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after the raider captain.
Gehrig led the way inside the building.
Ryan already knew from the smell and the lively music coming from inside that
the Bent
Rose was a gaudy. He didn't worry about Krysty being offended by what was
inside, and if there'd been rules against women coming in, Gehrig would have
said something.
The interior was fanciful, decorated with daringly colored chiffons and silks
and other fabrics Ryan couldn't identify. A stage, raised above the hardwood
floor by three feet, was flanked by two bars at three o'clock and nine
o'clock. Men in clean white shirts worked behind the bars pushing drinks at
scantily clad women.
On the stage a dancer performed a languorous striptease act in front of the
midafternoon crowd, which hooted enthusiastically. She was tall, blond and
statuesque in a way that defied gravity, with breasts as big as melons.
"Upon my soul," Doc said reverently, taking the woman in at a glance with
difficulty, "if dear old Isaac Newton could only see this vision before us, I
daresay he'd have to do some refiguring."
"Close your mouth, Doc," Krysty said dryly. "You're going to strangle on a
fly."
"This is my place," Gehrig said proudly. "One of them, anyway." He led the
party to a booth in the corner that was conspicuously empty.
"Your seat," Ryan said.
"Always." The raider captain's men spread out around the room, effectively
sealing off all exits. The crowd readily gave way to them.
Ryan swept the accommodations with a glance, keeping his face impassive. "Got
the distinct feeling you're wanting to keep me underfoot."
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Gehrig waved to a booth across from him as he sat. "I'm a blunt man, mate, and
I've got the feeling you're pretty much the same. I believe your story about
the Deathlands and how you come to be here, but I've got a lot here to
protect."
Ryan nodded. "I've come to see over the years that the more a man takes for
himself from others, the more he worries that some others are going to come
along and take from him.
Doesn't make for an easy mind."
" 'Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,' " Gehrig quoted.
"That is Shakespeare," Doc said.
The raider captain looked at the old man. "You know of the Bard?"
Doc brushed dirt from the lapels of his frock coat. "Indeed I do. Tell me,
then, have all his works survived?"
"I don't know about all of them," Gehrig said. "But a lot of the street people
keep his stuff alive down at the Globe."
"The Globe? Surely it cannot be the same theater where so many of the master's
works were first trod upon the boards."
Gehrig shook his head. "No. This is just a small place, mostly kept alive by
the locals."
"True art," Doc said, "will always out." He glanced at Ryan. "Friend Cawdor,
if I may?"
Ryan nodded. He wasn't Doc's keeper, and it was good to see the old man
excited about something again.
Doc didn't waste any time clearing out. The afternoon crowd surrounding the
center stage summoned up a lively round of applause as the dancer finished her
set and a lean brunette covered with body tattoos took her place.
A woman came over from the nearest bar carrying a tray full of drinks. She
slipped them onto the table and walked away.
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"Sit," Gehrig said.
"I need a room for us," Ryan stated.
Gehrig lit a cigar, then leaned back and pushed a plume of smoke through his
lips.
"There's rooms upstairs, and there should be some empty."
"How much?" Ryan asked.
"We can discuss that later."
Ryan shook his head. "I'm a man believes in settling up as I go along."
Rubbing his chin, Gehrig kept his eyes locked on Ryan. "You helped my men and
me escape the trap the Prince laid for us today at the gap. You spend the day
and the night in one of those rooms, or as many rooms as you like, drink and
eat what you will of the fare offered here, and I figure we're even."
Ryan didn't hesitate over the deal. But he knew that there was the underlying
threat that the raider captain wouldn't feel beholden anymore, either. "Done."
"Good enough." Gehrig snapped his fingers, and one of the waitresses hovering
nearby came over. "Take them upstairs and get them settled in."
The woman appeared hesitant. "Even the dryad?" She acted as if she couldn't
believe it.
"Yeah," Gehrig said, turning his burning gaze on her.
She looked away hurriedly. "At once." She retreated a little ways off, then
stood nervously waiting.
"Go on up," Ryan told Krysty. "I'll be along after a while."
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