Suddenly, everything came loose. A hard elbow to the Hteymi’s solar plexus slackened the grip on his throat and he was able to put the knife to the Hteymi’s throat. He didn’t have to worry about the gun. The Hteymi’s hand had been completely severed. It lay on the floor like a dead crab, the fingers frozen around the gun.

The Scorpion pried the gun from the still-warm fingers and pointed it at the Hteymi, who stood up slowly, cradling his severed wrist in his good hand. The wrist rhythmically spurted blood like an uncapped oil pump. The Hteymi’s eyes were insane.

The Scorpion ripped off his bloodied veil and prodded the Hteymi with the knife in his other hand.

“Quickly. The men’s toilet!” he said, motioning with the gun.

“My hand, my hand …” the Hteymi began to blubber.

“Hurry! You still have lots of parts I can cut off,” the Scorpion snapped harshly, gesturing at the Hteymi’s privates with the bloody knife. The Hteymi glanced around desperately.

“There’s no help. Your friend is dead. Move!” the Scorpion snarled, jabbing lightly below the belt with the knife. The Hteymi stumbled down the aisle, the Scorpion’s arm around him, knife at his throat.

They pushed their way into the men’s toilet. It stank of urine and cheap tobacco and musk cologne. The only light came from a small open window near the ceiling. A Baluchi janitor was at the mirror, poking at his bushy hair with a comb. When he saw the two men covered with blood he called upon Allah. When he saw the gun, his jaw dropped open and he scuttled out of the door. The Scorpion locked the door and savagely shoved the Hteymi into a stall. The Baluchi was probably too frightened to tell the police, but time was running out, the Scorpion knew. He had to move fast. And he hadn’t forgotten all the innocent people killed by the Hteymi back at the Juice Bar.

The Scorpion’s icy gray eyes stared at the trembling Hteymi. With an almost casual backhand, he pistol-whipped the Hteymi across the face, smashing the Hteymi’s nose and knocking him back against the wall. Before the stunned Hteymi could recover his balance, the Scorpion cut open the man’s belt and trousers. The Hteymi stood there in his underwear, his trousers around his ankles, his wrist spraying blood over them both. His eyes were utterly terrified.