Chapter 35
'Deleon look like his mug shot?' I said.
'Yeah, but real tall,' Chollo said.
'Six-five,' I said. 'What do you think?'
'He's dangerous, but he's not tough, you know. He's like a big kid and he's full of himself, but he's not really sure, and he's afraid someone will find him out, and you know he's kind of desperate all the time. He's got that look you see in some of the gang kids, the new ones. They're scared, but they're crazy, and they'd die to get respect, so you don't know what they'll do. You can't trust them not to be stupid.'
I nodded.
'That's what Deleon's like. Guys like you and me, we know pretty well what we can do if we need to. Don't spend a lot of time thinking about it. Don't care too much if other people know it. Deleon doesn't know what he can do, or if he can do it, and he wants everyone to think he does and can, if you see what I'm saying. If the woman wasn't involved, he'd be easy enough. I've made a good living putting guys in the ground that were trying to prove how dangerous they were because they weren't sure themselves.'
'But the woman is involved.'
'Yeah, and that makes Deleon dangerous as a bastard because you can't do it simple, and you can't do anything without knowing how it'll affect the woman, and you can't trust him to do anything that makes any sense to you. And he's big and he's got a gun.'
'Swell,' I said. 'Is there a number-two man?'
Chollo laughed.
'El Segundo is a skinny little shooter with a big long ponytail, named Ramon Gonzalez. A coke head, got a thin, droopy moustache, jitters around behind Deleon wearing two guns.'
Chollo laughed again.
'I don't mean a gun and some sort of hide-out piece in an ankle holster. Or a back-up under your arm. I mean he's wearing two Sig Sauer nines with custom grips, one on each hip, like the fucking Frito bandito.'
'He a real shooter?' I said.
'Oh yeah,' Chollo said. 'And he loves Luis. Looks at him like he was George fucking Washington.'
'I never been too scared of a guy wears two guns,' I said.
'How many people you met wear two guns?'
'The only other one is Hoot Gibson,' I said.
'I don't know if he's good, but Ramon's real. I know the type. He shoots people 'cause he likes it.'
'And you don't,' I said.
'I got no feelings about it,' Chollo said. 'I do it 'cause they pay me.'
'I'm not paying you,' I said.
Chollo grinned.
'Maybe I'll go to heaven,' he said.
'You got my word on it,' I said. 'There's a dozen shooters? That include Deleon and Gonzalez?'
'I don't know. It's an estimate. I counted nine while I was in there plus Deleon and Gonzalez. Figured there were a few I missed, on the roof maybe, growing squashes. So twelve, fifteen guys altogether.'
