Shade Page #4

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know how to pick 'em, baby.

That's what

I'm here for.

This is a hell

of an opportunity, Larry.

So when do I meet

the third musketeer?

Anytime you want. You can

meet him now, if you like.

Yeah.

I'm gonna go

cash out.

I'll call

you later.

He's pretty good.

Where'd you

get him?

A couple of weeks ago

at another club.

Y'all count 'em.

He had the rolex,

he had a brand new lexus.

He's made for it.

I've always

said it, baby...

You are the best.

Have you seen

Vernon yet?

I'm seeing him

later on tonight.

How is he?

You know Vernon.

Vernon's Vernon.

- You know how he is.

- Yeah.

What are you doing?

You've got one lit already.

Listen, if...

If working with Vernon

is going to be a problem...

What?

Come on, Charlie...

Don't worry about me.

It's me.

Got it.

I'll meet you there.

Well, well, well.

Looks like you're

all alone now, huh?

Lucky me.

Who is that?

None of your f***ing

business, that's who.

Do you know what

a "mechanic" is, Larry?

So were you

serious before?

Is that your scene?

Scene?

Yeah, or were you just talking

sh*t trying to get laid?

Oh, I'm...

I'm into it, mate.

Yeah, well, we'll

see about that.

Come on, Jeff.

Okay, so what about

a safe word?

What?

You know, in case

one of us feels

we're going

too far.

Okay,

how about...

"Eclipse"?

Either one of use

feels uncomfortable,

we say eclipse,

we take a time out.

Sure, baby,

whatever you want.

So how do you

like it, Jeff?

Rough.

Hey, Tiffany,

how are ya?

Hey, Teddy, I'm good.

How's your family?

Oh, they're great...

Great, thanks.

Say, it surprised me a little

to get that telephone call.

I didn't know

you still did this.

- Yeah, well, I needed some fast cash, you know?

- On the road with Miller?

Something like that.

What did you say?

I can't hear you

with that thing in your mouth.

Eclipse.

Rough enough

for you, baby?

I've got to say, you sure

know how to pick 'em, baby.

That's what

I'm here for.

So you think Jennings

will be back for more?

Fish like that

always come back.

- I wouldn't be so sure.

- No? Why not?

Jennings, he seemed...

Something was off.

He just dropped his entire

life's savings in one hand.

Tends to wig a guy out.

- No, it was more than that.

- F*** him.

You know that's a trait you're

going to have to get rid of...

Feeling sorry for the mark.

The way I look at it,

guy isn't smart enough

to hold on to his money,

he doesn't deserve

to have it. Right, baby?

- You said it.

- See? She understands.

Let's go get a drink.

Come on. Let's go.

The suspense is killing me. What's

the word on the game? Is he sitting?

Yeah, he's in.

Holy sh*t.

Come on, guys, who?

Dean f***ing Stevens,

that's who.

"Dad" Stevens.

The man himself.

I mean, this guy,

he's a legend.

He was younger than I was when

he started playing the big time.

Big time? This guy sat

down with gangsters,

f***ing killers,

mobsters.

Not for the money... - no,

no, just to hone his chops.

I guess that would do it.

There was one night

in Philadelphia,

all these mobsters

sitting around a table,

he's working the game

when out of nowhere, bang...

- Everybody freeze!

- ...The place gets hit.

Everyone's got

their hands in the air.

- What is this?

- Everyone but Stevens.

As luck would have it, he'd just

gone South and was holding out.

Well, the place explodes.

A huge gunfight

and everyone but Stevens

and one of the wise guys

go down.

Stevens and the other guy,

they end up in a standoff.

Yeah, and they had three choices...

Start shooting, walk away

and leave the money...

...or three?

We cut for it.

High card

takes it all.

I know which I prefer.

Nothing ventured...

Nothing gained.

He walked away with 50 grand,

not even a scratch.

Wow.

Maybe it's just a f***ing myth.

Maybe Stevens

made the whole thing up.

It's a great

f***ing story, though.

Yeah.

There are guys that'll

drop their entire bankroll

just to say they sat

at the same table as him.

The Dean.

- So will you be staying with us very long?

- Just a few days.

- Business or pleasure?

- Business.

Whoever takes the Dean

becomes the Dean.

Well, he's never

been taken.

Not yet.

Don't' get so cocky. I don't

want a repeat of Atlantic city.

Yeah, well,

neither do I.

Well, I'll be damned.

Good to see you, Eve.

It's good

to see you, too.

Frank...

It has been a while,

hasn't it?

Yeah, it's been a while.

You look good.

I do, don't I?

You don't look

so bad yourself.

Nice place

you got here.

Yeah, a lot

of work.

You should have seen it

when I first got it.

So...

So.

I was just in town for this

game and I thought I'd...

You hungry?

Famished.

So you saw

Stevens play, right?

Oh, I sure did.

Omaha, Nebraska,

24th of may, 1986.

I'll never forget it.

I saw him gut a mob

that tried to set him up,

and he did it in such a way

that it was a thing of beauty.

I will never forget it

as long as I live.

Quit trying

to scare me.

I'm not trying to scare you. I'm

just trying to prepare you.

This isn't some whale

who sits down beside you

and says, "here, please,

take my money."

This guy can cut you into little

pieces, you won't even know it.

So are you...

Are you happy?

Sure...

I mean, sometimes.

You know,

that's life.

Well, it looks like things are

really working out for you.

You never know what's

going to happen to somebody

once they get off

the grift.

But I'm happy

for you, really.

Thanks.

No husband or kids?

God... no.

- Not for a lack of opportunities, though.

- Of course.

I guess you're

a tough act to follow.

When you have

your life's savings

riding on the turn of a

card every other night,

then paying a mortgage

can seem rather mundane.

Yeah, I guess.

What?

Lately I've been thinking that

worrying about paying a mortgage

might not be

such a bad thing.

- Oh, come on.

- No, I'm serious.

More and more it's starting

to feel like work.

I know the feeling.

I'm starting to feel

like this old gunfighter.

Like every game I go to,

every town,

there's always

some kid

who's dreaming about

knocking off the Dean.

And I used to love it,

'cause everybody wanted

a piece of me,

sitting around that table

and knowing

that no one

could even touch me.

But these last

couple of years,

I'm just going through

the motions,

getting lazy,

not caring.

I'm losing my edge.

So I say to myself,

maybe I oughta retire,

go out gracefully,

before some kid comes along

and just rips me apart.

One small problem...

we need 250

to get into the game.

- Whew, man, that's quite a stake.

- Prime rib.

The way I figure it

is this...

Six, seven,

'round the table,

the pot's two million at least,

just for starters.

- I've got 100 grand.

- I don't know.

You really think

you can take Stevens?

The Dean retire?

That would be

a first.

I don't know,

seeing how well you've done

just gets me

thinking.

Thinking can

get you in trouble.

Maybe I don't know

what I'm talking about.

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