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The bandit ca his sack Marasi was forced to take off her s With shaking hands, she searched in her pocketbook for any bills, but the bandit just snatched the entire thing and dumped it into his sack
"Please," Waxilliu his voice shake "Please, don’t hurt us!" He pulled out his pocket watch, then dumped it to the table, as if in haste He yanked its chain free of his vest and threw it in the sack Then he got out his pocketbook and tossed it in, conspicuously pulling out both of his pockets with shaking hands to show he had nothing else He began patting his coat pockets
"That’ll do,
"Don’t hurt it," the bandit said, looking back at Marasi He leered, then patted her down,her speak so he could check her mouth She bore it with a deep blush, particularly when the patting down turned into a few solid gropes
Waxilliu else," the bandit said with a grunt "Why’d I get the poor tables? And you?" He glanced at Wayne Behind them, another of the bandits found Wayne’s servant’s coat under the table, holding it up with a confused expression
"Do I look like I’ve got anything of value, hs trousers He’d turned up his Roughs accent "I’ in the kitchen when I heard you blokes corunted, but patted Wayne’s pockets anyway He found nothing, then checked under the table and"too poor" and snatched Wayne’s hat off his head He threay his own hat--he earing a knit cap underneath, alu Wayne’s hat on his head over the cap
They sat back down
"He took rowled
"Steady," Waxilliu Marasi back her notebook so she could return to taking covert notes
"Why didn’t you hide your pocketbook," she whispered, "as you did the notebook?"
"Some of the bills in it arethein his hand Looked like a couple of crinkled-up sheets of paper "That’ll allow the constables to track where they get spent, if they do get spent"
"Marked!" Marasi said "So you did knoe’d be robbed!"
"What? Of course I didn’t"
"But--"
"Wax always carries so as he noticed what the leader was doing "Just in case"
"Oh That’s … very unusual"
"Wax is his own special brand of paranoid,what I think he’s doing?"
"Yes," Waxillium said
"What?" Marasi asked
"Cos in his hand," Waxilliue Look how he’s strolling through the tables, checking every wo it too"
They fell silent as the leader strolled past them He was accompanied by a fine-featured felloith a scowl on his face "I’ettin’ juive ’es"
Theeveryone at Wax’s table for a moment He hesitated briefly, then onna have to let the boys loose sooner or later, boss," the secondoff "I think…" They were soon too far for Waxilliu
Nearby, Peterus--the forotten back up into his seat His as holding a napkin to his bleeding head
This is the best way, Waxillium told himself firmly I’ve seen their faces I’ll be able to track doho they are when they spend ht them on my own terms I’ll …
But he wouldn’t He’d let the constables do that part, wouldn’t he? Wasn’t that what he kept telling himself?
A sudden disturbance from the far side of the chamber drew his eyes A few bandits led a couple of frazzled-looking women into the hall, one of theht to sweep the ladies’ roooods There were enough of thee crowd
"All right," the boss called out "Grab a hostage"
Too loud, Waxilliuht
"Who should we take?" one of the bandits yelled back
They’rea show of it
"I don’t care," the boss said
He wants us to think he’s picking one at random
"Any of them will do," the boss continued "Say … that one" He waved at Steris
Steris One of the previous abductees was her cousin Of course She was in the sareorse
"Actually," the boss said "We’ll take two this ti back toward the tables of people "Now, nobody follow, or they’ll get hurt Remember, a feels aren’t worth your life We’ll cut the hostages loose once we’re sure we aren’t being followed"
Lies, Waxilliuht What do you ith them? Why are you--
The koloss-blooded rabbed Marasi by the shoulder "You’ll do," he said "You’re co for a ride with us, pretty"
She ju her notepad