Hawk grinned.
'Go there anyway,' he said.
And we left.
In the car, I said, 'That's why you didn't shoot him.'
'What's why?'
'Because he wasn't scared,' I said.
'Killing somebody ain't afraid to die ain't much justice,' Hawk said.
'Or revenge,' I said.
'I trying to get things back in balance,' Hawk said. 'That seem like justice to me.'
'When you do it, it's revenge,' I said. 'When the state does it, it's society's revenge.'
'Which it call justice,' Hawk said.
'Exactly,' I said. 'Change places and handy-dandy.'
Hawk grinned at me.
'Which be the justice,' he said. 'Which be the thief?'
'I think Shakespeare used is,' I said. 'Which is the justice.'
'Shakespeare wasn't no brother,' Hawk said.
'I knew that,' I said.
30
HAWK AND I went back to my office and had a couple of beers together in the empty building, looking down from my window on the near-empty intersection.
'That didn't do much for anybody,' Hawk said.
'Saved the storekeeper's ass,' I said.
Hawk grunted.
'Storekeeper,' he said. 'Man runs a book out of there. Ukies didn't want the store, they wanted the book.'
'What I haven't figured out,' I said, 'since this started, does Boots or whoever's running the enterprise think he can take over the crime commerce in an all-black neighborhood and staff it with white guys from Central Europe and the people will keep right on coming?'
'Maybe got a few Uncle Drobits for staffing,' Hawk said. 'Truth is, it don't matter. Some black people be more comfortable with a brother, but not all of them. Some black people figure you be a brother you can't be very good.'
'You're so smart, why aren't you white?' I said.
Hawk nodded.
'And people need a bookie or a pimp or a guy to sell them blow, they generally need it bad enough so they do business with whoever's at the window. They want to place a bet and the only bookie there is Joseph Stalin'-Hawk shrugged-'they place the bet with Joe.'
'The greater leveler,' I said.
'Need,' Hawk said.
'Yep.'
We were quiet, sipping the beer, looking at the city-lit night.
'Now what,' I said.
'We let the surviving Uke go back and tell what happened and we see what develops.'
'Got anything longer-range than that?' I said.
'I thinking about taking Boots down, put a stop to the whole thing.'
'And liberate Marshport?' I said.
'Yeah, sure,' Hawk said. 'That, too. You talk to Vinnie?'
'I've got him on standby.'
'Might need him,' Hawk said.
'I thought you didn't want him.'
'Didn't want him protecting me,' Hawk said. 'Liberatin' Marshport be different.'
'How Tony going to be feeling 'bout this?' I said.
Hawk stared at me.
'How come you talking funny?' he said.
