(which, to be honest, bugs me to no end! People are always judging him before they even know him). What was weird was that they seemed to be talking about him. Every time they would look over, I could see them whispering something to each other. I thought maybe I should go over there and tell them to bug off, but then I got curious. I kind of wanted to hear what they were saying before I popped each one of them in the mouth. I scooted off my seat, and started to make my way behind them so I could listen in. I’m not even sure Brutus saw that I left. The man had told me that his mother used to say that a piano could fall on his head and he probably wouldn’t notice. I had to agree with his mom on that one. Brutus seemed to be in his own little world most of the time, daydreaming about The King of the Rings or whatever those books were called. Thankfully the bar was crowded that night. I was able to get relatively close to the men without them noticing me. As I got closer, I noticed a lot more about them. The men were sort of an odd group. The two smaller ones looked similar, most likely brothers or maybe even twins. They couldn’t have been more than 21. Both had rumpled and dirty clothes on that looked like they hadn’t taken them off for a few days. They had greasy, sandy-colored hair, long noses, and wiry frames. The third man was the complete opposite. He was middle-aged, heavyset, balding, and had a pudgy face that looked a little like Pixie, Brutus' Saint Bernard. His eyes were such a dark brown that they almost looked black. Instead of wearing ratty clothes like the two brothers, he was wearing a nice suit that bulged around his big frame. They were whispering quietly, so I had to lean in close to hear what they were saying. “Are you sure that it’s him?” asked one of the brothers. “I mean… I think so,” said the other sibling uncertainly. “I know he fits the description pretty well: dark skin, black hair, thick beard, huge. It’s our first job, though, so I don’t want to mess this up.” That’s when the bigger guy spoke up, “You two needa calm down! I ain’t gonna be helpin’ ya. I chose you two fo’ dis job so you betta not screw ’er up. Otherwise it’s gon be you two sleepin’ wit da fishes instead of him.” Those words sent a shiver down my spine. I suddenly felt guilty for picking the worst bar in town. Maybe Margaret wasn’t so far off when she said I get Brutus into dangerous situations. The older man started talking again. “Imma take off. I don’ care how you do it, jus’ get ’er done quick. Wait ’til he’s away from the crowd ’er sometin’ and take ’im out.” The big bald man left the two brothers on their own, still looking at Page 80
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