I CALLED HAWK on his cell phone.
“You with Eisenhower?” I said.
“I in the lobby of a motel in Waltham,” Hawk said. “ Gary upstairs, with a woman.”
“First of the day?” I said.
“Uh-huh,” Hawk said.
“Well, it’s early still,” I said.
“Uh-huh.”
“He had anything to say since you been tagging along with him?”
“He want to know do I think I can handle Boo, if he shows up,” Hawk said.
“And you said you could.”
“But modestly.”
“If it comes to that,” I said. “Zel is the real issue.”
“Shooter?”
“Yep.”
“I never heard of him,” Hawk said.
“Me, either, but if you meet him, you’ll know.”
“Like Vinnie,” Hawk said.
“Or Chollo,” I said.
“They do have the look,” Hawk said.
“So does Zel.”
“I keep it in mind,” Hawk said.
“Anything else?”
“Eisenhower say he don’t mind me tagging after him,” Hawk said. “Long as I don’t cramp his style.”
“Are you cramping it?”
“Not so’s I can tell,” Hawk said. “Mostly I trying to learn from it.”
“It’s good to make the most of a learning opportunity,” I said.
“He a pretty cool dude,” Hawk said. “As you honkies go.”
“He is,” I said. “Maybe he’s got some sort of natural rhythm.”
“He ain’t that cool,” Hawk said. “But he don’t seem scared. He seem like he can handle getting beat up, ain’t gonna change him.”
“He claims he’s tougher than he seems,” I said.
“Might be,” Hawk said.
“He ask you for a gun?” I said.
“Uh-huh,” Hawk said.
“And?”
“I say why you need a gun, you got me.”
“And he said?”
“I may not always have you.”
“Which is true,” I said.
“It is,” Hawk said. “So I tell him you could retire your dick for a while, or at least use it someplace else.”
“He didn’t buy that,” I said.
“Nope,” Hawk answered. “Say he fuck who he wants when he wants and he ain’t gonna change.”
“Man of principle,” I said.
“Sure,” Hawk said. “People live by worse codes.”
“And we know a lot of them,” I said.
“Where you calling from?” Hawk said. “You sound kind of echo-y.”
“ Rowes Wharf,” I said. “I’m looking at the water.”
“You on you cell phone?” Hawk said.
“I am,” I said.
“You dialed it by yo’self?” Hawk said.
“I did,” I said.
“Man, you makin’ progress,” Hawk said.
“Susan’s been helping me,” I said.
Hawk’s chuckle was very deep as he broke the connection.