The Cainite Order

CHAPTER 16

ການອອກດອກ​ທໍາອິດ​ແມ່ນເຄິ່ງຫນຶ່ງຂອງ​ການສູ້ຮົບໄດ້

CHAPTER 16

"The first blow is half the battle."

Baghdassarian the Troll sat in the mostly empty warehouse that his boss, Gudahi, had been renting as their safe house. It was far better than he was used to living in. Most people who hired him did little more than throw him some food and yell orders. He considered himself lucky if the housing they gave him was a shack with a tin roof. This place was different; the Boss had gone out of his way to make the space like an actual apartment. Baghdassarian enjoyed staying with the Boss. He had even given Baghdassarian a nickname: Bob. He was treated more as an equal than as a breathing battering ram. So as he sat watching daytime television waiting for Gudahi to return, Bob was more concerned than normal that his boss was late.

This was not only unusual, but completely out of character for the man who planned all of their work to the minute. The fact that the phone had been ringing every half hour didn't help at all. He had thought of answering it to see who was so intent on talking to the boss but decided against it. He knew that the boss would be mad if he told the fox lady anything she didn't need to know. He really didn't like her. They had only met the one time when they delivered that big stone from the museum, but even that one time was enough. The other stuff they had done was fairly easy. So easy in fact he had asked the boss why he was needed for such things. "Because Bob, you make a great deterrent. A nine-foot behemoth like you makes people think twice about double crossing me."

Even deep in thought as he was, Bob began to notice something wasn't right in the warehouse. He reached over and grabbed his makeshift armor and threw it on. He liked the feel and smell of the leather and cut tires around him. It allowed him to move and fight far better than the old metal stuff he had cobbled together out of car fenders. His club was that only in name. The size of it was closer to a telephone pole that had been cut in half. He had carved his weapon out of an old oak tree that had fallen down; at six feet long and almost a foot in diameter, it was a force to be reckoned with in his hands. Armed and armored he walked out into the empty area of the space and saw four of the people he had seen the boss take to one of the safe houses they set up. Why were they here? More importantly why were they armed and sneaking in? Bob gripped his club a little tighter.

"Where's Gudahi, Tiny?" asked the Djinn in the middle. Bob stood defiant, saying nothing to these intruders. They weren't supposed to be here anymore than he was supposed to talk to anyone but the boss.

"Maybe he's stupid?" said the man next to the Djinn. He smelled like a dog; probably a were-wolf.

"No I don't think he's that smart, he's just a troll." the third one said, making the others chuckle. Bob had learned long ago that anyone he faced would underestimate him simply because many other trolls were simple creatures. He was a genius, among trolls, and proud of that fact.

As they got about fifty feet away, they stopped and the Djinn said, "Look, I know you know where your boss is. So how about you tell me and we won't start cutting pieces off of you 'til you tell us what we need to know."

"No." Bob replied.

"Ok, now I know you're stupid. Do you really want to d.."

"Get out and I'll tell the boss to call you." Bob interrupted.

"Anyone else want to play beat the answers out of the moron?" asked the Djinn.

"Oh yeah!" replied the third man. The were-wolf simply started to change form.