Stick by Elmore Leonard Read Free Book Online

expression, heavy features slack. Rainy had said Lionel’s name was Oliva, a Cuban; all the guys, he said, that worked for Chucky were Cuban. He had five or six of them hanging around this place, some others when he needed them. Stick tried staring back at Lionel, not giving it much, and Lionel held on for about five seconds before looking away. Chucky had hardly looked at him at all since coming in from the living room, alone. The girl must have left. She had seemed out of place here. She looked like a social worker with money, if there was such a thing as that. Or a tennis pro. She had looked at him: she had those eyes that knew things but didn’t tell you what she was feeling.
    Rainy was saying, “I was thinking we should have a gun. One of us.”
    It took Stick by surprise. He wanted to get Rainy’s eye and shake his head at him. But maybe hedidn’t have to. Chucky was saying, “You tell me you’re bringing Bozo here with you ’cause there’s nothing to it, he’s going for the ride. So what do you need a gun for?”
    Rainy said, “You always give me one before. Like Brinks, man, for just in case. Why is it different this one?”
    Chucky said, “You want the job? You want the job, get outta here . . .  Lionel?”
    Lionel went over to the door and stood waiting to see them out as Rainy said, “How about the pay? Five grand you said.”
    â€œWe’ll take care of that tomorrow,” Chucky said. “I’ll be here, you know I’m going to be here . . .  Now go on, get out . . .”
    Chucky punched out a number on his phone system, walked over to the hat-tree and set the “Crested Beaut” model over his eyes. When Moke’s voice came on, Chucky said:
    â€œDelivery’s on its way.”
    Silence.
    â€œYou hear me?”
    â€œI ain’t deaf, am I?”
    Just dumb, Chucky thought. He said, “For the other part of the deal, instead of Rainy, how about you take the bozo that’s with him? You think you could do that?”
    â€œIt don’t matter none to me,” Moke’s voice said.
    Chucky said, “Hey, partner? See you tomorrow.”
    Moke was starting to work for him already and didn’t even know it.

5
    RAINY, BEHIND THE WHEEL OF the Chevy van, would glance at Stick as he spoke and from Stick back to the four lanes of freeway and the red taillights moving in the dark.
    â€œThe way I understand it, Chucky owes the money because it was his fault Nestor Soto had to put up a bond, the two-hundred thousand, to get one of his guys out. Then when the guy left and went to Colombia it was okay with Nestor because he say Chucky has to pay him. See, Chucky knew a guy from New York or some place he thought was a good guy. He see him in the Mutiny, different places, he knows the guy is buying product, right? Now this guy tells Chucky he wants to make a big buy—I don’t know how many kilos, man—I’m talking about coke. So Chucky is thinking okay, no problem. He’ll broker the deal, put the guy in touch with Nestor Soto and make about five-ten percent from the guy, everybody’s happy, right? Except what do you know, this guy from New York, man, he turns out he’s adeep narc, man, from the BNDD. Sure, he put it together, they raid this place Nestor has down in Homestead on the canal, kill one of his guys, bust the other one—that’s the two-hundred-thousand
bond—take all his shit, man, and Nestor believe Chucky put the stuff on him. What else is he going to think? Nestor is crazy anyway. Sometime they call him El Chaco, from some wild place where he was born. El Chaco. He believe in santería, man, like voodoo. He start free-basing, he kill these animals as a sacrifice, with a knife. It can scare the shit out of you, you see something like that. Chucky explain it to him, no, man, he was surprised as Nestor the guy was a narc. He say, ask