The bar was a little place about a block away from the main road, close to the river. There was no sign on the building, no way you’d even know it was a bar except for two beer signs, Budweiser in one window, Molson in the other. The signs seemed to glow in a way that told me I was far from home and probably not welcome there.
I saw Leon’s little red car at the far end of the lot. As soon as I pulled in next to it, Leon opened my passenger’s side door and climbed into the truck. “They’re still here,” he said. He rubbed his hands together and blew on them.
“Don’t you have any gloves?” I said.
“I took them off,” he said. “We need to be ready for anything.” He patted the breast pocket of his coat.
“Remind me to ask you about bringing guns across the border,” I said.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t bring your gun, Alex.”
“I did, but I lied about it I didn’t know if I’d get held up in customs.”
“Good move,” he said. “They would put you through the wringer.”
“How many of his friends does Bruckman have with him?” I said.
“Three.”
“Hmm, there were four guys with him at the cabin. He must have lost one. Probably the guy he was arguing with.”
“I already have our plan mapped out, Alex.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “What plan?”
“There’s four of them and two of us,” he said. “We need to do this just right.”
“I know,” I said. “I figure I need to get Bruckman away from his friends, take him outside.”
“What do you think his friends are gonna do if you try that? And once he’s outside, how are you going to contain him? You’ve got no psychological advantage over him, Alex. He won’t feel threatened.”
“He will if I stick a gun in his face,” I said.
“That’s not going to work,” he said. “You really think you can walk into that bar and pull a gun on him? They’re gonna start breaking cue sticks over your head. Look at this place. I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time. I told you, I’ve already got it all set up.”
“Got what set up? Leon, what are you talking about?”
“Alex, we cannot create an overwhelming force here, so we need to need to create the illusion of overwhelming force. It’s the only thing these guys will respond to.”
“The illusion of what? For God’s sake, Leon, where do you get this stuff?”
“It’s all set,” he said. “I just have to go in and give the signal.”
“Leon,” I said, grabbing the steering wheel. “Please. Let me just go in and bring him out here.”
“You want a confined area,” he said. “Like the bathroom. You separate him from the others, take him to the area.”
“Take him to the bathroom.”
“To the confined area. Could be a bathroom. Could be another room. It should be small enough that you’re in close contact with him, but not so small that he’s within three feet of you.”
“Leon…”
“I’ll be at the bar, creating the illusion of overwhelming force. Just stay here for three minutes before you come in.”
“Wait,” I said. “Just wait.”
“If the plan breaks down and we have to fight our way out of there, go for the knees.”
“Hold on, back up to that illusion thing.”
“Don’t start swinging, Alex. I know you. You’re gonna try to start a boxing match with these guys. All you’ll end up doing is busting up your hands. Just keep your head down and go for the inside of the knee. Kick outwards and they’ll fold up like a cheap suit.”
“Leon…”
“A cheap umbrella, I mean.”
“Leon…”
“And don’t pull your gun unless they draw first. The last thing we want is a shoot-out. Okay, you ready?”
“No, I’m not. Just wait a minute.”
“C’mon, Alex. They’re not gonna be in there all night Let’s go do this. Remember, give me three minutes to get things started.” He opened the door. “Three minutes!”
“Leon, wait!”
“I gotta go now,” he said. “While I’m psyched up.”
I tried to grab him, but he closed the door on me and ran through the snow to the bar.
This is a bad dream, I told myself. All of this. I’m gonna wake up and go out and plow the road, and then I’ll go wake up Dorothy in her cabin and help her find a good, safe place to go to. Nobody will have taken her or trashed my place or be following me around or dragging my ass behind a snowmobile. And I won’t be sitting here in front of a dive bar in Soo Canada, waiting three minutes so Leon can go in and create an illusion of overwhelming force. Whatever the hell that is.
I looked at the clock on the dashboard: 1:13. I can’t believe I’m doing this. Two more minutes. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.
When I opened my eyes, the clock read 1:14. One more minute. A gust of wind rocked the truck.
I counted down the last minute, then I gave him one more. Then I got out of the truck. The cold air assaulted me, but it was a short walk to the door, so I was only half numb when I stepped into the place. Like all small buildings, it looked bigger once you were inside. The bar was on the right, a television set high in the corner with a hockey game on. There were Christmas lights still strung around the ceiling. They blinked on and off in the smoky haze. To the left was a pool table and a jukebox. Bruckman was standing there with a cue stick in his hand, watching one of his teammates attempt a shot. His other two teammates stood in front of the jukebox, looking down at the playlist. They had cue sticks, too. Four hockey players with heavy sticks in their hands, at least one of them half out of his mind.
I hesitated. This may not be such a great idea.
Then I saw Leon at the bar. He gave me a little nod. Then he put his glass down and turned around to face the pool table. I counted seven other men at the bar, including the bartender. As soon as Leon turned around, they all fell silent and turned around, as well. Somebody found the remote for the television and turned it off. Then the bartender flipped his magic switch behind the bar to turn off the jukebox. The only sounds left in the room were the impact of the balls on the pool table and Bruckman’s rough laughter at a missed shot. As the balls all rolled to a stop, Bruckman stopped laughing.
“What the fuck,” he said. He looked up to see eight men staring at him. He scanned the faces left to right. The last face he saw was mine.
“I got next game,” I said. I walked to the pool table. It was quiet enough to hear the floor squeak under my feet.
“The fuck you doing here?” he said.
“You know, Bruckman,” I said. “Just once I want to hear you say one sentence without the word ‘fuck’ in it.”
Bruckman looked at me and then at his teammates.
“There are eight men in this room,” I said. I wish Leon had explained his plan a little better, I said to myself. I hope this is what he had in mind… “Every single one of them has a gun. I’d love to see you try something stupid right now.”
He looked at his teammates again, and then at the men at the bar. I could practically hear the wheels spinning in his head. “So like… what?” he finally said.
“So like I want to ask you a few questions,” I said. “That’s all. If you play along, I won’t shoot you.”
“Like you really would,” he said.
“In the bathroom,” I said. “Unless you want me to kill you right here.”
“What?” His eyes were shining with fear, or chemicals, or maybe both.
“You heard me,” I said. “Go into the bathroom. While we’re in there, all three of your friends are going to just stand here and look stupid. Is that clear?”