Chapter 2 The Lustful Gateway (2)

• She was also a woman, who almost certainly noticed as she walked by that Ali had just put the copy of Surrender to Lust on the countertop. It turned out the model on the cover had a bra, after all, but it was entirely off of her chest and dangling in the fingers of the hand that cupped her otherwise naked left breast.
• "Here you go," Ali said too loudly for Travis's taste, "one copy of Surrender to Lust. Anything else?"
• "Uh, no!" Travis blurted. "No, j-just that."
• "Okay.
• "Hi," the woman smiled, leaning up against the counter.
• Travis considered dying on the spot. He had no idea what to say at a time like this. Something. Anything. His mind reached for a suggestion.
• "Bitch, I am gonna fuck you up!" snapped a voice behind Travis.
• Not what I had in mind, Travis thought. He blinked, standing even straighter in surprise as the man with the phone stepped into the candy aisle behind him. "I mean it! You don't have what you owe me, I swear to God you will choke to death on my cock."
• "Uh, Rudy," the woman hissed to him, "there are other people here."
• "Vanessa, shut your fucking whore mouth," snapped the man on the phone. "Nobody cares anyway. No, not you, Teri," he said back into his phone. "Fifteen hundred. That's what you charge. That's what I told you to charge. Not a fucking penny less. Bad enough Illyana's down with her fucking cold, I'm not losing money on you tonight, too." He paused. "Joey. Cuervos, man."
• "On it," said the larger of the two men.
• The woman shook her head and looked to Travis once more. "Don't suppose you're looking for a date tonight?" Vanessa asked.
• "Uh. No," Travis shrugged. He looked at Ali, imploring him silently to hurry up with the register. So. Awkward.
• "No, you aren't gonna leave me, Teri, 'cause you know what'll happen if you try," Rudy continued menacingly. "If my money isn't there when I get back, you're gonna take another fall down the stairs again, you got me? Maybe a couple falls." The voice on the other side of the conversation could be heard making some sort of plea just before Rudy cut the connection on his phone.
• Travis winced. These were plainly bad people—at least Rudy there was, anyway—but there was literally nothing Travis could do about it, anyway.
• "Hey, Ach-med, where the fuck are your Cuervos?" called out Joey from the other side of the store.
• "In the center case, sir," Ali answered as he finished ringing up the sale. "There you are. Eight forty-five."
• Travis already had the cash in his hand. He put it down on the counter immediately. "There you go. Keep the change."
• "Are you sure, sir?"
• Vanessa gave a little grin. "Big spender," she winked.
• "Yeah, I'm—" Travis paused. He realized then that he'd left his transfer pass back at the dojo. Shit, I need the change after all. "Um. No, actually, uh, sorry. Go ahead and ring it up."
• "No problem." Ali keyed in the transaction on his register.
• "Fuckin' hurry up, man," Joey said then, appearing behind Travis with a case of beer. "Ain't got all fuckin' night."
• Over the sound of the beeping register buttons, Travis heard a sharp, heavy snort from behind him. Vanessa's eyes went wide. Travis glanced at her, then up at the security mirror over Ali's shoulder. He could see Rudy snorting something out of a tiny bit of plastic.
• "Rudy!" she hissed, stepping forward.
• "Sorry, sir," Ali muttered, "the register tape's jammed."
• "What, bitch?" Rudy snarled at Vanessa.
• "You told me you weren't carrying anything!" Her voice remained barely above a whisper, but Travis could still hear every word. It wasn't like they were far away.
• "The fuck's it to you?"
• "Rudy, you know what happens if I get caught in a car carrying shit," she pressed. "I'm not trying to tell you your business, but—"
• "If you ain't, then shut the fuck up."
• "Look, I'm just sayin', I'll take the bus over or somethin', alright? You get crazy when you're on that shit."
• "What? Fuck that. You ride with Joey an' me. You can ride the fuckin' bus back, but this asshole john is payin' up front and he ain't payin' you."
• Travis tried to keep his attention on Ali and the register tape. Against his will, his eyes flicked up to the security mirror at exactly the wrong moment.
• "Rudy, lemme just—"
• He grabbed her by the neck. "Bitch, don't even fuckin' start!"
• Travis couldn't look away anymore. He turned around. "Hey man, let her go," he said, trying to sound reasonable rather than challenging.
• He immediately felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Mind your own business, boy," said Joey.
• "Yeah," Rudy agreed, his eyes wide and crazy as he continued to hold Vanessa, who clearly wasn't enjoying this. "Just buy your fuckin' jerk-off mag and scurry out of here, bitch."
• "Let her go," Travis repeated. "You don't have to grab anyone like that. And take your hand off me, please," he added to Joey with his voice growing more assertive.
• "Rudy," Vanessa struggled, "just calm—"
• Joey spun Travis around roughly. Travis was ready for it. He turned into the move, bringing his right fist up in a swift hook into Joey's temple. It caught the bigger man by surprise; Joey fell against the counter. Travis brought his foot down hard on the side of Joey's knee.
• Rudy shoved Vanessa away, knocking her against the rack of candy and gum. His hand went to the small of his back as his friend went down. By the time Travis turned on him, Rudy had the pistol out.
• Training took over. Travis did exactly as he'd been taught. With one hand, he grabbed Rudy's wrist, and with the other he took hold of the gun and twisted hard. Rudy let out an unmanly shriek as his finger broke. Travis kept hold of the gun, roughly pulling it down and out of Rudy's hand.
• "Motherfucker!" Rudy screamed. His other hand came around to punch Travis across the jaw. Travis staggered and dropped the gun. Rudy came on at him, tackling Travis against the counter.
• Travis struggled, getting one arm around his opponent's waist and one leg up against Rudy's for leverage. He heaved the Rudy through a twist that put him in exactly the position Travis had been in, bent over backwards with his head against the counter. Travis followed up by bringing his elbow down toward Rudy's jaw with all the force he could muster, but against a struggling opponent it didn't exactly go as planned.
• Travis's elbow came down hard against Rudy's neck.
• The sound of the blow was frightening. Rudy jerked and flopped uncontrollably. Travis blinked, suddenly horrified at what he had done, and then he heard a metallic click.
• He found himself staring down the barrel of Joey's revolver as the bigger man struggled to his feet. Travis heard a gunshot, and then another... only they didn't come from Joey's gun. Joey fell against the side of the countertop, blood pouring from the center of his chest as he tumbled to the floor.
• Vanessa remained crouched in the snack aisle, holding Rudy's pistol. Smoke wafted from its barrel. The wide-eyed shock and fear on her face mirrored Travis's as they stared at one another.
• Ali sighed. "I knew I should've changed out the register tape an hour ago."
• "Is he dead?" Vanessa demanded, pointing at Rudy. "Are they both dead?"
• Ali looked over the counter at Rudy and then at Joey. "Oh yes. They're both dead."
• "Holy shit!" blurted Travis. He knelt down to check Rudy's pulse.
• "Rudy—Rudy can't be dead!" shouted Vanessa. "You just beat him up a little!"
• "Oh, he's dead," Ali nodded sagely.
• "He can't be!"