The Friends of Eddie Coyle Page #3

Ah, that dopey lawyer of mine

wouldn't let me take the stand.

Anyway, I was wondering if maybe

there wasn't some way we could handle it.

Like me saying hello to somebody?

Well, I was thinking a little stronger than that.

I was thinking in terms of, uh...

maybe you talking to the prosecutor up there

and having them drop a word to the judge...

how I been helping my uncle

like a bastard.

Well, I would,

but then again, you haven't been.

What? I gave you a couple of calls.

Yeah. You give me some real stuff too.

You tell me about a guy that's gonna get hit.

Fifteen minutes later, he gets hit.

You tell me about some guys and a job...

but you don't tell me till they're

coming out the door with the money.

That's not helping Uncle, Eddie.

You gotta put your whole soul into it.

Hell, the way I hear it, you're maybe mixed up

in something that's going on.

- Like what?

- Oh, well.

I wouldn't want to confront a man

with something I heard.

You know me better than that.

Well, uh...

suppose we was

to talk about machine guns?

Just to change the subject?

Well, suppose someone should put you onto

somebody who was selling machine guns.

You wouldn't want him

to go to jail, would ya?

Somebody who was helping you

like that, you wouldn't want him...

to go to jail and embarrass

his kids and all, would ya?

When's it supposed to come off?

How much you interested?

Let me put it this way.

If I was to get my hands on some machine

guns and the fella that was selling 'em...

and whoever's buying 'em...

I wouldn't mind saying to someone else

that somebody was helping Uncle.

Now, you need anything else?

I need a good leavin' alone.

That's what I need.

I don't want nobody following me around.

Okay. We'll do it your way.

You call me when you get something,

if you do.

And if I get somethin',

I'll put it in front of the U.S. Attorney.

If I don't, all bets are off.

Understood?

Have a nice day.

You remember Eddie Fingers? Eddie Coyle?

The bank robber. The one from Natick.

Nah, that's his sidekick, Artie Van.

Eddie doesn't rob banks.

They branch out.

What about him?

I got this call from Coyle,

so I went out to see him.

What'd he want?

He's coming up for sentencing

in New Hampshire.

Wants some references.

What's he got to trade?

He was offering to peddle me

this guy with machine guns.

That bastard.

He's about this high in the bunch...

but he gets around

more than any man I've ever seen.

One day he's here, the next day he's there.

You'd think he was some f***in' stray dog.

I just wish I had a line on half

of what he was doin'.

Does he work anywhere?

Ah. He's a night expediter

over at Arliss Trucking.

But you just try to find him there.

He works about as much as Santa Claus.

My friend says Coyle's been

trying to look for, uh, Scalise.

My friend runs a saloon.

And I know he's got an undisclosed interest.

And he knows I know.

A strange guy.

What do you hear about, uh,

Artie Van and Scalise?

Nothing together, no.

I wonder. Uh, you don't suppose

that Artie and, uh, Scalise...

made that withdrawal

from the bank, do you?

It's a thought.

I wonder where Eddie fits in.

Well, he's arming some wiseguys.

He's done it before.

That friend of yours

that runs the saloon -

is that the same saloon we talked about

putting a wire in a few weeks back?

- That's the one.

- Okay. You write it up...

and I'll present it to the attorney.

Maybe we ought to

talk about it some more.

It's not gonna do you

any good in your head.

- You wanted a wiretap. - By the time I get

it written up, it'll all be over with.

Well, that's what you get

when you get to be an expert, kid.

Or, uh, maybe you'd rather

go back to the p*ssy posse?

Hey! You, man!

Are you selling somethin'?

- That depends.

- Wait a minute.

Are you the guy?

No, I'm a narc.

Don't - Don't hassle me, man.

Are you the guy we're looking for?

It depends.

Depends upon what you're looking to do.

Wait a minute.

I don't know what he is.

He might be a narc. I don't know what he is.

- Ask him to come to the back door.

- Sure, I'll ask him.

Hey, uh, come to the back door.

- Is he comin'?

- No, he ain't doin' nothin'.

- Who the f*** are you?

- Cool it, man. This is Andrea.

I don't give a sh*t who she is.

Look. I understood there was

gonna be somebody here...

that wanted to do some business.

- How do we know who you are?

- You don't.

- Yeah, you could be a cop.

- I could be J. Edgar Hoover. Now, what the hell do you want?

We understood you could get us

some machine guns.

Hey, look. You - You want to burn

your f***in' bra, all right...

but what you gonna do

with a machine gun?

We're gonna rob a f***in' bank.

I can get you five

machine guns by Friday.

M16s. $350 apiece.

You want ammo, it's extra.

How much extra?

$250 for 500 rounds.

That's $2,000.

I make that.

Be here Friday night with the stuff.

Half now. A grand in advance.

Machine guns are a hot item.

I don't like that.

I don't give a good damn

what you like.

Look, I got two problems

selling machine guns to people like you.

The first is selling machine guns.

That's life in this state.

The second is selling to people like you.

You're not honest.

You know where I'm gonna be and what

time, I'm liable to lose my machine guns.

Give him a thousand dollars, Pete.

You show up with no money...

no guns.

And keep this in mind:

I got more than five machine guns...

and the rest are gonna be

pointed at you.

Bastard. F***ing bastard.

Life's hard, lover.

Life's very hard.

Why the hell didn't you wake me up?

Yesterday I got you up, and you

gave me hell for not letting you sleep.

Today I let you sleep, and now you're

giving me hell for not getting you up.

Well, I gotta make some calls.

I know. I know.

"Go upstairs.

I have to make some calls. "

You know, sometimes I think I'm married

to the president or something.

It won't take long.

I just gotta do this.

Call the president.

Call the pope.

Barry, check aisle seven.

Hey.

You owe me 10 more guns.

I need 'em fast. When do I get 'em?

I don't know.

Look. I got you the first batch when I said,

and I was ahead on the dozen.

- You know, these things take time.

- Time is what I haven't got.

I'm getting pressure. I gotta see The Man

tomorrow night. I need those guns.

I can't get 'em for you by tomorrow night.

Son of a b*tch.

I gotta have that stuff fast.

I got a long ride to make tomorrow night.

Maybe you can stop with me when I make it.

No way.

No way, no day, no can do.

Look. I told you. I get quality.

These things take time.

Tomorrow night.

You aren't buyin' a loaf of bread,

you know.

I got a thing set up that works pretty good.

Dependable stuff that's not

gonna get anybody in trouble.

I'm not gonna screw it up just because

your people got hot drawers.

- You'll have to tell 'em that.

- You tell 'em.

Look. The stuff'll come.

What's the big emergency?

Look. One of the first things I learned

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