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The sound warped, and the tape ground to a halt The damn batteries had worn down I smacked the recorder with the palures Just when I needed the thing

First things first I couldn&039;t keep driving around with Beggar&039;s ledger in the back of ht about leaving theave theet

I drove to the airport, parked in the short-term lot

I found a row of lockers in one of the terminals, picked one at rando with the ledgers inside and locked it up tight I put the locker key onit would blend in It looked exactly like I was trying to hide an airport locker key on

I left the airport and headed back toward the city without any clear idea of where I was going I&039;d already decided I needed some help but wasn&039;t sure who to call Bob was dead, Benny was an cash it in over the phone I&039;d have to look outside the e for a friend

I pulled off the Beltway and found a convenience store with a pay phone I bought a cup of black coffee inside to e At the pay phone, I dialed Jis

"What it is?"

"Jimmy, it&039;s Charlie Swift"

The pause was only a second, but considering my circumstances, it was a lifetime In that pause, I rehashed ood terether a few times As one of Stan&039;s most trusted boys, Jiood people, and I was sure he thought the same of me But while ere on the same side, eren&039;t exactly peers He was ad decisions He handled a lot of business for Stan I was a duun ot out of line So there I was in the middle of this eternal pause while Jimmy the Fix decided if I orth the tiround to a halt, Jimmy said, "I don&039;t knohere Stan is, Charlie"

"I&039;h," said Jimmy "I&039;m surprised to hear from you You sound healthy Good"

He meant I didn&039;t sound like I&039;d been shot dead by hired killers

"I need some help," I said

He tsked on his end "I&039;ar thinks Ime alone"

"He told you that?"

"It&039;s implied"

"Is it?"

"Yeah"

"Why?"

"Because I&039;m not dead," said Jimmy heatedly "Like I said, I&039;ar won&039;t chase you north or west He just wants all of Stan&039;s old teauy&039;s got to survive, Charlie Why don&039;t you wise up? If Stan&039;s alive, he&039;s hauled ass by now You should too"

I gripped the phone tight, barely had my voice in control I took a deep breath, then started in "I want you to listen to s I can be proud of I&039;un, but those aren&039;t the things that ood woman or win you any community service awards Okay, I&039;m not a model citizen, and neither are you We don&039;t try to be, and it ain&039;t profitable anyway But I got one rule, just one I&039;ve been faithful to no ood to the people that were good to me If you don&039;t have people like that- if you can&039;t be a person like that- then you&039;re never going to have a friend or aas you live"

It was about the best speech I could muster on short notice, but it expressed a whole wad of twisted, churning feelings I&039;d had thuan This tiuilt and indecision I hoped I was pushing Jiht places, that he&039;d remember all the tiainst him

"God damn you, Charlie"

And I s to do is ask about the rest of that goon squad you play Monopoly with"

"What about them?"

"Are they accounted for?"

"They&039;re dead, if that&039;s what you mean"

"Not all of them"

"No," I admitted "I can&039;t find Benny"

"Try harder"

"What are you getting at?"

"I&039;ll give you a second to think about it," said Jimmy

I didn&039;t need a second I knehat he meant, and Blade Sanchez&039;s words caar Sure That ar took over Stan&039;s territory, he&039;d want to get a few guys on the inside

"I&039;ll call you after I find Benny," I said

"Charlie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for res"

"You&039;re welcoot back in my car

I drove My head buzzed Too much to think about Ti, e were dead except for possibly Benny asers in an airport locker which could shut down Beggar for life if they fell in the wrong hands Probably why the Feds were keeping a close eye on Jeffers, who just wanted to shove white powder into his nose and get through the day with as little fuss as possible

In uy called Jiun Marcie and a house full of dead art Burt the cop, who ht answer a few questions if he felt like it and if the Feds weren&039;t too far up his ass Not ry I pulled into Wendy&039;s, ordered a burger value ested poorly I was pissed off, my stomach sour

I went back to the convenience store, went inside for e I had calls to make