'Words to live by,' I said. 'Now get the hell out of my office.'
Which they did.
26
Z AND I WENT a couple of rounds for the first time. Z did well. Even with the big, soft sixteen-ounce mittens, he rocked me a couple of times. When we were done he was breathing hard, but so was I. I was breathing normally a little before he was. But his recovery time was pretty good.
'You're a quick study,' I said.
He grunted. It was hard to tell what the grunt meant, because the gloves had Velcro closures instead of laces, and Z was pulling on the closure strap with his teeth. I took it as 'thanks.'
We took a shower.
'Probably can ease off on the intervals today,' I said as we were toweling off.
'No,' he said. 'Starting to feel in shape.'
'Your wind is good,' I said.
'Not good enough,' he said.
I nodded.
'You know a guy named Elliot Silver?' I said.
Z shook his head.
'Nope.'
'How about Carson Ratoff?'
'Nope.'
'Anything unusual about the financing of Jumbo's picture?'
'I don't know,' Z said. 'Nobody told me.'
'Window dressing,' I said.
'What?'
'Part of his costume,' I said. 'I'm so important I have to have a bodyguard, and not just any bodyguard, I got one looks like Jim Thorpe, all-American.'
'I'm lucky he didn't want me to wear a feather,' Z said. 'They making a threat?'
'Sounds like one,' I said.
'It bother you?' Z said.
'I've been threatened before,' I said.
'But you won't back off,' Z said.
'Can't,' I said. 'I start backing off, and I'll be looking for another kind of work.'
'What would you do instead of this?'
'Can't think of anything,' I said.
'So you just don't allow it to bother you,' Z said.
'That's about right,' I said.
He nodded slowly.
'Maybe I should sort of hang around with you,' he said.
'Backup?' I said.
'Sure,' Z said.
'Can you shoot?'
'Hunted since I could walk,' he said. 'Five hundred yards, I can knock down a running antelope. It wasn't a sport for us. We were after meat.'
'How about a handgun.'
'Got one, never really used it,' Z said. 'I guess if you're close enough.'
'You got a license in Massachusetts?'
'Yeah, production company got it for me, through the Film Bureau, I suppose. Somebody took me over for fingerprints and a picture.'
'There's a range in Dorchester,' I said. 'We can go over there and shoot a little, part of the training program.'
'So I'm in?' Z said. 'Be like your bodyguard?'
'Give you an opportunity to emulate my sophistication,' I said.
