The Way of the Gun Page #4

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and say it all went well.

Well, mostly well.

What, the girl?

It 'll be assumed she ate a bullet

and they made off to Bolivia.

Dammit. It doesn't work. The Doc.

-The Doctor gets shot in the fray.

-Right.

We tried to help him,

but it was either him or the baby.

He was alive when we took off.

He must have died in the desert.

-Creative articulation, my man.

-I'm just talking, of course.

Sure.

So, what we need is a nice,

quiet place to have a baby.

As I said before, my only

concern is for the child.

Hola, Vivian.

This is Jeffers. I need to speak

to the Question Mark.

We might be needing

a room later on tonight.

You know...

you seem like a good guy. You ought

to get out of this f***ing business.

What would I do, then?

You get to be my age,

you start feeling a little different.

You realize one day you'll zig.

All that time, you're thinking...

you'll put something away tomorrow,

then one day you're out of lives.

Do you got some money put away?

I've got a daughter. She's...

she's putting something together,

says she'll take care of me, but....

Not working out?

Something like that.

Yeah, something like that.

You're sure you don't want to take

a ride with me? Million in cash?

I wish I could, but....

-I'm a bagman.

-You are a bagman.

Until that day, then.

What do you think?

We can get her out of there

right now. Just two, right?

Please, I have to take a ride back.

Don't do a thing without me.

-No matter what.

-Jesus Christ, she's....

All right? I'm counting on you to

remain pitiless here. Help me out.

Just stay with her and

let it play out. I'll be back.

-Wait a minute, what 's so funny?

-You're cheating!

No, I'm not cheating, all right?

What?

-What are we playing?

-Hearts.

How do you play?

The object is to play the safest

game and finish with less points.

A heart is the only thing

of value. If you have one...

get rid of it.

We start with the two of clubs.

You need to throw down a club.

If I don't have one,

then you can throw a heart.

You can't lead with a heart unless

you have nothing else to throw.

Or someone breaks the suit.

You follow?

Couple of rounds

and she'll get it.

See, you had the high card,

so you take the trick.

Now you lead.

First trick always

takes the odd card.

Sh*t. You got the b*tch.

She's 13 points.

F*** the b*tch.

Just get rid of your hearts.

Or shoot the moon. That 's when

you finish with everything.

You got the hearts and the queen

of spades. Everyone else loses.

Next to impossible.

If someone figures it out, they can

sacrifice and hold onto a heart.

And then you lose.

Is that so?

I needed the money.

It 's a million dollars cash,

and I needed it for....

That 's what it was about!

I told myself that the Chidducks,

they'd be good, you know?

And that the baby would

have a good life.

I thought it through a thousand

times! I thought I could do it!

I was certain, and it was...

it was what was best

for everyone involved.

For the baby, for the

Chidducks, for myself...

the baby....

Then I felt it move, and...

I saw his little hands.

The baby is mine.

Okay, I'm sorry, but by yours,

do you mean that...?

I mean that the Chidduck's

embryo didn't take...

and this is my son

that I'm carrying.

So that means that you

and Mr. Chidduck....

Dr. Painter.

-That sneaky little quack.

-It wasn't his idea, it was mine.

I made it happen because

I needed the money.

I made it happen.

Listen, you don't want guys like

him or me touching you belly.

Please.

That 's creepy.

We'll meet just right

past the border.

Listen, I appreciate it.

Thanks a lot.

Did you enjoy your coffee?

I deal in counter-offers

and adjudication.

You do your job, Mr.

Bullet-Catcher, and I'll do mine.

I'm curious as to why

they didn't kill you.

Maybe I didn't

present a real threat.

Not like you fuckheads, shooting at

who agreed not to commit a crime.

All right, come on.

-The money coming?

-In a while.

Then I suggest Dr. Painter

goes in now with 5O grand.

Might calm their nerves if they

feel the real money's getting close.

When you go out, I'll go in.

-And adjudicate?

-If it comes to that, yes.

-You go in by yourself?

-I think I can handle it.

And you, cuff links...

stay and watch over Mr. Chidduck

in case there's a contingent.

-In case there's a what?

-A third man. A button.

Something, anything that

we hadn't thought of.

It 's called CYA,

you f***ing moron.

"Cover Your Ass".

As collector of pre-war cop jargon,

I find the old man refreshing.

Nevertheless, he's one against two

who killed two of my four.

I suggest you let him C your A.

What seems to be the problem here?

The decision's been made. The Doc

goes in with the money alone.

He follows the demands to

the letter and delivers the child.

-We keep our distance.

-Unless there's a complication.

Our only concern is

for the lives at stake.

-Hale, you're not seriously...?

-I'm in a tight corner, Joe.

It 's pure geometry, Mr. Sarno.

We've been head-to-head with them.

One old man all alone out there...

no one'll come out alive.

To be honest, Joe,

that 's not what this is about.

You're conflicted here.

Your job's been to protect me,

my associates and my money.

But I no longer care about any

of that. This is about my child.

And that in itself presents its

own special conflict, doesn't it?

Emotional detachment, Joe.

For what it 's worth...

I think these two

pretty much define it.

Are you up to this?

-I'll do whatever has to be done.

-All right.

Jeffers and Obecks

will follow you...

and see that you come out

safely with the baby.

Sarno handles the money.

Sorry, gentlemen.

I'm not trusting any of you.

I'm afraid I want to eat

my cake and have it too.

-The subscriber is unavailable....

-Sh*t.

-You talked about killing her.

-No one said "kill".

They said "adjudicate",

and that can mean a lot of things.

There's a lot more going on in

that room than you were seeing.

What I heard was you're ready

to risk a woman's life for money.

Not money. 15 million dollars.

Money is what you take

to the grocery store...

is what you get out of an ATM.

15 million dollars is not money.

It 's a motive with a

universal adaptor on it.

-You don't think that those two...?

-No, never. Never think.

Thinking's how you lost your nerve

in the first place, Dr. Painter.

You think I don't know you?

You think your father and I

have secrets from each other?

I know about your residency,

your so-called hiatus.

I know about that bad piece

of luck you had in Baltimore.

-I didn't lose my....

-I know...

you weren't expected to deliver

this kid. I know you can't.

I know your skull is splitting

down the middle...

because you think this thing

is gonna play out...

and you're going to have to

deliver this baby into the world.

Well, what happened in

Baltimore will not happen here.

You understand?

Because I won't let it.

So...

don't think, Dr. Painter, just do.

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