" Bet two." " Two thousand." "Is there an echo in here?" "Two thousand." "Card." "How much?" "Same bet." "Been playin' the same fuckin'bet all night." "Card." "Twenty-one." " Twenty." " Drink!" "Play two." "Three thousand." "You take it." " What are you up at, six?" " Send it all in." " Axel, we got limits." " You tryin' to snap my rhythm?" " Two dime maximum." " I just played three." "You wasn't supposed to play no three!" "Two thousand." "No more." " It's for your own protection." " Fuck my protection!" "Five hundred on come." "Here we go." "Good roll." "Two aces, craps." "Two thousand, red." "No more bets." "Seventeen, black." " Black's been comin' up all night." " Thank you." " Bets please." " Twenty-four, black." "Red again." "No more bets." "Eight, black." "Hey, Axel, you need some cash?" "Call the Monkey." "I'll tell you where to go." "What could I tell ya?" "It's the worst luck I've seen in 15 years." "Have you got any idea how much you owe?" "Forty-four and change." "Forty-four dimes!" "That's six Eldoradoes." "$44,000!" "It ain't just numbers." "I want another thousand, Hips." "You're gonna beat us for 44,000 out of 1,000?" "We shouldn't laugh." "This is serious." "You're the last person I want anything bad to happen to." "You know that." "Come on, move it, will ya?" "Let me see you make it from there." "Hey, man, you lookin' for somebody?" "Which one out there is the best?" "What's it to you?" "I wanna play him a little one-on-one." "Twenty bucks." "Man, we don't got no twenty bucks." "What you got?" "A dime." "All right, I'll play him 20 bucks to a dime." "Go fix it up." "You wanna be the fool, rather you than me." "Take it to the hoop." "Eight up." "Eight up." "That's a rookie!" "Play him, play him." "Handle him, man, get on him!" "He's a rookie." "All right!" "Nine-eight." "It's nine-eight." "Here's the big one!" "Anytime you want a replay, man, you just come on by." "I'll remember that." "Hey, white boy!" "First time I ever seen you without a shave." " It's a disguise." " What did you do?" "Rob a bank?" "I took over the country." "One-man coup." "Thank you." "I may even make you a sheriff down in Texas." "Thanks." "Okay, when Dostoyevsky tells us that he detests the fact... that two and two make four... and that he reserves his sacred right... to insist that two and two make five, he's saying what?" " That his life is based on..." " Insanity." " Frustration?" " Look, look!" "Any cretin can prove that two and two make four, right?" "So the man that goes against that must be riding on sheer..." "Will." "Will." "He claims an idea is true because he wants it to be true... because he says it is true." "The issue isn't whether he's right... but whether he has the will to believe he's right... no matter how many proofs there are that say he's wrong." "How many fingers do you see sticking up here?" "Right now I see four." "But tomorrow I might be absolutely sure that it's five." "It's precisely that possibility that makes tomorrow intriguing." ""Reason only satisfies man's rational requirements." "Desire, on the other hand, encompasses everything." "Desire is life."" "Yeah, well, I don't know all about that... 'cause I'm dealing in reality." "I'm dealing in things that I can see." "If you put half the concentration to reading Dostoyevsky... that you put into basketball, you'd understand what he was saying." "Look." "What's your..." "What's your shooting range?" " Oh, about 20 feet." " Do you ever shoot beyond that?" " Sometimes." " Why?" "Because sometimes I feel the ball is gonna go in." " That's why." " Does it?" " No, not usually." " Right." "But for that one second before you shoot, you're certain it will." "All athletes and poets know that." "It's their secret connection." "They know it's going in." "They know... that two and two are five." "That's it." "Bye-bye." "By the way, I got buried last night." "Anyone wanna lend me ten thousand till the end of the semester?" " Ten thousand what?" " Of anything would help me." " What's in it for us?" " Oh, an A+." "And a letter of recommendation to military school." " You winning?" " Tight, but I'm comin' on." "This is Ali." "Joe Frazier." "You couldn't deck your own shadow." "Gettin' pretty reckless for a little Rebel pussy, aren't ya?" "Cut it out." "Let me go!" "Big Yankee freak, you wanna fight?" "You got a class?" " Nope." "Going hunting." " Huntin' what?" "Cash." " What is it this time, cock fights?" " Bingo." "Did you lose a lot?" "A thousand?" "Two thousand?" "44,000." "You did not." "$44,000?" "How are you gonna get it?" "I'll get it." " I shouldn't associate with you." " You love it." "I love what?" "Strange smells." "Unfamiliar hands." "The possibility of blood." "You think so, huh?" "Yes, ma'am, I do." "Excuse me." "Is my mother around?" " Yes, she's there in the next ward." " Oh, good, thank you." "You're welcome." "Game." "I think I've had it for today." "Thank you." "I may need $ 10,000, Mom." "You what?" "I may need $ 10,000." "You gambled?" "Is it that you've gambled and already lost... or you're waiting to gamble if I say I'll help you?" "I probably won't even need it." "I just... want to know that I can count on you in case I do." "This is why you were trying to take my head off on the court?" "I don't know." "I need an answer, Mom." "I can't give you one just like that!" "You better call me tomorrow." "Axel Freed?" "Carmine." "Monkey tells me you're a teacher." "I have a class." "That's the Monkey's laugh." " You should do that on television." " Waiting for the right offer." "What kind of class you teach?" "Uptown college." "No kiddin'?" "Then you're a professor?" "I thought you were a high school instructor." "Would you straighten me out on something?" "Definitely." " Why do I have to meet this guy?" " Bernie?" "You're correct." "Generally speaking..." "Bernie don't go in for personal interviews with his customers." "But it's my understanding that you're requesting a sum of cash... somewhat larger than he's in the habit of loaning out." "I just don't wanna go through a whole number." "Don't worry." "Bernie's a very personable human being." "I got a nephew that goes to college." "Hotel school." "Wish the fuck I had went to college." " What for?" " Are you kiddin'?" "In a couple of years the kid could be runnin' the Fontainebleu Hotel." " So what?" "Look what you've got." " What's that?" "Fresh air." "Open road." "Free afternoon." "Listen, I gotta see a customer for a minute." "Wanna come along?" "Come on." "You'll like this guy." "He's nice." "How long is this gonna take?" "I wanna meet this Bernie." "We're goin'." "This'll just take a minute." " Who is it?" " It's Carmine." "Open the door." " He's not here." " Open the door." "I won't bite ya." " Where is he?" " In Buffalo visiting his father." "He said he'd have everything for ya next Monday." "Next Monday, huh?" "Well, next Monday ain't soon enough." "This makes three times he jerked me off!" "Would you stand over here, please?" "What does this guy think I am?" "Some kind of a hypocrite?" "Oh, please!" "Get out of my..." "Oh, please!" "Please!" "Oh, please don't!" "Oh, please don't hurt him." "Please!" "Not that!" "You got 48 hours." "You hear?" "What's the matter?" "Handsome kid like you can't find no girls?" "You haven't missed a beat." "Okay, buddy, this is it." "You'll find him inside." "Yeah." "How will I know it's him?" "Don't worry." "Bernie will know you." " "Alex" Freed?" " That's close enough." "Sit down." "What do you want?" "Some clams?" "They'll fix you some clams." "Jerry, bring over two dozen littlenecks." "What are you drinking?" " Nothing." " Good." "You should put some weight on you." "You're too skinny." "Yeah." " How much does that school pay you?" " Fifteen hundred." " A week?" " A month." "What else you got?" "Who's lending, who's borrowing?" " You got any collateral?" " Collateral?" " Automobile, jewelry?" " What is this, Chase Manhattan?" "You don't seem to comprehend the situation." "You have to pay three percent a week every week." "I know what I have to do." " Where are you gonna get it?" " I'll get it." "You will, huh?" "How much you want?" "Twenty thousand." " Hysterical." " Did you tell that to the Monkey?" "I didn't really mention a figure." " You should've." " Yes, I should've." "I would've if he'd told me he was sending me to a clerk." "Hey, fella." "Hey, come here, you!" "Hey, buddy!" " Hey, it's me." " So what?" "So what your ass." "What are you tryin' to do?" "Chase away the whole neighborhood?" " Fuck 'em." " I gotta use your phone." " Go ahead." " Do me a favor." "Turn that lower." "Hey, listen." "I tried to call your office before." "Hello?" "This is Hips." "What the fuck are you tryin' to pull?" "Yeah?" "Well, I wouldn't count on that if I was you." "You could get the marines and the Arab guerrillas... and 20 niggers with chains and they could all be protecting' you... and I'd still kick your fuckin' face in if I ain't paid tomorrow." "Yeah?" "I'll come throw lye in your eyes." "I'll boil your lungs in oil." "You dirty, lowdown stool pigeon, motherfuckin' degenerate dog!" "Die!" "What is that Italian?" "What?" "It don't mean nothin'." "But anything that sounds Italian scares the shit out of them." "That's pretty good." "No, it ain't." "You don't got to flatter me, Axel." "Anybody reads Shakespeare, he ain't impressed by match tricks." " To the contrary." " "To the contrary"!" "I love the way you talk." "Nobody uses expressions the way you do." "Would you like something to eat?" "Little yogurt or something?" "I didn't come to eat." "How much you got for me?" "Nothing today." "Tomorrow." "You know what's standing between your skull and a baseball bat?" "My word." "I told my people you're legitimate, so for now they ain't too crazy." "But that could change tonight." "What is this?" "You never gave me this shit before, Hips." "You never been in this trouble." "Let me tell you somethin'." "It's bullshit when they say that a man which owe 50,000... is in the same doghouse with a man which owe 15." "I have to finish getting dressed." "I'll get it for you, all right?" "I hope you're not gettin' it by betting' with some other bookmaker." "I'll get it!" "You let me worry about how!" "I'll see youse." "Rebecca has a little present for you." "Silver cuff links!" "How lovely!" " My darling boy." " Happy birthday, Gramp." "I see you're wearing your favorite tie." "Well, I take my style from the master." "Let there be silence." "Silence." "My grandson, the distinguished professor of literature... and future author of immortal books... has requested your attention." "We are living in an age... that subverts the breeding of men like A.R. Lowenthal." "Hear, hear." "In Lithuania, when he was 13... he stuck a knife in the back of a Cossack pig... who had knocked his mother to the ground." "At 15, he prowled New York as a bandit... until he had the cash to feed a family of five." "At 20, he opened a furniture store." "Which he built into two, then fifteen... then fifty, then a hundred." "Until finally he had the largest chain America had ever seen." "But no matter where he went... or what he did... he always found a place for every person bound to him by blood." "Your families and your families' families... to say nothing of his own children, my Uncle Hy here... my dear mother Naomi... whose rare intelligence he nurtured... and to whom he gave an extra measure of support... when she was widowed early by my father's death." "But I'm the one most deeply in his debt." "Because every time I think my reach has stretched too far..." "I remember the moves that he has dared." "So..." "I drink this toast on his 80th birthday." "This man that seized what he wanted with nothing there to back him up... but wit and balls... and will." "This killer, this king." "Beautiful!" ""I drink to the general joy... of the whole table."" "Shakespeare." "Are you out of trouble or are you just playing a game?" " I'm dancing with you." " Don't take that tone with me!" "I'm not playing any games." "Do you still need the money?" " Truthfully?" " Truthfully." "I don't know whether to believe you or not anymore." "Look at my grandson and my daughter cavorting around like Gypsies." "Hy, go on, dance." "You can dance." "Go ahead, dance." " Any objections if I cut in?" " In a minute, Hy." "That's all right." "Go ahead." "I'll take you swimming later." "Thank you." "Hy, be careful with all that weight you're carrying." "The water's warmer than the air." "Thanks." "That feels good." " How's that?" " Oh, it's nice." "What's that?" "It's what I owe." "How is that possible?" "Well, I gambled and I lost." "You gambled and you lost." "Is that all you have to say?" "$44,000?" "Are you so naive, you don't know... what those monsters do with the money you give them?" "They shoot it right in the arms of ten-year-old schoolchildren." "I see them every day at the clinic." "My God, Axel!" "Have I been such a failure... that I've raised a son to have the morals of a snail?" "You gonna help me or not?" "Axel, what will they do to you?" "Axel, I asked you a question." "What will those people do to you?" "For ten thousand, they break your arms." "For 20, your legs." "For 50, you get a whole new face." " Axel, what will they do?" " I don't know." "Threaten me." "Kill me." "Five thousand, fifteen thousand, twenty-five thousand." "May I have an envelope, please?" "You know you're responsible if you don't count it." "Yes, I know." "Here, here, here." "Can you help me, please?" "Let me call you back." "Bye." "You have identification?" " Do you have anything else?" " What for?" "What's wrong with that?" "This is $ 15,000 you want to withdraw." "I know how much it is." "Will you give me your okay, please?" "I'm sorry." "You need two pieces of identification." "Listen." "I'm a doctor." "I have patients waiting to see me." "Are you going to help me or do I have to see the manager?" "The manager will tell you, you need two pieces of identification." "Yes?" "You said you were having dinner at your parents' house." " What do you think you're doing?" " Look." "This lady is trying to be polite, and you're taking advantage of her." " Give her the money that's hers." " I must see proof that..." "Look." "I came out of her womb... and I am telling you that she's Naomi Freed." "Give her the money." " Are you going right home?" " Yeah." " Do you give it to them today?" " Today." "Do they come to your house?" "It's all right, Mom." "It's okay now." "This is the end of it." "Yeah." "This is the end." "We'll have our coffee, and I'll take you home." "No." "You do it now." "Axe?" "You better do some painful thinking." "Unless you come to terms with why you're doing this... no money's gonna get you out." " Who is it?" " What do you mean who is it?" "I need to use your phone." "Did you get your debt paid up?" "Are you using this place to hide?" "You can if you want to, you know." " Hello?" " Ray?" "Axel." "Hips there?" " No, he's on the road." " I'll call back in a half hour." " Any message?" " Just tell him I've got it all." " You got all of it?" " Right." " In cash?" " Yes!" " How did you get it?" " I won it." "Why are you angry at me?" "'Cause I didn't call to find out how you're makin' out?" "That's right." "I didn't have to." "You told me you were gonna get it." "Anyway, I knew you would." "You knew it?" "You should be a gambler." "You didn't win it, did you?" "How did you get it?" "I killed somebody for it." "Must've been somebody pretty important." "I'm gonna go teach a class." "You wanna come with me?" "You can jeer and throw rotten eggs at me if I get boring." " I'll get the eggs." " Okay." "Hurry up." ""George Washington was, I think, the typically good man." "Take it as you please." "He was 90% of the force which made the American Revolution." "Know Washington and you will know practically... all there is to understand about the American republic."" "That's the way William Carlos Williams begins his essay." "Washington is a good man and a supreme symbol of America." "But as we get into the details... of this personal vision of the father of our land... we find that he is not so simple." "That he wanted women violently... but stayed tied to the apron of his wife." "That he lived in constant rage... but lost his temper only once." "That he was a man of massive size and frame... but wore waistcoats, lace and gloves." "So that by the time the piece ends... we find that Williams has reversed himself completely." ""Washington is the typical sacrifice to the mob." "In a great many ways, thoroughly disappointing."" "Now, what's happened?" "He seen all that cherry tree stuff was bullshit." "Maybe it is, but it's not the point that Williams is making." "It's the point I'm making." "And I'm sorry, I can't dig him." "No one's asking you to dig him, Spencer." "Williams doesn't dig him either." "He's using Washington to tell us something about ourselves." "He ain't telling me a thing." "Why is Washington disappointing?" " Because he's afraid." " Afraid of what?" " Losing." " Losing!" "Washington is terrified of failure." "And if failure is the absolute evil... what must be eliminated at any cost?" " The element of..." " Risk." "Risk!" "There are certain questions Washington just won't ask." "Certain borders he'd rather die than cross." "D.H. Lawrence says..." "Americans fear new experience more than they fear anything." "They are the world's greatest dodgers..." ""because they dodge their own very selves."" "Beautiful!" "Look at that golden hair and the slender legs!" " She's all right." " All right?" "She's terrific!" "Superb!" "What else can you do, darling?" " I can do a few things pretty well." " Such as what?" "Tennis, dancing, riding horses." "A sense of humor!" "I bet you used to handle yourself pretty good, Mr. Lowenthal." "You see what I mean?" ""I Sing the Body Electric."" "You know who wrote that?" "Walt Whitman." "Did Axel ever tell you about the land I owned down in Texas?" "I owned a lot of land down there." "Beautiful part of the country." "Beautiful!" " She is not for you." " What are you talkin' about?" "Avoid her." "Break it off today." "She's not for you." "There's nothing that girl wouldn't do for me." "Don't tell me!" "I see that smile, the way she looks at you." " Well?" " She was not meant for a scholar." "That girl was meant for a club man, a playboy." "Not for a man of character and virtue." "Not for a Jew." "Put this in the glove compartment." "Give me the Post." "What did he say to you by the pool?" "He said he wanted to marry you." "You always take your girls out there so he can look 'em over?" "Yeah." "Three a week." " Is that what you think I did?" " Isn't it?" "Maybe." "Read me the college basketball lines." "I thought you killed for this." "I thought you owed it." "Look, put that in the glove compartment." "Give me that." "What would you do if I let the wind blow it all away?" "Put you out on the street till you earned it back." "That's what you think you are, huh?" "A pimp?" "My money's gonna blow, I'm gonna be the one that does the blowing." "What are you gonna do?" "Buy an island in the Pacific." "Jimmy, how are you?" "I'm back in action." "You're happy?" "How do you think I feel?" "Listen, I want three games for tomorrow, 15 dimes a pop." "$45,000." "Right." "It's only insane if I lose, and I'm not gonna lose." "What do you mean "cash up front"?" "You've been slow on the draw with me!" "I've never held you up a day!" " It's too much." " What difference does that make?" "I haven't played with you in days, so you treat me like a stranger?" " Too big." " For what?" "You can lay it off." "Forget it!" "If they won't let you, they won't let you, will they?" "What happened?" "I asked a weasel to do something for me." "You might be ready for that." "I'm lookin' to stick around." " I'm getting out of the car." " Go ahead and walk." "All right, Jimmy, you lowlife, we'll play it your way." "Yes, I have it." "Yes, in cash!" "Okay?" "All right." "What's the line on Harvard-Brown?" "Pick 'em?" "You serious?" "Give me Harvard." "What's Georgia Tech-Auburn?" "I'll take Tech with the six." "Right." "Okay, wait, one more." "UCLA-Oregon." "Twelve?" "These games are like handouts." "Yeah, I want UCLA." "That's right, the same, 15,000 on each." "Stop whining!" "I've got every cent of it here in my pocket." "If you're smart, you'll play these games yourself." "They can't lose." "Why?" "Because I'm betting on 'em, that's why." "I've got magic powers." "I'm scorching." "I'm hot as a pistol." "Yeah, you too." "Did you know I once tried to commit suicide over a girl named Billie?" "I was nine, she was thirty-six." "I had to have her." "She wouldn't have me." "So I climbed to the top of the George Washington Bridge... tied a rope around my neck... swallowed a cyanide pill..." "And I jumped." "But my luck was awfully bad that day." "As I was falling... a tugboat came by and cut the rope... and I plunged underwater upside down and choked out the pill." "They pulled me aboard." "There was Billie standing over me." "She said..." ""You're the bravest man I ever met... and I love you."" "I said..." ""I don't want you anymore." "It's just too easy."" "You think you can get me with a third-rate bullshit story like that?" "That happens to be a first-rate bullshit story." "Take me home." "Why don't I take you somewhere that you've never been?" " Where's that?" " Vegas." " Vegas?" " For a day." "Don't you think you better pay back that money before you lose it?" "I'm not gonna lose it." "I'm gonna gamble it." "Shoot 'em!" "How do you like it, Tex?" "Bet you won't keep that up all night." "Come on, any crap." "You won't fool us, boy." "The dice don't lie!" "But neither do I!" "What you say!" " Shit!" " Your hat for sale?" "Is your hat for sale?" "Just as soon as you throw a seven." "Heaven's gonna bring me seven." "Come on, seven!" "Five." "There ain't seven on this dice." "There's gonna be when they're throwed this time." "Here you go, Little Joe." "All the way." "Those dice are gonna jump up and bite you on the nose this time." " Come on, seven." " Here they come." "Bite him, dice!" "Bite him, seven!" "The dice don't lie!" "Nine!" "Vodka rocks, twist." "You hear any early scores?" " None." "What games you need?" " Georgia Tech, Harvard, UCLA." " You're pulling my leg." " Never." "Those are three of my games." "I'm with you on every one." "See?" "Same line." "Tell you somethin' confidentially, these are must-win games for me." "I got a wife who pisses away money like it was branch water." " Three for three." " That a promise?" "Straight from heaven." "Columbia and Cornell tied at 36." "Harvard is having an easy time with Brown, 38 to 24." "In the South, also at halftime, Alabama leads LSU, 51 to 38." "Auburn is nine points behind Georgia Tech, 49 to 40." "At this rate, I might get back to even." "Don't you want to hear the other score?" " I know the other score." " All we got is some early leads." "Not leads, omens." "Isn't it romantic" "Music in the night" "A dream that can be heard" "Isn't it romantic" "Moving shadows write the oldest magic words" "I hear the breezes playing" "In the trees above" "While all the world is singing" " You okay?" " Don't go yet." "Yes!" " How much money is there?" " Twelve thousand." "Isn't it romance" "There's only one way to win, my dear." "You gotta sting, spark, table hop, finger pop... feint, weave and blast." "The game is baccarat, folks, where nine is the high number." "You can bet with the bank, you can bet against it." "Banker's." "The bank wins with a natural eight." "The bank is the winner." "Five hundred." "All set?" "Players, two." "The bank, two." "One to the player." "You have seven to beat, banker." "The bank wins with eight." " Eight over seven." " Two thousand." "Cards, please." "Flyin' towards ya." "Player six to stand." "The bank wins with a natural eight." "I guess this is our lucky table." "It was." "Pass the shoe." "Card." "Hold it." "You're crazy." "But I'm blessed." " Double it." " You wanna double an 18, sir?" "Yes." "Gimme the three." "That's it." "It's over." "Where are you goin'?" "Nowhere." " What's the matter?" " Nothing." "Go back to bed." "You know, I was here once before." "This friend of mine..." "Eugene... he rode wild bulls at the rodeo." "And every time he won some prize money... he'd run off to Las Vegas to try his hand at blackjack." "One summer, he asked me to come with him." "He bought me this gingham dress for $ 100 in Spanish Town." "Said it'd bring him luck." "Did for a while too." "He had this buddy of his who was a dealer." "He made $ 10,000 off of him first two nights we were here." "Then, of course, his luck started goin' bad." "Kept gettin' drunk." "And losin' a lot." "Yellin' at me." "And then one night... we were in the casino... and he starts accusing this dealer of cheating' on him." "So he threw us out." "The manager came up to the room and told us we had to leave the hotel." "And Eugene started bangin' on him, really bad... till these two big guys came up... ugly guys." "One of them had this fresh purple scar on his neck." "And he grabbed Eugene from behind... and the other guy broke a bottle on the floor." "And he beat Eugene in the head with it." "And he started diggin' the edges... in his face." "You couldn't even recognize him." "Blood was pouring out of him." "What were you doing while this was going on?" "Watchin'!" "Buffalo Bill's defunct." "What's that?" "It's the first line of a poem." " What's it mean?" " What it says." "Where's he now?" "Here." "I think he's here." "Why don't you go see him?" "I don't want to." "Come on." "Let's get out of here before this place gets to us." " Yeah." "Who is it?" " Jimmy." "Come on." "Joe told me you left the country." "I told him you was too smart." " What would I go for?" " People get in trouble and run." " Who's in trouble?" " Come on." "Where's the money?" " Where's what money?" " Look, Axel." "I really indisposed myself because you wasn't here." "I got subjected to unnecessary aggravation!" "So just give me the..." "I'll give you shit!" "You owe me $45,000." " You bet Harvard, Georgia Tech." " And I bet UCLA." " So that's a hat full of winners?" " You mean they lost?" " Where you been, Siberia?" " I went to Vegas." "Is everything all right?" "I mean, Harvard was way up." "Georgia Tech must've been..." "They don't give out no prizes at the halftime." " Axel, what's goin' on?" " Nothing!" " I'll be with you in a minute." " You're not gonna be short, are ya?" "How could all three of them have blown leads like that?" "I mean, Harvard was up by 14 over Brown." "Brown!" "The most pathetic bunch of lard-ass scumbags in the entire Northeast!" "I sympathize with ya 100%, but I'm in a hurry." "I don't understand." "I was on a streak." "Yesterday was mine." "I had 13 passes in a row at the table!" "I hit an 18." "I drew a three." "I couldn't have lost all those games!" "Well, you did!" "And I want the cash, and I'm in a hurry." " Who is that?" " Bookmaker." "I hate waking' up like this." "I hate his voice." "He's leaving." "You didn't lose all of it, did you?" "Half." "I owe you forty-nine five with the vig." "There's five packets of ten each." "Two, three." "I told ya." "Axel Freed's an honest man." "Ah, come on." "Count it outside." "Axel wants to be alone with his girl." "Sorry, buddy." "Tough luck, huh?" "Keep in touch." "Do you have to do this all the time?" "Do what?" "I don't know." "Whatever it is you're out there doin' with those morons." "What time is it?" "I said, "What time is it?"" "10:15." "Thanks." "You bring them back in here again and I'm leavin'." "Jimmy!" "Jimmy." "What's the line on the Laker game tonight?" " You gotta be kidding." " It doesn't start for 15 minutes." " Lakers are pick 'em." " Pick 'em." " They're not even on television." " On radio." "What side do you need?" "Lakers." "Every wise guy is on Seattle tonight." "But I don't want to book..." "Wait, wait." "I'll bet the Lakers." "You don't like the game!" "It ain't fair." "I don't operate that way." "Are you a bookmaker or an investment counselor?" " It's your bananas." "How much?" " Fifty thousand." " Fifty thousand!" " It's your figures I'm balancing'." "I've seen nuts before, but you've got watermelons." " I gotta take the money up front." " You're an insect, you know that?" " No bet till I get the cash." " A fucking termite!" "I'll be right back." "Where the hell's the rest of my fuckin' money?" "You look a lot better standing up in front of your class than now." "I'm not putting on a show for your goddamn amusement!" "What are you doing?" "Making sure you got nothing left at all?" " Here." " All right." "Lakers come through..." "I'll be here with this in the morning, plus what you win." "Plan on it." " You all right?" " Yeah." "Look, I don't understand any of this." "Do you like havin' people come up, break in on you while you're asleep?" "Huh?" "'Cause I sure don't." "The way it seems to me, you're just throwing it away." "And I don't mean only money." "Look, it's just something I like to do." "I like the uncertainty of it." "I like the threat of losing." "And the idea that..." "I could lose, but that somehow I won't, because I don't want to." "That's what I like." "I love winning." "Even though it never lasts." "Will you come to bed with me now?" "In a little while." "I want to take a bath." "Seattle has a spectacular rally here in the fourth quarter." "They've got the lead now over the Lakers by a score of 109-108... and they're about to blow the lid off this place." "Right now, just nine seconds remaining in the game." "Jerry West is at the foul line." "A three to make two situation." "He could put the Lakers back in front." "Jerry is up there for the first one." "It dips in, spins around, comes out." "No good." "Piece of shit!" "Like a motorcycle in a motordrome." "Here's the second one." "That looks short and is short." "Comes off the lip of the rim." "And now the pressure really mounts on Mr. Clutch." "Missed, you scumbag." "All Jerry can do is tie it up." "Something is said there between Hairston and Jerry West." "Here's the third shot." "It's no good!" " He missed with the hat trick." " Three fuckin' shots." "It comes right back to Jerry West at the free throw line." "He fakes to his left, goes up." "Fires from 15 feet." "It's good!" "The Lakers lead it, 110 to 109." "Seattle has no time-outs left." "Here's a surprise." "Seven-footerJim McDaniels having the ball out." "Throws it the length of the court." "It's intended for Spencer Hayward." "Gail Goodrich hits the ball." "It rolls into the corner." "Hayward's after it." "One second left." "He picks it up." "He hooks." "There goes the buzzer!" "The shot is good!" "Seattle wins the ball game." "Fans, Seattle has defeated the Lakers on an incredible shot." "The final score:" "Seattle 111, Los Angeles 110." "The crowd coming out." "Hayward punches his teammates'shoulders." "One of the most inspiring victories in the history... of the Seattle franchise..." "Not home." "Billie?" "Hey, Axel!" "Pull up a chair." " What do you wanna eat?" " Just orange juice." " Orange juice?" "That's all?" " Yeah." "Gus, four orange juice." "Here, eat this while you're waitin'." "What are you gonna do with four orange juice?" "That's Axel Freed." "He's a famous writer and professor." "He just got out of the worst trouble of his life." "Yeah?" "I had a teacher, used to bet with me." "Horses and baseball." "He disappeared last year." "What do you teach?" "Shorthand?" " English." " Yeah." "That's what he taught." "Shorthand and speed reading'." "Roast beef sandwiches all right with you guys?" "I'm so sick about the Columbia-Brown game, I'm lucky I could swallow." "Tell us about it, Benny." "Tell what?" "I got middled on the game." "Rotten, lowlife, Ivy League faggots." " Hey, Axel's a Harvard." " That's all right." "He don't mind." "Come on." "We'll be right back." "Leave us alone, all right?" "I'm short, Hips." "How short?" "I had it all, but I lost most of it back." " How much you got?" " Fifteen." "Fifteen, huh?" "Fifteen thousand is all you got out of forty-four." "Fifteen hundred." "What did you tell me you had it for?" "Don't you know what this does to me?" "I had it promised out." "Now what am I supposed to do, print it myself?" " Give me a week." " I don't have it to give you." "If you don't come up with that money in 24 hours... it's outta my hands." " Whose hands is it in then?" " Don't even ask me." "Just get the money." " Yeah?" " It's Axel." "Is Monkey there?" " Who are you with?" " No one." " You sure?" " Come on." "Push the buzzer, Howie." " Can't be too careful." "You know?" " Right." " Where have you been?" " How are ya, you sick fuck?" " I been lookin' for ya." " How 'bout that, you degenerate!" "I'm mad at you." "You got that Big Bernie on my back!" "He's a creep." "What's the matter?" "You don't snort no more?" "Not even to be sociable?" "Come on." "Just to be sociable, huh?" "Hey, Howie." "Tell Axel to be sociable." "Be sociable, Axel." "I need cash." " I said to play black, didn't I?" " Yes." "Black was the hot color, and you had a nice streak goin'." "Axel's in the hole again." " How'd you get in the hole again?" " I maneuvered." "Losing's easier than winning'." "Am I right, or not?" "What do you need, sweetheart?" "Another Shylock?" "There's a smelly Syrian just opened up downtown, babe." " I need three winners to get back." " Do you hear him?" "If I had three winners, would I be with an ugly junkie like this?" " Gimme a winner, you germ." " Stop calling in a winner." "The game ain't even started yet." "How do you like this guy?" "Give him a game." "Lakers over Orlando, layin' nine." "Get down early." "It'll be off the board by 6:15." "Thank you." "Hey, Axel." "You wanna fuck my girlfriend?" "She's $60 on the street." "For you, nothin'." " I'll take a rain check." " I won't even watch." "I'll lock the door." "You can tape the keyhole." "Sports in the NBA tonight." "The Knicks were idle... but Boston gained on first place by downing Atlanta, 108 to 94." "Detroit slipped past Chicago, 96-95." " Golden State beat Philadelphia..." " You wanna turn that thing off?" " In later starts, a final is in." " Jesus!" "Come on." "The Los Angeles Lakers stomped the Atlanta Hawks, 156 to 102." "Yes!" "What is this, a joke?" "It's gonna help you about as much as a roll of toilet paper." " Wanna give me a ride to Mexico?" " It ain't far enough." "As a matter of fact, nowhere's far enough for you right now." "I don't understand you, Axel." "You didn't need this shit!" "You could've coasted on what you had goin'." "Listen." "I'm gonna tell you something I never told a customer before." "Personally, I never made a bet in my life." "You know why?" "Because I've observed firsthand the people addicted to gambling." "What we would call degenerates." "There's one thing that makes all of them the same." " You know what that is?" " Yes." "They're all looking to lose." "You mean you know that!" "I could've wiped the floor with your ass." "Yeah?" "How?" " Playing just games I knew I'd win." " Then why didn't you?" "Listen, if all my bets were safe, there just wouldn't be any juice." " Juice." " Juice." "Whatever that means, I hope you got a lot saved up... because you're sure gonna be needing something." "Billie?" "Who was that?" " Nobody." " I said who was that?" "It's no good." "You gotta leave me alone for a while." "What do you mean?" "Is it some burden to see me?" "Some sacrifice?" "That's not what I'm saying." "I can't go trailin' after you everywhere." "I got my own stuff to do." " Come here." " No, Axel!" "Stop it." "Come on." "Simply because you're near me" "Funny, but when you're near me" "I'm in the mood for love" "Heaven is in your eyes" "Bright as the stars we are under" "Is there any wonder" "I'm in the mood" "For love" "If there's a cloud above" "If it should rain we'll let it" "But" "For tonight" "Forget it" "I'm in the mood" "For love" "Why stop to think of whether" " Someone's waiting to see you." " This little dream" "Come on." "Who told you to move?" "You're scared, huh?" "Wanna know what we're gonna do to ya?" "Get." "Where do you come off, betting' figures like this?" "I need time." "I told Hips that." " Who told you to mention Hips?" " Hips." " I don't know no Hips." " Got 12,000." "Ten thousand of that came from the Laker game last night... which you had no fuckin' business playin'." "You're not comin' down on anything anymore." " I've dealt with Hips for 3 years." " Let me straighten you out... just so we understand each other." "You're here to tell how you're gonna make good on that debt right now." "I teach." "You could have my checks." "I'm gonna get impatient if you don't come out with something better." "What family you got?" "My mother." "Father died." "I have a grandfather..." "A.R. Lowenthal." " You know about him?" " Know him." "Known him for 30 years." " My father knew him." " Know about his money." "What good is that gonna do you?" " What's his is mine." " Uh-uh." " What does that mean?" " I already asked him for ya." "You asked him what?" " He said no." " He couldn't have." "Why not?" "He's no schmuck." "He's a businessman." "What else you got?" "Any cars, got any boats?" "Got any property?" "Huh?" "You haven't got anything, you motherfucker." "What about that school?" "What have you got up there besides that pigeon shit they pay ya?" "What do you mean?" "You got any athletes in that class of yours?" " Basketball player." " Colored kid?" " Yeah." " Get him." " Take time." " No, it won't." "They play at home tomorrow night." "They'll be eight-point favorites, minimum." "Now, if he wants, he can win by seven, but no more." "But you get him for tomorrow." "Can't do that." "You'll do it." " Hi, Mr. Freed." " Jack." "I want you to come by my office after practice, Spence." "How 'bout tomorrow?" "Got a game tonight." "No, today." "What's it about?" " It's personal." " Personal?" "Come in." "Sit down." "Take your foot down." "How'd you like to make 5,000 cash?" " For two hours work." " Depends on what you have in mind." "There's a guy that's willing to pay you 5,000 cash... if you help him out tonight." "You don't have to lose the game, you just have to make sure... that you do not win by more than seven." "You ain't just playin' with all this gambling' shit." "You know, I could get into a lot of trouble off a thing like this." "You could get into a lot of trouble off a thing like this." "Now, you lookin' to be my cell mate?" " George Washington?" " Are you up to it, or not?" "I don't want to talk to nobody." "I don't want to see nobody." "I don't want to hear no names." "I'll take the money from you." "And I'll take it all up front." "Okay." "See you later." "What are you doing here?" "Vernon, turn down the Victrola." " I said down, not off." " How you doin', Axel?" "Vernon, go away." " You let me down." " I let you down?" "That's right." "The first time I needed you behind me, and you were not there." "Just a minute." "Let's get this straight." "You deceived me." "You were the one that lied." "It's true I kept things from you, but I loved you." "What's the difference!" "It's best this way." "I didn't want to bring you into it anyway." "You were sniffing for my money just like all the others." " Then why am I here now?" " Because you still need it." " No, I don't." " What do you mean?" " I took care of it." " How?" "How did you take care of it?" "Your way." "I fixed it." "My way?" "How would you know how I did things?" "I was as honest as any man with great responsibility ever could be." "I dealt with those vipers because I had to... not because I wanted to." "Yes." "And I spoke with your mother." "Have you any idea the pain you've caused her?" "Are you sure you don't need my help?" "Come on, Spencer!" "What the hell are they doin'?" "Three-twenty remaining in the ball game." "Ten-point lead for NYC, 60 to 50." "If Lewis ever snaps out of this slump... he'll team with Tom Russell in the pivot position." "He's working very..." "Set it up." "Let's go, go, go!" "Get it in there!" "Aw!" "Come on!" "Get it away from him!" "Shoot it!" "And NYC continues to have fantastic luck... despite the poor play of Spencer Lewis." "Sixty-four to fifty." "A 14-point lead for NYC." "Spencer has the ball, right side." "He drives." "Blows the easy layup." "Rebound pulled down by Tom Russell." "Banks off the backboard, up and in." "Tom Russell making up for another Spencer Lewis mistake." "Sixty-six to fifty." "A sixteen-point lead for NYC." " What the hell is goin' on?" " And NYC calls time-out." "With one minute, twenty-eight seconds remaining in the game..." "NYC leads, 66 to 50." "Hey, they're taking out your boy." "The only question remaining now is what NYC's final margin will be." "Jon, the only man who hasn't had a good ball game has been Lewis... and he's usually the man Coach Beck expects the most from." "That's true, Mitch." "Coach Beck is sending Spencer to the bench... and replacing him with sophomore Duane Allen." "Let's go!" "That's good." "That's all right." "Sixty-six to fifty-six." "A ten-point lead for NYC." "Come on!" "Run!" "Where the hell are you going?" " Press, press." " Don." "What you doin' on the court?" "You're making a mistake with Spencer." " He'll get hot any minute." " Look, you teach English." "I'll coach basketball." "Cover the ball." "That's right." "This game has really slowed down now." "Neither team seems to care much." "It is towards the end of the season." "In the right corner, it's Spider Price." "Hands to Smith." "Short jump shot is good." "Sixty-six, fifty-eight." "And the NYC lead is now just eight points." "Inbounds pass goes to Dennis Page." "Page having trouble." "Stolen away by Price." "Price lays it in." "That's ten straight BSC points, and Coach Beck wants a time-out." "Just 28 seconds left." "NYC's lead has been cut to six points." "They've stopped running." "They're throwing the ball away." " They're not playing defense." " Excuse me, Mitch." "But Coach Beck is sending Spencer Lewis back into the game... no doubt to try and dribble out the clock." "Perhaps we'll see one of his backwards stuff shots at the buzzer." "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six... five, four... three, two, one!" "Okay." "How do you feel?" "It's all straightened out." "We're in the clear." "As a matter fact, the way I see it, you got a favor comin' your way." " What do ya mean?" " What, are you crazy?" "You think they're just gonna let this guy slip outta their hands?" "He's got another year in college, and then maybe the pros." "He did it for me." "He won't do it again." "Don't kid yourself." "Once you ain't a virgin no more, you're a whore." "Besides, what the hell do you care?" "You're in the clear." "You gentlemen will have to be on your way." "We're closing now." "What're you talkin' about?" "You know who that is?" "That's Professor Axel Freed." "He teaches the classes around here." "I'm sorry, sir." "I'm just following orders." "You see what this world's comin' to?" "Okay, let her go." "When you think about it, you was pretty fuckin' lucky." "If they didn't put your boy in there at the end, you was dead." " Luck had nothing to do with it." " What!" "You think them odds was in your favor... you escaping' out of the mess that you was in?" "What odds?" "There was never any question." "You gotta be certified." "They had a noose around your neck." "Yeah." "Let's get outta here." "We'll eat some lasagna, grab some pussy, drink some wine." " I'm supplying'." "Come on." " Tell you what." "Bet you a thousand I make this shot." "Two thousand." "Fuck gambling." "I'm hungry and horny." "Five thousand." "Cash." "What are you, an animal?" "Don't you ever have any fun?" "What fun?" " You could've been a star." " I know." " Hey, where you goin'?" "Axel!" " For a walk." "A walk!" "Come on." "I don't wanna lose my best customer." "Hey, there's nothin' but cannibals down there." "Hey, you can't go down there!" "You'll get killed!" "Hey, honky." "What the hell you doin' in our neighborhood?" "Man, them dudes always tryin' to get into somethin' up here." "Where you goin' now?" "You fuckin' up the sequence in my songs." "What can we do for you?" "Nothin'." "She can." "But what can you do for her?" "I can make her rich." "Oh, yeah?" "How rich?" "Fifty." "Come on." "You wanna gimme my money?" "What do you want me to do?" "Take your clothes off." "You got my titties, baby." "That's all you need to see." "Shirt." " Skirt and boots." " You crazy?" "I ain't pulling' off no shirt." "I got a wig on, and I'm not takin' my boots off for nobody." "What the fuck are you doin'?" "You gimme that back." "You think I done come all the way up here for nothin'?" "Shit, I got better things to do with my time, sucker." "This motherfucker done drug me all the way up here... and now he tryin' to steal my money back." "Is that true?" "I think you're in the wrong suite." "And I asked you a question, sucker." "I heard ya." "Give up the money." "You don't understand." "I'm gonna kill you... if you don't hand over what you got." "I understand." "Go ahead." "Are you out of your mind?" "No." "I'm waitin'." "Go ahead." "This motherfucker's crazy." "Why don't you kill me, then you can have the money!" "Stop it!" "Stop it!" "Hey, Joe, he's crazy!" "Stop it!" "He can't fight anymore!" "Stop it!" "Stop it!" "The knife!" " You had your chance." " You're killing him!"