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Van drove don as night cahway, he took a half-assed access road to the river, easing his truck along a pothole-riddled strip that ran beneath the city&039;s big bridge Stopping under a pylon ot out and looked around

Traffic overhead rushed by, se off the occasional horn blast Down here, at river level, the Hudson was almost as loud as the din fro war snow

The dark gray rush looked like liquid asphalt Smelled like dirt

He scanned the area, instincts hackling up Man, alone under the bridge was never a good place to be Especially as daylight faded

Fuck this, he shouldn&039;t have come He turned back to his truck

Xavier stepped from the shadows "Glad you made it, son"

Van sucked back his surprise Shit, the guy was like sohost "Why couldn&039;t we do this over the phone?" Well, didn&039;t that sound weak "I got things I have to fucking do"

"I need you to help "

"I told you I wasn&039;t interested"

Xavier smiled a little "Yes, you did, didn&039;t you"

The sound of wheels on loose gravel percolated into Van&039;s ears and he looked to the left The Chrysler Town & Country, that gold-toned, utterly forgettable ht next to hi his eyes on Xavier, Van put his hand in his pocket and slipped his finger into the trigger of his nine If they were going to try and whack hiht

"There&039;s so in the back for you, son Go ahead Open her up" There was a pause "Afraid, Van?"

"Fuck that" He walked over, ready to pull out his heat But when he slid back the door, all he could do was recoil His brother, Richard, was tied up with nylon rope, strips of duct tape over his mouth and his eyes

"Jesus, Rich" When he reached forward, he heard a gun get cocked and he looked up at the minivan&039;s driver The pale-haired bastard behind the wheel was pointing what looked like a Sht in Van&039;s face

"I&039;d like you to rethink my invitation," Xavier said

Behind the wheel of Sally Forrester&039;s Honda, Butch cursed as he took a left at a stoplight and saw a Caldwell PD patrol car parked at the Stewart&039;s on the corner of Fra around in a stolen car with two grand in cash did nothe had backup V was right on his ass in the Escalade as they headed to the Barnstable Road address

Nine and a half minutes later, Butch found Sally&039;s little Cape Cod After he killed the headlights and let the Accord roll to a stop, he broke the wire connection to cut off the engine The house was dark, so he walked right up to the front door, shoved the envelope with the cash through the mail slot, and then beat feet across the street for the Escalade He wasn&039;t worried about getting caught on this quiet street If anyone asked questions, V would just do ainto the SUV when he froze, an odd feeling rushing through him

For no apparent reason, his body started to ring¡ªthat was the only way he could describe it Like there was a cell phone smack dead in the center of his chest

Down the street down the street He had to go down the street

Oh, God¡ªlessers were there

"What is it, cop?"

"I feel them They&039;re close"

"Game on, then" Vishous slipped out from behind the wheel and they both shut their doors As V hit the alarhts flashed once "Go with it, cop Let&039;s see where this takes us"

Butch started walking Then fell into a jog

Together they ran through the shadows of the peaceful subdivision, staying out of the pools of light thrown by porches and streetlaed around an aboveground pool Sidled past a garage

The neighborhood got shittier Dogs barked in warning A car passed by with no headlights on and rap thu And then an abandoned house Followed by an empty lot Until finally they came up to a decrepit two-story froh wooden fence

"In here," Butch said, looking around for a gate

"Give rabbed the top of the fence and cocked his knee, V tossed hi newspaper He landed in a crouch

There they were Three lessers Two of ere dragging a male out of the house by his arms

Butch went into an instant overboil He was radioactive angry about what had been done to him, frustrated by his fears for Marissa, trapped by his hugression

Except V rabbed his shoulder As Butch wheeled around to tell the brother to fuck off, Vishous hissed, "You can have at theot eyes everywhere and without Rhage around, I need to fight on all cylinders, true? So I can&039;t pull off noto be able to mask this one"

Butch stared at his rooiven free rein to go fight "Why are you letting otta be sure whose side you&039;re on," V said, unsheathing a dagger "And this is hoe&039;ll know So I&039;ll take the tith the civilian and you hit the other one"

Butch nodded once, then sprang forward, aware of a great roaring between his ears and within his body As he gunned for the lesser that was about toturned like he heard the approach

The bastard merely looked annoyed as Butch ran up on him "About time you backups showed" The slayer pivoted away "There are two females in here The blonde&039;s really fast, so I want her¡ª"

Butch tackled the lesser fro on to the fucker&039;s head and shoulders It was likea rodeo horse The slayer went shit wild and spun around, grabbing at Butch&039;s legs and ar slah to dent the alu

Butch stayed locked on, his forearus, his other hand on his straining wrist, pulling back To get an even better hold, he linked his legs around the slayer&039;s hips, crossed his ankles, and squeezed with his thighs