Alex grinned. The rune was one of his own invention. It delivered a shock that felt like a dozen bee stings and left the area numb.
Without stopping to admire his work, Alex pulled back and slugged the bald man in the gut, sending him down on the floor in a gasping heap. He only had another minute or so before they regained their vision, so he had to work fast. Dropping the brass knuckles in his pocket, he took out the piece of chalk and drew the door to his vault on the wall. Next he stuck the second piece of flash paper in his pocket to the wall and lit it, bringing his vault door from chalk to reality. Taking out his key and opening the door, Alex retrieved the bottle of chloroform and rag he’d left on the table just inside and set to work.
The Broker was shaking his head, trying to clear his vision, when Alex tackled him and jammed the chloroformed rag over his face. Once he stopped struggling, Alex stood and dragged him into the vault where he had a pair of handcuffs ready. The Broker thus secured, Alex closed the vault and the door disappeared, leaving only the chalk outline on the wall.
He turned in time to see the flat-faced man pull a pistol from a holster inside his jacket. It was clear he still couldn’t see, but that didn’t seem to stop him. He fired three shots before Alex punched him in the face with the brass knuckles. Flat-face went down hard.
“That was close,” he said, kicking the gun away from the unconscious man.
“Got you,” a snarling voice said, and the bald man drove his fist into Alex’s back.
Alex stumbled forward, losing the brass knuckles but catching himself on one of the couches. Turning just in time, he ducked an uppercut that would have laid him out and landed two hits to the bald man’s solar plexus. Baldy grunted but didn’t give ground, driving his fist into Alex’s jaw so hard he knocked out a tooth.
Alex staggered back, but the bald man still couldn’t see well and his next punch missed. He lunged forward, trying to tackle Alex to the ground where his lack of vision wouldn’t be a hindrance. Bringing up his foot, Alex managed to kick the man away, but both of them went down. As the bald man groped for him, Alex rolled out of his grip, his hand landing on the brass knuckles. He slipped them on and scrambled to his feet, intending to put the big man down for good. When he turned, Alex found that baldy had found a weapon too, the flat-faced man’s pistol.
The bald man brought the pistol up and fired. His vision must have gotten better because the bullet hit Alex in the side. Gasping in barely-controlled pain, Alex stepped forward before the other man could fire again and drove the brass knuckles into his jaw so hard he heard it crack.
Finally the bald man went down like a sack of flour. For his part, Alex just stood there gasping, as fire and pain spread through his torso. Grunting, he pressed his hand against his side and it came away soaked in blood.
“Good thing…” he gasped, “I live with a doctor.”
17
The Connection
“Alex?” Iggy’s voice came over the phone before Alex could speak.
“Yeah,” he said, wheezing like a bellows. “It’s me.”
“Thank God. I’ve been worried.” The relief in the old man’s voice was palpable. Alex imagined he could hear Iggy’s muscles relaxing through the phone. “Everything go as planned?”
Alex started to laugh but the wound in his side flared into agony and he groaned.
“Not exactly,” he said, his voice a whisper. “One of the Broker’s men shot me.”
“Where?” Iggy said, a tone of the military doctor snapping instantly into his voice.
“Left side,” Alex said. “It’s painful to breathe.”
“Are you coughing up blood?”
“Don’t know; the guy knocked out one of my teeth too.”
“Can you get home on your own?” Iggy asked. “I’ll need to make sure my alchemical draughts are ready and prepare a restoration rune for your tooth.”
“I’ll manage,” Alex said. “See you soon.”
Iggy told him to be careful and hung up. Alex stumbled out of the phone booth, then straightened up and did his best to walk back out of the drug store without attracting attention. He hailed a cab, gave the driver the address of the brownstone, then fumbled with his wallet, pulling out one of the fake twenties.
“Fast as you can,” he said, shoving the bill in the driver’s hand.
He felt bad, giving the cabbie the funny money, but he didn’t have enough real money to cover the fare. He noted the driver’s name and promised himself he would make it up to him later. The rest of the cab ride was spent trying not to swear like a sailor every time the cab went over a bump.
“Thanks,” he gasped when the cab finally pulled up in front of the brownstone. He got out and staggered up the stairs, hoping he hadn’t left too much blood in the poor man’s cab.
Iggy opened the door as Alex fumbled for his pocket watch to deactivate the rune barriers. The old man’s face was the gray of old newspaper as he ushered Alex inside.
“Kitchen table,” he said, lifting Alex under the arm on his good side. As Iggy lifted, Alex’s vision seemed to dwindle down to a single point. “Stay with me,” Iggy said. “I’m not decrepit yet, but I don’t think I can carry you by myself.”
In the kitchen, Iggy had pulled all the chairs from their massive table, stacking them against the wall and pulled the table to the middle of the floor. A heavy canvas tarp covered the top along with a stack of clean, white towels. A large pot of water boiled on the stove, its steam rising in a thick mist over the unpleasant-looking handles of metal implements. On the counter next to the stove, a dozen vials with rubber stoppers had been laid out in a neat row, each containing a brightly colored liquid. At the end of the line of vials were three rune papers and a box of wooden matches.
“Looks like you’re all ready,” Alex said as they crossed the floor.
“Shut up,” Iggy said, helping him up onto the heavy wooden table. He carefully peeled Alex out of his ruined suit coat that still looked like a tux jacket. “Get out of your shirt, but don’t lie down yet,” Iggy said. “I’ve got to get that tooth growing back first. The rune’s only effective if administered within half an hour after losing it.”
Alex reached up to unbutton his shirt but stopped as a whole new world of pain washed over him. He could only move his right arm slowly and when he tried to move his left, he nearly blacked out. After a few deep breaths, he tried again, being more careful.
Iggy grabbed the rune paper on the end of the line and rolled it into a small tube. He pinched one end together and twisted it so the paper would not unroll. “Open up,” he said as Alex struggled to unbutton his shirt.
“Here I thought the bullet in my side would be first priority,” Alex said, grinning through the pain.
“If you were bleeding more, or weren’t able to make inane remarks, it would be,” Iggy said, retrieving a multi-lamp very similar to Alex’s. He lit it, producing a glow of ruddy light, then closed the focusing lens and directed the beam into Alex’s mouth. “That hooligan did quite a number on you,” Iggy said. “Hold still.”
Alex felt the paper jammed painfully into the empty socket where his tooth had been. A second later he heard Iggy strike a match and felt the instantaneous flash of heat given off by the rune paper as it burned. Normal people couldn’t feel the magic of an expended rune, but Alex felt it, probing into his upper jaw, burning its way into the roots of the socket where his tooth had been. A moment later he cursed as best he could with his mouth open. A sharp, throbbing pain gripped his jaw like a pair of pliers and wouldn’t let go.