TW02 The Timekeeper Conspiracy NEW by Simon Hawke Read Free Book Online Page B

table. D'Artagnan shook his head, stunned.
    "For such a little squirt, he takes a punch pretty good," said Finn. "I've laid out guys twice his size with that shot."
    "That was most unsporting of you, sir," D'Artagnan said, getting to his feet.
    "Fighting's not a sport, son," Finn said. "At least not where I come from. You either win or you lose and I prefer to win."
    "Yes, clearly you are not a gentleman," D'Artagnan said. "In Gascony, we do not hit a man when he isn't looking."
    "Well, I'm looking now," said Finn. "Take your best shot."
    "Prepare yourself, my friend. Though you be twice my size, I'm going to teach you manners."
    "Are you going to talk or fight?" said Finn.
    Lucas rolled his eyes. "You know, Forrester was right," he said. "You
are
a ten-year-old."
    D'Artagnan swung at Finn wildly. Finn easily ducked beneath his swing and gave him a hard uppercut to the jaw. D'Artagnan went down again.
    "And that's that," said Finn.
    D'Artagnan started to get up. His mouth was bloody.
    "I thought you said that was that," said Lucas.
    "Stubborn little bastard, isn't he?" said Finn.
    D'Artagnan came at him again. Finn blocked his punch and gave him a right cross. D'Artagnan fell again.
    "That ought to satisfy his honor," Finn said.
    Slowly, D'Artagnan rose to his feet.
    "I think you're losing your touch," said Lucas. "He keeps getting up."
    "We'll fix that," said Finn.
    D'Artagnan swung again, only this time it was a feint and he caught Finn off guard. As a result, Finn caught a left hook and fell back into a table.
    "You fixed that real good," said Lucas.
    "All right, enough's enough," said Finn. This time, when D'Artagnan came at him, Finn used karate.
    He stopped him cold with a front kick to the chest, then dropped him with a side kick and a roundhouse to the temple, both delivered off the same foot with lightning speed.
    "That wasn't really fair," said Lucas.
    "Screw fairness. This kid's built like an ox." He sat down and poured himself a glass of wine. "Hits well, too." He rubbed his jaw.
    Lucas tapped him on the shoulder and pointed. D'Artagnan was getting up again.
    "I seem to recall that we agreed upon fists, not feet," he said. His words were slurred and he was unsteady on his feet.
    "He's got a point," said Lucas.
    The innkeeper had ventured forth from beneath the table and he now watched with interest.
    Finn got up again. "Feel free to use whatever works," he said. He put his fists up. D'Artagnan, moving faster than he looked able to, hit Finn with a chair. The chair broke and Finn fell to the floor, unconscious.
    "That worked very well," D'Artagnan said. He turned to Lucas. "Now, Monsieur, it is your turn."
    Lucas raised his hands. "Not I. We have no quarrel, Monsieur. If honor has been satisfied, will you allow me to share our wine with you while my friend gets some much-needed rest?"
    D'Artagnan pondered this invitation for a moment. "Honor is satisfied," he said, "though I do not think that this is what my father meant when he urged me to fight duels. Besides, I welcome the chance to rest myself. Your friend has the strength of ten." He sat down at Lucas's table.
    Lucas poured him a glass of wine, which he drank quickly.
    "Finn may have the strength of ten," he said, "but I notice that he's the one who's on the floor and not you. Allow me to congratulate you. It's the first time I've ever seen him lose a fight."
    "Finn? What sort of name is that?"
    "Irish," said Lucas.
    "Ah. And you are Irish, as well?"
    "No, I'm ... a Gascon."
    "I would not have known it! We are countrymen! I, too, am a Gascon! You have, perhaps, heard of my father? He was a well-known soldier."
    "Indeed I have," said Lucas. "Which is why I advised my friend to refrain from crossing swords with you. We have gone through much together and I would have hated to lose a friend to a swordsman who was the son of the famous D'Artagnan. If you are half the man your father is, my friend would not have stood a chance. And it was only a misunderstanding,