Chapter 10
Al followed the woman not without some self-reproach. Since when did he start chasing after every pretty skirt? He tried to recall how long it had been since he shared women's company. A trip to disreputable part of the city and a courtesan or two could have put an end to the silly pursuits. Intuition whispered that his desire to follow this woman meant more.
Why had she come to the market and what was she looking for remained unknown. She wasn't trying to buy a specific item, the wondering without purpose. A prickling feeling that often hailed trouble emerged when she gradually ventured away from the busy area towards the adjacent streets that lead to a poor neighbourhood.
Al waited. Someone other than him was watching her. Every instinct said so. Al put a hand on his belt where a boomerang was sheathed when an old hag hobbled out of one of the shady nooks. His newly selected responsibility, however, wasn't alarmed by the exchange. Foolish girl! The innocent likes of her should have stuck to the crowded places where a little shriek sent a bunch of chivalrous strangers running to her rescue. She certainly shouldn't have traversed ill reputed places and flaunted money in front of a shady persona who looked like she strangled her ancient harpy grandmother for a string of beads.
His suspicion proved valid when the hag went back into her shop, after releasing the customer from her web, and a man emerged from it to follow the young woman in an open manner with the intention of catching her before anyone else shoved up on the empty street.
Al shortened the distance between them. Hopefully, the woman wasn't going to shriek at being overtaken. He hated noisy hysterics. The bandit reached out with a hairy paw and grabbed her elbow. The woman was spun to face a square chin overgrown with a scraggly beard.
"I got a fair proposition for you girly," the beard bellowed, very much convinced of his superiority.
The woman didn't faint or look remotely cowed. "Unhand me!" she said loudly, jerking her arm out of his hold and taking half a step back.
The beard's face blanked in confusion at the resistance and then contorted in anger. "Just give me the money, you stupid wench, and I won't have to kill you!" he yelled, pulling a dirty knife from his pocket. A wooden basket jammed over his head that pinned his arms to the body and a dishonourable kick into the rear sent the aggressor sprawling on the ground.
This had been too easy. What a pity, Wayne considered as he prepared to shake off a rain of grateful tears and sobs. The restless energy that told him to punch someone after the disagreement with GL still bubbled inside.
Dropping the guard nearly made him a victim of a fast-flying punch that headed directly for his left eye. Only the years of honed reflexes rescued him.
"What are you doing, insane female?" he exclaimed when another swing breezed by alarmingly close.
"You think I'm stupid? This act of pretending to attack your villainous accomplice will not earn my trust!"
Curses, she was fast! Nettled by the ludicrous suggestion, Al grabbed her wrist, but didn't get to keep it because a kick nearly got him in a place all men strived to protect. When he wanted a fight, he certainly wasn't expecting to be attacked by what at first looked like a mild mannered houseplant girl.
"What sort cretinous housewife tales have you been listening to-ouch!?" A basket flung at him bounced off his head. "Bandits don't do cheap theatrics! If I was working with that guy, I would have clubbed you over the head, plain and simple, while he had your attention! Had you any common sense you'd realise I was trying to help!"
"And if you had any common sense, you'd know how to… DUCK!"
Not needing a second invitation, Bruce dived under her fist that vengefully slammed into her recent attacker's face. The beard managed to wiggle free of the basket during their squabble and screeching his teeth like a ticked off crocodile tried to put a knife into the back of the man who embarrassed him. The swing got him good. Beard fell flat on his back like a chopped down log, but didn't stay down. Clutching a bloodied nose, he staggered up and ran, cursing the day he met the crazy pair.
"Do all men end up running from you spotting bountiful black eyes and broken noses?"
"I wish it happened more often."
Wayne quirked a sardonic eyebrow at how seriously she said that.
"Thank you."
The woman was still regarding him sceptically, but at least his face was temporarily safe from her attempts at self-defence that could have buried an invading army.
"Listen, that thug can bring his friends to get even. They might search this area. It would be better if I showed you the fastest way home out of here," he ventured, not that his previous attempt to help had been met with enthusiasm.
"Home?" the woman echoed reluctantly and dug her heels into the street dust like a mule. "Right now, I got no home to go back to!"
"I don't care that you had a fight with your daddy and decided to boycott home by spending a day elsewhere," he snapped, having no time for family dramas. "You should go back before your little adventure gets you into big trouble. There is a good reason your family would worry about you."
At the mention of family, a guilty look crossed her face that was quickly replaced by indignation. "If I said I have no place to go back to, then I do not! Don't question my word!"
"Are you trying to convince me you're as good as a street rat?" Wayne crossed his arms on his chest and threw a look at her full of irony. "No offence, but you don't look like you can survive a day in this city."
"I can survive anywhere!" she exclaimed passionately, nettled by the implication that she couldn't take care of herself.
"Prove it."
"What?"
"Come with me and prove it."
Al grabbed her hand decisively, mostly expecting to be smacked for the rough handling, but she allowed him to finally drag her away from the dangerous spot. The skin where he gripped her wrist was as delicate as the rose petals. Holding the slender limb, it was difficult to imagine she was capable of knocking down a grown man. This could not be a hand belonging to a person who had no home. Wayne led them back to the safe market area, fully expecting her to bail out on the plan he intended to propose.
"Do it," he said expectably, leading them into the center of the crowd.
"Do what?"
Of course she didn't have an idea what he wanted of her.
"Every street rat knows how to take out a wallet unseen from a passerby. In your case, I will accept getting either a wallet or something from one. Or do you intend to take back your claim and tell me where you live?"
"I take nothing back! You just watch!"
"Fine," Al shrugged. He separated from the woman, nonetheless hanging close at hand because she was bound to mess up if she proceeded. A doubt emerged about her quitting when it actually came down to acting, even though she clearly didn't know what she was doing. Observing her, as the woman looked around in confusion wondering where to start, raised a ticklish sensation in his stomach. This was too amusing. Like a kitten in a tub of shallow water she kept peddling through. Laughter bubbled in his chest.
The target she finally settled on wasn't such a bad choice. It was a burly man who confidently wore the wallet on his belt because his impressive size usually dissuaded anyone from trying any funny business. She unbuckled the wallet unnoticed, however, the heavy item slipped through her hands and noisily clattered to the ground. Silly woman! Rather than turning away to pretend she was greatly interested in the items displayed at the nearest stall, she picked up the wallet right when the owner turned around.
"What do you think you're doing?" he bellowed.
Like a shadow, Wayne made a step forward, calculating how to cause the biggest amount of ruckus by openly grabbing the wallet from them and running for it. The market was the easiest place to spread panic and turn the place upside down, making everyone believe that a vicious pack of baboons was attacking it.
"You dropped this," the woman claimed with an angelic smile, holding out the wallet to the frowning man.
His glare melted under its beauty and the man produced a coin from the wallet, which he dropped into her hand. "It's nice to see an honest young lady like you," he declared.
Diana thanked the man and moved away. Her gaze swept the crowd in search of her companion and she smiled in triumph, spotting him nearby. "Your turn," she announced.
"That does not count."
"You said to get something from a wallet. I don't recall you specifying the strategy. Since I must prove myself, then so should you," she steered the conversation back to where she wanted it. "Unless…" disdain emerged in her voice that he didn't like because it dumped him into a trash pile of the unknown others who clearly were beneath her consideration, "you're only good at manipulating others into doing what you want without being able to do it yourself."
"Fine. What is it that you want?"
Diana flipped the coin into the air and he caught it.
"Return it to the same gentleman's wallet," she challenged.
She just wanted to return the money. While he was fairly certain, there was no evidence to call her out on it. "Try to keep up. I hate looking for lost little girls."
"Are you saying you're going to miss me?"
The flirtatious note was there. Wayne turned on his heel and made way through the crowd to conceal that he was affected by it.
The man couldn't have gone far. His towering turban was visible from the other end of the market. On purpose, Al made a wide circle around the area, setting a brisk pace to see whether she could keep up. The woman followed nimbly, making him wonder where a good girl could have picked up the advance tracking skills. Almost impressed, Wayne moved on to fulfil his promise.
It would have been easy to slip the coin back by casually passing the man without as much a touch. That masterful skill of remaining unseen was sure to be underappreciated as it wasn't flashy enough. After the amusement she provided him with it was a shame to avoid entertaining her with an equal circus. He most certainly wasn't showing off. Was he? Al waited for his target to strike a bargain for a ripe lot of mangos and open the wallet.
Al bumped into him heavily and simultaneously flipped the coin behind his back as the other's attention shifted to the offender. The glimmering circle bounced off a bronze plate and landed directly into the wallet, while his entire attention shifted to the man who stood close enough to grab him by the scruff of the neck. Wayne smiled apologetically. Pissing off a guy who had a fist the size of a watermelon begged to exercise some intricate diplomacy. The angry urge to pick a fight after arguing with GL dissipated. In its place came boundless mischief.
"I'm…"
A huge fist closed around his throat, cutting off any assurances Wayne might have come up with and he was lifted off his feet.
"How dare you bump into Houssam!" the man bellowed vengefully, taking in Al's questionable outfit as a sign of thievery. "You were planning on robbing me it seems? You know the law! I ought to chop off your ears!" he grabbed a massive hatchet from the belt to ensure just that when a woman hung onto his arm with an anguished wail.
"Hafiz! What have you done this time?"
"You again?" the man growled.
"I'm so terribly sorry. Has my brother done something again?" the woman batted her eyelashes prettily and stood on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear. "It is tragic, really. He walks around looking for the Sultan and mistakes him for all sorts of things!"
"Huh?"
The grip loosened, dropping Wayne who instantly prostrated himself before the ugliest monkey statue that stood rolling its eyes with its tongue lolling wide out.
"Hail the mighty Sultan!" Wayne announced sincerely enough like his lobe placement depended on it.
"Now dear," supervised by a highly sceptical stare, the woman knelt beside him and patted Al's arm gently. "You mustn't bother the Sultan. The audience day isn't today. We must see the doctor instead."
"We come back tomorrow?" Al asked, agreeing reluctantly to get up.
"Oh yes."
Since the hatchet was still not sheathed, Wayne bowed to the nearest camel and patted its muzzle. "Hello doctor!" he greeted.
"No dear, we must see another doctor," the woman assured, pulling him along until they melted into the crowd away from the vengeful customer.
Wayne observed his companion out of the corner of his eye, having never expected that he'd be saved by her in return. That was impressively quick thinking.
"So," the woman inquired, not letting his arm go like everything had long been decided, "where do you intend to take me next? Any other trials?"
When did he agree to become her guide? There was always the option of leaving without an explanation. Wayne stopped thinking about it.
"Pear fishing…"