A smile flickered across Dumas’s lips as he heard people reacting to Chester’s impromptu show.  The magician could always be counted on to create a riveting spectacle.<br/><br/>Dumas had hoped to catch up with the hired muscle before he entered the bakery.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite quick enough.  So there would be more civilians to deal with.  Lingering on the sidewalk, Dumas attempted to formulate a plan.  Most of the bakery’s patrons were already streaming outside, drawn by their curiosity about the growing commotion  -- but it wasn’t quite enough to make the staff abandon their positions.  He’d need to improvise.  Dumas was a bad liar and an even worse actor.  However, he did possess an aura of command that generally made people do what he ordered.  He just hoped that the bakery staff had noticed the disorder outside without yet guessing its cause.<br/><br/>Thrusting open the bakery door, Dumas attempted to look official and grim.  “Everybody out!” he barked as he strode inside.  “We’ve got a code red evacuation going on.  No time to answer questions.  Just leave by back door.”<br/><br/>The few remaining customers seemed willing enough to comply.  But the woman behind the counter hesitated.  “Go!” Dumas bellowed at her, in the voice that had sent raw recruits charging onto a battlefield.  Emitting a soft cry of alarm, she turned and fled.<br/><br/>Now that he’d dealt with any possible witnesses, Dumas approached his quarry, who had also started moving toward the exit.  “Just a moment, sir.”  Reaching out, Dumas grabbed the man’s arm and held it in an iron grip as he steered him back toward the stool where he’d been sitting.  “I believe you left something behind.”<br/><br/>“What?”  Confused, the man stared at the countertop.  “I didn’t--”<br/><br/>With the force of a thrown rock, Dumas’s free hand struck the back of the man’s head, slamming it forward into the countertop.  A sharp crunching noise echoed inside the empty bakery.  Then the man slumped to the ground, out cold.  For a second, sadistic glee glinted in Dumas’s eyes, and his mouth twisted into a very unpleasant grin.  Mari was not the only one who shared her body with a monster. But  Dumas’s monster didn’t get to walk around and pretend it was a person.  Almost instantly, it sank back into the depths from which it had come.<br/><br/>Dropping to his knees, Dumas pulled the phone from the man’s pocket and waited for the inevitable call.