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"Don&039;t know The FBI doesn&039;t tell ," said Burt

That explained it They were keeping Burt in the dark on some of the details Maybe they suspected his loyalty Maybe he just wasn&039;t i If I were the Feds, I&039;d be careful too I thought about those es in Toppers They&039;d been Feds too They almost had the books then except for me I showed up and shot everyone dead

"Thanks, Burt," I said "Anything else?"

"Yeah Sorry to tell you this, but the FBI has frozen a bunch of bank accounts, Jeffers&039;s included" He cleared his throat apologetically "Yours too And I wouldn&039;t try getting near your safety deposit box"

That just fucking figured "Thanks for the heads up"

"If you and Stan pull this thing out of the fire, just remember as on your team"

"I&039;ll re, so the third-shift crowd didn&039;t have to wait for noret drunk I was told Maureen wouldn&039;t be in for an hour, so I retreated to a less dilapidated part of town for coffee I called Marcie, left her another e I went back to the Handlebar

Maureen was a tired, sagging ave two shits about anything or anybody, least of all me I asked her questions, and she answered, not out of kindness but because she judged it would be more trouble not to Smart lady

"Worst mistake I ever made," she said "God daht er crowd, you know? Broaden our appeal a little"

"But the regulars didn&039;t care for theulars wanted to kick the shit out of the? Spit on &039;eave theh the flab sacks on her face "They wouldn&039;t have lasted another second, let alone another night"

"I&039;ht you "

"I&039;ll tell you what I told the other guy Talk to Parker He tends bar for us, and it was his idea to book the band in the first place I should&039;ve fired his scrawny ass too"

"What other guy?"

"He&039;s out there now" Maureen jerked a stubby thumb at the back door "He came in with the same questions you did, and I told hi a smoke"

"Thanks I better have a look" I headed for the back door

"Mister, I&039;d take it slow if I were you This other fella&039;s about as big as they build &039;em"

"I&039;ll be careful"

In the alley, an enorainst a stone wall He was doing it just right The kid&039;s feet dangled about a foot off the ground, and the giant had to keep pushing against his chest with the flat of his an

Holy shit

"New Guy!"

Lou whipped his head around "Charlie?"

Lou folded the kid in half and ja alley trash cans "You stay put, Parker I got to talk to this guy" He gave the can a loud kick for emphasis

Parker made a cooperative noise, and Lou threw his ar "Holy fuck, Charlie, I never thought I&039;d see you again"

"Me?" Funny, but I didn&039;t ht I heard you die on the phone How&039;d you get out in one piece?"

He posed muscle- about I foughtchamp, that&039;s how"

We traded stories I told hi for Benny I told him why

His face fell, and he shook his head "Da to find so on You ar?"

"Looks that way," I said

"That&039;s a real buuy He was little but ets you mad to think somebody cool like that would sell you out"

I knehat he ht about the beers I&039;d shared with Benny, the tietting hot all up through et so furious about stuff like thatharsh without thinking first My fists tightened, and I started feeling bad for Benny, knohat I was going to do to him

Lou threw up his hands "Then that&039;s all she wrote, o home when I say We find Stan first, and that e of me anymore, man O&039;Malley&039;s is ashes The boss has hit the road"

"You got a choice You&039;re either nobody going no place, or you&039;re one of Stan&039;s boys, and we&039;re on the job"

He put his hands on his hips, exhaled "Okay,me New Guy"

"Whatever you say, New Guy"

"The kid in the can&039;s nas, aren&039;t you, Parker?"

I stepped around Lou and found Parker in the trash can "How&039;s it going?"

"A little cra for Spanklicious"

"I know the house," said Parker "Just get me out of here, okay? And I&039;ll tell you where"

"Don&039;t get , Parker I&039;m not here to rescue you You tell et me out of here?"

"Yeah"

"902 Texar It&039;s a one-story white house My roommate knows the drummer, and we put theuess I don&039;t know Get et them Let&039;s find Benny"

I pointed at the trash can "What about him?"

"We don&039;t need hi to phone ahead and warn therabbed up the lid of the trash can and clamped it down hard over Parker The kid&039;s muffled protests caused Lou to pound on the lid "Shut up in there We&039;ll let you out e&039;re done" He scooped up the can by the handle, his biceps rippling without effort

"Okay, I got hi, du them He wasn&039;t somebody I&039;d noriven the lug a job because we didn&039;t want to get our hands dirty throwing deadbeats out of O&039;Malley&039;s A towering waste of space

God, but I was glad to see him