you here to see someone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, that\u2019s right,\u201d said Ted. \u201cKenny.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKenny?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ted poked me in the arm. \u201cKenny Heachem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHmm, I\u2019ll call on in.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cNo need to do that,\u201d said Ted. \u201cWe\u2019d like to surprise him. We\u2019re old friends of his.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always need auth\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAuth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAuthorization. It\u2019s a secure area.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy so secure?\u201d asked Ted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the robotics and all. They worry about people seeing what they\u2019re not supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d said Ted, \u201cI don\u2019t think we need to bug him. We\u2019ll just catch up with him later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ted had us all dressed up in black \u2014 me, him, and four of his pals. He gave us balaclavas, trench coats, and crowbars. I told Ted real plain that I\u2019d never done such a thing before, but he said not to worry, that it was easy work. He said I was already in part way, and once you\u2019re in part way, you need to go all the way.<\/p>\n
To be honest I just wanted to get it done and over with, because Jen was texting me on my cell phone about how she wanted to duck out from her shift to meet up with her boyfriend. I said I\u2019d be quick. I figured a break and enter was meant to be quick.<\/p>\n
Ted told us that he paid a drunk to harass and distract the night security, and that put my mind at ease a bit.<\/p>\n
I held the crowbar, but never used it. Ted and his boys did all the prying to get that door open. An alarm tripped, but it beeped only once and the tallest of Ted\u2019s guys put a stop to it by pinching something along the door frame. <\/p>\n
\u201cKeep moving,\u201d said Ted. <\/p>\n
We walked through the corridors, through the confusing layout of the building, and it looked like they were renovating. Someone had ripped up all the floors, and tore down all the walls. It was nothing but concrete and a wooden frame.<\/p>\n
We saw blueprints lying about all over. Ted picked it up and unrolled it, looking like some pirate searching for gold treasure.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know what it is?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome lines,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what they mean. All these calculations.\u201d He looked at the man who silenced the alarm. \u201cCan you make sense of this? Is it electrical shit?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man looked at it and sort of sniffed, but maybe only because of the dust. \u201cI can\u2019t say what.\u201d<\/p>\n
We continued on, finding the end of the corridor until it opened to a large room.<\/p>\n
Ted was up ahead, and when he reached the room I saw him open up his arms and look to the roof. <\/p>\n
\u201cSonofabitch,\u201d he said. \u201cLook at all this shit.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were stacks of metal, wires, all kinds of tools. They were messy, like kids playing with toys but never bothering to put them away. <\/p>\n
I walked over to a pile of them and took a knee. They were made of solid material on the inside, and real spongy, wire pieces over top. They were all different colors and some were stacked together like a pallet of rainbows. The metal bent in to v-shapes when I picked them up. There had to be near a thousand of those things.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are they?\u201d asked Ted.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing I can tell,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Ted picked one up and looked at it with his eyebrows kept low. He put one up on top of the sleeve of his coat, letting the bend in it align with his elbow. I don\u2019t know a hell of a lot about anatomy, but those pieces sure seemed to look like bone and muscle fibres. \u201cWhat do you think? Maybe arms?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe,\u201d I said. \u201cExplains how Kenny knows Pichardo. You think that guy has one of those under his skin? Is it throwing his pitches for him?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCould be. Would make sense, wouldn\u2019t it? How that kid, that dreadful pitcher, threw a game like he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShit. That\u2019s too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ted shut it down for the night. He took the blueprint, but made sure we left everything else as is. And we did, finding our way back out through the winding corridors.<\/p>\n
Business at the Lion\u2019s Paw had been slow all week for some reason. People seem to go away with their kids in the summer once they get out of school. Ted was there all day, every day, which I didn\u2019t mind so much, he kept me company, but I was nervous about why he was there.<\/p>\n
He was waiting for Kenny to show his face and that made me nervous. My back stiffened every time the door made a little creek like it did whenever it took a strong gust of wind, or if someone entered from the street. When it opened it was nobody in particular, just the other regulars, out to have a few beers or whiskeys after work. <\/p>\n
Ted seemed bored of my place, and he paced around the joint, hands in pockets, looking at those brown dress shoes of his.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t you just let me give you a call if he comes here?\u201d I asked. \u201cOr we could take a run down by his work again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to see his face as soon as he walks through that door. And I want him in here, in a nice private setting, in that back room of yours. It\u2019s not ideal for us to start lurking around his workplace again.\u201d <\/p>\n
Maybe Ted didn\u2019t trust me, I\u2019m not too sure. Or maybe he was just a guy who thought it was best to do a job right by doing it himself. I know I\u2019m not too different in that respect.<\/p>\n
Kenny showed up about a week and a half later, only fifteen minutes before close. There were about a half-dozen people in the place, and Jen, thankfully, was with me, needing to pick up a shift for some extra money to cover her rent.<\/p>\n
I thought Ted would be in Kenny\u2019s face as soon as he stepped to the bar, but Ted hung back at his table, watching Kenny as if he wasn\u2019t all that interested.<\/p>\n
Jen poured Kenny a drink and I walked up and talked with him. \u201cAny bets for tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, no,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a bit burned out from work, just looking at getting a drink and relaxing.\u201d <\/p>\n
I saw Ted nod at me and walk to the back room. \u201cI think Ted wants to speak to you,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI figured as much,\u201d Kenny said. \u201cJust let me finish my drink. Tell him I\u2019ll be a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood by the door again, waiting for Kenny, who seemed to be taking his time. I could see he gave Jen a nice tip since she batted her eyes at him. He shuffled over toward the back room. \u201cI won\u2019t make you wait long,\u201d he said to me as he passed.<\/p>\n
I leaned my head on the door again to listen.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much do you know?\u201d asked Kenny.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have this,\u201d said Ted, and I imagine he showed Kenny the blueprint. \u201cI\u2019ve had people in the know give it a look.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you have two choices. You cut us in on the operation you\u2019re running, and we protect it, or you let us know who else you\u2019ve given this treatment to. You let us know when we should be making some heavy bets in our favor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t do that,\u201d said Kenny.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect. I can\u2019t do it. I know what you\u2019re all about Ted, but you don\u2019t know what my people are all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich people?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSecret government agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind? CIA and all that? Don\u2019t think I don\u2019t know a few.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re ones you\u2019ve never heard of. Getting major leaguers to use it is just the trial run. They want military, soldiers with super strength, unlimited endurance, stuff beyond the human body\u2019s normal capabilities. They want an army of these guys. The ability to win any ground battle. Absolute accuracy with weaponry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, but I know one guy who\u2019s using it now. I can out him. Then your whole technology is out there. I could sell it to the Chinese if I needed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t recommend it,\u201d said Kenny. \u201cI\u2019ll overlook that and forget that you said it, but you need to let this one go.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kenny was true to his word and he kept the conversation brief. I had a feeling I wouldn\u2019t see much of Kenny around the bar a whole lot after that.<\/p>\n
Ted wouldn\u2019t let it go. I\u2019m not sure if he ever had a time where he didn\u2019t get his way. Before he left for the night, Ted scrawled his number onto a napkin. \u201cHe comes in here again, you give me a call.\u201d <\/p>\n
But I was right, I never saw Kenny again. And I never saw Ted again either.<\/p>\n
In the fall, Pichardo was all over the news. The Indians were in the World Series, and there was discussion about him having a chance to win a CY Young award, although he had competition from the other pitchers on his team. The rotation had set all kinds of historical records for earned run average and strikeouts.<\/p>\n
A man came in to the Lion\u2019s Paw the night of the first game in the series. The man wore a dark coat and had a face that drooped down into his beer. He watched Pichardo take the mound while he sipped his drink.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you hear the story about that guy?\u201d he asked keeping his eyes fixed on the game. <\/p>\n
\u201cPichardo?\u201d I asked. \u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s supposed to have an arm made by a machine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah? Go on then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, the story goes, his Tommy Johns surgery didn\u2019t replace no ligament like it\u2019s supposed to. They replaced his whole damn arm. They peeled the skin up like a banana peel, took out all his bones, all his muscles, and they threw in a fake prosthetic. But not no ordinary prosthetic, one that he had lots of control over. One that the medical reports can\u2019t detect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019d you hear that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome guy I work for over on Euclid. Forget performance enhancing drugs. That\u2019s a thing of the past. Cyborgs like him are the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d I said, \u201cexplains how he pitches like he does, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDamn right it does. But that\u2019s not all.\u201d He stuck his elbow against the bar and pointed his finger at the T.V. screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Mafioso looking guy \u2014 he\u2019s been around the city \u2014 he comes looking for Pichardo with a bunch of goons. He starts asking him all kinds of questions, about his arm, about how he needs someone to protect him. But Pichardo gets all defensive, saying he knows nothing about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did this guy look like?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI dunno, typical. They start getting into a fight right in the street. The Mafioso guy hauls him into this back alley, but my boss, he keeps an eye on them. The Mafioso guy reaches for his gun, so Pichardo puts his arm up, his pitching arm, and he put his hand on the guy\u2019s neck. He uses all of that strength from his arm and pushes the guy up against the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, shit is right. He chokes him right there with his cyborg arm. He squeezes the life right out of him, as they say. And he drops the guy and leaves him for dead, clipping them goons with some heavy punches that knock them silly. He books it around the corner hoping no one saw it. Except my boss, Kenny, did. Imagine that, mafia kingpin,\u201d the man snapped his fingers, \u201cdead like that. Killed by a pitcher with a robotic arm. Can you believe it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cQuite a tale,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He looked me in the eye, solid, the way Ted used to look when he meant to get his point across. \u201cIt\u2019s no tale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I could answer \u2014 not that I knew what to say, and maybe it was better that I didn\u2019t say anything \u2014 Jenny leaned over, lifted up the man\u2019s drink, and wiped the ring from under it. \u201cI\u2019ve heard bigger nonsense in this place.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the other customers toward the back of the bar. They didn\u2019t seem like baseball fans. They were all dressed in dark clothing. I realized that the Lion\u2019s Paw had a new clientele. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We had nothing but peace at the Lion\u2019s Paw for as long as I can remember. Ted Parros was a connected fellow, and he looked the part, with matted white hair and a face that rarely smiled. He used to frequent the place, now and then doing business deals in the back poker room, and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4046,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,125,1185],"tags":[1186],"class_list":["post-8889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-futuristic","category-tcl-13-autumn-2014","tag-the-colored-lens-13-autumn-2014","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4046"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8889"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139601,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8889\/revisions\/139601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}