The Killing Page #10

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You don't know what you're talkin'!

He couldn't do that!

- You don't know what you're talkin'!

- Shut up, patsan. Make a move.

He's right.

I could have won your rook.

- Move, patsan!

- Look, stop talkin' or I'll call Fisher.

I can't think with all this noise!

Good game, Maurice?

Johnny Clay, my old friend.

How are you?

Good to see you, Maurice.

Been a long time, huh?

- How long have you been out?

- Oh, not very long.

It was very difficult, no?

Yeah.

Very difficult.

You have my sympathies, Johnny.

You have not yet learned that in this life

you have to be like everyone else -

the perfect mediocrity.

No better, no worse.

Individuality is a monster,

and it must be strangled in its cradle...

to make our friends feel comfortable.

You know, I often thought

that the gangster and the artist...

are the same in the eyes of the masses.

They're admired and hero-worshipped,

but there is always present...

underlying wish to see them destroyed

at the peak of their glory.

Yeah. Like the, um -

Like the man said,

"Life is like a glass of tea." Huh?

Oh, Johnny, my friend,

you never were very bright...

but I love you anyway.

How, uh - How's life

been treating you, Maurice?

About the same as always.

When I need some money,

I go out and wrestle.

But mostly I'm up here,

wasting my time playing chess.

But, you know, I wouldn't know

what to do with myself...

if I didn't have this place to come to.

Maurice, could you use $2,500?

It has a pleasant ring to the ear.

Quite musical.

What is it for?

For taking care of half a dozen private d*cks.

Racetrack cops.

I want you to start a fight

with the bartender at the track.

The track cops will try to break it up.

You keep 'em busy for as long as you can.

Make 'em drag you out of the place.

No gunplay. Strictly a muscle job.

Would it be out of order for me to ask...

for what it is that you are willing to pay such

a price to see me demonstrate my talents?

I would imagine it is for more

than just your own personal entertainment.

$2,500 is a lot of dough, Maurice.

Part of it's for not asking questions.

That sounds not unreasonable.

Still, I will probably go to jail,

and jails I have found unpleasant.

Food is very bad, company is poor,

beds are too small.

Ah, it'll only be a disorderly conduct charge.

Maybe 60 days, nothing worse.

And if a man has a little money

to spread around in the right places,

he can be quite comfortable for his stay.

I do not quite understand, Johnny.

For what you want me to do, you could

get any hoodlum for a hundred dollars.

Yeah. I don't want any hoodlum.

I want a guy like you.

Someone who's absolutely dependable...

who knows he's being well-paid to take a risk

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