Three Fates

to Rebecca. “Sure hope so.”
     
     
    IT WAS BEING debated downstairs, with some heat, with Jasper in the unfortunate position of being tied to a chair and listening to the arguments pro and con.
    “I say we kick his ass, break a few important bones, then talk to him.”
    Jack shook his head, took the hammer Malachi was thumping rhythmically on the counter, set it aside. “Three to one. Doesn’t seem quite fair.”
    “Oh, we want fair, do we?” Enjoying himself, Malachi stormed over and kicked Jasper’s chair. “And was he being fair, I’d like to know, when he fucking stabbed me, right out on the street?”
    “Mal’s got a point, Jack.” Gideon popped cashews out of a bowl and into his mouth. “Bastard stuck a knife in my brother, who was unarmed at the time. That’s just not right. Maybe we should let Mal stab him. Not fatally or anything such as that. Just one good jab, to even the score, so to speak.”
    “Yeah, look at this.” Mal lifted an arm, showing off the bandage riding just above his waistband. “And what about my suit? That’s another factor. The shirt, too. Big gaping holes in both, as well as in my person.”
    “I know you’re upset. Can’t blame you. But the guy was just doing his job. Isn’t that right?” Jack flipped open the wallet they’d taken off him, as if to check the name again. “Marvin.”
    Marvin let out a choked sound around his gag.
    “Well, his flaming job stinks,” Malachi ranted. “And I’d think a good thrashing was just one of the employment risks in the field.”
    “Let’s try this. Let’s talk to the poor bastard first. See if he cooperates. If you’re not satisfied”—Jack gave Malachi a friendly pat on the back—“we’ll beat the shit out of him.”
    “I get first shot. I want to break the fingers on the hand he used to stab me. One knuckle at a time.”
    The men looked at each other, back at Jasper, whose eyes were bulging, and were satisfied they’d played their parts well.
    Jack walked over, tugged down the gag. “Okay, you got the picture. My associates here want to take some pieces out of you. Me, I’m a fan of democracy, and majority rules. You want to avoid that vote, you’ll cooperate. Otherwise, I turn them loose, and when we’re done, we dump you on Anita’s doorstep. She’ll finish you off. Gid? Play back that one part of the tape, you know, where she’s telling Mal how she deals with unsatisfactory employees.”
    Gideon walked over to the recorder, turned on the tape he’d already cued up. Anita’s voice, cold as death, filled the room as she spoke about steadily, easily putting bullets into a man.
    “We’ll make sure she gets the opportunity with you,” Jack told him. “The three of us, we might cause you some pain, but we’re not cold-blooded killers. We’ll leave that part to the expert.”
    “What the hell do you want?”
    “You tell us everything you know. Don’t spare the details. And when the time comes, you’re going to tell the whole thing to a friend of mine who happens to be a cop.”
    “You think I’m going to talk to the cops?”
    “I’ve seen your sheet, Marvin. It won’t be the first time. Nobody’s got you on murder yet. You want to give her the chance to twist it around so you take the fall for Dubrowsky, for Michael Hicks?” Jack waited a beat. “That’s what she’ll do if you don’t get there first and have us backing you up. Or we just step back and let her do to you what she did to Dubrowsky.”
    “Better prison than the morgue,” Malachi put in. “You should know we’ve got our little dance on the sidewalk on tape as well. So we can turn it and you over to the police now and be done with it, and you don’t have the edge of going in with—what is it, Jack?”
    “Remorse. Remorse and cooperation.”
    “You won’t have that opening with the police. With Anita still free and with money at her fingertips, how long do you think it would take her to hire someone to terminate your employment, on a permanent basis, when you’re behind bars?”
    “I want a deal.” Jasper licked his lips. “I want immunity.”
    “You’ll have to take that up with my friend with the badge,” Jack told him. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to take your wants and needs into consideration. Now.” Jack signaled Gideon to turn on the video recorder. “Let’s talk about what it’s like to work for Anita Gaye.”
     
     
    AN I TA SOAKED IN the tub, bubbles up to her chin. She imagined, even