He's not really going to get involved in this, is he? she thought. He's smarter than that, I hope.
But sure enough, Jack sidled up to the three men and stood before the two shielders, hands in his pockets, rocking on his heels as if watching them change a tire.
She thought she heard him say, "Hey, guys, whatcha doin'?"
Curiosity got the better of Alicia's common sense. Fascinated, she edged closer for a better look.
The black guy—he had a fade haircut and looked like he worked out a lot—looked at Jack as if he couldn't believe somebody was stupid enough to ask him that.
"What's it look like we're doin'?" He pointed to the white guy. "Our friend here locked himself out of his car and we're helpin' him out, okay? That all right wichoo?"
"Can I watch?" Jack said. His posture was loose and slouched; his voice sounded high and nerdy.
"No. Move on."
"Why not?"
"Because like I'm gettin' my period and I'm real cranky, and you hangin' aroun' is disturbin' our concentration. So just haul your nosy white ass on outta here."
"But I've never seen anybody use a Slim Jim before," Jack said. "I mean, it's really convenient that one of you happened to have one. You know, so you could help him out and all. I didn't think they were legal."
Christ, Alicia thought as she saw the three car thieves freeze. Is he out of his mind?
"Hey, yo," said the white guy, straightening and taking a step toward Jack. He wore a studded black leather jacket and ultra-short blond hair. He sported rings in both ears, his upper lip, and his right eyebrow. "You some sorta fuckin' cop or somethin'?"
"Who me?" Jack said, smiling timidly. "Oh, no! Not me. I'm no cop. But that just happens to be my friend Julio's car. And none of you guys is Julio. So why don't you find yourselves another car to boost."
Now it was the Hispanic's turn. He whipped the Slim Jim out of the window well and waved it in Jack's face.
"Ay, you crazy, meng? This is my man's car, and we're helping him. Now you get outta here 'fore I shove this down your t'roat and pull your asshole outta your mouth!"
They all seemed to think that was pretty funny. As they laughed and low-fived each other, Alicia noticed Jack's left hand ease from his pocket.
Don't do it, she wanted to shout. It's three against one. You haven't got a chance.
But as she watched Jack, she wondered about that. She sensed something primal and electric radiating from him. He'd been so laid back, so low-key in her office and back at the bar a moment ago, but now… now he was a different man. He seemed to vibrate with intensity, with fire, as if his daily existence was merely a series of interludes he had to endure until he was allowed a moment like this.
"And after he's finished," the white guy said, taking the metal piece from the Hispanic and holding it under Jack's nose, "I'm gonna come in the back door and yank out your tonsils!"
Tension coiled through the air, tightening. Alicia had heard that people who survived lightning strikes spoke of a strange, hair-raising—literally—sensation just before the strike. Alicia felt that now, as if the air molecules were ionizing and polarizing in anticipation…
"You have such nice blue eyes," Jack said over the new burst of laughter. "Can I have one?"
Before anyone could react or reply, Jack's hand darted up to the white's face. The move was so fast, so unexpected, that Alicia couldn't follow it. All she knew was that one second Jack's hand was darting through the air, and an instant later the white guy was staggering back, screaming.
He dropped the Slim Jim and clawed at his face, almost knocking over his black buddy as he turned in a wild circle.
Alicia gasped and backed away as she caught a glimpse of bright crimson flowing down his left cheek before his hands covered it.
Christ in heaven, what did he do?
"What the fuck—?" said the black guy, his head pivoting between Jack and his buddy who had dropped to his knees now and was pawing at his eye with bright red fingers and screaming, screaming.
The Hispanic crouched to look at his buddy. "Joey! What he do?"
"My eye! Oh, shit, my eye!"
"I like eyes," Jack said in a strange, garbled tone. His own eyes had a strange, unfocused look, and Alicia noticed with a start that his mouth was smeared with red. "Blue eyes are especially delicious."
And then he opened his mouth to reveal a bloody eye clenched between his front teeth.
Alicia's stomach lurched. She'd seen traumatic horrors beyond most people's wildest nightmares on her ER moonlighting stints during her residencies, but never anything like this. She was sure the gaping shock on the faces of the black and the Hispanic mirrored her own. She wanted to turn away but couldn't. She had to keep watching.
As a child, she'd once had the misfortune of being in a pet shop when it was feeding time for the snakes. She'd been passing the cage of a large garter snake swallowing a frog headfirst. She'd been repulsed, especially since the frog's legs were still kicking, but she'd stood rooted to the spot until the poor frog was gone from view.
That was how she felt now. Only this time the frog was eating the snakes.
No… not eating.
Jack spit out the eyeball. Alicia felt her gorge rise as it splatted against the side window of the car. The bloody, gelatinous mass stuck there for a heartbeat or two, then began a slow slide down the glass, leaving a glistening red trail.
Joey's screams devolved to moans as his two buddies watched the misshapen eye come to rest at the bottom of the window.
"But brown eyes are tasty too," Jack said with a bloody grin as he took a step toward them.
Both men jumped back, the Hispanic almost knocking over the black in his haste to get out of Jack's reach.
"I'm outta here, meng!" he said as he backed away.
"Yo, Ric! What about Joey!"
"Fuck him!"
The black tried to grab him, but Ric slipped from reach and backpedaled down the sidewalk.
"That guy's fuckin' crazy!"
Jack took another step toward the black. "You have such big brown eyes."
That did it. The black guy turned and hurried to catch up with Ric.
"Yo, Joey," he said to his fallen buddy. "Catch you later."
But Joey didn't seem to hear. He was bent far over, his head almost on the pavement, wiping at his face.
Jack watched them go, then pumped his fist toward the car.
"Yes!"
As Jack spat red into the gutter and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, Alicia began backing away. Slowly. She didn't want to attract Jack's attention. What had she got herself into? She was glad she hadn't hired him to burn the house. She didn't care if he'd found the stolen toys, she wanted nothing more to do with this maniac.
But then Jack turned and spotted her.
"Did you see that?" he said with a bloody grin. "It worked! Worked like a charm!"
And then his grin faded. Maybe he'd seen her expression. Alicia was trying to hide the fear and revulsion roiling within, but she doubted she was doing very well.
"Hey, wait!" he said. "You don't really think—"
He started toward her. Alicia turned to run but felt a hand close about her upper arm after two steps.
"No, please," she said as he pulled her to a stop. "Let me go! Let me go or I'll scream!"
"Just give me a second," he said. "I just want you to look at something, then you can go. Okay?"
He sounded so reasonable, so… sane. The nerdy voice was gone. She glanced over her shoulder at him. That vacant look from a moment ago was gone too.