California Fire And Life

99

"So?" Letty asks.

"So what?" Tony says.

Still doing the Snitch Hop.

Kid's dressed up in the official Vietnamese gangsta uniform – black Levi's, black high-tops. Black leather jacket, and it's what, 70 degrees out? Black leather jacket in August…

Letty doesn't feel like it. "You called me."

"Tranh and Do."

"No kidding."

Tony whispers, "They were doing a job for some Russians."

"Okay," Letty says. Like this is telling her something.

"No," Tony says, "they were doing a job for some Russians."

Which gets Letty's attention in a hurry.

"How did they get hooked up with the ROC?"

"Maybe we do some cars…" Tony says.

"Is that right?"

"Anyway," he says, like he's not here to engage in bigger issues, "Tranh and Do were running an errand for the Russians. These two guys came and said they needed some guys and a truck."

"For what?"

"Boost a truck, pick some stuff up at a house, take it somewhere, lose the truck."

"What stuff!" Letty asks. "What house? Take it where?"

Tony says, "They talk with my boys, they call later and leave an address."

"What address?"

"Thirty-seven Bluffside Drive."

Which rocks Letty.

The night Pamela is murdered, two missing Vietnamese gangbangers are taking "stuff" out of the house.

Tony says, "So they lift a truck. From Paladin Unpainted Furniture. Go over there that night, they don't come back. Now you know everything I know, so lighten up on me."

"What two guys?"

"I don't know," the kid whines. "Two new guys, not the usual guys."

"You got usual guys?"

"We got guys who bring cars," Tony says. "We got guys come for the money. These were not the guys."

"Would you recognize these guys if you saw pictures?"

Tony shakes his head. "No way, lady. No fucking way do I give up these guys. You don't have enough weight make me do that."

"Describe them."

"Tall skinny guy. Big fat guy. No style."

"Have you seen them since?"

Tony shakes his head.

Too fast, too hard, Letty thinks.

" Heard from them since?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me, you little shit."

"I'm not lying!"

"And don't whine, either," she says. "It annoys me. What did they say to you, 'Keep your stupid fucking mouth shut'?"

"Something like that," Tony mumbles. "Don't tell Uncle Nguyen."

"Do they know I've been bringing the heat on you?"

"They know," the kid says, resentful. "Everyone knows."

"You're in a tough spot."

"You put me there."

"Yeah, whatever," Letty says. "Come on in. Bring me those guys."

Tony thinks about it for a second. "See how it plays," he says.

"Yeah, see how it plays," Letty says.

The kid already knows how it's going to play. How it's going to play is this gash is about to get whacked, is how it's going to play.

So he says, "Give me a couple of minutes' head start. I don't want to be seen with no cop."

"Out here?" Letty laughs.

There's nothing out here but hills, dry grass and rocks.

"Out anywhere," Tony says. He heads back down the trail.

Letty's mind is racing. She has the Tranh and Do disappearance hooked in with Pamela's death and the fire. She has Nicky Vale connected somehow with ROC. She has a truckload of stuff leaving the Vale house the night of the fire.

She's deep into these thoughts as she walks back.

She has her head down.

She's dead.

Because the hitter is just standing there waiting for her.

She has her head down, she's thinking things through, and the only reason she looks up is that she catches a glint of something metal even though there is nothing metal out there.

She looks up and sees the gun barrel and a glimpse of a face on a body.

She spins to the ground, dropping hard on the dry red dirt. Lands awkwardly and she can feel her shoulder dislocate when she hits. But she has her weapon out and she can see the guy's arm try to follow her down so she aims to the right of the arm and punches out two rounds WHAM WHAM and then two more WHAM WHAM and the first two take him in the chest and the next two in the head, so that guy is over.

But then another figure charges toward her.

Letty yells, "Forget him, he's dead!" and she grips her weapon hard, trying to steady it if she needs to fire her last rounds, but then the horizon starts doing goofy flip-flops and she sees the blue sky and thanks Madre Maria she's alive and then it all goes black.

Last thing she hears is this guy bellowing, "Fuck you, bish!"

But he's running away.

Letty lies in the dirt, her shoulder muscle down around her elbow, and it motherfucking hurts.

But she figures that pain is a good thing, given the alternative.