Cut and Run

29

‘You don’t know me,’ the young man said, ‘but I have an important business proposition for you.’ He sat down next to Kiko on the cool granite of the bench, not looking at him, watching the college students amble by, drinking their Saturday-morning coffee.

‘Propose away,’ Kiko Grace said. He had been lying on the bed in his rented condo, watching a rerun of a boxing match on ESPN with the TV set to mute, listening to his pregnant wife gripe on the phone about her morning sickness. He was about to switch over to A amp;E and see who was on Biography when call waiting clicked. He thumbed the button and a voice said, ‘If you want the five million in cash that’s due to you and you want to know why Paul Bellini’s screwing you over, be at Rice University in thirty minutes. Near the statue of the man sitting in a chair in the main academic quad. Come alone. I see anyone with you, I call the police and your ass is in jail in five seconds.’

‘How did you get this number?’ Kiko had asked.

‘I’ll see you in thirty minutes,’ the voice said. ‘Dress like a student. But no backpack. No weapons. We’re giving you critical information. Do what we ask or you won’t be seeing your five million any time soon.’ The caller hung up.

Kiko clicked over to his wife and said in Spanish, ‘Baby, I’ll call you back. Go shopping, it’ll pick you up.’ Spending money seemed to cure every other ailment she had, but he couldn’t deny her a thing.

Kiko, walking toward the rendezvous point, decided whoever called him had made a brilliant move. The quad at Rice University was beautiful, a manicured expanse of lawn and walkways, the statue at the middle of the grounds, a few students milling around the front of the library. It was Saturday, so there wasn’t a heavy traffic of people going to and from classes. Not an easy place for him to bring Jose and tuck him away. He felt himself not fitting in, even though he wasn’t much older than these kids. He wore jeans and a Miami Hurricanes sweatshirt, looking too old to be in college and knowing it. He sat at the granite block under the sculpture of William Rice sitting, open book in hand.

Jose lingered in the archways near the art gallery at the quad’s corner, wearing a T-shirt and baggy khaki work pants, pretending to be maintenance even without a uniform, poking at a shrub as though it were diseased, his pistol on a calf holster under his trousers.

But Kiko couldn’t see him now. He risked a glance at the guy who had sat next to him. Blondish, thirtyish, dressed more like a grad student than a professor.

‘Paul Bellini is screwing you over,’ the man said.

‘I don’t know any Paul Bellini.’

‘You had dinner with him Wednesday night. You ate a salad with way too much blue cheese dressing, most of a ribeye, caramel cheesecake. The wine was an Australian merlot, you drank one glass. You didn’t stay to watch the strippers dance in the private room.’

‘Who are you?’

‘A friend, because we have a common enemy,’ the man said. ‘Paul Bellini is setting you up, Mr Grace, because he’s desperate. He has no intention of paying you your money. He’s going to take the candy you brought into town and then he’s going to whack you.’

‘And why should I believe you?’

‘You don’t have to,’ the man said. ‘Wait for the bullets, then make up your mind.’

‘I’ll be gone from Houston by late tomorrow night,’ Kiko said.

‘They fly caskets out late? I thought that was more of a morning operation,’ the man said.

‘You got any proof or you just moving your lips?’

‘I can’t prove that he’s ordered a hit on you. That’s entirely your gamble if you choose to believe me or not. But he doesn’t have your money. He had it ready for you, but it got stolen. You know Bucks? Bucks stole it.’

Kiko gave a smile. ‘Did he now.’

‘Has Paul confirmed with you the money’s missing? Or is he feeding you a steady diet of “just a minor delay”? Promised you the money tonight, and he still doesn’t have it. Because Bucks has found his fool, and it’s Paul.’

Kiko didn’t answer the question. ‘Why you telling me this? What’s in it for you?’

The man didn’t look at him, watched two young women walk by, their laughter floating on the air. Waited until they were well past. ‘Paul thinks Eve Michaels stole the money. If you want your money, force Paul to cancel a hit he’s put on Eve.’

Kiko waited. ‘Why shouldn’t I let Paul deal with his own internal problems? I hate interfering with other folks’ staffing issues.’

‘We have financial information that could bring Paul down. We give it to the Feds, they’re gonna know you were dealing with him.’

‘No money’s changed hands,’ Kiko said. But he felt a sick little sinking of fear in his ribs, his gut.

‘We’ll tell the Feds, the police. They’ll watch your ass under a microscope, Mr Grace. You don’t want that.’ He shrugged. ‘Bucks turns over the money to either you or Paul, I don’t care, as long as they know Eve didn’t take it, we’re off safe, we’ll give up our financial data to you and Paul. You see? We don’t want the money, we don’t want the drugs. We want the hits called off, we want Bucks brought down.’

‘To do all you ask,’ Kiko said, ‘I have to kill both Bucks and Paul.’

‘Your call.’ The man stood, handed Kiko a slip of paper. ‘Here’s a phone number where you can reach me, day or night. You do your part and I’ll do mine and then your name is safe.’

‘How do I know you’re not playing me against Paul?’

‘I guess you don’t. But Paul Bellini’s lying to you, and I’m not.’ The man smiled. ‘I’m going to walk away now. Good luck.’

‘I’m not done talking to you.’ Because he decided when meetings were done, not this nobody.

‘Yes, we are done,’ the man said. ‘And if you don’t take any action, you go down with the Bellinis. We want to be left alone. You want your money. We have a mutual enemy. Take care of him. Please.’ He turned to walk away.

Kiko stood. Started to follow him, watching to see if Jose could see him now, glancing to the left. Jose was talking with a man in a university maintenance uniform, pretending not to speak English, starting to back away from the college worker.

The man turned, held up a hand. ‘There’s a lot of windows in that building to the left. The classrooms are empty today. I’ve got a friend up there with a high-powered rifle. He’ll take your arm off if you take another step or follow me until I’ve left the campus.’

‘Don’t you threaten me.’

‘Not threatening. Promising,’ the man said.

Kiko watched him vanish around a corner. Stood there, hating that he couldn’t move, watching Jose turn and walk away from the maintenance guy. Finally taking a step, walking, no shot coming.

No sign of the man in the parking lot. Gone. He got in his rented Lexus, Jose already sitting in the driver’s seat. Kiko got in the back and didn’t say a word until he was on Main Street, driving on the edge of Hermann Park. His furnished condo was on Fannin, in the heart of a trendy real estate area for those who favored convenience to downtown.

‘Well, this dink says there’s no delay in getting the money. He says there’s no money, period.’ He relayed the conversation with the man.

‘You believe him? Think Bucks has got the money and is holding out on us?’

Kiko tongued his cheek, clicked his teeth. ‘I don’t believe Bucks would risk that film coming to light. So no, I don’t believe our new friend regarding Bucks.’ He drummed fingers on the dashboard. ‘Now Paul-boy, Paul might be working a new angle and not clueing Bucks in. Telling Bucks there’s a delay and Bucks don’t know better. That’s a serious worry.’

‘So now what?’

‘I don’t like complications. We’re gonna have an A- I serious talk with Bucks, right now. If he’s lied, he’s dead, too. I’m thinking this guy and Eve Michaels have the money and want me and Paul shooting at each other.’

‘You’re dead-on right,’ Jose said. ‘Like Willie S said. “ Be able for thine enemy rather in power than use…” ’

‘What the hell does that mean?’ He liked Jose but didn’t like Jose acting too smart.

‘Means that you have to be competent to deal with those who piss you off. No holds barred, Kiko.’

‘Fine. So when we get what we want,’ Kiko said, turning on the radio, fiddling to find a salsa beat, not wanting to hear another word of Willie S, ‘we be able for our enemies on a big scale. We kill everybody.’