Read Online Gangster by Lorenzo Carcaterra - Free Book Online Page A

thick clothesline boxing him into the cool shadows. I never set out to be your friend, Pudge said to Angelo. I only did it so Ida wouldn't have done to me what I did to you.
        I know, Pudge, Angelo said. Maybe soon she will let you out of it.
        Pudge shrugged and walked over toward Angelo, still bouncing the ball by his side. I don't think so, he said. I'm probably stuck with you for a while.
        I'm sorry, then, Angelo said, looking up at him.
        I was too, at the start, Pudge said. But to tell you the truth, you haven't been as big a pain in the ass as I figured you'd be.
        Angelo smiled. It has been good to have a friend, he said.
        When we go in to meet this guy McQueen, we're going to have to be more than that, Pudge said. If he's going to take us on, he's taking us as a team. And that's what it's gotta be, you and me, together. Won't work any other way.
         You can't always look out for me, Angelo said. And I cannot protect you the way you protect me.
        It's worked so far, Pudge said. Let's give it some more time. See how it plays out. He sat down across from Angelo, squeezing in on the other end of the entryway. Maybe you'll turn out to be tougher than all of us.
        I'm too scared to be tough, Angelo said. But I promise to always be your friend. And I will never betray you.
        Pudge stared over at Angelo and nodded. Same goes for me, he said. And for the kind of work we're about to get into, that might be all that we need.
       
         *     *     *
       
    ANGELO AND PUDGE stood silent and at attention, watching as Angus McQueen finished a game of solitaire. He had small hands, nails neat and trimmed, and he flipped the cards over gently onto the top of the polished wood table. There was a smoldering cigarette tilted into an ashtray on his right and an empty cup of coffee to his left. He spoke without lifting his eyes from the cards.
        Ida tells me I should put you two boys to work, Angus said, studying the jack of spades in his hand. You agree with her?
        Pudge looked at Angelo, nodded, then turned back to McQueen. Yes, Pudge said. We're ready to work.
        At what? McQueen asked.
        We're up to doin' anything, Pudge said.
        McQueen picked up his cigarette and took a long pull on the wet tobacco. He looked up at the two boys, his eyes squinting from the swirling lines of smoke. Anything? he said. That covers a lot of territory.
        I'm not afraid, Pudge said. If that's what you're thinkin'.
        Well, I know you're not afraid of me, McQueen said, a small smile creeping across his face. He rested the cards facedown on the table and stubbed out the tip of the cigarette. Let me take some time and think on it, he said, pushing his chair back. See what I can find. It'll be runner's work at first. Nothing big and nothing that pays great.
        We ain't picky, Pudge said.
        You can't afford to be, McQueen answered.
        He walked around the table and stood next to Angelo, resting a hand on the thin boy's shoulder. I heard about your run-in with Banyon, he said. I hope it hurt.
        Angelo looked up at McQueen and nodded. Yes, he said. It hurt.
        Good, McQueen said. That means you made yourself an enemy. And if you're going to work for me you're going to have plenty of enemies.
        And don't count on having too many friends either, Ida the Goose said.
        You only need yourself one of those, Angus McQueen said, reaching into his vest and pulling out a fresh cigarette. A hundred enemies and one friend will make you a rich man in business. Any business.
        Pudge shrugged and pointed a thumb at Angelo. I got me no problems there, Pudge said. So long as I'm with him, I'll have more than my share of people who hate me.
        Angus McQueen lifted his head back and laughed. You're a lucky lad, then, he said. You haven't even started and already you're a step ahead.
        Might even die a rich man,