Chapter 19

Romance: Another country heard from:19.

No matter what Sultry tried ... she couldn't get Jack to take care of the bodies ... or get to the bank.

Sultry was stuck spending the night in the Inn.

Chaos had a dearth of readers along with a lack of writers. The sign painter couldn't spell Jack's Place. So he painted a ball and jacks. Hey! It worked. First man to pass the signboard, said, "Jacks Place," and went inside for a drink.

"Great name," he said to Art. Art hadn't seen the sign so he hadn't a clue.

"What?"

"Jacks Place," spread between two between glugs.

"Oh." Still no clue.

The evening was unremarkable ... after the dinner crowd had gone home, the casual drinker and the late eater showed up and the place blossomed like a patch of Deadly Nightshade. Trudy and Seven cooked things and added the new cooked to the old stew, Art kept up with the drunks, Jeanie kept out of the way of too friendly late diners and Six watched the crowd. Six was an expert with the English quarter staff.

Two in the morning came and Jack started snuffing candles.

"Time, Gentlemen. Drink up. Time, please," said Art.

The backdoor was barred, the fires in the kitchen were banked around the pot of pease and ham for breakfast. Six started working the crowd out the door.

Three scruffy men ... and that's saying something when scruffy is so normal it takes real scruff to be noticed ... came in waving swords around and said, "This is a hold up. Put the cashbox on the bar."

Sultry dispatched two of the three and Six had the other by the feet and shaking him upside down. Every time Six shook he made sure the man whacked his head on the floor. All manner of weaponry fell out of his clothes, and pretty soon, he was bleeding from the debris scattered out under him.

Jack tied him up.

He was pissed to be so violently abused. So, to stop his chatter, Four grabbed his jaw and cut the robber's tongue out. Seven fetched a hot poker from the fire and cauterized the amputation stump. Then they pitched the tied fellow on the midden. He wasn't there in the morning so he either got away or some animal had a hot meal.

Jack and Sultry were first ones at the bank ... even before the teller. Sultry stood no nonsense from the teller. The banker was immediately summoned.

"You can't go home," said the banker. "I saw the show. You knew before you left."

"Nobody told me I couldn't wipe my ass," Sultry said.

"What? You expected the comforts of home? On Chaos? Mr. Flinkote, surely you told her the problems?"