“Hey—you ain’t ready for the big city.”
“That’s why I’m starting in Philly.”
That one had been risky. He knew any performer took a chance when he knocked the town where he was playing. But he also knew that most cities liked to joke about themselves.
There’d been a couple spots that weren’t as smooth as he’d like, but he was pretty happy with the way the night had gone. The limo had brought him to the club. He’d hung out all evening with the other comics backstage. They’d treated him okay. Now, awake and hungry, he had one thing on his mind.
“Breakfast,” Flinch said. He knew he could get something at the hotel, but he had a craving that couldn’t be denied. He got dressed and headed out. It wasn’t hard to follow his nose to the nearest place offering fresh, hot donuts.
Walking back to the hotel, his stomach and mind both full of warm memories, he crossed in the middle of the block. It was still early and traffic was light.
He saw the car in time. Ahead of time, actually. The idiot swerved across two empty lanes at the last moment. Flinch leaped back, avoiding an untimely end to his career.
“He didn’t even see me,” Flinch muttered. The driver never glanced at him.
“What a jerk.” Looking both ways, Flinch finished crossing the street, then walked back into the hotel.
PART FOUR
which is probably
the most hectic friday
the guys will ever experience
three-part harmony
WHEN I WOKE on Friday morning, Martin was already up, watching TV with the sound turned low.
“I have a perfect plan,” he said. “We stay here. The food is great. They have all the good cable channels.” He pointed to the TV section from the paper. “There are some cool shows on tonight. The beds are comfortable, and there’s a maid to clean up after us. What do you think?”
“Perfect. And when Bowdler catches me and locks me up again, you get to have the TV all to yourself. How about we save that as a backup plan?”
“Okay. If you’re going to be selfish, we’ll tackle your problem first. But it’s fun to imagine living here, isn’t it? I mean, you can even get video games right on the TV. How cool is that?” Martin walked over to the window. “Nice view, too.”
“It would help if we knew more about them. Hey—you know what? I have their document files.” I patted my pocket.
Martin wasn’t listening to me. He pushed the curtains aside and leaned closer to the window, pressing his forehead against the glass. “Whoa …”
“What?”
“Someone almost got hit by a car.”
“So?” I figured that happened about once every five minutes around here. The cab drivers and the valet-parking guys seemed to be having a contest to see who could terrify the most pedestrians.
“So he jumped away before the car swerved in his direction.”
“Like Flinch?” I asked.
“More than like him. I think it was him. For a second, I thought I was watching a dodgeball game at Edgeview.” Martin jerked his body from side to side, in imitation of Flinch’s awesome dodgeball moves. “He went inside. Come on. Let’s catch him before he leaves the lobby.”
I handed Martin the room key. “You go. I’ll wait here.” I figured if he saw me in the lobby, he might start shouting. The last thing I wanted was attention.
“Good idea.”
Martin headed out. I paced the floor and tried to imagine his progress through the hotel. If Flinch was here, that would be great. Martin was smart, and Flinch was smart, but together they were amazing.
The door opened, and Flinch walked in. He looked like he’d put on some muscle since I’d seen him. He’d gotten a bit taller, too, but still wore the same dreadlocks.
“Hey, dead guy,” Flinch said. “How ya doing?”
“Better than ever,” I said.
“Flinch was on TV last night,” Martin said.
“Awesome.”
Flinch walked over, stared at me for a moment, then said, “What the heck, nobody’s watching.” He grabbed me and gave me a hug. “Man, I was sick over you dying. It hit me hard.” He let go and stepped back.
“I can imagine. It came as a shock to me, too.”
A strange expression flittered across on his face. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure? No injuries. No fatal diseases. Nothing deserving immediate sympathy?” The corner of his lip twitched.
“Nope. Why?”
“Because if you were hurting, I’d feel guilty about laughing my butt off.” The twitch grew into a grin as he pointed at my hair. “Black is not your color.” His whole body shook, and he dropped to his knees. “You look like you asked for a shoe shine when you were standing on your head.”