Free Savage by Robyn Wideman Page B

hand over your coins before we have to give you a sample of what will happen if you don’t pay if three days,” said the second thug, a weasel looking man with a high nasal voice.
    “I’ll give you what coin is mine, but most of what I’m carrying doesn’t belong to me. I can’t give it to you.”
    “I don’t care whose coin it is. We are taking all the coins you have. You can explain how you lost it gambling,” said the first thug.
    “I only gamble with my own money, and trust me, you don’t want to take these coins. You’d be stealing from a very irritable person; someone you’d rather not have to deal with. Honestly, I’ll do you a favor, if you all leave right now, I’ll go talk to Grundal and explain the situation.”
    “Nice try,” said the first thug as he pushed Kyra against the alley wall. He then patted her down and removed her coin purse. “Grundal is far more dangerous than whoever you are working for. Three days, Kyra, you have three days to get the rest of it.” The thug lifted the coin purse feeling the heft of it. “A pity, it seems this will cover a large percentage of your debt. Perhaps you’ll actually be able to pay it all.”
    “First, I always pay my debts. Second, the coins don’t belong to someone I work for, they belong to my friend. And I warned you not to take the coins. Now you can explain to him why you have his coins,” said Kyra as she looked past the thugs towards Bazur.
    Kyra’s words were like music to his ears. He had been holding back, waiting to see how she would handle the situation, but now she’d mentioned him. Given him permission to get involved. These horse’s asses were about to get a lesson in manners. Bazur took a half step forward so the thugs could see his outline in the shadows.
    The thugs all turned and looked at Bazur. They were surprised to see someone standing in the shadows.
    “Mister, you best leave before you get hurt. Our issue is with Kyra, not you,” said the first thug as he waved his hand at Bazur, indicating that he should flee.
    Bazur took another step out of the shadows. He now blocked the entrance to the alley. “Your issue may be with her, but that is my coin that you are holding.”
    “It was your coin. You shouldn’t have trusted a thief with your coins. Kyra can pay you back once she’s done paying Grundal. Now leave before you lose more than a few coins.”
    Bazur sighed. The story was old. The ploy well and often used. Intimidate and scare your opponents. If they submit out of fear, you can get away with nearly anything. The problem for the thugs was that there was nothing about them that intimidated Bazur. He briefly considered how his actions would affect Kyra, but it was obvious she was in deep with the wrong crowd. If they were going to work together, this issue of gambling debts needed to be dealt with. First, these three needed a lesson, then he’d deal with the root of the problem: Grundal. With a quick step forward, Bazur grabbed the first thug by the chest, his fingers clenched the thug’s shirt. Grabbing copious amounts of chest hair along with the cotton clothing, Bazur yanked his hand back, pulling the thug towards him. He could see the thug flinch as his chest hair was ripped away from his skin. Bazur lowered his head swiftly, bringing his forehead down against the bridge of the thug’s nose. A crunching sound filled the alley as the man’s nose was crushed.
    The weasel-like thug tried to jump on Bazur’s back while the third thug, a clumsy oaf with a huge pasty-white belly sticking out of his two sizes too small tunic, took a swing at him. Bazur easily dodged the punch and pivoted. He ignored the small thug trying to climb on his back and choke him. Instead, he focused on the fat thug. He pulled his right leg back and kicked chubby in the inside of his kneecap. The porky thug cried out in pain as his leg gave out. As the fat thug fell, Bazur punched him in the throat. With the first two thugs dealt with,