‘You need to be more selective with your clientele.’
‘It’s all natural selection here.’
‘Yeah? Well, you’re about to see Darwinism in action.’
Dempsey was on the guy before Ryan could even react. By the time Ryan reached the table, Dempsey had his forearm jammed under the preppie’s chin, and his knee in the guy’s balls, the whole weight of Dempsey trying to force him through the wall.
‘Did you say something about me?’ said Dempsey. ‘Well, did you?’
Some of his spittle landed on the man’s face, which was rapidly turning a deep red. The guy tried to shake his head, but he could barely move it. A choking noise forced itself from his lips. The woman beside him reached out as if to pull Dempsey’s arm away. He turned his head toward her and said, ‘Don’t.’
‘Please,’ said the woman.
‘Please what?’ said Dempsey.
‘Please leave him alone.’
‘You’re not laughing now, are you, you horse-faced bitch?’ said Dempsey. ‘Answer me. Answer me!’
‘No, I’m not laughing.’
As if to confirm the fact, she began to cry. Carefully, Ryan touched Dempsey on the shoulder.
‘Come on, let it go. We’re done here.’
Slowly, Dempsey released his hold on the man.
‘Go back to fucking Cambridge where you belong,’ he said. ‘If I ever see you again, I’ll rape her and make you watch.’
Dempsey rose and backed away. He was breathing hard. His victim was so shaken that he hadn’t moved. That was the way with the weak ones: If you were on them fast, and shocked them enough, you didn’t need to cause them any real harm.
The bartender watched Dempsey carefully. He hadn’t made any effort to stop what was taking place, but that was because he’d seen it all before, and was prepared to let events take something of their course before intervening. Still, he didn’t look impressed. They wouldn’t be welcome here again, not that they had any plans to return.
Dempsey tossed a twenty on the bar.
‘Toward your yacht,’ he told the bartender.
‘I’ll name it after you,’ said the bartender. ‘Do you spell “Asshole” with one s or two?’
‘You can spell it with one s. That way, we’ll know it’s yours when we set fire to it.’
He picked up his pack of cigarettes and dropped them in his jacket pocket.
‘Come on then,’ he said to Ryan. ‘Let’s get it over with.’