"ON THE FLOOR OR FOOTBALL!" screamed Baldwin, sounding like a child having a tantrum.
Daniel said, "Yes, Doctor," and flipped the Beretta across the room, to the left. It hit the side of the sink-trough, clattered to the ground.
During the instant that Baldwin's eyes followed its trajectory, his knife hand lifted.
A millimeter of air between blade and throat.
Daniel lunged for Baldwin's wrist with both of his hands, pushing the knife up and way from Shoshi. Lowering his head, he drove it hard into Baldwin's oily abdomen, pushing the monster back.
Monster was heavy, a twenty-kilo advantage. Rock-hard. Thick wrists, A head taller. Two good hands.
Daniel injected the full force of his rage into the attack. Baldwin stumbled backward, against the wall racks, The baths vibrated. A jar tilted fell, shattered. Something wet and glossy skidded across the floor.
Earrings tinkling.
Baldwin opened his mouth, roared, charged, swinging the knife.
Daniel backed away from the death-arcs. Baldwin stabbed air several times in succession. The inertia threw him off-balance.
Big and strong, but no trained fighter.
Daniel used the moment to head-butt Baldwin again, drove his fists into the monster's belly and groin, kicking at naked shins, reaching upward, grabbing a wrist, struggling to gain possession of the knife.
Baldwin fought free. Stab, miss. Stepped on broken glass, cried out.
Daniel stomped on the wounded foot, went for the knife with his good hand, tried to claw Baldwin's chest with his bad one. The fingernails made contact with oily flesh, slid off ineffectually.
He looked for the gun. Too far. Kicked at Baldwin's knee. Punishing, but not damaging. Got both hands around Baldwin's hand, felt the smooth pearl of the knife handle.
Go for the fingers, stuffed with nerve endings.
He tried to bend back Baldwin's index finger, but Baldwin held fast. Daniel's leverage was poor, his hand slipped, came perilously rose to the knife blade. Before he could regain his hold on the handle, Baldwin yanked upward, gear-shifting the knife, up and down, back and forth, stabbing, wrenching, controlling it, as Daniel held on and pivoted to avoid being slashed.
The pinkie of Daniel's bad hand grazed the blade. The nail split open, then the soft flesh under it. Electric pain. A warm bath of blood.
He kept his good hand on the handle, gouging at Baldwin's fingers.
Baldwin saw the blood. Laughed, was renewed.
He lowered his teeth to Daniel's shoulder, sank them in.
Daniel twisted away, torn, on fire. A deep wound, more blood-his shirt began soaking up scarlet dye. No problem, he had plenty to spare, wouldn't stop until he was drained.
But escaping from Baldwin's bite had caused him to lose his grip on the knife.
Baldwin raised the giant blade.
Daniel held out his bad hand, palm-first.
The knife came down.
Enough nerves left to register pain.
Old pain, memory pain.
Back on the hillside. Back in the Butcher's Theater.
Baldwin twisted the knife, both hands on the handle, the big blade eating muscle, severing tendons, threatening to separate the metacarpal bones, split the hand clear up to the finger webs.
The monster growling. Gnashing his teeth. The eyes empty, obscene.
Intent on destroying him.
Baldwin drew himself up to his full height, bearing down on the knife. Pushing, churning, forcing Daniel down.
Tremendous pressure, crushing, relentless. Daniel felt his knees bend, buckle. He sank, skewered.
Baldwin's grin was wider than ever. Triumphant. He pressed down, painting, sweating, the oil mixing with the sweat, running down his body in viscous streams.
Daniel looked up at him, saw the swastika brands.
The crowbar-too far away.
Baldwin laughing, shouting, churning the knife.
Daniel pushed up with all his strength; the knife blade continued devouring his hand, extended its scarlet dominion.
He bit back screams, locked onto Baldwin's eyes, held the monster fast, refused to succumb.
"You first her for dessert."
Daniel felt the blood leave him, the strength leeching out of his muscles, and knew he couldn't hold out much longer.
He pushed up again, harder, made his arm a rigid, jointless length of steel. Held his own, then let go suddenly, ceasing all resistance, falling backward in a paratrooper's roll, the impaled hand slamming to the ground, the knife pursuing it, but purposelessly, fueled by gravity, not intent.
The tension-release caught Baldwin off guard. He stum bled, held on to the knife, and went down after it, bending awkwardly at the waist to maintain his grip on the weapon.
Daniel kicked up at his knee, again.
This time hearing something snap.
Baldwin howled as if betrayed, clutched his leg, collapsed. Falling full force on top of Daniel, one hand bent under him. the other still clutching the knife.
Baldwin closed his eyes, pulled up on the blade, trying to free the Liston, go for a kill-zone.
But the knife was lodged between bones, refused to spread them. All he could do was saw it back and forth, open more blood vessels. Knowing time was on his side. The nigger-kike's pain had to be terrible-he was puny, inferior, bred for defeat.
But the little fuck was holding on, fighting back!
Hard blows stung his Aryan nose, cheeks, chin, mouth. His lower lip burst open. He tasted his own blood, swallowed it-hero-sweet but it made him gag.
The blows kept coming like razor-rain and his own pain got worse, as if the nigger-kike was taking everything he'd absorbed and spitting it back at him.
He forced a D.T. grin, looked down, searching for signs of fadeout.
Kikefuck was smiling back at him!
The scum-this fucking untermensch scum-didn't care about pain, didn't care about the Liston dancing on him, eating him alive.
He marshaled all his strength, pulled up on the knife. Scumshit used his hand as a weapon, pushed back, stuck to it.
Suddenly brown fingers were imbedded in his cheek and raking downward. Shreds of flesh peeling down like tree bark.
Oh, no!
Blood-his blood-splashing in his face, his eyes, everything red.
He sobbed with frustration, said farewell to the Liston and let go of it. Used one hand to block the endless blows, tried to clamp the other around the niggerfuck's throat.
Daniel felt big wet fingers scrambling over his larynx.
He rolled free. Punched Baldwin's nose, mouth, chin. Aiming for the cheek-gouges. Erase that grin, forever.
Keep smiling. It scared the coward.
Baldwin regained the stranglehold.
Getting a grip on the larynx. Squeezing, crushing. Trying to rip it out of Daniel's throat.