- •Joe Pitt 2 - No Dominion
- •I look him up and down.
- •I turn to Terry.
- •I fiddle with my Zippo, snap it open and closed.
- •I look at Phil. He glances at the bar, cataloging the bottles on the top shelf.
- •I hand the waitress some cash.
- •I smile.
- •I put two of the specials in front of Phil.
- •I stand up and dig the last of my cash out of my pocket. After the drinks here and Niagara and the twenty for the doorman, there's about forty left. I drop it in front of him.
- •I try to touch her hand, but she moves it. She stares at the band, holding the smoldering cigarette unsmoked.
- •I set my half full coffee cup on the floor at my feet.
- •I hang on the line while she doesn't say anything. I hear a clicking sound, like maybe she's flicking her thumbnail against her front teeth. The sound stops.
- •I watch his eyes, trying to see if he's playing me. They're unreadable; black stones sunk deep in dark wells.
- •I start for the stairs.
- •I wipe the blood out of my eyes with the back of my hand.
- •I look at Timberlands.
- •I walk through followed by Digga, Timberlands, and the rhinos. The door swings shut behind us and we start down a stairwell.
- •I shake my head.
- •I stand up and move the chair back to the table.
- •I take the blankets and spread them on the couch.
- •I put it on the table.
- •I look behind us to the east, where the sun will soon be rising.
- •I look up at the old, well maintained buildings illuminated by ornamental street lamps and security lights.
- •I put it on, take my Zippo from the pocket and use it to light one of Percy's Pall Malls.
- •I climb.
- •I shut up and let them do it their way.
- •I scratch my balls.
- •I dress. I look at the ruined collar. I remember the day Evie gave me the jacket. It was my birthday. The day she thinks is my birthday, anyway. I look at the old lady and put the jacket back on.
- •Vandewater moves to the edge of the plastic, standing over the boys who kneel on either side of the Hispanic kid.
- •Vandewater looks at me.
- •Vandewater steps out of their way.
- •I shake my head.
- •Vandewater turns back to me.
- •I look at her.
- •I bring up the machine pistol.
- •I look.
- •I don't say anything. I don't really have to. Because he's right, that's some shit hitting the fan pretty damn hard.
- •I take it, set it down.
- •I think about it. And it scares me.
- •I point at his nose.
- •I light a cigarette of my own.
- •I finish my beer.
- •I take a drag, having witnessed what being sincere got Tom.
- •I grind some sleep from my eyes.
- •I point at his syringe.
- •I look at him.
- •I pull her face back to mine.
I look him up and down.
--Evening, Tom. See you finally got that promotion you been bucking for.
--It wasn't a promotion, asshole. The Society isn't a fucking corporation, it's a collective. I was elected to the post by my peers.
--Yeah, sure. Anything you say. I'm sure Terry backing you had nothing to do with it.
He starts to come outside, but stops himself.
--OK. OK. You know, you can say whatever you want, Pitt. Doesn't matter to me. Know why?
--No. Tell me, please.
--'Cuz you're just a slob on the outside who's trying to get inside, and all I have to do to get rid of you is this.
And he slams the door in my face.
Well, shit, I'm a bigger pain in the ass than that.
I cover all the buttons on the intercom panel, push them down and hold them there. It takes about a minute for him to open back up.
--Knock that shit off, Pitt!
I take my hands off the buttons.
--Hey, Tom. Terry around?
--You don't have a fucking appointment. No appointment, no Terry.
He slams the door. I hit the buttons. He opens the door.
--Hey, Tom. Terry around?
--Hurley, get rid of this guy.
Hurley comes out onto the porch.
--Time fer ya ta go, Joe.
--Hey, Hurl, that rhymes.
He points at the steps.
--Ya want ta walk down 'em, or ya want ta fall down 'em?
I stand on my tiptoes and look over his shoulder at Tom.
--So if a guy wanted to make an appointment, how would he go about it?
Tom smiles.
--A guy like you? An old friend of Terry's?
--Yeah, a guy like me.
--Well, I'd say all a guy like you has to do is pencil something in for a week past fucking never.
--That's a long time.
--Hurley.
Hurley turns around and looks past Tom.
--Yeah, Terry?
--What's the hassle about?
--Joe here wanted ta come in.
--Well, why's the man standing out there?
--Didn't have no appointment.
--That's cool. Let him in.
Tom spins, dreadlocks flying.
--What the fuck? He's got no appointment.
--No problem, Tom. I'm not really busy right now. Just taking it easy.
--That doesn't matter. I'm supposed to be clearing people in advance.
--Sure, but we got to stay flexible, too.
--But security.
--Sure, sure, we want to be safe. But that's Joe. We all know Joe.
I hold my hand up.
--Hey, Terry, I don't want to cause trouble. I can make an appointment. No problem.
--No, man, no. Come on in.
--You sure?
I take a step toward the door. Hurley moves to the side, but Tom steps in front of me.
--Security is supposed to be my job. And this asshole hasn't been cleared by security.
Terry takes off his Lennon glasses and wipes them on his Monterey Pop Festival T-shirt.
--Yeah, man, you're security and all, but we got to remember this is a community organization. You know, it's all well and good for us to be safe, but we have to be able to respond to the needs of the community. Otherwise, man, what's the point? And Joe here, he's a member of the community. So let's, you know, let's just bend a point here and let the man in.
--Fucking. I was duly elected and I'm taking this shit seriously. I'm drawing a line. No appointment, no meeting. Especially for a security threat like this guy.
Terry puts his glasses back on.
--A line. Uh-huh. A line. OK. OK. I get it. You and Joe have history. Some, you know, some difficult history. Some unresolved conflicts. That's cool. So I tell you what, why don't you and Hurley go do a perimeter check?
--What?
--You know, go, like, check the perimeter. Make sure it's secure or whatever.
--My post is--
--Tom, really, go check the damn perimeter and stop acting like a storm trooper.
Tom opens and closes his mouth a couple times, looks at me, looks back at Terry, looks at me again.
--This goes on the list, Pitt. Right near the top.
And he storms down the steps, making sure to hit me with his shoulder on the way.
--What list is that, Tom?
--Fuck you, cocksucker. Come on, Hurley.
--The list of times you've made an ass of yourself?
--FUCK YOU!
He walks away down the sidewalk, Hurley a few steps behind him.