• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 1275 0

now, I think. Man, what a bunch of shit that was. You know what that cocksucker did? We was on patrol him and me and we bust into this little hut. It really stunk in there, an the only light was from this greasy dish or somethin, and there was an old man sittin in the corner and this gook officer on top of this woman in the corner, on some straw or somethin, an they all look up scared when we bust in, the officer’s got his pants down, you know, and Dale sees all this and lets out a laugh and shoots the officer right in the forehead, man. the back of his head spatters all over the woman’s face and she lets out a yell and Dale plugs her, too, in the chest, and then he turns and shoots the old man. Goddam, I never seen nothin like it; just about one second and all three dead, laying there, and Dale turns to me and laughs and says, `How come you didn’t shoot anybody?’ and I says, `Jesus Christ, Phipps, what the fuck are you doin?’ and he gets a mean look on his face and yells at me, `I’ll kill you too, you motherfucker, if you tell on me!’ an we got the hell out of there, an I asked him later what the fuck he shot all those people for, hell, the gook was on our side, you know, and he grins and says, `What the fuck difference does it make?”’

Denny squirmed uncomfortably, and scratched his cheek. “He shot them because he got the chance to, you know? Man, I used to dream about it. That crazy bastard. He would of killed me, too, and we was partners.”

But the pustule had burst now, and Denny laughed. “But that aint why I turned thief. It scared the shit out of me, but so did the whole goddam war. It’s funny, at the time it didn’t seem wrong, or anything, just, well, like he went crazy, and I was scared of bein hooked up with a crazy man. Lots of guys went crazy. I know one guy, there was another guy with the same name as he had who got killed, and this guy didn’t find out about it, see, but the Corps sent his mother a telegram sayin he got killed in action, and he finds out about that, see, about a month later, and so he knows this other guy with the same name was killed, and his mother was tryin to collect on his insurance, and man, he just plain flipped out. He run out and tried to get himself killed, but his sergeant coldcocked him and sent him to the hospital. I guess he got a discharge. I met Tommy when I was gettin out, and we hooked up together. He had some great plans.”

Denny looked sad, now. “That’s what I ought to do. Run down to Mexico and find him. He run out on me, the bastard.” His eyes were intense, almost glassy. “We got to get some money, man. We just got to.”

“Why don’t you hold up the joint alone? I don’t want to go. Fuck it.”

“What’s the matter? Listen, I know a cat in Oakland’ll sell us a couple guns, and we can steal a car. Take this one quick and we both head for Mexico. Ditch these goddam broads. I’m burnt out on Sue, anyway. She’s the worst lay I ever had in my life.”

“No,” Jack said. “I’m sick of fooling around. I’m not going on any holdup.”

Denny was puzzled. “Why not? You got to.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes you are.”

“You don’t own a piece of me, buddy. You ran out of money, that’s your tough shit. I can’t help you.”

It soaked in. “You’re just like that son of a bitch Tommy,” Denny said. “He run out on me. Now you’re runnin out on me.”

Jack was half-tempted to say okay and go on the robbery, just to please Denny, who looked so offended and angry. But that was no way to run his life. It was disgusting; Denny was acting as if they had sworn themselves to blood-brotherhood.

“I’m not runnin out,” Jack said. “I just don’t want to go. I want to think. Something’s wrong.” He got up. “I’m going back to the hotel.”

He was half-undressed when Denny showed up. He opened the door a crack and Denny pushed his way into the room.

“Shh,” Jack said. “Mona’s sacked out.”

Denny was in the middle of the room, in a near-crouch. Jack looked at him curiously.

“What’s eatin you?” Then he saw the knife in Denny’s hand, saw it just in time to ready himself as Denny’s thrust came. Everything fell away. Jack’s left hand