The American Side Page #5

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No. No, I did.

Then why was Soberin

carrying the company...

[Borden]

Ah, my sister

makes an appearance.

Emily, meet

Mr. Paczynski.

Sterling's stand-in

for the evening.

[Emily]

How do you do?

Emily, is it?

Mr. Paczynski

is a genuine gumshoe,

in the great grand tradition

of Philip Marlowe.

I always preferred

Mike Hammer.

Even your idols

are second rate.

Must be interesting work.

What brings you here?

Bad habit.

When someone lies,

I take it personally.

You shouldn't.

Who lied?

Sterling's been rounding off

the corners of the truth again.

It seems Mr. Paczynski, isn't

buying the official version

of Tom Soberin's demise.

I don't blame him.

You don't know

the half of it.

Thanks for the drink.

[footsteps approaching]

You came to me looking

for Tom Soberin, didn't you?

The newspaper

said suicide.

Who was he to you?

My mentor,

at the university.

You were

working with him?

I work alone.

[thud]

Look, I didn't even know

Tom Soberin was here.

I was hired by a man

named Sterling Whitmore.

To do what?

Study a design, an invention.

Anyway,

every night I had to turn in

my notes, and every morning

I would get them back.

People take all kinds

of precautions

in my line of work.

Okay.

But two days ago,

something odd happened.

When I got my notes back,

there was a mark on them.

A symbol Tom Soberin

would make when he thought

I miscalculated.

So Whitmore hired Soberin

to double check your homework?

-But there was no mistake.

-How do you know?

I know.

Why did he

make the note?

To send a message.

-What kind of message?

-To stop.

To stop working

on the design and see him.

Just like at school.

So I called the university

and they told me he was here,

at the Mayflower.

When I went to my apartment

there were men

coming out of it.

I've been dodging them

ever since.

What do you expect me to do?

If Tom wanted me to stop,

whoever killed him knows why.

[sighs]

What makes you think

I care?

Well, you're here.

You got a name?

I'm Nikki Meeker.

Here, your lighter.

Tom was a master technician.

Great.

You don't hire him

to design.

You hire him

to build.

[engine stalling]

[engine stops]

Damn it.

?

[engine revving]

[tires screeching]

[man]

Let's go, man.

I've been run out of a few

of Borden's parties myself.

I can only take those a**holes

for so long before I say

something that pisses 'em off.

You saying Chase

tried to run me down?

Wake up, Paczynski.

That's Bohemian Grove

Buffalo style.

Bohemian Grove?

That camp

near San Fran

where all the big wigs

dance around the bonfire

thinking up ways

to manipulate

the world economy?

Nixon said it was

the faggiest thing

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