“Why’d you grab me in the first place?”
“Why do you think? I was trying to stick close to him, and if he went off with you, I’d lose him. Which by now, I’ve probably done. You screwed this up big time.”
“Me? It was you!”
We stared at each other for a moment in a standoff. I knew I’d have to be the one to break it, and I knew how. An idea had begun to form in my head. I wanted to see if it would withstand sharing.
“Let’s work together,” I said. “We both want the intelligence, right? Let me tell you my plan.” A few minor adjustments to my original plan would accommodate his presence and even boost my—our?—chance of success.
In a few sentences, with a minimum of fanfare, I sketched out the best way to proceed. My role, his role, all of it. He listened, motionless.
After hearing me out, he nodded once and said, “All right.”
A compliment for my quick thinking wouldn’t have gone amiss, but I wasn’t going to quibble. We were in it together now.
? ? ?
Downstairs at Joe Mulligan’s, walking straight up to Heck’s table, we were greeted with raucous cheers.
“Back so quick, eh?” said Mustache.
“Wasn’t for that,” said Blue Eyes. “We’re acquainted.”
“I wanted my friend to introduce me to his friend,” I said, shooting a not-so-shy glance Heck’s way. Up close, he was almost good-looking, but there was a simpering edge to him that I didn’t like, and I was glad he seemed already half in the bag. Things would go much faster.
“Well, how do you do, my dear,” Heck said, patting the cushion next to him. I slipped in and laid my fingertips lightly on his arm.
“I’m quite well, thank you,” I said, “but nearly dying of thirst.”
“Tim,” he said to Blue Eyes, “two more.”
“Yes, Boss,” he replied and was off to the bar. My thoughts trailed after him—Was Tim his real name? Our conversation upstairs hadn’t included names—but I forced myself back to the task at hand. It was time for me to resume the role of slattern, and I remembered again just how much depended on my ability to inhabit the woman I was pretending to be. Whether or not I was ready, this was my chance.
I leaned and preened and teased. I inched and edged over the red leather banquette until the full length of my thigh pressed against Heck’s, so close I could feel the heat of his skin. When I shut my eyes for a moment, I could see the exact pattern of the crosshatched scars on the back of his left hand. Most importantly, I giggled operatically at his jokes, most of which weren’t terribly funny to start with and became less so.
Blue Eyes returned with a round of drinks, then another. This was an essential part of the gambit, but also a dangerous one. I tried to sip slowly. I spilled one drink on purpose. Once, I switched my nearly full glass for Heck’s nearly empty one. Even with such tricks, I could still feel the effects of the drink. I began to sense a vague tickle behind my eyes, almost a vibration in the bone, an interesting but distracting sensation. If our moment to strike didn’t come soon, I’d be too dizzy to seize it. I wanted to look up and warn my accomplice but couldn’t risk it. He knew what he had to do, and so did I. And we knew what would happen if we failed. At this point, no signals or glances would change any of that.
I listened for his voice, though, and could hear him remarking time and again how late it was getting and how any man in search of serious fun tonight would have to look somewhere else than this joint full of priests and princesses. Bit by bit, I could tell, his nudges were having the desired effect. The other members of the gang were slipping away. At last, another hour in, only we three remained.
“And that’s why they called him the North Pole,” slurred Heck, now utterly tight, and it was time to put the next part of my plan into action.
Blue Eyes knew it too. I saw him lean across the table and tap his glass against the wood, saying, “Heck, I’d like to do you a favor.”
The smaller man perked up slightly, and the moment his attention was on my coconspirator, I snaked my hand into his coat pocket and eased out his wallet. I didn’t have the lightest touch, but he was too far gone to be wary.
Still wearing an empty smile, I let the wallet fall to the floor next to my foot and guided it gently underneath the booth. I kept my eyes on Heck and saw no reaction, no awareness. Blue Eyes was saying, “I’d like to lend you my hotel room for…your entertainment.”
The smaller man turned to me then, placed his hand confidently where my hip became thigh, and said, “Shaaall we?”
This was it. This was the moment. I had to play it, without getting distracted by the terrifying prospect of what happened if I played it wrong. His wallet wasn’t the only thing he wore under his coat: on the far side of his body, there was no mistaking the shape of a holstered gun.
“One small matter first,” I said.
“Oh?”
“Payment.”
“My dear friend’s attentions don’t come cheap,” Blue Eyes said, “but I assure you, every penny will be well spent.”
“Oh, I got plenty of pennies,” Heck slurred, patting his pocket. It took a tense five count for him to realize he was patting nothing. He swore, but there was little energy in it. “Aw, I’m sorry, honey.”
“Don’t have to be sorry,” I said, leaning close, trailing my finger along his collar.
“Another night, I’d…”
“Tonight,” I said. “Don’t you want it to be tonight?”
“Aw, of course, but…”
“Smart man like you,” I said. “I’m sure you’ve got more than you carry. Right?”
“Yeah.”
“So all you need to do is get to where that is.”
“Yeah.”
His liquor-soaked mind was a mule that wouldn’t get moving. But I was afraid to push any harder than I already had. Especially given that gun.
“I know it’s a hassle,” I said, “but I’d sure make it worth your while. If you could scare up the funds. Do you think you can do that for me?”