Hey There (You with the Gun in Your Hand)

Eleven

Just blocks away from the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas strip the town can change drastically. Industrial Road is one of those streets. In fact, Jerry and I had already had an experience along that road, finding a body in a Dumpster while we were trying to find out who was threatening Dino last year.

“This looks familiar,” Jerry said.

I told him and he nodded.

“This is in a different area, though,” I said. “Much worse.”

“I can see that,” he said. As we drove along, the conditions worsened. Still warehouses and other businesses, but a lot of the “transactions” being done in parking lots and back alleys-you get my drift.

“Over there,” I said. “Pull in.”

Jerry turned into the parking lot and cut the engine. We were looking at an abandoned warehouse with a large, crumbling parking lot and an open field behind it. There were some rusted out Dumpsters, but not much else in the way of cover. There were also plenty of beer cans and food wrappers against the walls.

“The roof,” Jerry said.

“What?”

“If they get here first they can put somebody on the roof.”

“Like … with a rifle?”

“That’s what I mean.”

“But why?” I asked. “We’re just makin’ an exchange, right?”

“As far as anybody knows,” Jerry said, “but Mr. G., these people are gonna be careful. They don’t know if you’re gonna show up with the cops.”

“You know,” I said, “I may be too naive for this stuff.”

“You live in Vegas,” Jerry said. “You ain’t naive, you just ain’t had all the good kicked outta ya yet.”

“I’ve been here thirteen years.”

Jerry shrugged.

“Maybe you had a lotta good in you.” He slapped me on the back. “But don’t worry, we’ll make a thug outta you, yet.”

“So what do we do?” I asked. “We’re going to be out in the open here.”

“Not we,” he said, “you.”

“But I asked you here to … to back me up.”

“I can watch your back without bein’ out in the open with you,” he said.

“So what do you suggest we do?”

“The meeting is set for after dark,” he said. “There are no lights here, so they’re probably counting on car lights-yours and theirs. You’ll have to drop me further down the street and I’ll come the rest of the way on foot.”

“What about the trunk?” I asked. “You could be in the trunk.”

“Even your car doesn’t have a trunk big enough for me,” he said. “Besides, they might check it.”

“So where will you be?”

“Out there.” He pointed to the field behind the parking lot.

“In the open?”

“In the open in the dark,” he said. “They won’t see me.”

“What about the moon?”

“That’s a chance I’ll take,” he said. “What’s the moon been like, lately?”

I had to admit that I hadn’t noticed.

“Well,” Jerry said, “we’ll know before we come out here.”

“What if they get here first?”

“They will,” he said, “but like I said, they’ll have a man on the roof, or in one of these Dumpsters, and he’s gonna be watchin’ you.”

“So that’s it?” I asked. “Now we just wait until tomorrow night?”

“We’ll take a drive around the building,” he said, turning the engine back on, “just to have a look.”

He drove completely around the building and we spotted several ways in-a front door, a back door, and a loading dock door, all closed.

“What if they take me inside?” I asked.

“They’ve got no reason to do anything to you, as long as you show up with the money,” Jerry said. “The only thing they might do is double-cross you and Mr. Davis by making copies of … of whatever it is you’re tryin’ to buy. So if they wanna take you inside, don’t panic.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“You hungry?” Jerry asked. “I’m hungry.”

“Sure, let’s go,” I said. “I know of a good diner right near here.”