"A diet Pepsi, please." "Thank you." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "The roulette pit was a zoo tonight." "Two Haitians got drunk," " one of them tried to urinate on me..." " Let's get out of here." "Doris, I just arrived." "I picked this place 'cause it's deserted, you know?" "We can think." "This is our future we're talkin' about now." "Sweetheart, I don't mean to pressure you, but... the Caesars people have offered me a roulette pit of my own in Atlantic City." "That's a big break." "And tomorrow's my deadline for telling them yes or no, so you gotta tell me tonight." "Will you come with me?" "That's not what you mean when you say, "come with me."" "You mean, "Come live with me, then love me, then marry me."" "Come on, Osgood, I've been married three times." "I suck at it." "We're talking here." " Let's go, come on." " Hey, hey!" " Excuse me!" " Let go!" "Look, buddy, I don't think you want to make me mad." "I don't care what games you two want to play..." "That's twice now you've touched her." "Don't do it again!" "I won't touch her again..." "until she asks me." "I got one question." "Is it all right if I touch you?" " Ay, Osgood!" " Oh, dear, look at..." " Give me that!" "Give me that!" " I fuckin' knew it." " Hey!" " All you gotta do is come and get it." "It's mine and I want it." "Goddamn it, be careful with that!" " Come on, let's go." "Take me out of here." " That cost a lot of money," " I had it made special." " Fuck the money, Osgood!" "Osgood?" "No one's got a fuckin' name like Osgood." " Jesus." " Son of a bitch." "Come on." "Let's go, I'm scared." " Who the fuck's got a name like Osgood?" " You don't have to be scared." "I can't help it." "That guy..." " I could've handled him." " You don't want this?" "I know." "Is it house trained?" "Goddamn it!" "I try to behave like a gentleman, Doris." "I really do, you know, but there's an animal side to everybody." "You think less of me, don't you?" "For walking out." "Please, how can you even say that?" "I was the one who dragged you out of there." "I say that 'cause I think it's the truth." " Osgood." " No, no, no!" "Walk me to the car, please." "Come back!" "Come over here, mate." "I'll brought your hamster back!" "Ozzie, wozzie, wozzie." " Osgood." " Goddamn it!" "That's enough!" "Hey, look, I don't want this no more." "I wouldn't know what to feed it." "Osgood, come back!" "Osgood, please!" "Oops." " Move back." " Move back, why?" "Safety precaution, let's say." "I don't need no tricks to deal with a pee-wee shrimp fag like you." "All I need is my hands." " Osgood..." " Shut up!" " But I..." " Close your goddamn mouth, Doris." "No one is leaving till it's over, and it isn't over till you say it is." "It's over." "Help me up, okay?" "You know what you are, pal?" "You're a coward, and your breath stinks!" "No, no, I'm a mess." "I'm a mess." "You're my own little hero." "I'll have a blue" "Christmas" "Without you" "I'll be so blue" "Thinking about you" "Decorations of red" "On a green Christmas tree" "They won't mean a thing" "If you're not here with me" "I'll have a blue" "Christmas that's certain" "And when that blue heartache" "Starts hurtin'" "You'll be doing all right" "With your Christmas of white" "But I'll have a blue" "Blue Christmas" "You'll be doing all right" "With your Christmas of white" "But I'll have a blue" "Blue Christmas" "Coming through, coming through!" " Drew, what happened?" " Found her in the parking lot." " She's in and out." "Stand clear." " Can you tell me your name?" " Nick..." " Do you have any allergies?" "Tell me who did this to you." "Who did this to you?" "Sweetheart, can you tell me who did this to you?" "Nick." "Nick." "Nick." "Well, I never thought you'd make it in?" "Isn't this the 5,000th morning in the Athens of America?" "Five fuckin' thousandth morning." "Here." " Nut mail?" " It looks like it." "I'm not up to it, Pinky." "Read it to me." "All right." "Oh, good morning." "Pinchus Zion, attorney at law." "How can I help you?" "Cyrus Kinnick, looking for a Nick Wild." "He's right behind you." "Nick?" "This is Cyrus Kinnick." "Mr. Wild." "I was thinking of hitting the casino tonight." "I wish I could help you, pal." "You gotta be 21." "They'll lose their license." "I'm 23 years old, but my youthful appearance is one of the reasons why I believe I need a bodyguard." "May I be frank?" "I was referred to you by an ex-client." "He was a neighbor of mine in Boston." "I simply took him off his advice, but now I fear you may be too jocular." " Could you tell me about yourself?" " You mean... you want my qualifications?" "Along those lines." "Well, I've been knocked down, blown up, lied to, shit on, and shot at." "So nothing surprises me much anymore, except the things that people do to each other." "I'm a licensed pilot, took karate in Tokyo." "I lectured on economics at Yale." "I can memorize the front pages of the New York Times in five minutes and repeat it back to you in five weeks." "I was the National Golden Gloves champion three years in a row." "I'm fluent in four languages and can wrestle with a menu in five more..." " Jesus!" " Don't interrupt me." "There's more." " More?" " Yeah." "I lie a lot." "I'm staying at Caesars, Mr. Wild." "Shall we say 7:00?" "7:00, Mr. Kinnick." "It worked, Nicky!" "It fuckin' worked!" "It really worked." "How could you be such a bastard, Os?" "You said I was a coward and my breath was bad." "And you didn't tell me you were gonna take my fuckin' hair." "What was that, man?" "She likes you better without it." "Yeah, women, they like honesty." "Word to the wise." "All right, fresh from the bank..." "one thousand dollars." " That's not the right amount." "You forgot the bonus, Nicky!" "I said if she came along out of pressure" "I was putting on, fine." "Whatever." "Done." "But if by seeing the real me, that could bring out that she loved me, there'd be a $500 bonus. $1,000." "And that's what happened?" "She saw the real you?" "She fuckin' loves me, man." "I'll take the $500, Os." "This day keeps gettin' better and better." "I love you, man." "I mean, I love you." "Yeah!" "How you doin', Nick?" "Oh, great, Rox." "I put Casanova on table two like you asked." "I'll bet you give him the room with the busted toilet." "I'm not wearing a ring." "You wouldn't have known it." "I stay with her on account of our four kids and I can survive, except when fate, through a toilet that won't flush, brings me in contact with a special specimen like you." " What'd I miss?" " The special specimen." " Fuck!" " He's about to ask for a memory." "Okay, she's dead, but she won't lie down." "Oh, she'll lie down." "She just doesn't realize it's gonna happen in five minutes." "So please, Marie, leave me with the memory." "Give me something I can cherish to remember." " Okay." " Thank you." "Come on." "Son of a bitch!" "How does he get fucked every time?" "What is that?" "Hey, he wants it that much." "Well, I don't have anything like that." "Do you?" "Sure." "Never ever to rest my head on the same pillow twice." " Well, travel costs." " Tell me." "I need $500,000 to buy me five years." "Right now, I'm only short $499,500." " Well, luck will find you then." " I know." "When it does," " I'll grab that fucker by the throat." " Yeah." "Oh, and hey, Nick?" "Holly just called." "Said if you're not finished with your grapefruit juice, don't waste it." "It's open." "You want some coffee?" "No." "I just brewed it." "It's 100% Colombian, it's right there on the table." "Holly, if you're gonna hide, why couldn't we have just talked on the phone?" "I just don't think I want you seeing me like this." "Hey, Nick." "You know, I kept calling out for you in emergency." "The doctor says I kept saying "Nick" over and over again." "They thought that you were the one who..." "Who did?" "I don't know." "That's why I phoned you." "So I had a date last night." "When I left," "I got to the elevator and the doors were opening and it was going up." "There were three guys inside." "The young guy was the boss." "He spoke real strong, like a fighter." "The two big guys were his flunkies." "And the fighter says, "Come on to the party."" "And I said I was tired, and he said," ""Hey, I'm too pretty to turn down."" "And he pulled me inside and..." "We get to his suite," "I said, "Where's the party?"" "And he says, "You're it."" "And he signals for the big guys to go into the next room." "And he says, "Aren't you the lucky bitch?" "You're the only girl in the world tonight that gets to touch it."" "And he looks down at himself and says," ""The envy of all mankind."" "Well, he did what he did." "And the big guys worked me over real good on the service stairs." "And some hotel people, they dumped me at Emergency." "Isn't $100 what you charge for the first hour?" "Today's my day for turnin' down money." "What'd you wanna pay me for?" "'Cause I wanna sue his ass, Nicky." "You must hire a lawyer, Holly." "I'm not a lawyer." "I don't even know his name or what room he was in or any goddamn thing about him." "Then you must hire a detective, Holly." "I'm not a detective." "I don't know any goddamn detectives, Nick." "I know you, and you know everybody." "How could you not help me?" "'Cause I'm gonna guess the three gentlemen you talked about were not IBM executives." "What hotel were you in?" "The Golden Nugget." "Better and better." "A lot of people like it." "True, and so is this... every high school student knows there's no such thing as organized crime in America." "Every elementary school student knows that if organized crime ever dreamt of invading, the last city they would come to would be Vegas." "And every kindergarten student knows that if the mob ever did to town, the last hotel to be tainted would be the Golden Nugget." "Shit, Holly, I mean, even their fucking showgirls can rip the phonebook in half." "Remember when I told you not to go to that place?" "You know what?" "You could always piss me off, Holly." "I'm leaving now." "But I want us to be clear." "That first year, Baby himself tried to recruit me for his organization." "I said no." "If someone got bloody, I wanted it to be for my reasons, not anybody else's." "Baby accepted that." "Since then I've stayed away from them and they stayed away from me." "I don't know a soul that works at the Golden Nugget." "I don't have one contact there." "I swear to God." "Hey, Millicent." "I don't think they much appreciate us having visitors." "Hey, listen, I'm interested in a guy who looks like a fighter." "Has a suite, I guess on a high floor, travels with two large bodyguards." "You still live in Naked City?" " You know Big Daddy's?" " Of course." "I get off at four." "You come down there at about 4:15." "If I ain't there, I couldn't find nothin'." "If I am, we'll talk." " Hey, Nick." " Hey, Millicent." "Too bad you got all that British blood in you." "If you was black, I'd bed you good and fast." "You could make believe." "Nah." "Don't think this is racial or anything, but I never feel like you people are clean." "This is a housekeeper you're talking to, remember?" "I can tell if a Brit's been in a room, just like that." "Why should I think that was racial or anything?" "Glad you don't." "Now, this fighter guy, his name is Danny DeMarco, suite 3506." "He's from a fine old Italian family back east." "He's a son and heir and his daddy loves him which is why he never goes no place without them two big mothers." " How big are they?" " A lot bigger than you." "You did me something once." "I will owe you forever." "But now, I need you to do me something." "Do not fuck with these guys." "Pickle." "Lady in the housekeeping, I just met with her." "She struck out, Holly." "Couldn't find out a thing." "Oh, Nick." "Don't lie anymore." "You know what he did when he was finished?" "He put a gun inside me." "He said, "You got one shot at breathing." "Tell me you love me, and if I believe you, I'll let you go."" "I said, "Oh, God, I love you." "I love you so much, I do."" "And he said, "Never shit a shitter."" "And then he pulled the trigger." "And I scream and I hear a click." "Some fucking games to play with another human." "Right, Nicky?" "And I want to sue him, and you know who he is," " and you just let him walk away." " Just know I tried, Holly." "Sure, you liar." "Just know this one thing." "All those times I told you I cared for you..." "Yeah, I know, I know." "You were lying." "Wrong." "I loved you." "Every good thing I ever said was true." "And when you hit bottom, who climbed down there and found you?" " Only me." " Holly..." "Hey!" "Sorry, made a wrong turn back that way." "I am ready to see the sights." "Follow me, Mr. Kinnick." "Bells will be ringing" "The glad, glad news" "Oh, what a Christmas" "To have the blues" "My baby's gone" "I have no friends" "To wish me greetings" "Once again" "Choirs will be singing" "Silent Night" "Christmas Carols" "By candlelight" "I hadn't realized these places were so big." "Yeah, the noise bothers people sometimes." "I don't mind the noise." "Golden Gate is much smaller." "It's just a short drive down the block." "By all means." "This isn't as nice as some of those other places." "Tourist traps." "How did you get into this line of work?" "Special forces, am I right?" "Trained to run around all commando." "What were you?" "SBS?" "SRR?" "SAS?" " Just "S"." " Just "S"." " "S" for special?" " "S" for shut your mouth." "It's not something I'm getting into with you." "I can take care of things." "That's all you need to know." "That, and running around "all commando" isn't a preferred military term." "Are you always so touchy?" "Oh, hi, excuse me." "Can I get a Fiji water, please?" "You knock the bottles over, they don't roll away." " Nicky?" " Vodka double." "In a square glass so it doesn't roll away." "Well, I am going to hit the craps table." "The hundred dollar tables are back there." "Yeah, but I can make a greater number of smaller bets at the $10 tables." "Sounds like a winning system." " I got your back." " Great." "I'd like to bet $10 on the shooter, please." " Ten on the shooter, yes sir." " Hey, Nick." "I've seen you happier." "How wrong you are, Cassandra." "This is the highlight of my career." " I'm protecting a Fiji drinker." " Here we go!" "Big bet's $10 on a single roll of the dice." "What you see on my face is ecstasy." "My shift's starting." "Yellow 11, that's it." "Yellow 11 is the on line winner." "Winner's rolling hot." "You know who he is and you just let him walk away." "We're quits, okay?" " But I intend on gambling for hours." " I don't have hours." "And you're safe in the casino, Kinnick." "Nobody'll mug you in the casino." "And outside they've got these yellow things called taxis." "Just grab one and you'll be back at Caesars in half a minute." "Home and dry." "Goodbye, Kinnick." "His name's Danny DeMarco." "He's staying at the Golden Nugget." "Suite 3506." " Good night, Holly." " Wait." " What?" " At least let me write it down." "Then write it down." " You know how to spell it?" " No." " What'd you say?" " That's what I said." " Good luck with your fucking lawsuit, okay?" " What are you so angry about?" " Liar!" " I'm not." "You never once intended suing the son of a bitch, did you, sweetness?" "You'll see." "I won't help you anymore." "I don't help liars." " Quit calling me that." " Quit doing it, then." " Would you help me?" " What kind of help could I give you?" " You know." " Yeah, I'd get killed." " There's only three of them." " Three of them with guns." "You gotta go in there and you gotta soften them up so I can have my chance!" " Chance for what, Holly?" " I want his nuts in my hands!" "And if they kill me?" "I'll be miserable for days." "I want him so bad for what he did to me." "I want my revenge, Nicky." " Yeah?" " I'm here to see Mr. DeMarco." "About?" "It's personal." "Well, he's busy." "I don't think Baby is gonna be too happy with me stuck out here." "I don't give a shit." " Who was it?" " It was some guy." "Said he was a friend of Baby's." "Shit." "So you're a friend of Baby's?" " What's this about?" " A girl." "You two get the fuck out." "Hey, you kidding me?" "You searched him?" " Yup." " You checked the hat?" "Sorry about that, Santy Claus." "Can't be too careful these days." "We should have a drink." "Any friend of Baby's..." "It's good of you to see me like this, Mr. DeMarco." "Danny." "Call me Danny." " What do I call you?" " Nick." "We'll, Nick, I'm told there's something about a girl?" " Where is she?" " In my sled on the roof." " Oh, is she pretty?" " Was." "Come again?" "Last night a friend of mine was shown some disrespect and I thought, you know, maybe you might do something to make things okay." "Oh, that." "We'll you see, Nick, that wasn't disrespect." "That was a game." "We were having ourselves a little party." "And what happened after wasn't so nice either." "She had to be stitched up in Emergency." "Could he be talking about us?" " No, that's not us." " No, not us, boss." "They're lying, Nick." "I know this is probably another game you're playing, only this time it's with me." "You can't show disrespect to a whore and that's what your friend is." " No, she's..." " It's best not to interrupt me, Nick." " Yes, sir." " She's a whore, you're her pimp." "At least you look like a two-bit pimp to me." "Am I right?" "No, I'm legit, Mr. DeMarco." "Look, see." "Credit cards, driver's license, they're all mine." "Well, Nick, what the hell." "Maybe you have a point." "Would $50,000 cover your disrespect, Nick?" "You're very generous." "And you're very stupid." "But even so, you probably know what this is." " And where it's been." " Let me just leave." "Oh, you're gonna leave, Nick." "The question is" " what shape you're gonna be in when you..." " Listen, I..." "Didn't I tell you something about interrupting me, you dumb fuck?" "Yes, sir." " You remember what?" " You said it was best not to." "Right." "You see, if I'm sweet to you, Nick, if I just let you walk out of here free as air, well, I want people to know how sweet I am." "So, be honest, Nick." "Tell me about my good qualities, and if I believe you, well, you're free as air." "You're a great man, Mr. DeMarco." "A peach of a guy." "You're the best." "A genuine top of the line human being." "You failed so far, Nick, but I'm gonna give you one more chance." "So go ahead, talk about me." "The fuck are you thinking about?" "Corsica." "But it went away." "Tiel, Kinlaw, take this dumb fuck out of my sight." "Why don't you show him how sweet I really am?" "Let's go." "Stop him!" "That's him." "Better be, or he's got one hell of a lawsuit." "You softened them up pretty good." "Remember me?" "Sure, you're the party girl we had all those nice games with." "Right." "I had so much fun," "I can't stand that that party is over." "I wanted it to go on forever." "Hey, what's she up to?" " The envy of all mankind." " Yeah." "Do you know who I am?" "Of course." "You're the party giver." "What the fuck is she doing?" "What is this about?" "Money?" "Is that what this is?" "Sure it is." "You know what, just take the 50?" " Take it for chrissakes." " What money?" "$50,000." "Top desk drawer." "Yeah, there you go." " Yeah, see?" " This isn't about money." "This is about love." "Is it?" "Hey, I didn't do nothin'." "It was all Tiel and Kinlaw." "It was them." "Why don't you tell your girl to put those away?" "I hope I sharpened these enough." " Let's see." " Hey..." "Hey, wait..." "Wait!" "Hey..." "Guess they're sharp enough." "Look, there's a little tiny cut right on the envy of all mankind." "Let me... just let me be!" "Let me be, please!" "I..." "I... you got the wrong idea!" "I'm really a good guy!" "I am!" "So you're not mad at me, then?" "No!" "No!" "Good, I'm not mad at you, either." "I'm gonna give you the same break that you gave me." "Tell me you love me, and if I believe it, then I'll let you keep it." "But if I don't believe you, that means you're a bad boy." "And bad boys need to be punished." "So that the envy of all mankind will have to go away with me." "I..." "love you." " What'd you say?" " I love you." "I don't think that sounded very sincere." " Did it?" " This is your show." "Don't!" "Don't do this, don't!" "Don't!" "Last chance." "I fucking love you!" "I just..." "I just love..." "I love you!" "I love you!" "Please, please don't..." "look, okay." "I made a little mistake." "I made a little mistake!" "Everyone can make a little mistake, okay?" "Just don't!" "No, no, no, please don't!" "Don't!" "Don't!" "I'm sorry!" "All right, stop!" "No!" "No!" "Don't!" " Wish I brought my camera." " Okay." "Okay." "You have to leave town, Holly." "They're coming for me, too." "First, I'm gonna win enough cash to get out of this place for good." "Yeah, I know." "I spent the last hours packing, without regret I might add," " because I'm heading straight for..." " Hey, don't tell me." " If I don't know, I can't tell anybody." " You that sure they'll come after you?" " You know damn well they will." " You could've killed them." "I try not to do that." "No, you keep it all." "You're the one that took the risk." "Okay, I want half." "I'm the one that took the beating." "Well, you only look about a million times better than before." "A friend of mine left town." "We had this kind of going away thing." " Sounds sweet." " How much longer you on this shift?" "11:50." "Ten minutes." "What the hell, I shall keep you company." "Well, I've been killin' everyone tonight, Nicky." "You did something for me once." "So believe this, bet small." "Changing 100." "Since it's a $5 minimum, how's if I bet five dollars?" "Bust." "It's been like that." "Blackjack." "I lose more friends this way." "What is it?" "Cass, I've got 19." "And you've a 10 showing, except I know somethin'." "Your down card is another picture which makes 20, so my 19 is shit." "You want me to hit 19, Nicky?" "I'll tell you why." "Because there's a weight on my shoulder now." "Locks right into my shoulder now." "It's happened." "I've got to go for the throat, Cass." "Because of all the people in all the casinos in all the world, luck's come camping with me." "So, yes, I want you to hit my 19." "And I'd like a two." "Two is 21." "Means I win." "My two please, Cass." "Jesus." "I'd like a $1,000 dollar chip please, Cass." "One way or another, this is my last night in Vegas." "Changing 1,000." "Take care, Nicky." " You playing?" " No." "You got mean eyes." "Up or down?" "I had luck riding with me, then they changed dealers." "Asshole!" "Not you, me." "How do I know it's gone?" "Blackjack." "Give me a chip rack, please." " Can I raise the limit?" " No." "I'll play the whole table then." "Nah," "I'm not greedy." "You gotta win some time." " Blackjack." " What the fuck is this?" "Retribution for 5,000 mornings." "And watch your mouth in front of a lady." "Thanks, sweetie." "God, what a thing when luck comes callin'?" "Good." "Yes!" "Son of a goddamn bitch." "Good." "If I win..." "I'm over 500." "And that'll be the last you ever hear of me." "Yes!" "Yes!" "Yes!" "What the hell!" "Yes!" "500 and... 6 thousand." "It isn't exactly a round number, but then..." "I was never one to quibble." "Fiji?" "Vodka." "Rocks with a twist?" "Look at that." "Doubles, please, Veronica." "Thank you, Veronica." " So what do your friends call you?" " Cyrus is a pretty shitty name." "I always wanted to be called Ace or Duke." "But Cyrus seems like the overwhelming choice." "How are you not more excited?" "Never hit over half a mil before." "I don't know why I'm not more excited." "Maybe it's because I never dared think it would happen." "That make sense?" "Kinda." " Anything else?" " That's all, thanks, hon." "Here, love, take some time off." "Go see your mom." "Thank you so much, Nick." " Well, cheers." " Hey, cheers." " You're leaving town?" " Think bigger." "State, country, continent." "Five free years, Duke." "I've been dreamin' this since forever." "$100,000 per." "I've got it figured to the penny." " Guess you haven't liked Vegas much?" " You're not supposed to like Vegas." "It's just this creeping virus people catch sometimes." "Sweet dreams." "I'm off to Corsica in the morning." "I'm gonna sail the Mediterranean before I die." " Well, I'll walk you out." " That's very kind of you, Duke." "Fuck." "What's happened?" "It was all horseshit." "It's just a..." "loser's dream." "I don't get you." "This is not what I need." "Five years would only be fine at first." "After that I'd just realize that every day was another day closer to bein' back here." "I never pushed the logic, because I never thought I'd be in this position." "Half a million." "Well, half a million's nothing." "I know now what I really need." "What's that?" ""Fuck you" money." "Enough so I'll never have to come back here." "Freedom." "That's what "fuck you" money is." " I don't want any limit." " I have to clear that." "Let me check." "He thinks I'm gonna lose." " You've got it." " Asshole." "It's 500." "You count it." " 500,000 going out." " Send it." "That's 525,000." "This fella's gettin' awful heavy." "All on one, Cass." "It's just like we started, Cass." "I know you've got another picture under there." "Hit me." "A four." "If you don't mind." "You should've stood, Nicky." "You would've won." "I came in with $25,000." "Lost $25,000." "No big deal." "You fuckin' had it." "You fuckin' had it!" "It was right there." "You fuckin' had it!" "You fuckin' had it." "It was all there." "It was all there." "On the fucking table." "You fuckin' had it!" "On the fucking table!" "You fuckin' had it." "You fuckin' had it!" "Would you like your grapefruit juice now?" "How did I get here?" "After you passed out, I tipped some of the staff to help me bring you." "Thank you." "I thought you'd be thirsty." "Listen, Duke, you're a great caterer, and I appreciate it." "But I think you got somethin' to say and it's time you said it." " You won't laugh?" " Not today." "All right, I..." "I lied about my friend recommending you." "And I didn't have to ask for your qualifications." "I knew everything about you, I've researched you." "I knew about the grapefruit juice, right?" "And the double vodka." "And I know about why you always sit in the same spot at the Silver Spoon Counter." "I... need something from you and I've come too far for a no answer." "A while back in Boston" "I saw this old guy on the street and he had a sign on his back that said," ""Please don't hit me."" "And my first thought was, "What a sad thing."" "But then..." "I got so fucking mad because I realized that was going to be me when I got old." "Just an old nut scared of the world." "And so I've come to you." "I want you to teach me." " Teach you what?" " Anything." "Everything." "I need you to kill the fear that lives inside of me every day." "You want to sail the Mediterranean, I want to do something brave before I die." "Hey, listen, kid..." "I earned 70 million dollars by the time I was 19." "Don't call me kid." "Jesus." "How?" "It was nothing." "I put a new twist on an old twist on computer software." "Being smart is the only defense I've ever had, but it's not enough anymore." "You've got to help me." "You know how fuckin' weird this is?" "You're not even 30, set for life." " I'm pushing 40, broke." " I'll pay you." "I'll make you rich." "I have been rich." "Most recently last night." "Yeah, I could help you with that, too." "Help me with what?" "Are you serious?" "I like blackjack maybe more than I should." "That's all." "Why do you think you stay here?" "You hate it so much it's the only place you can stay." "It's the only place you're worthy of." "It's all so obvious." "Well, if it's all so fuckin' obvious, why are you so fuckin' wrong?" "Don't go!" "We can help each other!" "You know what?" "You're just like the nuts who write to me." "You want adventure?" "Swell!" "Well, I earned my past, Cyrus." "Go earn your own." "This one's on me, Nick." "Looks like you need it." "Nick Wild, how you doin'?" "You need to come with us." "Mr. DeMarco's waiting." "Take five." "Nicholas." "Nicholas." "Baby." "I heard you were up over 500 last night at the Gate." "Talk of the town." "Do you remember, when was it?" "A couple months ago when you had us beaten for 200 grand?" "Right here at the Nugget?" "Till your luck changed." "I'll get there some day." "Nicholas." "I'm just in a terrible bind and it's all because of you." "It seems that somebody broke into room 3506 last night, beat up on three guys and took $50,000." "And that was before I had my Wheaties." "If only that were funny." "No, it seems that this same somebody shot and killed two gentlemen names Kinlaw and Tiel." "Shot them while they were tied and helpless." "And my witness claims that that someone was you." "And you believe that?" "If I did, you'd be dead." " Come along, Nicholas." " Come along where?" "To see DeMarco." "I have to find the truth." "Wait a minute, you mean I'm on trial?" "For your life, I should imagine." "Why do I have to tell it again?" "I told you." "You believe me." "So why?" "Because, Daniel, you are asking me to kill Nicholas here." "And if a mistake was later discovered, I would feel simply dreadful." "So please, be as brief as you will." "I feel guilty because I let him in." "When the knock came on the door, I just..." "I wasn't thinking and I opened it." "And right away he pistol whips me, right in the mouth, you see?" "Right there." " Yes." " Right there." " Yeah." " And he's quick." "He takes out Tiel and Kinlaw like they were nothing." "And he ties them up back to back the way they were when you found 'em." "And then he rifles my desk, he takes the 50 and... for no fucking reason he goes crazy and he shoots maybe my two best friends in the whole world." "Why?" "Probably he's pissed that there wasn't more cash." "And probably he would've killed me, too, but there was a noise out in the hall and he panicked and he ran." "Shot 'em with their own guns, Baby." "Can you believe that?" "You check." "You'll see that I'm telling the truth." "They're gonna have his fingerprints all over 'em." "Don't bother checkin'." "The fingerprints are mine." " This is all true then?" " Some." "Which?" "You better speak, Nicholas." "And I suggest you begin right now." "I'll ask just two questions, Baby." "If you're gonna answer them to your satisfaction, do what you will." "First, why would I use a gun?" "The fuck kind of question is that?" "Why does anybody use a gun?" "Nicholas never does." "Believe me, he could kill you with... he could kill you with this from five feet or 15." "And the answer to your question is this." "It's the perfect cover." "Nobody would ever dream that Nick Wild needed a gun to commit a robbery." "All right, Nicholas." "Second question." "Second and last." "Baby, what do you know about my body?" " I mean, underneath my clothes?" " Obviously nothing." "Well, then, there's my second question." "How is it possible that I know that Mr. DeMarco here has a small but definite cut on the upper side of his Hampton?" "Answer?" "I saw it put there by a dear sweet lady" " with a pair of garden shears." " What is this shit?" "It's easy to find out if I'm lying, just have him take down his trousers." "You're not buying this crap, are you, Baby?" "Someone go get a microscope so we locate Mr. DeMarco's pecker." "You know what?" "I'm not stripping." "I'm not stripping for nobody." "I think you must, Daniel." "Nicholas is risking his life on a very unusual long shot here." "I know it's embarrassing, but I'll make it easier for you." "You and I will go in the other room, and we'll both take down our pants." "I won't." "I won't." " I'm afraid you must." " It's..." "It's a matter of principle, Baby." "I..." " Nobody would..." " Second cousin." " It's principle." " Oh, dear." "It's principle!" "He..." "Would somebody shut this goddamn fucker up?" "Oh, Daniel, you just blew the ballgame." "Nobody in your family has had even a passing relationship with a principle" " in the past 50 years." " So you're siding with him?" "Baby, you believe him over me?" "I believe this." "I believe that somebody who looks like Nicholas did the deed." "And I will endeavor to find him." "Now you may go." "You." "I'm gonna see you real soon." "I'm gonna see you real soon." "You watch your fuckin' back!" "Why do you think he did it?" "He's a very macho little slime." "And he broke down and humiliated himself in front of them." "You know he'll come for you." "Yeah." "If you don't care, why'd you defend yourself?" "I didn't wanna be remembered for doin' what he said." "Dyin' ain't so bad." "And at least I'll be out of Las Vegas." "Thank you, Nicholas." "Good luck." " Cheers, Baby." " All right." "Be well." "Hey." "That bad?" "Could you get the check, please?" "I'm leaving." "I'm only here to give you a present of gratitude of everything you taught me." "What, for chrissakes?" "That everyone's afraid." "That I'm not the only cowardly asshole in this world." "You're one, too." "I really needed this now." "What I have to deal with is that" "I'm the one inside my own skin." "Maybe it's not so terrible." "And if you can admit what you are, you might find it's not so terrible either." "Okay, Duke." "I admit it." "If I'd won the full million, I would have figured out some reason to go for more." "I'm a trapped compulsive." "There." "I said it." "See me tap dancing?" "No, but you might have taken the first tiny step toward your sailboat." "Yeah, doubtful." "Doubtful for two reasons, the first being the lack of funding." "I knew you were gonna say that." "Reach under the counter." "I told you I bought you a present." "I taped it there before you got here." "What's this?" "One plane ticket to Corsica and a check for $500,000." "Okay, so, first reason's taken care of." "Now what's the second?" "I'm bein' murdered any minute." "Murdered?" "Really?" "When is this happening?" "Now." "Sweet mystery of life" "I've finally found you" "What the fuck?" "Put them away, put them away." "I want him found now, today." "I want you to find that asshole." "I want you to find him." "I don't care how long it takes any of you dumb fucks." "You call more fuckin' guys." "Get two on the bus station and a few at the airport." "Check every bar, every casino, every whorehouse." "Turn over every goddamn rock he could slither under." "You find out where he lives..." "Where he works how much it costs." "Go back inside there, grab that fuckin' kid and kill that motherfucker, too!" "Get in there!" "Get in there!" "Go!" "You don't wanna go back there." " You lost them?" " In a manner of speaking." "Hey, wait, you forgot these." " Take them." " Nah, nah." "No, take them!" "Nick, please." "I..." "I can leave town now I know that I'm not a coward." "And you have no idea what a relief that is for me." "You earned this." "Thanks." "And not just for this." "Not just for acting like an idiot so I could get out of the diner." "You're a good friend." "We're friends?" "Don't ruin it." " Good-bye, Duke." " Merry Christmas, Nick."