"Okay, start recording." She glanced around until she spotted Henderson, then turned toward the girls' table. When Kim glanced up at her, she motioned at Henderson with her glass. Kim looked over her shoulder, ducked quickly, and tried to hide her face with her hand. The others hunched over, letting their hair fall across their faces.

Pervy Patty passed their table, frowned, and turned slowly. He took a step back the way he'd come, then he noticed Myaku and her friends. He smirked, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned against the wall. He locked his eyes onto them and remained where he was, content to watch them for a moment.

Corona shuddered. Just as Taura had said, there was something about his eyes that told her the young man was a couple quarts low. "Oh, he gives me the creeps."

Jack smirked. "That's an impressive shiner he's got."

"He's gonna look even worse than that if he doesn't leave those girls alone." She took a deep breath and let it rush out. "Okay, you recording?"

"Yeah, I started as soon as I spotted him."

"Good. Now let's see if he tries anything."

The minutes ticked slowly away. Corona finished her cola and ordered a refill. Henderson hadn't moved by the time she finished the second one. He hadn't approached their table, but the way he'd kept his eyes locked onto them was one of the most unnerving things Corona had ever witnessed. She suppressed another shudder.

Jack didn't take his own eyes off Patty, though, even when he took a moment to sip his coffee. By the time his cup was empty, Henderson still hadn't moved.

Finally, Nori pushed her chair back and stood slowly, fear and dread clouding her face. She met Corona's gaze and twitched her head toward the front door, then turned and shuffled away.

Even from halfway across the room, Corona could see the girl's hands shaking.

Henderson turned his head to track Nori.

Come on, take the bait. The more Corona saw of this guy, the more she wanted an excuse to beat the living shit out of him.

On the other hand, if he didn't go for it, at least Nori would be safe.

Henderson glanced around, pushed away from the wall, and followed Nori.

"Got him," Jack muttered.

"Yeah. Hold on a sec." Corona waited until Henderson had moved far enough away not to notice her following him, then she nodded at Jack. "Okay, let's go."

They hurried after him, staying back far enough to avoid spooking him, but close enough for Corona to reach him quickly if he got out of hand.

Henderson stepped outside and Corona caught the edge of the door before it could close. She paused for a few seconds, pulled it open, and ducked through. She found Henderson disappearing around the corner to the left, heading for the alley behind the club.

Corona peeked around the corner and saw him following Nori into the alley. She moved aside to give Jack an unobstructed view.

Nori leaned against the wall, opened her purse, and dug around inside, pretending not to see Henderson approaching her. But as he approached, she lost her nerve and backed away from him.

"Get away from me!" Nori turned to run.

Henderson grabbed her arm. "Hey, wait a minute. I just wanna spend a little time with you." He slid his free hand under her shirt.

She screamed and tried to push him away, then wrenched her arm out of his grasp. She screamed again and turned to run, but he reached out to grab her, clamping one hand onto her arm and the other onto the lapel of her coat.

"Wait just a minute! Don't be in such a hurry. If you give me a chance, you'll see I'm a nice guy. I'm just …"

Aw, shit, here it comes, just like Jack said.

"I … I have a boyfriend already! Let me go!"

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"Let me go!" Nori lunged away from him, but couldn't break his grip. "Let me go! Let me go!"

He covered her mouth with his hand, muffling her screams. "Quiet. Don't make a scene, now."

Jack drew his gun and switched the safety off.

"You get all that?" Corona whispered.

"Yeah," Jack answered through clenched teeth. "Take care of him before I blow his fuckin' head off."

Corona strode over to Henderson. She clamped her hand onto his left shoulder and squeezed. He cried out and let go of Nori. Corona spun him around to face her, grabbed his throat, and lifted him off the ground. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He clawed and pried at her talons, but couldn't budge them.

"Better go back to your friends," she said to Nori. "You don't want to see this."