"You must want to get to Jorgensen's pretty bad," the thug said in a grating voice. "What's your game, hick?"
Retief looked at the coffee cup, picked it up.
"I don't think I want my coffee," he said. He looked at the thug. "You drink it."
The thug squinted at Retief. "A wise hick," he began.
With a flick of the wrist, Retief tossed the coffee into the thug's face, then stood and slammed a straight right to the chin. The thug went down.
Retief looked at Mr. Tony, still standing open-mouthed.
"You can take your playmates away now, Tony," he said. "And don't bother to come around yourself. You're not funny enough."
Mr. Tony found his voice.
"Take him, Marbles!" he growled.
The thick-necked man slipped a hand inside his tunic and brought out a long-bladed knife. He licked his lips and moved in.