Pocketful of Miracles Page #5

- Dude's here. Set?

- Set.

- He's got his dark cheaters on, boss.

- Uh-oh.

You're late.

Late for what?

Late for what? For 48 hours I've been

knocking around in this cage

all the way from Chicago.

I'm seasick.

Don't any of you guys ever inhale?

Like being in solitary, only it moves.

Fine thing, some two-bit operator

sends for me in his upholstered boxcar

and first thing you know, I'm being hauled

all over the country like a side of beef.

- This your layout?

- Yeah. I built it.

See these walls? Bulletproof.

In town it's neutral territory, even when

there's a war on. I call it Little Switzerland.

What do the cops call it? They find me

in this town, you can stop the presses.

There's ten vans just like this hauling

real furniture around. Here you're safe.

That picture's ten years old.

Relax, Darcey. Take it easy. Be my guest.

Your guest? Ever occur to you that I could

also be your prisoner? Ever think of that?

Yeah, I gave it a quick think.

Maybe you'd better give a long think

to a guy by the name of Stiff Arm Sam.

He once thought he could hold me too.

Stiff Arm? The guy

that walks around like this?

Yeah, with the blowtorch in the armpits.

That's right.

That's my idea, the blowtorch.

It must've hurt.

It's against the law to carry firearms

in New York, Darcey. Right, Joy Boy?

That's right. Here in New York

you gotta have a permit.

- Nothin', boss.

- Yeah. It's beginnin' to figure.

They tell me you've been operatin'

ten years in this town without a pinch.

Yeah. Luck, Mr Darcey. Pure luck.

I heard about the luck bit.

The thing with the lucky apples.

The wise guys figure

that's two strikes against you.

- Oh?

- Yeah.

They say you gotta buy them lucky apples

off of some little old lady, right?

And if something happens to her...

Could be like Samson

gettin' his first haircut.

Look, Darcey. I got news for you.

You see these apples?

I buy 'em by the crate

at the nearest grocery store.

The wise guys want to believe

these apples bring me luck,

it's two strikes against them.

You know about psychology, huh?

Yeah, I know about... whatever you call it.

It's like your dark glasses. You put those

on, the boys sweat from here to Omaha.

Me? I use apples.

All right. Shall we quit clowning?

I like the way this kid operates, yeah.

Smart boy. Smart dresser, too.

- You like that?

- Oh, yeah. It's rich.

- He likes it.

- Mind if I try that on?

No. Why not? Give him a hand, Junior.

Hold it, Junior.

They say you're a smart operator.

Gotta give you credit. You won the first

round. This is round two comin' up now.

- How does it look?

- Great.

Nice colour, huh?

Round two.

I got maybe eight, ten

top candidates for this job.

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