Chapter 16

“Well, well,” Leslie said as she stepped away from the bar and towards the pool table. “I can see that some things never really change.”

The fact was that this particular bar, done in a Canadian style, was relatively empty at the moment. The guy running the joint was here but, if you took him out of the picture there might have been five other people in the bar that Leslie did not give a crap about. The only three that mattered, were the two shooting pool and herself. She had seen them as soon as she had walked in the door. They had obviously seen her as well. Leslie ignored them though and, apparently, they had decided to return the favor. Leslie drank beer and watched the soap opera that was playing on the video screen over the bar. They kept right on shooting pool.

After her show went off, Leslie then made her move. It consisted of walking up to the rack of pool cues and slapping some change down in the row of stacked coins so they would hold her place in the line of up coming games. The male pair of this couple was about to take a shot but then, he stopped, and looked up at Leslie, “hey babe, we’re going to be here a while.”

The girl half of the couple was taking Leslie a bit more seriously. She kept her eye on Leslie and showed a bit of concern. Leslie had always figured that China Bass was the brains of the outfit. It was proving to be true. Leslie slapped her hands together and laughed for them, “I didn’t want to run you guys off. I wanted in on the game. Come on guys, not even for old times sake?”

Now, with a slight hint of hostility, China demanded, “who the fuck are you?”

Leslie remained playful, “oh come on guys, you wound me. I’m sure if you search those dark recesses a little more, between the two of you, you might be able to come up with at least one name!”

The guy, Barry Bass, straightened up. One of his hands was putting his pool cue aside while his other was reaching for the small of his back. Leslie did not even bother to respond. She stayed all smiles and laughing.

It was enough to make China paranoid. She looked around the room and wondered who else, in the bar, was with this girl. The laughter and confidence meant the girl either had real back up or was really stupid. Then it occurred to China, that the girl might be telling the truth and wasn’t a former mark who was trying to play them.

Finally China ventured a name, “Tatersall?”

“And she scores,” Leslie said with a sassy laugh, “I was starting to get offended, China.”
Barry looked to his woman for cues and China eased up a bit. His hand came back empty even if he still looked cautious, if not a bit scared. If Barry had eased up, China had gone in the opposite direction. It was like her radar had stopped scanning for general threats because it had found the genuine article and was now focusing in.

That was probably why China’s next question was very specific, “what do you want Leslie?”

“I heard about shooting,” Leslie cut her sentence short. She let the silence go on for a second and then picked up with, “pool.”
Barry sounded a bit confused, “you shoot pool here or something?” He was obviously still worried about loosing his spot. China still had her hand on his shoulder. She squeezed and he responded with an, “ow!”

With that much taken care of, China locked in on Leslie’s eyes, “and exactly what did you hear?”

Leslie reached behind her and grabbed a pool cue. She started to chalk it up as she said, “I think what I heard, was an invitation.” Putting away the chalk, Leslie strolled up to the table and leaned over it, “and since it doesn’t look like you guys have sunk any balls lately, maybe you should rack ‘em. Looks like you might need a third shooter.”

Barry was not very subtle about looking down Leslie’s shirt. He became a bit jittery but was also very reconciliatory as he said, “yeah, we might could use another player. What do you say babe?”

China’s response was a slap to the back of Barry’s head. He did not complain. If he had, then he knew China might just do something even worse. She might have done that anyway but, she was a little too busy with the other woman, “we’re doing just fine on our own.”

Leslie straightened up. She was no longer laughing but she was still quite playful, “that’s not what I hear.”

China dropped any pretense of civility, “and exactly what is it you hear?”

With both hands on the stick in front of her, and cocked hips, Leslie told them, “something about a little fishy that got away. About how the guy that owned the boat wasn’t all that happy about it. Now it would seem the pond is full of other fishermen.”

Leslie winked at China and clicked her teeth, “I’d be a little careful. They might decide they don’t want the first two fisherman telling any stories about the big one that got away.” Now it was China’s turn to be slowly reaching behind her back. It made Leslie laugh, “oh come on China. Do you think if that’s what I wanted that I’d just walk up and tip my hand like that. We’re from the old neighborhood, gal.”

The hand did not stop reaching but, at least, it did not come back with a gun either. China’s eyes narrowed as she asked Leslie, “and who the fuck told you?”

“Oh,” Leslie replied, “let’s just call it insider information. You see I got this little gig lined up with guys who are sort of cops.”

Barry was thoroughly confused, “what’s a sort of cop? Fishing? What the hell here?”

“Sort of cops,” replied Leslie. “You know, they aren’t exactly cops but they’re sort of cops. You guys heard of the rangers, right?”

Barry became even more confused, “the baseball team?”

That prompted another slap in the back of the head from China before she put it to Leslie, “Colonial Rangers? That’s bullshit, they‘re just bedtime stories about the good old days.”

“Oh they’re very real,” Leslie replied snickering, “in a keystone kind of way. They also happen to be looking for you guys right now.”
China gave a phony laugh, “and you’re just going to waltz in here and take us in, is that right?”

Leslie blew that off, almost literally, “oh hell no. What would be in it for me? Sides, we’re from the neighborhood girl and I got a better idea anyway.”

Still unconvinced, China seriously asked, “which is?”

With another wink, Leslie replied, “I know where your little lost fishy is.”