"When am I gonna see you again, baby?" "I'm gonna have to think about that, girl." "Look at him." "Chalky sent me to say he wants to see you on some business, Mr. T." "Go back and tell Chalky to kiss my black ass." "Hey, Mr. T." " Watch your car for you?" " Right on." " Good morning, Mr. T." " Good morning, Walter." " Good morning, T." " What's happening, Jim?" "You got it, baby." "There was a couple of phone calls, and I told 'em to call back." "And this dude here is from Texas, man, and he wants to shoot you a game." "They call him Texas Blood." " Sure." "If he's got the bread." " Shit." "Don't try to psyche me, man." " I've been there." " I said I'd play ya;" "I didn't say I'd talk to ya." "Let's get it on." "Who's the new blood?" " Get me a stick off the wall, Jim." " Hello!" " Go ahead and flip for the break." " No." "You go right ahead." "All right." "How much?" "Hundred?" "Cue." " You can afford it, can't you, my man?" " Is an elephant heavy?" " Is pig pork?" " Whoo!" "Then it won't hurt me." "I'll call my balls, give you a little advantage." "Stripes." "Whoa." "Fourteen in the side." " You say you liked the kid?" " Yeah." "I like him." "Eleven in the side." " I got trouble, Mr. T." " What kind, Sam?" "My brother." "They got him in jail again." " For what?" " Burglary." " With a gun?" " Yes." "That fool wouldn't use his head." "You don't need me, man;" "you need a bail bondsman." "Can't get nobody to go bond for him." "You know he run out one time, Mr. T." " He ran out more than once, Sam, and you know it." " That's why I come to you, Mr. T." " He wouldn't run out on you." " He skip on me, I'd feed him to the dogs." " He know that, Mr. T." " Thirteen ball in the side." "Son of a bitch." " Your shot, T, now." " What about it, Mr. T?" "Not for him, Sam." "For you." " Call Cappy Schneider, tell him I said it's okay." " Thank you." "Thank you, Mr. T." "Listen." "You tell that little punk... if he even thinks about leavin' town, I'll break both his legs, dig?" "He know that, Mr. T, but I'll tell it to him again." " Big T is gonna take him." " Deuce ball in the corner." " The man good." " That's T shooting'." " Who's this turkey?" " Three ball in the corner." "You gotta stand behind that line." " You're kiddin'." " No, baby." "Not on this side of town." " Seven ball." " Where?" "Where you goin', man?" " Where you want it, mother?" " Off two cushions, in the side pocket, big man." " Whoo!" " Shit!" "Ace ball, same way." "Lock up." "Eight ball in the corner." "Game!" "Game!" " Let's hear it for the Texas Turkey bleeding." " Yeah." " There's your money, baby." " Wanna go again?" " This time for five." " Uh-huh." "All right." "Three stripes, two solids and the eight ball." " You break, take the solids." " Rack 'em up." "Six ball in the corner." "You know, he's good, but he ain't got no cool." "Then he's not good, Jim." " Did you hear about the Walker baby?" " No." "What about it?" "Well, the baby's only three, and she was coming down the steps of that building they live in." "She bumped the railing, the railing went, and the baby went." "And, you know, that building, man, has been in such ridiculous shape... for about 20 years or more, and the Walkers don't have any money." " And it's just a terrible thing." " I can dig it, Jim." " Whose building?" " I don't know whose building it is." "Find out whose building it is." "Find out what hospital the baby's in too." "Well, I know the hospital the baby's in." "It's the Queen of Angels Hospital." " Okay." "Find out whose building." " Okay." "Seven ball cross corner." "Eight ball in the corner." "Whoa." "He scratched?" "You wanna go again?" "T, the company that owns that apartment building where the baby fell down... is called Sangree Management." "This is the address." "Is it okay I tell Mrs. Walker not to worry no more?" "Okay." "Hey, T, we'd like to talk to ya." "Come on." "Here he come." "Here he come." "Took care of you, Mr. T." "Peace and power." "Say, dig." "Let whitey ride in the back of the bus this trip." " Where are we going?" " Downtown." " We got some trouble, T." " No shit." "All this free ass out here putting your whores out of business?" "You know we haven't been into that for a long time, T." " Now, Pete and I are—" " That's Pete, hmm?" "Yeah." "Pete Cockrell, Mr. T." " What kind of trouble?" " We formed a partnership." "Pete runs card games, crap games on the white side of the street, same as I do on the black." "We bank for each other, split the takes, and that way, nobody has a bad week." " Don't sound like trouble to me." " Well, the past three weeks... five of our runners have been grabbed taking money to the games... and three of our games have been ripped off." " Three or four guys." " Black or white?" "We don't know." "They only hit after dark." "They wear black cotton stocking masks, slits with eyeholes... and shades, long sleeves, black gloves." "Nobody says nothing." "They just stick a gun in a guy's belly, take the money and slide." " How the hell we supposed to know what color they are?" " You have a war goin' on?" " Somebody out of jail owe you a little somethin'?" " No, no." "Nothin'!" "We could locate a few of our people with guns at the games... to protect our interests, but that scares off business." "Crap shooters don't like guns or hassles." "Chalky thinks you can do it another way." "Can you?" "Maybe, if the money's right." " How much you askin', T?" " One night's take." " We'll give you one grand." " You'll give me shit." "I'll pick up a grand sitting' around Jimmy's, makin' a couple of phone calls." "You want your trouble fixed, it's gonna cost you." "All right." "One night's take, 2,500." " Ten big ones." " We don't take no $10,000 in one night, man!" "Drive around the block." "I'll be back in five minutes." " May I help you, sir?" " Yeah." "Just stand aside and don't ring his phone till I leave." "Yes?" "You manage a building, 139th and Crenshaw." "It's in fucked-up shape." "A baby went through the railing yesterday." "She's now in Queen of Angels Hospital." "All we do, sir, is collect the rentals, relay the problems to the owners." " We're not responsible." " I'm making you responsible, man." "Now, I want you to see that baby's hospital bill is paid;" "I want the building fixed so it don't happen again;" "and I want you to go see the baby's mother and tell her how sorry you are it happened." " You dig where I'm comin' from?" " That lady has legal recourse." "I can't—" "Look, man." "Lawyers do numbers." "We ain't got time for that." " Now, you do like I told you, and now." " I don't own that building." " In fact, a Negro couple owns it." " I couldn't give less a damn... who owns it or what color." "Now, you see to that baby, or I'll come back and see to you, you dig?" "You got plenty of time today to handle that." "You don't, I come see you tomorrow, help you out some." " I wish you'd have punched him one." " You do it, baby." "You can whip him." "We been talkin' about your price." "What do we get for it?" " Peace of mind." " How you gonna go at it?" "One step at a time." "Go to your games till I get lucky and see your troublemaker hit." "After that, it's experience and instinct." "You're gonna try to nail 'em while they're sticking up a game?" "No, man." "Just see how they work." "I'll be another shooter there playing dice." "That's all." "That's all you're gonna get from me for free." "Deal or no?" "All right." "We'll go 5,000." "Look, man." "I'm not gonna hassle about bread." "You know my price." "I'll be atJimmy's around 7:00." "Make up your mind, call me there." "Now, get out, man." "The two of you are fuckin' up a nice day." " Hey." " You're early." "Didn't even start lunch yet." "No hurry." "Mm." "How's my baby?" "I'm good." "You got time to go to Chicago?" "No." "I can't, baby." "Got some things goin'." " Why Chicago?" " There's a club there that wants me to sing." "Two weeks." "When do you leave?" "I don't." "Not if you can't come too." "You don't really think I'd go without you, do you?" "I figured you'd do what you wanted to do." "Good afternoon, gentlemen." " Get it all set up upstairs?" " Everything but the ice." " Better take a look." " Let's go." " How safe is this building?" " Only three of the apartments got tenants." "Two of them are old folks." "The third one works at night." "Two guys, you know." " That the back way?" " Yeah." "Through here." "Through the kitchen and out." " And there's an alley." " Nice." "All right." "Let's get the word out, Chi." "There's a game tonight at 8:00." " What about the coat?" " We cool." "Let me see that." " This is a double-breasted coat, buddy." "He's wearing a single." " It'll do." " He won't miss that, man." " Relax." "Go get a single-breasted coat." "We got the time." "Fix me a drink, will ya?" "Yeah." "Jimmy's Poolroom." " This is Chalky." "Let me talk to T." " No, Chalky." "He's not here." " I'm not here, baby." " When he comes in, tell him we are buying his deal." "That's right." "There's a game on tonight, and I'll call back and give him the address... when we set a place." "All right." " Hey, Jim." "What's happening?" " You got some phone calls, T." "Cappy Schneider called and Chalky Price called." "And then there was a few other calls." "Uh, you know what?" "Mrs. Walker called." "And Mrs. Walker said... that a man named Salter came by the hospital, paid the baby's hospital bill... went through a whole 'nother thing, man, about how sorry he was." "And then on top of that, he said, "I will fix up the building."" " Yeah." "I guess it was a miracle." "What did Chalky Price say?" " Chalky Price called twice." "First time he called, he bought your deal." "Second time he called, he gave me this address..." " and he said the game was tonight at 8:30." " Hmm." " You onto this?" " I'll be in the office." "All right, baby." "Hey, Mr. T. So it is." "Hey, FunkyJoe." "What's happenin'?" " Hello?" " Hey, baby." "I don't think I'm gonna get back there tonight." " You come by for breakfast?" " Maybe." " Should I be worried for you?" " Yeah." "Worry." "It's good for you." "It also helps a lot." "Come on, girl." "You know you never have to worry about me." "Just be cool." "Now, Cleo wouldn't ask if Cleo didn't love you." "Later." "Tell the man to kiss your black ass in the mornin'!" "And workin' for him by night." "You some kind of ho, baby." "You just keep an eye on my car, sucker." "Anything happen to it, I'll take it out of your ass." "Glad you could make it, T." "That leads to the kitchen and the back door." "We got a lookout back there, and you saw Chi when you came in." "Yeah, I saw him." "Just pay me no mind, Chalky." "I'm just another shooter." " Yeah, but what do I do if we get hit?" " Give the cats the money, man." " Can I get you a drink, sir?" " Yeah, a little gin and one ice cube." " Hey, what's happenin'?" " Hey, baby." "Mr. T, you gonna bet?" " That's nine." " Where's that seven?" "No dice." "Put 'em on, baby." "Move your ass." "That's all right." "You crazy." "Easy." "Aw, shit, man." "There goes the rent." "Chalky!" "You ass, you." "That's Abbey Walsh, man." "You know who he is?" "Yeah, I've seen him around." "He's a collector for Big." "Now you got two kinds of trouble— thief trouble and fuzz trouble." " We gotta get rid of the body." " No, no, no." "Not we, man." "You." " You shoot it; you bury it." " I hired you, damn it." "Yeah." "To stop the stickups, not sweep up after you, pimp." "You got janitors on your payroll." "They must've caught me from behind, hit me with a pipe or something." "I'll call you." "I'd like to gut that son of a bitch." "Better use a long knife, Chi." "How about 10 feet long, so he can't reach you, Chi?" "Take care of that." "All right." "Get busy." "Oh." " How'd it go?" " Like sippin' whiskey." "Smooth as fuckin' silk." "Later." "Thank you." "Yeah." "My main squeeze." " Gimme some." " Mmm." "Twenty years ago, that would've been more truth than jive, baby." " Where you been hidin' yourself, T?" " Pickin' up a dime here, there." " Hey, listen, ángel." "I need a little help." " Mm-hmm." " What kind of help?" " Answers." "Who's Abbey Walsh been hangin' out with lately?" "You mean, like chicks?" "Only the same woman he's always been goin' with." "Clarissa something." " What about guys?" " Big runs a closed shop." "His people hang together like fingers on a hand." "No outsiders ever." "Okay." "Thanks, ángel." " Later." " You hurry back, you hear?" "Get back soon as I can." " Hey." " Hey." "What's happenin', babe?" "Beginning of second quarter." "Got some good seats left, Mr. T." "Don't need tickets." "Need answers, Benj." " Who's Abbey Walsh been hanging out with lately?" "Do you know?" " Just the cats who work for Big." "It's like a club, man." "See one around, you know the rest of'em are close." " Stay loose, brother." " All right, babe." " Hey, Danny." " Hey." "How's it goin'?" " Okay." "You looked good the other night, kid." " Thank you." "Slip a little more." "You're a little too tight in there." "That's it." "Double up on that." "That's fine." "Fine." "Stick it out in there." "Time!" "Hey, Bobby." "T, my man." "It's so good to see you." " Legs look like they comin' around, man." " Yeah, well, look here." " You wants to go three with me, man?" "We almost finished." " No." "Not tonight." " Hey, listen." "You know Abbey Walsh pretty good." " Yeah." "I'm hip with him." "There's some things I wanna know about him, and you gotta forget I asked." "I can dig it if the price is right." " Fifty?" " The price is right, brother." "Go ahead." "What are the odds he'd pull some stickups?" "If Big told Abbey to walk through the jungle in a pork chop jacket, he'd do it." "But otherwise, ain't no way, man." "No way." "Big trying' to move east a little?" "Say, T, man, you know I ain't in that jive no more." "I gave that shit up." "Time." "Two minutes." "All right, baby?" " T." " Hey, Paco." " We got a warrant for your arrest, T." " For what?" "We'll explain it on the way in, after we read you your rights." "It's not that I don't take your word for it, but I'd better see the paper." " It's for murder, T." " That's a bunch of bullshit, Paco." "You tell that to the man at the station." "Now, you put your hands on that ring... and you move your feet back and out, spread eagle." "If I had a gun, which I don't..." "I'm licensed to carry it." "No need to search him, Tim." "If he says he's got no gun, he's got no gun." " Okay." "Come on." "Let's go." " Yeah." "Give me a second to say good-bye to my buddy." "Time." "Dig it, man." "I gotta split." "CallJimmy and tell him you saw me, dig?" "Okay." "You guys can take off." "Thanks." " How are ya, T?" " Keepin'it all together." "Your man, Millers, got some kind of a bug up his ass." "Well, he's with Vadez." "Vadez'll straighten him out." "All right." "Now, let's try to save some time here." "We got a telephone tip that you burned Abbey Walsh." "Did you get the caller's name, Captain?" "That's slander." "No, but when we went to the vacant lot he told us about... we found Abbey there with three bullets in his back." "Oh, come on, Captain." "You don't really believe I'm dumb enough to shoot a cat... in front of a witness and haul his dead ass to a lot someplace and dump it for you to find?" "Not if you knew there was a witness, no." " Like some coffee?" " I'm not plannin' to stay long enough to drink it." "Well, I hope you're right about that, T." "Sergeant, bring in a pot of coffee and two cups." "Now, let's stop bullshitting around." "What's the story?" "That's your question to answer, Captain." "And all the bullshit around here is yours too." " Are you holdin'me, or can I go home?" " We've got a body... we're told belongs to you, so what else can I do?" " Come up with some goddamn evidence, man." " Well, we're trying, T." "Our lab people are going over your car right now." "We're checking our records on the test bullet from your gun." "And we'd like to take a paraffin test of your hands." "Don't suppose you'd allow that, huh?" "Anyway, our informant told us you were wearing gloves at the time." " What did you do with those gloves, T?" " Lab says his car is clean." "Well, you're lookin' good, T." " You sure you don't want some of this coffee?" " Look, man." "I'm tired of you jivin' with me." "You don't like me?" "I don't like you." "That's cool." "We both know you wanna nail me with anything you can." "I don't understand it, but that's cool... 'cause you're never gonna come up with anything to hang on me, Captain." "Call meJoe." "It takes the edge off the conversation." "T, Joe." "Makes things a lot easier, right?" "Captain Marx." "Yeah." "Thanks." "There's a bail bondsman outside asking about you." " How'd he find out so fast, T?" " Jungle drums, man." "Dig it, Captain." "I'm gonna run something for you." "Listen, okay?" "I've got licenses to drive cabs, transport diamonds, tend bar." "You name it, I've got it." "I also have a private detective's license... which not only allows me to carry a gun if I want to... but it lets me into the law library anytime, and I go, man." "And what I read tells me that you either charge me, or I walk out that door." "You won't say, so I'm just gonna have to try you." "Certainly sorry to see you go, T... but we're gonna be talkin' again very soon, so you take care of yourself." "Just make sure you don't have anybody following me around to see that I do." "It's not legal." "You said something before about my wanting to nail you." "I'll tell you exactly where I sit." "You're tough and mean." "You don't hold a job, but you wear $300 suits... drive a big, fancy car, buy a new car every year." "Very impressive, but it makes a guy like me wonder." "And when I wonder, I watch, I listen." "I think you're fuckin' around with the law, T. That's where I sit." "Because I'm tough and mean myself." "Because I know if I wasn't a cop, I'd be fuckin' around with the law too... bending it, breaking it here and there." "That's why I'm gonna get you: 'cause I know ya." "No, you don't, man." "But either way, you lose, so fuck off, Joe." "Dig?" "Big would like to have a talk with you, Mr. T." "Yeah." "Well, I'd like to have a talk with him too." "Where is he?" "We'll take you to see him, baby." "Our car is parked up the street." "I want you to walk towards it slow and easy, hear?" "Yeah, well, if you cats wanna drive, that's cool... but somebody's gonna have to drive my car." " I don't want it sittin' in front of no police station." " That's a good idea." "You driving'." "I'm gonna ride in the backseat." "But I'm tellin' you, man— any kind of shit from you, and you dead." "Follow us in our car, man." "Freeze." "Uh-uh." "Better take me out now, man, 'cause I ain't gonna rest till I get your ass for this." "Just lift your gun out with the thumb and finger of your left hand, real easy." "Drop it on the floor." "Now, take me to see Big." "Come on." "Just open it, man." "Move." "Looks like you've got the magic touch, Mr. T. Preston's a heavy dude." "Go find your gun, Preston, and close the door behind you, see we're not disturbed." " Now, look, man—" " Yeah, man." "Go do that, Preston." " What happened to Lee and Pindar?" " I left 'em on the parking lot." "We've never done any business, Big, so let me tell you my rules." "Half-assed super niggas like that pair you sent after me?" "You only get to make that mistake one time, you dig?" "Only had this one time to see you, Mr. T. What for you shoot my man Abbey?" " I didn't." " He's dead, and you done him in." "I wanna know why." "The police and you ask the same question, man." "I didn't burn Abbey." "I'm only gonna say that once." "But I got a question." "How the hell did you hear Abbey was dead and I was the cat that did it?" "The word's out." "Some crap shooter was at that game when it happened... and the fuzz found Abbey on a vacant lot." "I'll tell you how he got shot." "I was there." "He was with four other cats." "They stuck up one of Chalky Price's crap games... and on the way out the door, Abbey got burned." " That's shit, man." "Abbey wouldn't do that." " I saw him." "How can you be so sure, when they all were wearin' masks?" "That coat he was wearin' was hard to miss... and he was still wearin' the mask when he hit the ground." "I pulled it offhis face myself." "Hmm." "Bullshit, man." "No way." "Look, Big." "The only way Abbey was hittin' Chalky's crap games and runners was if you sent him." "You say you didn't." "I don't give a damn what you say." "I'm gettin' paid to find out... who was hittin' those games, and to me, you're the cat." "It makes no difference whether you wanna move in on Chalky or he wants to move in on you." "What does matter is that the shit stops and I get the bread for seeing' that it stops." "So that means you and Chalky and that honky partner ofhis... have to sit down and get it all together and get it straight." " I ain't makin' no moves, T." " Tell it to Chalky, not to me." "I ain't sayin' I'm buyin' what you sellin'." "Jury's still out." " But you bring 'em here, and I'll tell 'em." " They won't come here." "Well, I ain't gonna go there." "They're inside, Mr. T." "Hey, T. You want a drink?" "Well, got results already." "Not as fast as Chalky did with that.32." " We heard you got picked up." " Yeah, I did, and I wanna find out why I did." " Am I gettin' the fast shuffle?" " We'd be crazy to hustle you." " Chalky pulled the trigger." " Then how did the fuzz find out Abbey was dead... and where to find the body and that I was there when he got washed away, Chalky?" "I don't know." "Somebody called them." "Couldn't have been one of the high rollers." "They wouldn't know where the body was dumped." "Odds are, they didn't even hear the goddamn shot." "What's happening, man?" "Had to be Billy Chi." "He dumped the body." "He's the one who knew where it was." " You having problems with Billy Chi?" " Where is he?" "I'll ask him." "We don't know, but we'll find that sucker." " Bastard could've screwed up everything." " You find him, or I will." "Right now, we'll let it sit." " I saw Big." " What'd Big say?" "He said he didn't know a damn thing about those stickups." "That's crap, man." "Abbey would not move a muscle without Big's okay." "You know that Big would break both his legs if he do some freelance stickups." " Tell it to Big." " We're not gonna tell that son of a bitch anything." "He's tryin' to muscle in on us." "He opened this garbage, and we'll put the lid on it." "And get what?" "A lot of dead bodies and heat from the fuzz." "You want that?" "Cool." "Give me my money and time to get out of your way." " I'll let you crazy mothers shoot at each other." " He's right, Pete." "You're fuckin' "A" right, I'm right." "Now, which is it?" "You guys meet, or give me my money and I'll split." "We're not goin' to him." "And he's not comin' to you." "So what happens now?" "Big'll come toJimmy's." "I set it up for tomorrow night, 11:00." "Give you both time to cool off." "He figures you to bring some muscle, so he'll bring two of his people." " You bring two of yours." " That lying' son of a bitch." "How do we know... he won't have some guys in the street to burn us when we get there?" "Same way he knows you won't." "The heat from a big shootout'll scorch his ass... just as fast as it'll scorch yours." "He's no fool either." "What do you think, Chalky?" " It's okay by me." "Yeah." " Okay." "We'll meet him tomorrow night, 11:00." "What time do you want me to wake you up?" "Couple of hours." "About 5:00 is okay." "You sure are a beautiful woman." " Mm-mm." " And you got the softest hair." "Couple of hours?" "You got it." "Get that, will you, Pete?" "Yeah." "Commercial Laundry Company." "Did you find Chi?" "Hi, T. We found him, but, uh, we don't have him." "He went to Chicago." "He flew out last night." "You better get him." "We have people in Chicago." "He'll be here tomorrow." "Later." "It's all right." "It's off all day." " Hey, T. What's happenin'?" " You gotta close up, man." "People are having a meeting, and you don't want to know nothing about it." " All right, babe." "How soon now?" " Right now." "All right." "All right, close it down, fellows." " Closin' time?" " No more games." "Come on, now." " Wolf Man, don't give me no argument." "Come on." " What kind of jive is that, man?" " It's only 10:30." "We got plenty of time." " I'm not jivin' you." " I'm not jivin' ya, babe." " We ain't never closed this early before." " No, we can close any time I say we close." " We close at 2:00 every night." " Dude, T said closing time." " Okay, babe." " Main Street Gym." " Is Bobby Golden around?" " Hold on." "Bobby Golden!" " What?" " Telephone." " Be right there." "Wait just a minute." "He's here." " Yeah, yeah." "This is Bobby." " Bobby, this is T." "I want you to find out something for me:" "Billy Chi." "Somebody said he went back to Chicago." "Find out if he did." "Uh, yeah." "Thirty dollars, plus?" " We're cool, baby." " Right on, baby." " Hello?" " Lucille, this is T." "Oh, it's been a long time between phone calls, sweet man." " Everything all right with you?" " Yeah." "Fine, baby." "Hey, listen, I'm trying to locate Billy Chi." "You mean, Chalky Price's main man, the dude with all the clothes?" "Yeah, that's him." "See what you can do for me." "Sure." "And you fall by here the next time you're in the neighborhood, all right?" "I still keep your brand of Scotch." "Stay loose, baby." "Hey, the place'll be closed in two minutes." "Yeah, you split." "I'll lock up." "You want me to ask around about Billy Chi?" "No, you'd better not, man." "People would know who had you asking." "Dig?" "All right." "I'm gone." "Hey, hey, that's nice." "It's all wrapped up, baby." " All right, babe." " It's okay." "Be cool now." " I'm sorry about all this." " Oh, no." "I shouldn't blow your gig, man." "No, no way." "All right, Wolf Man, that's it." "Hey, thank you, babe." "I'm sorry, my man." "We're closing up now." "I want to shoot a game." "Rack 'em up." " You can close up when I'm finished." " Hey, Mr. T said we're closed... and when he says we're closed, we close up." "Rack 'em up." "I'll play this table." "If you're lookin' for trouble, you gonna be ass-deep in it in two minutes." "You let me worry about that." "Okay?" "Rack 'em." "Didn't you hear what the man said, bra?" "He's closed." "Big sent me on ahead, in case something has to be handled." "Nice of him." "Just put the stick back like the man said." "You're not putting the stick back, man?" "Want me to help you?" "That's not exactly what I had in mind." "Push comes to shove, I got a feelin' you're a good man, Pres." "Still walking' around." "That oughta tell you something." "Don't keep needling' me, and I won't have to do anything about that." "Hate to see a good man taken out." " Split, Jim." " I'm gone, baby." "And pull all the shades on the windows." "We don't want anybody dropping' in." "Get yourself a Coke, man." "We got no war with each other." " Man's gonna be here pretty soon." " What kind of car is Big driving?" "He's not driving." "I got his car." "He's coming by cab." "He's here now." "Ain't been in here in 10 years." "Nothing's changed." "See if my picture's still hangin' on the wall by the Coke machine." "This is where the King sits." "You don't mind if I do, T?" "You're allowed, one time." "In case you're interested, I been askin' around." "I found two guys who were at that crap game." "Said the same thing you did, about a man wearing a houndstooth jacket." "Also said something else." "Said they didn't hear any shots." "They were long gone." "Thought everybody else was, except for you and Chalky." "Was it Chalky that burned Abbey?" "Why don't you ask him when he gets here?" "Picture's still up there, Big." "Want me to get it for you?" "No, man." "That's an honor." " There's a back door." " You better lock it." "How you figure the word got out that you shot Abbey?" " I been thinkin' about that." " Somebody's playing games." "Been thinkin' about that too." " You figured it was me, right?" " If you sent the guys to hit that game... you'd know Abbey got washed." "No big thing for one of your people to hang around, see where they took him." "I can understand you thinkin' that... but it could've been Chalky and his partner, Pete." "Could have been." "Confusing fuckin' world, ain't it, man?" "Yeah, but I'm gonna get it all straight." " There's a car pulling' up to the curb, Big." " Back door locked?" "Yeah." "It's not them, Big." "It's the fuzz." "Get a cue, Pres." "You get a chance to shoot on my table after all." "As we were saying, T, somebody's playing games." " It couldn't be me." " It's hard to say till we see what it's all about." "I'm in no hurry, brother." "Drop it!" "Drop it!" "Move!" "All right." "Get your hands off to your side." "Hurry up!" " Move!" "Shut up!" "Shut up!" " What the hell do you think you're doing?" "Shut up." "Shut up." "Come on." "Move over against the wall." "Hurry up." "Move." "Come on." "Turn around." "Face the wall." " You stay right where you are." " I have no place to go till it's my turn at the table." "Come on." "Get 'em out of here." "If this is a shakedown, man, you're going about it wrong." "If it's a bust, you better have a good reason." "I think you been had, Mr. T." "No way!" "Hate to have to do this to you, old brother." "But it's either you or me." "And right now, it doesn't matter to you." "Captain Marx." "Yeah, well, find him, and say that Mr. Tjust called... to say he just had to kill a fella." "Big came in, sat up in my chair." "He said he heard I'd burned Abbey Walsh." "I said I didn't." "He pulled out his gun and opened up." " I pulled out my gun and defended myself." " T, the counterpuncher?" " It's a bunch of horseshit." " The physical evidence bears me out, Captain." " Did you know he was coming?" " Nope." "Then why was this poolroom closed?" "Jimmy doesn't close until 3:00 in the morning." " It's 11:30 right now." " Jimmy wasn't lookin' good." "I told him to close up early, and he did." "I was gonna lock up." "I almost made it." "That's when Big walked in." "All by himself." "Captain, no man in his right mind takes witnesses along... when he's gonna do somebody in." "It doesn't figure." "Not any of it." "NotJimmy closing up early." "Not Big coming in here alone." "And most of all, him pulling a gun on you." "Bust your face, yeah." "Shoot you, no." "That's the way it happened, Captain." " He's much too smart for that." " Look, if he did shoot at me... there'd be traces of gunpowder on his hands, right?" "And without looking, I can guess that it's there." "He fired a gun." "It has to be, doesn't it?" "I know it's all crap, and I know it's gonna fall your way." "You're the licensed owner of a pistol, with the right to carry it concealed." "Big didn't have a license." "No way for us to tell when these bullets went into the wall... and when your bullets went into Big's chest." "You burned him." "I know it, and you know it." " But you're gonna walk away clean." " Self-defense is no crime, Captain." "Yeah, I forgot about the other thing." "Big has done time." "A known felon carrying a gun." "When do you want me to come down and sign a statement?" "Right now." "I'm gonna bust you." "I'm not gonna be able to make it hold up, but I'm gonna put you through the whole routine." "Charge you." "Fingerprints, mug shots... holding cell, the works." "It's not a hell of a lot, but it's gonna give me a little satisfaction." "And it's gonna give me some time to put a hole in that story of yours." "Put your hands behind your back." " Handcuffs?" " Yeah, let's do it right." " Tight enough, Mr. T?" " Up yours, Mother Marx." "Let's go, gunner." "Empty out your pockets, take all your valuables." "Put the contents in that envelope." "Drop the number and turn profile." "You know what's really bugging me, T?" "Two things." "Just as I know Big wasn't ass enough to go toJimmy's to shoot you..." "I also know you're not fool enough to go there and shoot him either." "The other thing is the tie-up between you and Big in the first place." "The whole business with Abbey Walsh." "You know what's bothering me?" "Two things." "One is, I'm sorry I can't sue you for false arrest... and the other is, there's no toilet paper in this cell." "Goddamn." "That's terrible." "I talked to one of the assistant district attorneys." "He suggested that I let you go about your business." "He's a nice kid." "His name is Ed Walters, in case you're interested." "Neither one of us could figure out... why you didn't get a lawyer to come charging in here with a writ." " I'm supposed to ask you that." " Why should I pay a cat to do what you did for free?" "You'll notice your gun is not in the envelope." "It's still in the lab." " Now, what do I need a gun for?" " I don't know." "Why do you have a license to carry one?" " Good question, Captain." " Check your other possessions." "If you can't trust the police, who can you trust?" "All right, T, I think that'll do it for tonight." "Except for having one of your people call me a cab." "My car is still atJimmy's." "I'll be happy to have somebody drive you back there." "I'd appreciate that." "It's part of the service." "Last of the fuzz just left here." " What the hell happened?" " You don't want to know that, brother." " How long will it take you to pack?" " 'Bout two minutes, man." " Where am I going?" " I don't know yet." "Go home and pack some stuff and meet me at Cleo's." " How long will I be gone?" " Maybe a week." "Maybe I'd better call Bootsy and have him take over the place for me." " He's cool." "You better get going." " All right." "I'm gone." " Hello?" " Pack your bag, baby." "You're goin' out of town." "T is on the streets right now." "How long do you think it's gonna take him to figure out that we set him up?" "One man, Chalky." "He's just one man." " Don't make him sound like a goddamn army." " It only takes one man... to wash you away, and T is the last man in this world I want looking for me." "All right." "Then we go looking for him." "We find him— pop, pop— no more Mr. T." "And then the cops come down on our heads, right?" "Wrong, Chalky." "For Christ's sake, will you think?" "Why did we go through with this song and dance?" "We burnt Abbey to give T a nice motive to burn Big." "We got them tied together like Siamese twins." "Oh, yeah, we did that, all right, but T turned that all around." "Man, he walked out of that police station with Marx thinking Big was after him!" "Chalky, think like a cop." "T kills Abbey, Big looks for T and T kills him, and then T gets it." "The cops got to figure it's Big's people." "And Big's people are missing." "And they ain't gonna show up." "It's neat as a pin, Chalky." "Big is gone." "There's no heat on us." "We move in on Big's business, and the money comes rollin' in like waves on the shore." "All we gotta do is get rid of Mr. T." "Am I right or wrong?" "Let me take the mother out." "I want him." "You cats here to see me off?" "Come on, brother." "We want to talk to you some." "Don't—" "All right, baby." "We gonna kick your ass." "What is it, baby?" " You packed?" " Almost." " Where's Jimmy?" " I don't know." "He didn't call here." "Get your packing' done." "You gotta split." "He should've been here." "Hey, T, what is it?" "What's the matter?" "You and Jimmy gotta go away for a couple of days." "Where do you wanna go?" " For what?" "What for?" " I got some trouble to handle." "Look, baby, the cats in this game got no blood; they got ice instead." "I don't want anybody around that they can hurt to get to me." "And that's you and Jimmy." "Can't move if I gotta keep looking over my shoulder." "Hey, come on." "Finish packing your clothes, or you're gonna go without 'em." "And tell me where you wanna go." "Wherever you want me to go." " Yeah." " Hey, this is Jimmy." " Where the hell are you, man?" " Georgia Street Hospital, man." " I got worked over." " Who?" "Chalky's people." "They caught me comin' out of my pad, man." "Would've killed my ass... if it hadn't been for the police comin' down the street at the right time." "I just got lucky, babe." " Come on." "Put this shirt on before you catch pneumonia." " Hold— Hold it, man." " Come on." "Now." " Ow!" "Wow, lady." "Be careful." "That's better." "No, you be careful." "Okay." "There." "Now." "Leave it on." "Yeah." "Listen, man." "I'm sorry about that." " I was telling you about them guys, man." " Did they say what they wanted?" "They wanted you." "But I didn't tell them anything." "And they bent my tin leg too, man." " Can you walk?" " Yeah." "I can walk." "Okay, stay there." "Cleo'll come pick you up." "I'm cool, man." " How bad was he hurt?" " He'll be all right." "Some cats grabbed him comin' out of his place." "Look, you go getJimmy down at Georgia Street." "The two of you drive up to San Francisco." "Get a plane from there." "Where am I going?" "Anywhere you want to." "Just call when you get there." "There's something else I want you to do for me." "It's very important." "Give me about 15 minutes, then call Sergeant Koeppler..." "Records Room, Lockner División." "Tell him you're a reporter or something." "Keep him on the phone." "He likes to talk." "I'll need about five minutes." "That's all." "Okay?" " Okay." " I gotta split." "You stay loose." "Baby—" "Okay." "If you get the feelin' somebody's following you, just askJimmy what to do." "He'll know." " Take it easy." " Yeah." "What's happenin', Sarge?" "Not much for a change, Mr. T. How's by you?" "Oh, pretty good." "Doing a little investigating." "Here to see a package on a guy named Wozneitzski." "First name, Vladimir." "What the hell do you want with a guy named Vladimir Wozneitzski?" "Well, not enough to learn how to spell his name." "Well, by damn, there is a guy named Vladimir Wozneitzski." "I thought you were puttin' me on, T." "My clerk got married and resigned just three weeks ago." "Still no replacement." "Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy." "Records?" "Hello." "May I speak to Sergeant Koeppler, please?" "Yes, ma'am." "This is Sergeant Koeppler." "How do you do?" "Lieutenant Grover suggested that I call you." "My name is Susan Anderson, and I'm writing for my college newspaper, The Campus Dispatch." "Well, we're here to give any help we can." "Uh, what kind of things are you interested in finding out?" "I'm writing a column on the different city government jobs... there are for graduating students." "Oh." "Well." "My particular records room here... could be described as broken down into two parts." "Records and Files is one." "Evidence Room is two." "What the files are speaks for itself." "The Evidence Room is a cage which is kept locked." "The key is in the possessión of the watch commander." "We keep things there that, uh, well— things that were captured from felons... like TVsets they stole, or guns they were carrying— you know, evidence in general, yeah." "I got what I came after." "But what I think is the most interesting part of this job is the filing itself." "Get that, Frank." "Commercial Laundry Company." "Oh, yeah?" "Wait a minute." "They're at T's apartment." "He's not there either." "Jesus." "That son of a bitch is gonna kill us both, Pete." "Bullshit." "You tell 'em to get back here, and fast." "That's a mistake, Chalk." "They should keep looking for him till they find him." "And while they're lookin' for him, he's looking for us, and he knows where we are!" "You tell them to get back now, Frank." "Chalky wants you to come back here." "Yeah." "Now." "Yeah." "They're comin'." " What are you gonna do, Chalk?" " I'm gonna empty my safe and take a trip." " And leave all the troubles to me?" " You want to come?" " You're welcome." " No way." "That nigga's not running me out." "That nigga is gonna feed you that word backwards, honky." "And if he doesn't, I will." "Chalky, why are we at each other?" "T's the problem." "But maybe you're right." "Maybe this is the wrong place." "T comes looking' for us, he'll look here first." "Then we'll stop him when he makes a move." "I don't know what the big deal is." "You shoot him, and he bleeds like anybody else, doesn't he?" "He knows that, fool." "So he sees to it that you don't get a chance to shoot him." "T has one edge, and that's his cool." "But that's enough, baby." "'Cause he's thinking all the time." "And if he wants your ass... he gets it." " Gonna take all your people with you, Chalk?" " Right again." "Well, maybe you're right." "I mean, after all, where's he come if he's looking for you?" "Down to your office, downtown." "Black people all over the place." "But if you're gone, he comes looking for me." "And that means the penthouse at Century Plaza." "White people all over." "He's carrying a flag, he comes down there." ""See me?" "Here I am." We see him, we take him out." "If it was that easy, he would've been dead a long time ago." " Got a better idea?" " Yeah." "I'm leavin'." "You can do whatever you want, dude." "When I get to where I'm goin'..." "I'll get some heavy cats from New York, St. Louis, and let them handle it." "Ah, could be you're smart." "But not me." "I'm going up there and set up and wait for him." " What odds you give me we don't get him?" " Odds?" "Who do I collect from if you lose?" "Man, why don't you turn down that damn televisión?" "You supposed to be workin'." " Any visitors tonight?" " Nobody came in or went out since midnight, Mr. Price." " Anybody comes looking for me, I'm not here." " Whatever you say." "I don't care who it is." "Somebody cover that elevator." " T, wait—T, wait a minute." " You owe me some answers and some cash." " N-None of it was my idea." " We get to the answers after we get the money." "Get it!" "$10,000." "And 500 extra for this suit I ruined gettin' here, huh?" "All right, T. Whatever you say, man." "T, n-now there's a gun in here, man." "I'm not going for it." "Get the money, Chalky." "Don't dance, man." "Move!" "T. T, look, I'll give you $30,000, man." "10,500 is what you owe me, pimp!" "That's all I want." "Put the rest back." "That honky, Pete, man— It was his scheme, T." "Yeah, I saw him standing there with his gun at your back when you shot Abbey Walsh." "Turn around, you lyin', chicken son of a bitch." "The only reason you framed me was so you could burn Big... take the business and get no heat from the fuzz, right?" "Why me, man, huh?" "Why me?" "You were the only ones the cops would believe... could have done it, man, and still be walkin' around." "T—T, I'm not lying to you, man." "It was Pete's idea." " He picked me, right?" " Right." "Yeah, he did it." "He did it, man." "How could a honky I never saw pick me, huh?" "No, that's all yours, Chalky." "No way it could be Pete." "All right, man." "It's true." "I told him about you, but that's all I did, man." "I had nothin' else to do with it after that, I swear." " Chalky!" " Chi!" "Wait!" " Yeah." " This is Pete Cockrell." "I wanna talk to Chalky." "This is T. Chalky's dead." "Now I'm comin' to get your honky ass." "Freeze." "Don't turn around." "Get the keys." "All right." "Now back up." "Come on." "Move!" "Open the trunk." "Put your hands up." "All right." "Now, get in there." "Come on." "Get in there." "Get your head down." " The guard shut all these elevators off, right?" " All but this one." "Goddamn it!" " They got Wiss." "They took him up in the elevator." " What do we do?" "Take the stairs." "Freeze!" "Now, where is he?" "Well, take me to him, then." "Hmm?" "Move!" "Oh!" "I gotta give it to him." "That son of a bitch sure knows how to live." "Come on." "Hold it." "Get down." "Down." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." " Open it." " It's locked, man." " Is Pete inside?" " Nope." "Open it." "It's me, Pete!" "Frank!" "You just killed Frank, Pete." "I'm all right, baby." "T. Listen, T." "We're in the same box, T." "You're out there, and I'm in here." "You can't get in, and I can't get out." "You want to make a deal, T?" "I'm listenin'." "I'm listenin', T." "I'm listenin'." "Come on in, T." "You know, I looked over the Wozneitzski file." "Boy, he's some wildcat." "Hey, do me a favor, baby?" "Call the sergeant back here... and ask him a question that'll take a long time for him to answer, okay?" " Why should I?" " 'Cause I'm asking you nice." "Do it, all right?" "Why would anyone want to marry five broads?" "Keepin' five on the string;" "I can understand that." "But marrying them?" "He's got to be some kind of nut." "Sergeant Koeppler?" "Can you help me with something, please?" " Yeah." "I'll be right there." " Where'd you get the new help?" "From upstairs." "It's only temporary... and it's too bad, because I think she's a good one." "Yeah, I think so." " Yeah?" " Yeah, Sergeant, I wanted to know... where am I supposed to send Code 45s?" "Well, no, no, no, no, no." "This is Code 121." " See, it's Department 45—" " Oh, I see." "Yeah." "So what you want is, uh— No, these were the ones you were supposed to do." " Not these." "Okay?" " Oh." "Okay." " All right." "There's the original." " Mm-hmm." "Now, this goes to Archives." "All right?" "I'm supposed to have an assistant here." "She's supposed to do all this stuff." "I don't know." "The second copy, I always thought that went to Archives... but anyway—You send the third copy over to the watch commander." "The fourth copy we keep." "The fifth copy goes to the request file." "Now, you get all that?" "Ah, that didn't take you long." "What time do you get off, sweet lady?" "What time is it now?" " It's about that time." " Well, damn!" "Somebody said they thought they saw you come in." "You got a minute?" " Nope." " Just answer one question." "A gang war broke out tonight between Chalky Price's people and Pete Cockrell's." "At least, that's the way it looks." "You know anything about it?" "No, I been busy checking on Vladimir Wozneitzski." "Who?" " My name's T, baby." " I know who you are."