'He don't think, Hawk. He a fucking airhead. He think pumping iron and carrying a gun make him a tough guy.'
'You weren't able to explain that it didn't,' Hawk said.
'Jolene say I don't want him to succeed, that I, ah, repressing him. I told you she been to college.'
'You let him use some soldiers,' Hawk said.
'Sure, but I don't want no big war with Boots Podolak,' Tony said. 'For Marshport? What kind of business plan is that?'
Tony shook his head.
'So?' Hawk said.
'So I make a deal with Boots,' Tony said. 'He lets the kid grab a little piece of Marshport so Jolene can think he got a dick.'
'And you let Boots grab a little piece of your enterprise,' Hawk said.
Looking down at the empty pond bed, Tony nodded yes.
'And,' Hawk said, 'maybe you and Boots can designate who gets the short straw in your neighborhoods.'
Tony nodded again.
'And Luther Gillespie gets aced.'
Tony nodded again. We were all quiet.
After a time, Hawk said, 'Known you a long time, Tony.'
'Yeah.'
'Don't want to give you more trouble than you got.'
Tony nodded.
'But I got to even up for Luther Gillespie and his family, you understand that.'
'And I got to look out for my daughter,' Tony said.
'I got no interest in hurting her,' Hawk said.
'She wants something, I do what I gotta do to get it for her,' Tony said. 'Right now she wants her husband to be a player in Marshport.'
'I can work around you on this,' Hawk said, 'I will.'
'I'll do the same,' Tony said.
'If I can't…' Hawk said.
'You can't,' Tony said.
'So we know,' Hawk said.
'We know,' Tony said.
28
HAWK AND I walked in the rain up Boylston Street to my office. I broke out the Irish whisky and poured us two generous shots.
'So how do you want to do this?' I said.
'Gonna go right at the Ukes,' Hawk said. 'Leave Rimbaud to do whatever he gonna do.'
'Ukes probably don't make fine distinctions,' I said. 'They have trouble on their end, they'll make trouble at Brock's end.'
'Which means maybe we have trouble with Tony,' Hawk said.
'I don't think Clauswicz was in favor of fighting a two-front war,' I said.
'Got no choice,' Hawk said.
The whisky was warm and pleasant in my throat. The rain came steady against the office window.
'You think Brock's going to settle for the little piece of Marshport that Boots will give him?'
'Too stupid,' Hawk said.
'You bet,' I said.
'So he'll keep taking more from Boots,' Hawk said. 'And Boots be taking more from Tony.'
'Which isn't going to work in the long run.'
'No.'
'So sooner or later there will be a war,' I said. 'With us or without us.'
'Less we take out the Ukes,' Hawk said.
