Stacia Kane - Wrong Ways Down

Shit, he ain’t thought on that one. “Thinkin they do this, tryin get the whores come work for them? Sayin we ain’t can protect em, dig.”

“Yay, got the fuckin maybe on that one. Just might fuckin be it.”

Now that seemed more like the kinda game Lex’d just might play. Like he kinda move: sneaky, and who gave a fuck who got hurt.

But still. He couldn’t quite go that far. “Just seeming like rape be outside even them, aye? Hearing Lex awful fuckin protective on that sister he got, he taking that kinda shit real personal. Specially since she got sheself hit by that dude few years back.”

“Digging you fuckin meanings, yay, but ain’t wanting give the nay just on the yet. Ain’t put shit past them stealing motherfuckers. Ain’t got he no fuckin thought on what fuckin loyalty be, yay, so no fuckin thought on what fuckin be rightways an wrongways neither.” There was that hissy sound again. Bump’s eyes practically flashed red, he were so mad-looking; like he were a cartoon and had them wavy lines all around him. “Ain’t fuckin got none heself, yay, and none on that fuckin side, so’s him ain’t fuckin knowing any on what it meaning. Fuckin piece of shit scumbag fuck.”

That one were true, too. No loyalty that side of town at all; Slobag would sell out he own children iffen it’d put another lasher in he pocket, and Lex would do the same in return, so Terrible guessed. He’d only met Lex maybe three, four times, but it were enough to pretty much hate his fucking guts.

Enough to know he were a user, a liar, somebody sailed through life on all the shit he got just from being born: money he ain’t had to work for, power he ain’t had to work for, looks he ain’t had to work for. Lex always seemed surrounded by dames wanting him to walk all over em. And he did, and they begged for more. Must be nice being born lucky.

“I do some askin,” he said, causen Bump seemed to want him to say something. “See what I can find on it. An keep looking elsewheres too.”

Bump nodded and poured heself another drink. Were good, causen Terrible wanted him relaxed for this next one. Wished he ain’t had to talk on it at all just yet, but he did.

In the cabinet under the deer head were a little fridge; he got up and grabbed heself a beer, taking his time, taking a long drink. He lit a smoke. He sat back down and fidgeted around with he notebook and the ashtray until he couldn’t put it off no more. “Wanna chatter on Roley, dig. Got … got me some thinkin on he.”

“Roley? Cousin to Lacey an Vole, that fuckin Roley?”

Terrible nodded.

“So? What you fuckin thinkin, then, you wants chattering up on?”

“Thinkin … ” Fuck. All that considering he’d done and them notes he wrote, and none of it seemed any good. “Thinkin I ain’t like he, aye? Ain’t feel right to me.”

“Why come?” Bump ain’t sounded mad or any like that, only curious. That ain’t made it easier figuring out what to say, cause really, all Terrible had was a feeling. Cepting what happened the night before, he ain’t could really point straight at any one thing to say Roley were trouble. True thing was Roley’d been doing good, working hard, helping out and all. He just … something just ain’t seemed right.

But Bump’d want knowledge on specifics. So he took a deep breath and said, “Seen he on the last night, over Chuck’s. I were at the bar, he came sat with Amy. Upset her, aye? Tryin look down she dress, kept touching she thigh—”

“Thought you ain’t fuckin serious on Amy, yay? Why you fuckin caring iffen—”

“Naw, naw, ain’t that. Were—she push he hand off, he putting it back, dig? Like he got heself a right touchin any dame he wanting. An he had that she were there with me. Ain’t even tried hiding him knowledge on that, gave me the tell straight up, be why him sat with her. So when I at the bar he heads up to she, knowing she there with me, starts touching on she. An when she tries telling him stop he ain’t stopped. Dig?”

Bump considered it. “He ain’t workin near the fuckin whores, yay? Or no dames. Only fuckin working on side shit, an inna warehouses.”

“Aye, but weren’t all, neither. Asking me let he off work for the new year, got real fuckin shitty I gave him a no. Sayin he gonna talk to you, like makin a fuckin threat. Claiming him practically you family so he oughta get ahead on all them others been workin longer. An … ”

Had to be a good way of saying this, but he ain’t could figure out exactly how. Ain’t mattered, causen he could feel how hot his face and neck were. “Him started talking on Chess, dig. So I—”

“This ain’t—”

“Naw, naw. Saying on Chess an me, him were. Like he knowing some shit there. Were thinkin … maybe he getting some knowledge on shit we saying here, aye? You an me. Maybe somebody giving he the tell on it.”

“You fuckin out with she all the fuckin time, yay, buzzin around she like a fuckin fly with a hard-on, so why he ain’t would fuckin assume on it?”

“Weren’t assuming.” No point replying to the fly thing. “Said like he had knowledge how I—like he knowing all the tale. Ain’t were making guesses, dig. Said like him knew on it.”

Bump’s lips went real thin, he mouth almost disappearing. He leaned forward. “You fuckin got the thought Lacey giving the listening in, fuckin passing he knowledge?”

“Ain’t saying certain, dig, just … maybe she overhear shit, maybe she mentioning it thinking weren’t a big deal. But iffen she mentioning that, maybe she mention some else, too.”

Bump thought on it for a long time. Terrible waited. Ain’t really expected Bump to have a say for him just then anyroad; ain’t really expected Bump to give him what he were maybe thinking on how to chatter with Lacey on that.

Finally Bump said, “You be keeping you fuckin eyes on he, dig, you fuckin watching he hard. Ain’t fuckin letting he near Bump’s dames, yay, keeping he the fuck away an all, nowhere near. Lemme have the fuckin chattering on with Lacey, yay.”

Terrible nodded. “Any else?”

“Just you fuckin get em, yay? You finding who fuckin done to Sue, and you finding them fuckin Slobag men over here and make em dead, yay, real fuckin dead. Wanting dump them fuckin bodies right on the fuckin street there, let Slobag fuckin know he needs staying he own fuckin side. You get it done, Terrible. On the soon-as, you get it fuckin done.”

NOTHING HAPPENING ON any of the streets where he’d gotten knowledge Slobag’s men were before. A couple people he chattered with had seen em, aye—swore they ain’t bought any off em, but he figured on that being lies—and promised they’d give a ring-up iffen they seen em again, but that ain’t done him much good then. He stopped on Sixtieth to chain up the door to the tunnel there. Wouldn’t matter, causen they’d just cut the chain, but it were a reminder. A way of giving em that he knew what they was pulling there.

At least that were one thing he knew, and knew who were behind. Made a cool change from all the other shit.

What weren’t a cool change was getting a phone call from Felice. What did she want? He’d been out to see Katie just a week and a half past, and while he’d be happy to go more often Felice made it clear she ain’t really wanted him around that much. Would look weird, she said. Would make people wonder.

He’d say she ain’t exactly cared what people thought when she were showing up at his place nine years past wearing almost nothing and dragging him to bed, but really, that had been all about what other people thought, hadn’t it? About what her parents thought and her friends thought, and about using him to make sheself feel like she were daring and rebellious or whatany the fuck. He’d known it then—ain’t really minded, and liked her company anyway, but he’d known—and he guessed she knew it now, and that were why she got so antsy. Nobody liked to be reminded they’d gone ahead and done exactly what they’d said they wouldn’t do.