He put up his hand to signal enough. I would have none of it. All I could see was Chief Puckins bleeding his guts into the snow with a guilty look on his face. I raised Ackert to his feet by his collar. He put my bandaged arm in his bear-trap grip and brought his knee up into my groin before I could turn my hip. I slumped but adrenaline was pumping into my system out of fifty-five-gallon drums and the pain was filed for future appreciation. A hard right cross had effect this time, and Ackert’s knees buckled. He sank to his knees. Arm weary, I managed to drum a boxer’s speed-bag tattoo into his wobbling head. Right, right, left, left. It must have taken two dozen punches before he toppled face first into the pier.
I stumbled a bit, at last feeling the full impact of the knee to the groin. My left arm was bleeding again and I couldn’t see out of my right eye. My shin was swollen but unbroken.
The captain remained where he had been. Then he did something strange. He winked. He winked as if in slow motion—a restful wink, a peaceful wink.
But—simply—in Charon’s traces there was no rest or peace.
Copyright
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Originally published by Charter/Diamond Book.
Copyright © 1990 by R. L. Crossland
ISBN: 978-1-5040-3069-4
Distributed in 2016 by Open Road Distribution
180 Maiden Lane
New York, NY 10038
