Now here’s Lalo wanting to play games. Rocky wondered if these strange people would help Lalo if he needed it. If   he screamed would they go against Rocky. He had to do something. Time may be running out for Hector and he was babysitting a possible murderous psycho. Beatrice acted nice with Rocky, but was she?     Rocky never turned his back on her.

Lalo gave Rocky a challenging look. His hands were hidden behind his leather apron. Was he holding some kind of weapon? Beatrice was edging closer and behind Rocky. He could smell her feint waft of cologne. It smelled sweaty. Would he have to deal with her and Lalo? They had a history of some sort.

Lalo walked along the edge of the pit between two beams pushed by his slaves. He kept pace with the movement of the turning bars. Rocky jumped up on the space next to Lalos and stood between two spokes pushed by what appeared to be a groggy crew. “So here we are rocky,” he chirped out and pulled a stevedore’s loading hook in each hand.

Rocky’s reaction was instant. A slap across Lalo’s face sent him over the edge and into the concaved depression. He tried to slow his descent with the hooks scraping against the metal surface that let to the grinding stones. His scream and wild look over his shoulder was rewarding for Rocky. Tired of the cocky misfit’s attitude he felt refreshed in a strange way.

Lalo involuntarily spun around the grinding stones. His workers were oblivious to their masters plight.

“My apron’s caught between the stones, help me out.”

“Where’s Arango?”

“Help me and I’ll tell you.”

“I’m not buying that.”

Lalo’s hooks left circular marks in the metal panels of the dome.

“You’re not going anywhere without my help.”

“Okay, okay, he’s staying at the boneyard.”

“Where’s that.”

“Take the street out front down to the end. It’s there.”

“Okay thanks.”

“Now help me, please.”

“Why don’t you ask your people.”

“What, they won’t listen, they can’t”

“Then I’ll just let you figure something out.” Rocky turned away and climbed out of the slow spinning disc and walked for the outside door. Lalo’s painful screams were like music to his ears. They got louder and then abruptly stopped.

Rocky turned and looked for Beatrice. She was nowhere in sight. He wondered on side she was really on? It didn’t matter to Rocky, because he felt he knew. He knew she was a deeply troubled woman.

He rubbed his hand over the grip of his pistol. It gave him the same comfort as his Buddha. And he found his brass friend and gave him a few caresses, and it was soothing.

He immediately forgot about Lalo, but Beatrice remained in the back of his mind.

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