Brimstone

63

“VIRGIL,” I said, as we walked up Arrow Street, “what the fuck are we doing?”

“We’re being tricky,” Virgil said.

“We never took a bribe in our life,” I said.

“Nor run away,” Virgil said.

“So…?” I said.

“We ain’t going,” Virgil said.

“We’re not?”

“Nope.”

“We’re going to double-cross Pike?”

“We are,” Virgil said.

“What about the bribe?”

“Laurel needs money,” Virgil said. “Pike don’t.”

“You think Pike will see it that way?” I said.

“No.”

“We gonna pretend to go?” I said.

“Yep.”

“What about the women,” I said.

“It was only Allie,” Virgil said. “Maybe I say she’s a grown woman. She cast her lot with me. She knows what I do… But the kid didn’t get to cast her lot at all. It got cast for her… And she ain’t got no one else.”

“And Pike would use them against us.”

“ ’Course he would,” Virgil said. “You heard him.”

I nodded.

“As I recall,” I said, “Pike told us, ‘You got them women to worry about.’ ”

“What I recall, too,” Virgil said. “We stay, we’ll be spending all our time protecting them. He needs to think they gone.”

“So where we going to hide them,” I said.

“Ain’t figured that part out yet,” Virgil said.

“What happens to them if we get killed?” I said.

“I thought ’bout that,” Virgil said.

“And?”

“I can’t worry ’bout that,” he said. “I can’t not be Virgil Cole.”

“No,” I said. “You can’t.”

Virgil grinned at me.

“ ’ Sides, we ain’t never been killed yet,” he said.

“Commensurate,” I said, “with who we are.”

“Commensurate,” Virgil said.

“What about Pony?” I said.

“I’d guess he’ll be with us,” Virgil said.

“Maybe he could take the ladies someplace,” I said.

Virgil nodded. We turned off of Arrow Street and walked toward where we’d been staying. Pony was on a bench on the front porch with Laurel beside him, and Allie was in a rocker, trying to sew a button on one of Virgil’s shirts.

Virgil set the canvas satchel down and took a seat. I remained standing, leaning against one of the porch pillars. Virgil opened the satchel.

“Best thing I got to tell you is we got some money,” he said.