Страница 10 из 64
His old partner had a little smile on his lips like he was amused to have startled Da
“Hey.” Evan stepped forward, put an arm around his shoulders. “Let’s get a drink.”
Keep walking, a voice in Da
Evan snorted. “No.”
A pretty brunette with a friendly smile bounced over, and they both ordered, neither looking at the extensive chalkboard beer list. Da
“We didn’t finish talking before. But now it’s Sunday afternoon. So you won’t have to get your panties bunched about work.”
Da
“You live up here now, huh?” Evan asked.
“Not far.”
“A house, a woman, a truck. All settled in, snug as shit.”
He nodded, thinking, A truck? Wondering if Evan had just made an assumption, why he hadn’t said a car. The waitress appeared with two pints on a tray. Evan gave her a ten, told her to keep the change, and they clinked glasses with eyes locked.
“So that’s what you get. Life as a civilian.”
“That’s all I want.”
“Yeah? And what do I get?”
“For what?”
“For what.” Even shook his head, smiling ruefully as he tapped a cigarette free. He lit the smoke with the Zippo, snapped it closed, set it neatly on top of the pack. Blew jets of smoke from his nostrils, eyes hard now. “How long we known each other?”
“Since we were kids.”
“That’s right. Just a couple of Irish kids in a blue-collar neighbor hood, spics competing with blacks to see who could move in faster. We made it through that shit by sticking together.”
Da
Evan raised his eyebrows, not saying yes or no. His look said street. It said danger.
“Fuck you.” Showing strength was the first rule. “You went crazy in there.”
“I hadn’t shot him, that dude would have drilled you.”
“Bullshit,” Da
“Always the man with the plan. How about this, Einstein?” Jabbing at him with the cigarette. “You owe me. First I saved your ass, then I kept my mouth shut and went down alone. Twelve years the judge gave me and banged his little hammer, and you not even in the courtroom to see it. You know what I was doing while you were becoming a yuppie? Celling with a two-hundred-and-sixty-pound gangbanger named Isaiah. He knows I’m not affiliated, so he’s eyeing me to decide if I’m a guppy or a shark. How would you sleep?”
Da
Evan leaned back, sighed, stabbed out the cigarette. “Yeah, all right.”
They sipped their beer in silence. The memory of his own jail time came to Da
“I came out short seven years.” Evan seemed calmer, his voice level. “Okay, bad beat. But I figure when I go home, I’ll find my partner waiting with a new plan to make us money, that we’ll get back to work.
“Only that’s not what happens. Instead, my partner, he’s nowhere to be found. I have to track him down. And when I do? He tells me he’s legit. Then he buys me a beer and tells me good luck, ’cause he’s got work tomorrow and can’t be late.”
Da
“I say bullshit to that. From where I’m sitting, you got everything and I got nothing. You owe me.”
“What am I supposed to do? Dig out my tools and go back to work?”
Evan shrugged. “Why not? The money is better as a team. And I been away too long. I need somebody who knows how to work. Someone I can trust.”
“I’ve been away as long as you have. If you need someone in the game, I’m not your guy.”
“I’m not talking knowing fences. I’m talking about spotting opportunities. Help me level us out.”
“No.” Da
“No?”
“I’m not going back to work,” Da
“So I should just crawl back to my hole.”
“I don’t mean any disrespect. But my life is different now, and I won’t go back.”
“Then,” Evan leaned back, lighting another cigarette, “we have a problem.”
Careful. Be very careful. He remembered Evan’s temper all too well, how it could seize him, a white-hot fire that burned out his sense and self-control.
“I don’t have any problem.” A play had been spi
“Yeah?”
“But listen, you’re going to have to relax and think it over. Don’t just snap on me, all right, compadre?” He took a breath to steady himself. “I can’t come back. But I can help you earn.”
Evan leaned forward, his head cocked.
“I can give you a job.”
“You know a good score?”
“No, I mean a job. A civilian job.” As he spoke, he stared at Evan, trying to read a hint of a reaction. Hopefully he’d see it as a peace offering. Or maybe even a grift, and expect the money without the work. Da
“A civilian job.” His face a mask, Evan held the cigarette to his lips, took a long pull. “In construction.”
“Think about it. You know plenty to get started, and the pay is good.”
Evan shook his head, chuckling to himself. “Unbelievable.”
“I’m making as much money as we ever did – more – and nobody can look at me sideways. This is a chance to start clean. It’s a good offer.” Da
Silence. Evan wasn’t biting. That was okay – Da
Evan crushed his cigarette.
“And thanks for the beer.” Despite the pounding of his heart, Da