Part 28

"What do you MEAN you lost him!?" Lowell Vern howled. One hand... the one not wrapped in bloody rags... thudded on the table. It was the same table Vern had been sitting at when he'd earned those rags. "How do you lose a damned BOY!"

"Well..." Jacob Brass looked around cautiously. The tavern was mostly empty, but the few people who were there wouldn't take Jacob's side if... when... Lowell got violent. Derris Vern certainly wouldn't be any help; he was so drunk that the need to continue drinking was the only think keeping him awake. Oscar Bartleby stood behind Lowell with his arms folded and a matching scowl on his face. Fenton Barney was listening intently from behind the bar... well out of harm's way.

This wasn't good.

"What are you lookin at!" Lowell snapped. "You NEED to be out lookin' for that boy! But before you go and make a further mess of THAT, you'll be tellin' me JUST WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

Jacob flinched.

"Oh look, you scared him!" Derris teased. He sat up... but only to take another gulp of ale. "Do it again!"

"Shut up," Lowell spat

"Well, I... I don't know I just... we..."

"Was he THERE OR NOT!?"

"They SAID he was!" Jacob blurted. "But I didn't... I mean I didn't SEE him but... but when we split up he was GONE! If he was there... We think... I mean, Mr. Mills thinks that maybe he had help. There's two sets of tracks. I mean, he SAID there was two sets; I didn't see..."

"He's confusing me," Derris moaned and held his head.

"You're just like your father," said Lowell. "He never took a stand on anything either. Come in here tellin' me the boy got away and all you've got to back it up is what OTHER people said and did. What have YOU beein doin' out there, eh? Sittin' on your ass while the TOWN GOES TA HELL!? Worthless piece of-"

"You've delivered your message, boy," said Oscar. "Now get back to the hunt."

"And try not to be QUITE as worthless," Lowell spat.

"Yes, sirs." Jacob scurried out of the tavern, leaving its four occupants to themselves. Derris Vern took another large gulp of ale. Lowell Vern turned in his chair to look at each of them. Only Oscar returned his glare.

"You know what you gotta do," said Lowell. "We gotta go find that boy!"

"We got the whole town out lookin.'"

"The 'whole town' can't find its ASS if we HANDED it to 'em!"

"That ain't true. Grieves knows what he's doin'. So does Mills. So does-"

"Apparently NOT if a damned BOY can slip past 'em on a clear night! But I can find him!"

"You can't," said Oscar. "You have to stay here-"

"With the lot of YOU watching me? For WHAT?!"

"Because it's WatchNight. That's what we DO on WatchNight-"

"I'm not a threat," said Lowell. "Rietta and I both-"

"Rietta was acting strange when the womenfolk came to her," said Fenton. "Like maybe she was gonna try somethin'... maybe."

"She's a woman. She's weak. But even SHE-"

"You're stayin' here with us, Lowell." said Oscar. "That's how it is." Lowell regarded him for a moment... specifically his height, weight, and the girth of Oscar's massive arms. Lowell could take him.... barely. Maybe. Oscar raised an eyebrow, and Lowell turned around to face the door.

"It's not like I haven't proved myself already," said Lowell. "My family's been supportin' the Tribute for generations."

"Then you understand that once the boy belongs to us..." Oscar began.

"...he belongs to us," Fenton finished.

"Not if he stays missin' much longer," Lowell growled. "We don't find him tonight, NOTHING'S gonna belong to ANYBODY any more. Not us. Not ever."

"We understand what's at stake here, Lowell," said Oscar.

"Then why are we wastin' two good men, and him-" Lowell jerked his thumb at his brother, "-to just sit here and watch me? For what? Tradition? Or do you really think I'm gonna run off with the boy?"

"It's happened before-"

"NOT by me. That wasn't me! This is ridiculous."

"It's not like the three of us will make a difference anyway," said Derris. "You're hurt, and I'm... well, ME."

"You forgot last time. Who was it that found-"

"Lowell." Oscar growled.

"-I'm just sayin'. The Watch is tradition, it's NOT part of the Tribute. We can bend the rules. We HAVE to. We done it before, plenty of times. If we hadn't last time-"

"Last time, what? What are you talking about?"

"Last time we didn't go through all this foolishness! And the trouble didn't come from ME, it came from... somebody else. And I was the one that found-"

"Found who?" Oscar said flatly. "Who are you talking about?"

"Stop playing games." said Lowell. "It's happening all over again. Like it ALWAYS happens. Somebody always interferes. Sometimes it's a stranger; sometimes it ain't."

"This is different," Fenton added.

"Last time, I fixed it! But now I'm sitting here with YOU drunkards!"

"HEY! I'm not... oh wait, yes I am. Never mind."

"Oh, so you're a hero now?"

"You know I am. You were there, you know. So were you, Fenton."

"You shouldn't be talking so much about things that are best left Forgotten," said Fenton. Oscar nodded.

"Well" said Lowell. "Maybe we forget TOO much."

"That's a thin line you're walkin' there, Lowell," said Fenton. "That there ain't tradition. It's Tribute. Nothin' that goes over that hill is talked about again."

"The only thing I'm talkin' about is common sense. Hell, has anybody even been to check that damned barn?"

"Why would-"

"Because he plays there, because he thinks it's fun, because he's a kid and he likes to go places that he shouldn't go. Hell, that woulda been the FIRST place I looked. Did anybody CHECK it yet?"

"Grieves woulda checked it," said Oscar. "His group started at your house, so he woulda searched there."

"Are you sure?"

"He's not gonna hide in the same place-"

"NOW who's rememberin' stuff that they shouldn't, eh? But did anybody search it yet?"

"I said Grieves-"

"Oh for the love of... get a runner to go find Grieves and ASK him!"

"We just sent the last one away. Have to wait 'til somebody sends a report back."

Lowell sighed. He looked at Fenton, then back at Oscar.

"Well SOMEBODY needs to either run and ask him or check it themselves. Any takers?"

"We're watching you," said Fenton.

"Fine. But nobody said you had to watch me RIGHT HERE now, did they?"