Surprised by Tad's entrance and Jimmy's sudden turn, Derby's wide overhead punch missed and swung past Jimmy's shoulder, ineffective. All was not lost, however, as he recoiled back into himself and put both arms over his face in a boxer's shield. He jotted away several steps, letting Tad take the brunt of Jimmy's blows for a bit. That looked like it hurt, but that's what friends were for. His chest ached when he sucked in breath, cheeks radiating heat like twin lumps of fired coal. So focused on shielding himself from harm, he wasn't fast enough to see Jimmy crouch low and jump for his legs.
"Agh! You neanderthal!" he choked, his spine jolting with electric shock when he hit the boardwalk below. The world spun before his eyes, a brief flash of blue sky and then musty yellow wood. His throat collapsed on him, and when Jimmy's fist hit his ribcage, the thump had all the energy of an empty burlap sack. Derby shook around like a doll when Jimmy grabbed his shirt, but his determination wasn't gone yet. Feline eyes started out from between his fingers, and he parted his hands long enough to spit at Jimmy's face.
That was when he saw the big pink fist looming above him. Hovering fatefully like a comet ready to crash to earth and decimate everything it hit. Derby's muscles frosted over, going stiff and cold beneath Jimmy's grasp. It wasn't over. It couldn't be over. He only clenched his arms over his face even more firmly, like a crab. Jimmy didn't have enough hands to pry him apart and hold him down.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, son."
The most beautiful phrase ever spoken. Jimmy's sigh was not missed. Derby took the opportunity to try and wriggle about to free himself, and gasping indignantly from between his still-firm hands to the cop, he made a look that pled for help. He'd have to speak fast if this was going to work. His words came out in a swift, nervous, well-acted babble. "Officer, this drunk man accosted my friend and I as we were walking! He's been talking nonsense since the moment he came up to us, some rot about his drunk father! Smell him, it's so obvious! I demand he be taken down to the station immediately!"
After all, who was going to believe a hobo with a terrible juvenile record over a Harrington?