Page 41 of Pro Bono

Ollonsun got out. There was a sharp rap on the window beside Talbert’s head that made him jump. The man on that side beckoned impatiently, so Talbert got out too, but he was reluctant to let go of the door handle, as though he could pull himself back into the passenger seat—ormaybe back through time—and be safe. He shut the door without slamming it, because he knew that there were houses in this neighborhood, even though he couldn’t see any of them from here.

The man with the whiskers said, “You’re Ron Talbert, huh? Got to check for surprises. Lift your arms up.”

Hearing that the man knew his name made Talbert feel sick. He lifted his arms up so they were just below shoulder height, not sure what was necessary. The man grabbed his elbows and shoved them upward. He ran his hands along Talbert’s sides to his ankles, spun him around and yanked his shirt up to his chest, spun him forward and then yanked the shirt back down. “He’s clean.”

The man with the mustache and knitted cap said, “Him too.”

Talbert turned to see Ollonsun tucking his shirt back in.

The man with the mustache said, “Come on.” They walked farther from the streetlights into deeper darkness across the center of the vacant lot. They were in two pairs with the brothers-in-law on one side and Ollonsun’s two hired men facing them. The man with the mustache spent a few seconds staring back down the road they had traveled. Talbert saw that just visible under the rear edge of the knitted cap he had a patch of white gauze.

The man with the cap and mustache said, “Sorry about that, but once in a while if things get to this stage, other things start happening, and a client gets told that he’ll get off if he cooperates and wears a recording device or a wire. So what have you decided?”

Ollonsun said, “We need to stop the clock. I think what Charles Warren did today was put our problem in the hands of the legal division. He was probably threatening a lawsuit. We need to get to him and his client and scare them enough get them to stop, at least for a few days. During that time, they’ll realize that the missing money is already backin her accounts, so there’s no point in causing themselves more trouble. Does that make sense?”

“Sure,” the man with no mustache said. “Lots of people who’ve gotten their first beatdown learn a whole new way of looking at the world.”

The man with the mustache said, “This isn’t an exact science. What if they die? Are you prepared for that?”

Ollonsun said, “We just don’t have the luxury of worrying about things like that. We stand to lose everything—life savings, jobs, careers, families—and going to federal prison. If we don’t do what we can now, it’ll be too late.”

“I get that. So tonight is the time to decide. Do you have the money with you?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, wait,” said Talbert. “I don’t think I’m ready to take the chance that somebody dies. This is too much, too fast. I need to think.”

The man with the mustache said, “Fair enough. Good luck with your problem.” He turned to his companion. “Let’s stop for a drink on the way back.” The two men turned and started back across the lot toward their car.

Ollonsun watched them for a couple seconds, then pivoted to glare at Talbert. “Are you crazy?”

“I didn’t expect to have something like this sprung on me.”

“I didn’t spring it on you. Life sprung it on both of us.” He suddenly pushed off and sprinted across the rough ground, paying no attention to the darkness, no concern that he might fall on something, no sign that he was even thinking. He caught up to the two men just as they were reaching the parked cars. He produced his keys, popped the passenger door of his car open, snatched the pharmacy bag out from under Talbert’s seat, and pushed it into the hands of the man with the mustache.

Talbert stood still, not sure what to do. The man with the mustache pawed around inside the bag and then held his phone in it and pawed some more. Talbert watched from where he was. It was awkward and humiliating. He had done some stupid things, selfish things. He had robbed a widow who had trusted his company. He hadn’t agreed to pay a couple thugs to beat her up and maybe kill her. At least he hadn’t wanted to do that.

Another minute passed, and then the man with no mustache went and sat behind the wheel in their car. It would be over in another minute. Talbert looked at the summer sky, the stars like bright needle holes in a blanket. He looked back down at the cars, and his paralysis went away.

He began to walk toward the cars, then saw that the men’s car was moving. The lights weren’t on, but it was backing down the broken concrete surface of the old driveway.

Talbert’s steps turned into a run. He could still stop them, if he was fast enough. He went faster, tripped on something and fell, scrambled up, and dashed down toward the driveway. As he did, the car swung around and headed away toward the end of the street. Its lights came on, it made the first turn, and disappeared.

Ollonsun opened the driver’s door of his car as Talbert approached. He called, “I think it would be best if you called an Uber or something.”

Talbert didn’t answer, just kept running. Ollonsun stepped to the side to put the door between them, but Talbert got his arm over the top of the window and used his momentum to drag Ollonsun out onto the cracked and buckled concrete. They landed painfully side by side on the rock-hard, jagged surface, rose, and began furiously swinging punches at each other. It was too dark to see each blow coming, so many connected. They went for each other’s eyes and noses—any place on the face or head. They fought to punish each other, until their arms were tired andcarried so little force that the damage to their upper bodies had already been done. They pulled back from each other because they were out of breath. Ollonsun was bent over, leaning against the car as though he was about to collapse, but then he reached into the well in his still-open door and pulled out a gun.

“See this, you fucking idiot? Now stop it.”

“A gun? You brought a gun?” Talbert said. “Why am I surprised?”

“We’re just hurting each other and now we’ll draw attention to ourselves. Stop fighting. There’s nothing left to fight about. It’s too late to change anything. We’re both committed.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“I’m going home. You can either get in the car and let me drop you off, or you can call for a ride looking like that.” He got in the driver’s seat and closed the door.

Talbert walked stiffly to the passenger door. As he sat in the seat, he wondered how he could possibly explain the bruises and swelling to Fran. He pulled the sun flap down and looked in the small lighted mirror. A black eye that was swelling shut, bloody nose, maybe broken, a split lip. He knew he wasn’t going to sleep tonight even if he could get in without waking her.

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