Chapter 2

Big Ass Betty was startled when she went into her office that evening to find Jason Dunlap sitting in a chair to one side of her desk. He stood and bowed when she entered; "Good evening, Madam Betty. You owe me $50. Big Ed Johnson is not longer of any concern to you."

"Yes, I heard of his demise and assumed that was your doing. I certainly admire your quick work and method of resolving my problem. I feel like I owe you a bonus—how does $500 sound?"

"Dear Lady, that is really overly generous, but I will be happy to take it."

Betty took five private-assay $100 gold bars from her strong box, along with $50 in gold coins. She set them on her desk in front of Jason and asked, "Would you consider working for me on a permanent basis?"

"Dear Lady, you put me in a awkward position. It really pains me to turn you down, but accepting your offer would severely limit my freedom. I merely wish to wander the streets of San Francisco, enjoying the entertainment offered there, such as you saw me partaking of last evening."

"You mean that you regularly go around cutting the throats of muggers who try to assault you?"

"Yes, Dear Lady, that is my chief source of diversion. I am one of those people who lives for the thrill of the life-or-death match. As you may have noticed, I do not carry a gun, but prefer a blade in several forms. That way, I do not have an advantage in weapons upon my adversaries, so the thrill of combat is much greater."

"Son of a bitch, you really are a piece of work! How long have you been at this game you play?"

"If I recall correctly, my first fatal encounter was with a would-be kidnapper when I was about nine years old. My French tutor had just left for the day, and I was in the back garden enjoying the flowers. I had my back turned to the gate in the fence surrounding our home, but I heard it squeak as it was pushed open by a rudely-dressed individual carrying a cudgel. I turned at the noise and saw him just as he raised his cudgel, presumably to strike me in the head.

"As I say, I was nine at the time, so was very full of my own abilities. I had noticed that I could move faster than any other person that I knew, and I was quite strong. It never occurred to me to run away from this assailant, though I am now sure that I could have. Instead, I stepped inside his swing and hit him in the throat with my elbow. This crushed his windpipe and would have eventually killed him, but I didn't wait for that. Instead, I pulled out the bowie knife sheathed at his waist and used it to cut his carotid artery on the left side.

"My sister heard the noise and came to see what was going on. She saw the blood and screamed. This brought several servants, and I really don't remember much of the details after that. I was so thrilled by my narrow escape and victory, that I couldn't think of anything else.

"My father, when he got home that evening and heard my side of the story, arranged for me to take combat lessons from an old Chinese gentleman who claimed to have been a shao lin monk. Whether or not he was what he claimed to be, he taught me most of what I know about fighting, both bare handed and with weapons. I studied with him for six years, until he died. He was truly a great gentleman and an outstanding teacher."

"Shit! Well, you have convinced me that I want you on my side during a fight! Suppose I reword my offer to this: I would like for you to make yourself available to protect me when I need you; otherwise, you do whatever you please."

"Ah, yes, Dear Lady, that is something that I could live with. Perhaps we could work something out." They came to an agreement whereby Jason stopped by to talk with Betty every evening before making his "rounds" through his favorite Barbary Coast neighborhoods.

A little over four weeks went by like this, but the peace evaporated very quickly one day. When Jason showed up, Betty was in a near panic. "Thank God, I thought that you would never get here! In just one day, the whole organization of the Barbary Coast has gone to hell in a handbasket. The Goslins and the Chippies have gotten into a turf war, and I am caught in the middle. Each one's territory borders on my building, and each side wants me to join them. If I do, I will make a dangerous enemy of the one I don't join. I don't want to join either group, so what can I do?"

"First of all, Dear Lady, you must calm down. I am here 10 minutes earlier than usual, so that should help your feelings. Obviously, we must make it clear that you do not wish to join either group, and either side who tries to pressure you will feel our wrath. I suggest that I visit the leadership of each group and make your position clear. We can decide what to do after we hear back from them. Which group should I visit first?"

"Oh, I'm so upset that it's hard to think straight. I can't see that it would make any difference which one you visit first. The Goslin headquarters is closer, so I guess that you could visit them first. They are on Madison St. between Henson and Albany, on the west side of the street, about half way down the block. It's the only four-storey building on the block. You should have no problem finding it."

"OK, I'll pick up some more appropriate clothes and come back here to change clothes before visiting the Goslins. Who should I talk to?"

"The leader of the Goslins is Vic Swan. He has an office on the top floor of their building. Watch out for him, he is known to be a real bastard."

An hour later, Jason was back with his "working clothes." This was the same outfit that he had worn to visit Big Ed, so it should be suitable for his visit to Vic Swan. Betty had Jason change clothes in her bedroom, since his stuff would be safe there from pilferage.

Jason had picked up a small grappling hook and a 50-foot coil of light rope. He had put knots in the rope at convenient places, so he would have an easy time climbing the rope. He planned to tie it to the grappling hook and use it to enter the Goslins' building. Besides the grappling hook and rope, he had his staff and two throwing knives.

Jason left by the back door which opened onto a dark alley. He stayed in the shadows as he made his way toward his target. He knew that there was no way that he could throw the grappling hook to the top of a four-storey building, but he wanted the full length of rope to use for his escape, if it came to that. His idea was to get to the top of a two-storey building and use that as a stepping stone to work his way up to the the roof of the Goslins' building.

Dammit, this was getting complicated. He had to take out three muggers and a rapist he met in the alleys as he made his way north. He didn't have time for this sort of nonsense, but he also didn't have time for potential witnesses, so he had to eliminate them. The woman being raped was already dead by the time Jason got there.

Jason got to Henson street and got a lucky break. The building on the corner was only two storeys tall, so he had no trouble scaling it—he was in good shape so far. The next two buildings had three stories, so he was still in luck. He had no trouble reaching the next roof and was able to step over a coping to reach the roof next to the Goslins' building.

Ah, there was another potential bit of good luck. There was a window facing the roof he was on, maybe he could just go in that window and not have to go up to the roof. Making sure that he was not silhouetted as he crossed to the window he was interested in, he carefully looked in the window and saw a man sitting at a desk. The man was not facing the window, but Jason could see enough of his face to know that the man was Vic Swan, the one he wanted to talk to.

There was a gas-fed chandelier that lit up the room almost as bright as day. The mantles must have been recently trimmed to be putting out so much light. Dammit, how was Jason going to get into the room without alerting Swan and half his henchmen; maybe Jason was going to have to go up on the roof after all. On the other hand, Swan might leave the room for a moment, giving Jason time to get in without making too much of a ruckus.