Cha drove up the hill to the lot outside of Santa Cruz in a 1956 Chevy Pickup that ran like Jesus serviced it special. He looked forward to seeing this place, not just the online photos that made it look majestic but its drabber elements that would require the work he looked forward to. He never looked forward to the work that paid; it was perfunctory.<\/p>\n
The place\u2019s appearance did not disappoint. He had driven up separately from the broker, had gotten here early. When he was the one working, he made a point of arriving first. Making a purchase was another form of work, which he was too good at to fuck up before forking over money.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t that Cha liked his work that much, only that he could ignore its effects. He didn\u2019t know whether the men he killed did so as payment for a petty grievance; more likely it was something serious, and it wasn\u2019t up to him to decide who was right. Why was not a question he ever asked.<\/p>\n
He looked out now from his new home, top of the hill, down at the little trickle of a creek that ran alongside it. This was where he would want his end of the line to come, at a wooden table beneath Redwoods over barbecued steak with a beer, but he knew it was likely to occur in the city, in an alley or outside a bar or somewhere that could be measured by the length and width of its bloodstains and the dark that would forever follow, that he brought to other people and was bound to return to him.<\/p>\n
The call came. Cha saw the number, no name, and answered. The gruff voice gave an address.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn hour,\u201d Cha said.<\/p>\n
The answer was a grunt and the end of the call.<\/p>\n
The meet was at a bar with outdoor tables. No indoor dining allowed. Fine with Cha, he didn\u2019t need to catch something that might kill him. There were plenty of guys like that already.<\/p>\n
He waited a half hour before his guy showed, walked inside to order and returned glass in hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s up, Billy?\u201d Cha drank from a beer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe usual. Old lady won\u2019t get off my back. I say the other night, I wish to hell they\u2019d open the bowling alleys, and she starts screamin. \u2018You want we should all get disease so you can knock down some pins? That means more to you than takin care of your wife?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Billy laughed and Cha did too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the way with women though, ain\u2019t it?\u201d Cha said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow would you know? Why ain\u2019t you ever settle down?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome to gettin laid, Billy, I wish I did. But I got guys like you, always tellin me shit make me glad I didn\u2019t. Til this fuckin demic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got guys like me. What a life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d They both shut up a while, drank. \u201cSo,\u201d Cha said, \u201cwho?\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave a name. Cha knew the guy, where he liked to hang out anyway. Of course, that place was closed now. Still, he could find the guy. There were other places like it. It helped that they had mutual friends. Problem would be gathering information without giving away why he needed it. Not that a friend of either man was likely to be talkative. Had to find a mutual friend who liked him better was all.<\/p>\n
Downtown, a sidewalk, he strolled, paper coffee cup in hand. Hoped the guy would show, walked down the block, across the street and back up. Plenty of people on the sidewalks wore masks but not all, not by a long shot. Cha wore one, the guy approaching with a big smile didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Cha stopped several feet short of Gerard. \u201cYou don\u2019t believe in masks?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFuck off, you don\u2019t wear a mask I\u2019ll find what I want from someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in fresh air here. And I ain\u2019t sick. But you do what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, cross the street with me. There\u2019s a broad down there sellin masks on the street. I buy you one, you wear it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are<\/em> scared,\u201d Gerard said, but he crossed with Cha. \u201cYou know, if your people hadn\u2019t started this\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFuck you, Gerard. You wanna gimme info about a guy we both know or not?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, okay, but the mask. We\u2019re outdoors, nothin\u2019s gonna stick to ya.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy take a chance when I don\u2019t have to?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a chance. We go inside some place, yeah, maybe that\u2019s a chance. You know how much shit is in the air? Get sick from that more than my breath.\u201d<\/p>\n Cha didn\u2019t talk until they approached the blonde. She stood back several feet from her table of masks, her own mask in one hand while she talked into her phone with the other.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay,\u201d Cha said, \u201cwhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey got one says Fuck the Plague?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNothin like that far as I can tell. Pick one and let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n Gerard stepped up to the table and the woman backed up into the parking space behind her. A car, probably hers, took up most of the space.<\/p>\n He looked a couple minutes, picked one with a Rolling Stones logo.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Stones? You\u2019re gonna show your age.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAin\u2019t no hidin it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay. Miss? This one.\u201d He pointed and she picked it up off the table. It was wrapped in plastic.<\/p>\n \u201cEight dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n Her accent was Eastern European, maybe Russian. Cha liked it, liked her ass too, wished there was a way she could like him as much as he liked her, handed her a ten.<\/p>\n \u201cKeep the change.\u201d He took the mask and walked away. He\u2019d find her again after the job. \u201cPut it on.\u201d He handed Gerard the mask.<\/p>\n Gerard struggled with the plastic a minute, pulled a knife from his pocket and cut it open, put on the mask and dropped the plastic to the sidewalk. \u201cI feel ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou look it. Now tell me where to find Jimmy James and you can toss the damn thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToss it? I could pull jobs in this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGreat. Talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou want the guy with the stupid fucking name. He shoulda changed that years ago. Jimmy and James, same goddamn name, why say it twice?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t know,\u201d Cha said. \u201cI just wanna know where to find him these days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAin\u2019t so easy. He liked bars.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere else?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s in it for me?\u201d Gerard said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no money in this. I just wanna talk to the guy. Old friend.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou wanna talk to a guy and money got nothin to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy the fuck would I talk about the guy if I was gonna pull anything?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t ask me. You\u2019re the guy wants a answer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay,\u201d Cha said. \u201cMoney could come into it. I get some, you want a piece, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTen percent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow you gonna know what I get paid?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know what a job\u2019s worth.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe, maybe not. You gotta trust me on this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know how stupid it is talkin about this and we both wearin masks?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re past that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTerms then. Gimme a hundred now, more later if the job smells like it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf it smells like it? Let\u2019s find a place with outdoor tables, get a drink. I get my info, you get your money.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou buy.\u201d<\/p>\n Cha smiled. \u201cNo shit.\u201d<\/p>\n They were downtown, places with outdoor tables open on side streets. They wouldn\u2019t talk anything confidential, no need to be secretive or extra quiet. Just find a table and drinks and a place to sit. It was mid-afternoon, no need to order food, but they went to a burrito joint with tented outdoor tables, ordered chips and salsa and two beers.<\/p>\n Gerard dug into the chips. He dipped one into the salsa, took a bite. \u201cThese are good.\u201d<\/p>\n Cha didn\u2019t need to wash anything down but this conversation. He drank. \u201cWhere do I find him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a poker game. I got invited, went one time, not my scene.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know Bill Latiker?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t know where he lives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou got a pen and paper?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust gimme the address. It\u2019s gonna cost me a hundred, I\u2019ll remember.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Latiker\u2019s place was up the hill, a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Jimmy must be doing well for himself to even garner an invite. How he was doing well was, again, not Cha\u2019s concern, no more than why he\u2019d kept that stupid name all his life. He agreed with Gerard on that one.<\/p>\n He\u2019d called Latiker, got the address a second time and an invite, so he showed, knocked on the door, saw the bell after he knocked and rang it. After a minute, Latiker let him in. Neither man wore a mask.<\/p>\n \u201cCha, how ya been, surprised to hear from ya.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, you know, between jobs and with this fucking lockdown\u2026 I heard you had a game and getting out sounded nice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe gotta see our friends, right?\u201d Latiker patted him on the back, turned to walk down the hall. Cha followed. \u201cRoom\u2019s in back. Cards and drinks and a couple guys you know.\u201d<\/p>\n Through a narrow door at the end of the hall was a large room, jazz playing on an expensive looking stereo, couches on two walls, a large screen TV that was off on another wall, and a full bar with card table in the center of the room. The table was green felt with pockets for chips, for six players.<\/p>\n Tiny Roberts engulfed one seat, a vast round name with a typical criminal\u2019s sarcastic nickname. Gabby Acosta sat at another, took up a normal amount of space. Sadly, his nickname was not sarcastic, his mouth already open when Cha entered the room.<\/p>\n \u201cHey Cha, just a minute, middle of a story.\u201d He went on talking to Tiny.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone else coming? You got a table for six.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne more should be here,\u201d Latiker said. \u201cYou know Jimmy James?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHell, this feels like old home week. Damn glad I came tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I got an extra seat if some fly by night stops by, so they get a seat if they\u2019re next here, but ain\u2019t expectin nobody.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou look good, Bill. Whatcha been up to?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot much, you know, this, that, the other thing.\u201d<\/p>\n This was why Cha liked Latiker. Never talked about business.<\/p>\n \u201cSame with me,\u201d Cha said. \u201cJust bought a place in the hills. Ain\u2019t this, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou work that place, build it up, invite me over when it\u2019s ready.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure, Bill. I get a scotch?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWater? Ice?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTwo cubes of ice. Whatever\u2019s your best.\u201d<\/p>\n Latiker waved a hand at the wall. \u201cSingle malts that shelf and the one below. Pour your own.\u201d<\/p>\n Yeah, Latiker was doing well. Two long shelves of single malt, like the best liquor store he\u2019d ever been in. After a few minutes he went with a BenRiach 12; he preferred a smooth scotch to the peaty version. Which was right next to it on the shelf. Latiker wasn\u2019t fucking around.<\/p>\n \u201cIncredible,\u201d was all Cha could say.<\/p>\n \u201cI like a comfortable poker game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJesus, you got that.\u201d He dropped two cubes of ice in a whiskey glass and was adding the scotch when Latiker left the room to answer the door.<\/p>\n \u201cCha,\u201d Gabby said, as Cha took a seat at the table, \u201cdidn\u2019t know you was in town. If I knew, I\u2019da called and we\u2019da had some nights. Well, I guess this\u2019ll be our first. I hear you say you never been to Bill\u2019s? A shame, he runs a great game, we\u2019re all regulars. Kick a little back to the host, of course, but then we can win it back, or not, don\u2019t matter much, it\u2019s all good fun and we drink, I got tequila, good shit, you got what, that a scotch? Yeah, I heard Bill\u2019s collection is great, but so is the tequila, and the bourbon, you could come here for years and never drink the same thing twice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHi, Gabby,\u201d Cha said.<\/p>\n \u201cCha!\u201d It was Jimmy James, coming at him from his back. \u201cWhere you been?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBought a place, fixin it up between jobs. Lotta time between jobs these days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFuckin ne\u2019er-do-wells in short supply?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t think, but yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow careful, everybody, Cha could be here to knock off any of us. He\u2019s that kind of guy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNever knocked no one off, Jimmy. Don\u2019t know where ya heard that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you never know where anyone hears anything, do ya, Cha?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore interested in fixin up my place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJesus, Jimmy,\u201d Latiker said, \u201cfix a drink and let\u2019s play cards.\u201d<\/p>\n Jimmy shut up, listened to Latiker. He\u2019d put Cha on edge, which was okay, it was where he should be. Only not around Gabby and Tiny. They were good guys, as bad guys went, no one who needed to be hit. For all he knew, they had hits on Jimmy too. Or on him. In this business, you never knew.<\/p>\n Unlikely from the others, but Jimmy suspected. So he\u2019d kill him tonight if he could, fine. But first, cards.<\/p>\n They played. Exactly what they did, cards in hand and on the table, eyes on each other. They weren\u2019t brilliant card players and they weren\u2019t bad. Mediocrity all around and Latiker was the best of them, plus he took his kickback every hand. A small piece of the ante, but it added up. Cha should host a night like this, only he\u2019d probably lose enough he wouldn\u2019t turn a profit. He didn\u2019t mind losing tonight, although he tried to win every hand. Poker was a difficult game.<\/p>\n By the end of the night, everyone buzzed, they all headed to the door one by one. Cha was first, got in his goodnights, including the endless one with Gabby, stumbled down the hall and out the door to his car. Where he sat and waited. He would never pull a hit drunk, but he wouldn\u2019t let himself be hit either. He waited for Jimmy.<\/p>\n And got, in his car, a second longwinded goodbye from Gabby, who constantly thought of more shit to say. None of it worth listening to, but all of it to say. He didn\u2019t even know what Gabby was short for. Gabby went on forever.<\/p>\n Until, at last, forever ended and Jimmy made his exit. He wore a gigantic smile, drunk but also seeing Cha.<\/p>\n \u201cYou gonna kill me, asshole? That why you\u2019re here?\u201d<\/p>\n Cha kept his windows up, his eyes blinking like he couldn\u2019t drive anywhere, watched Jimmy stagger to his car. This whole card game was a DUI collection if the cops swooped it, and as many different routes as these guys would take, no reason they shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cHopin to clear my head before I drive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNever works.\u201d He reached into a pocket, walked over and pulled out what looked like a prescription bottle, shook a few pills into his hand, popped some and held out the rest.<\/p>\n Cha rolled down his window and took the other four.<\/p>\n \u201cTen, fifteen minutes,\u201d Jimmy said. \u201cAnd you\u2019re good to go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCool. Thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure. See you next week?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf nothin comes up.\u201d<\/p>\n Like if he didn\u2019t kill Jimmy in the meantime. They were friends, no matter what Gerard thought of him, but a job was a job. And it wouldn\u2019t be cool to kill a man on Latiker\u2019s property. He would kill Jimmy, though. He needed the cash. Needed it to upgrade his place in the hills. So when he died, it would be in comfort.<\/p>\n He rolled up his windows, hoped this night of recon hadn\u2019t been too great a risk. He would<\/em> kill Jimmy, and he\u2019d do it soon. Had to get paid before he started to show symptoms. Before he died first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" He didn\u2019t know whether the men he killed did so as payment for a petty grievance; more likely it was something serious, and it wasn\u2019t up to him to decide who was right. Why was not a question he ever asked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":17002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction","writer-rob-pierce"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16986"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17003,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16986\/revisions\/17003"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}