Herman said, “And this is Leonard.”
Leonard shut the door, said, “Glad to meet you.”
Bill nodded. “I take it, Herman, these men and this woman are not friends of yours.”
“Not exactly,” Herman said. “They are not friends of Red. I am caught in the middle. Please, sit down.”
Bill started to sit, but Leonard said, “No hard feelings, my man, but I’d like you to come over here and put your hands on the wall.”
Bill looked at Herman. Herman shrugged.
“I don’t suppose while I have my hands on the wall you want me to lower my trousers, do you?” Bill said.
“Only if you want to,” Leonard said.
Bill did as he was told. Leonard held the shotgun to the back of Bill’s head with one hand while he patted him down with the other. Leonard removed a lock-blade knife from Bill’s front pocket and a little revolver from a holster at the small of his back.
“You can sit down now,” Leonard said. “Do that and we’ll get along.”
“We’ll get along all right,” Bill said. “All you got to do is treat me good and don’t call me Chief.”
“He doesn’t like being called Chief,” Herman said. “Bill here, he’s a Kickapoo Indian.”
“Long way from your original stomping grounds, aren’t you?” Leonard said.
“What about you?” Bill said. “My people at least came from this continent.”
“Actually,” Leonard said, “my people come from East Texas.”
“That might as well be another continent,” Bill said, and sat on the bed.
“Story is you can get us across the border into Mexico,” I said. “Carrying guns and ammo.”
“Maybe,” Bill said. “There’s something I must get straight. I am not a great friend of Herman’s. I know him. We have done some work together in the past. Smuggling. I want it understood up front that I’m my own man, and I’ve got my own help, and that’s who I’m taking care of.”
“Help?” Brett said.
“Two men,” Bill said. “One is a pilot. The second man will help in other ways. I want five hundred dollars for each of us.”
“Herman said a thousand,” Brett said.
“Herman has no idea what I want,” Bill said. “Prices change. And I don’t do this much anymore. I have to make it worth my while. And frankly, that’s pocket change.”
“I can write you a check,” Brett said.
Bill laughed.
“I can give you a thousand in cash,” Brett said. “I thought I might need money for something like this. I have that much. A little more, but I’ll need what’s left for food and such.”
“All right,” Bill said. “You give me a thousand cash. Write me a check for five hundred, and put down on the check it’s for car repairs. You get asked, I had to fix your brakes and balance your tires, do a tuneup. All kinds of things. You understand?”
Brett nodded.
“I have to talk to my men,” Bill said. “I don’t even know they’ll do this. I didn’t tell them anything. I wanted to see you first. I want to see some money now.”
“You can see it,” Leonard said, “but you aren’t taking it with you.”
Bill gave Leonard a strained look. “I have to advance my partners some.”
“Why don’t you advance them your best wishes,” Leonard said. “They’ve worked with you before. Right? They trust you. Or do they?”
“Yeah, they trust me, but I don’t trust any of you.”
“But we’re supposed to trust you?” Leonard said.
“I’m the man you asked to see,” Bill said. “Not the other way around.”
“This entire expedition from start to finish has been misguided,” Red said to Leonard. “I suggest you let Herman and I go, cut your losses, and accept that Tillie is a whore and she is going to be busy at the quick-stop five-minute lube for the rest of her life. At least until she’s too ugly to draw customers.”
“I advise you to shut up,” Brett said. “Or you’ll draw flies.”
“Another word out of you, Red,” Leonard said, “and I’m going to see I can flush a midget down the crapper.”
“Lay off,” Herman said.
“I hope you don’t think you scare me,” Leonard said.
“I know I don’t,” Herman said. “But know this. The feeling works in reverse. You don’t scare me. It won’t be worth it for either of us.”
“You people going to do business or what?” Bill said. “Personally, I don’t care who’s got the biggest dick here.”
