The Traveler’s Tale
The big traveler lumbered to the bar, pulled up a stool that groaned under his weight, and ordered a beer. He wasn’t subtle, and that was something I could appreciate. He started talking before the barman even had a chance to set the glass down, filling the quiet joint with tales of dusty roads and far-off cities. He spoke of Istanbul, a city of a million secrets, and Budapest, a puzzle box wrapped in old stone. He wove stories of hot winds in Darjeeling and the humid, electric buzz of Bangkok at night.
The Crimson Glint
As he spoke, he gestured with big, sweeping hands, and a crimson flash from the ring on his finger cut through the smoky air. It caught the low light from the single bulb and painted the walls and faces of the patrons in streaks of blood red. It was a hell of a rock. A big, beautiful red diamond set on a thick, half-inch wide gold band. The glare was blinding for a second, a punch of color in a world of gray.
The big stranger talked on, a river of words that didn’t seem to have a dam in sight. He looked like a Brutus, and that’s what I’d call him. He had the build of a man who could knock a bull over, but his eyes had the faraway look of a traveler, a man who’d seen things you only read about in books. A sailor, a merchant—he was something out of his element here, and that was a dangerous kind of curiosity.
Weasel Makes a Move
But I wasn’t the only one watching. Across the room, Weasel, the spotter, had caught the glint. His eyes, already darting, fixed on the ring, a moth to a flame. He moved like a shadow, slick and fast, making his way toward the bar.
He slid up next to Brutus and gave him his best crooked smile. “You tell some interesting tales,” Weasel said, his voice as smooth as a polished stone. “Mind if I join you?”
The big man, still lost in his own story, turned and looked at Weasel, his face a sudden portrait of a man coming out of a dream. “Please do,” Brutus rumbled, and the two of them sat there, the big man’s stories filling the air as Weasel’s greedy eyes never left the diamond. The show was just getting started, and this act promised to be a real headliner.
