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a twenty-dollar bill out of his wallet and offered it to the men. The tall man's hand came out of his pocket and he offered Cyrus the point of a switchblade. |
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"While you have that wallet out, man, why don't you just give us the rest?" |
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At that point, Kyna came stumbling out of the bushes. She saw Cyrus talking to the two strangers and called out, "I'm ready when you are!" |
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The shorter of the two men peered around Cyrus. |
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"Hey, take a look at the cunt." |
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The phony smile dropped from Cyrus's face. "Come on, fellas. I don't need this shit." |
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The man with the knife jabbed at Cyrus's chest. "Get smart with me, man, and you'll get a lot more 'n shit." |
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The partner said, "While you two are busy, I think I'll go talk to the lady." |
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Before Shorty could take the first step toward the car, Cyrus moved in front of him so fast that for a second he appeared to be in two places at once. |
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"You don't want to do that, friend." |
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Shorty blinked twice and fell back. The other man looked from his friend to Cyrus and then quickly moved the knife to cover Cyrus againbut he didn't seem quite as sure of himself. |
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"Forget the bitch!" the taller man snapped. He waved the knife in the general direction of Cyrus's face and said, "Give me the wallet or I'll fix it so the cunt never looks at you again." |
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After a sleepless night and an afternoon following Kyna around like a Zulu gun bearer, Cyrus's earlier happy mood was taking a definite nosedive. He started to get angry, and as he did, he started noticing things that he'd missed before. Things like the angry caterwauling of a flock of jays up in the trees, the sounds of cloven hooves moving deep in the underbrush and a slightly gamey odor that for some odd reason made him think of rabbits dozing in their underground condos. |
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