Rey- ner hung back just enough to av oi d sc ru ti - ny, and then he unleashed his senses and opened him- self up to the fl ood of si ght s, sounds, smells and sens ati ons that drenched his surroundings yet went unnoticed by most.
A dozen or mo re people loitered outs ide the glass doors smoking ciga- rettes and glistening with pe rs pi ra ti on, la ug hi ng, fl irti ng and ready for whatever the night would bring them while the bouncers surveyed the vi- cinity for signs of trouble and the law. Latin music was not something that he had any special affi nity for, but there was something about the place, something beyond the exotic rhythms and the lively play of dancers’ shadows against the cur- tains that hung ins ide the club’s full-length windows that drew him nonetheless. As was his way, Reyner stayed mostly in the shadows, uncertain of his ability to blend in easily with the rovi ng throngs of intoxicated partygoers and cigar-smoking Y oung Turks whose sleek mo bile phones and high-lim it credit cards contribu ted to their conviction that they were invinci ble. Th e Pa vi ll io n wasn’t more than a 15-min ute walk past Pete’s Liquo rs, but the popular nightclub an d th e bo is te ro us streets around it were no less foreign to the shadowy newcomer than would be the labyrinthine pas- sages of a Damascene bazaar. But some- thing was in the air tonight, and for the fi rst time since his Pris cus’ s tawd ry little drama four months prior, Reyner felt an oddly pleasant compulsion to venture beyond the security of his traditional hunting grounds. So long as oth- ers steered clear of the corner of 24th and Falk- land, he had no beef with them. Still, rare was the occasion when a visitor did not fi rst pay his respects before treading on Reyner’s de facto domain.
That corner of the Rack had become his by common law, though he had never so much as suggested that this was so to another. Most nights Reyner stayed within a few blocks of 23rd and Army Drive, mingling almost invisibly with the scruffy bohemians and menac ing str eet fi xtures wi th a prac ticed ease that left him free to ponder things besides how to stay under the radar.
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