women's underwear tacked up into uniform rows.
When Vincent returned from the bathroom he was dressed in a pair of shorts, sneakers and a tight fitting t- back tank top. He stretched while Frank admired what they commonly referred to as the 'wall of shame'.
'Couple new entries here.'
Vincent grinned. 'The blue lace and the white crotchless.'
'Anybody I know?'
'The spic with the big tits I was telling you about. Rosa something. I chased her around for a month before she finally gave in. Threw that whore a good one. Eyes all rolled up in her head, calling out shit in Spanish. What an idiot.'
Frank fingered the white pair. 'And these?'
'Margot.'
'I didn't know you were seeing her again.'
'Only from behind.'
'I always liked her. Nice looking girl.'
'They all look the same with their feet in the air, Frank. If it weren't for the pussies I'd have nothing to do with any of them. I mean, Christ, it's not like you can talk to them or anything. I'd rather just fuck them and boot their asses out the door, you know?'
'You're such a romantic, Vin.'
'That's me. I'll take a nice sloppy blow job over a candlelight dinner any day of the week, goombah.'
'How poetic.'
'No, just true.'
'Don't you want to find somebody to settle down with?'
'I won't live that long.'
'But what if you do?'
'Then I'll end up being one of those dirty old men jacking off in the park. How's that for a retirement plan?'
Frank shook his head. 'You're fucking deranged.'
'True enough. C'mon, gimme a hand.'
They slid two hundred pound steel plates onto the bar perched across the weight bench. As Vincent lay down Frank moved to the back to offer a spot. 'How many?'
'Three sets of ten, like always.'
Once he'd finished pushing the weight with amazing ease, Vincent sat up on the edge of the bench and wiped himself off with a towel. 'Too hot for this shit today. I'm gonna hit the bag for a few minutes and call it.'
Frank leaned against the weapons table, watched Vincent pull on a pair of low ounce gloves. 'Plan on telling me what you think about the deal any time soon?'
'We'll head downtown and talk over a couple beers.'
'Can't. Promised Sandy we'd have a quiet dinner tonight.'
'I'll have you home in plenty of time.'
'Uh-huh. Coming home drunk would be a hell of an idea about now,' Frank mused. 'She's not nearly pissed off at me enough.'
Vincent bounced on the balls of his feet, circling the heavy bag while snapping off quick, stiff jabs. 'You should've never got married, goombah. I tried to tell you this would happen. Didn't I try to tell you this would happen?'
'It's not so bad.'
'Don't get me wrong.' Vincent planted himself and launched a straight right into the center of the bag. It swung back, causing the chain to nearly dislodge from the hook supporting it. 'Sandy's a nice kid – I always liked her. If I suddenly went brain dead and decided to get married, I'd want a girl just like her.'
'I'll be sure to tell her,' Frank said in an attempt to mask his concern. He knew Vincent well enough to realize that he was purposely delaying their discussions regarding the deal. There had to be a problem.
Vincent changed his stance and threw a series of thrusts, and then roundhouse kicks. He finished with a spinning back-fist, the blow hitting the bag with a dull but resounding thud.
'So talk to me,' Frank said.
Vincent peeled off the gloves and tossed them onto the table. 'I like the deal,' he said carefully. 'And Michael is willing to help us out by making the necessary financial arrangements.'
'Then what's the problem?'
Vincent gulped some soda and belched loudly. 'You want me to be completely honest with you, Frank?'
'I was hoping you'd lie.'
'It's your buddy.'
Frank grabbed the towel from the bench and handed it to Vincent. 'You mean Gus?'
'Yeah, the fashion plate with the dead squirrel on his head and the coffee stains all down the front of him.'
'Jesus H.,' Frank sighed. 'I spend my life defending this fucking guy.'
Vincent wiped sweat from his eyes. 'That ought to tell you something, no?'
'There's no problem with Gus, man.'
'Frank, he's a fucking idiot. I don't mean to disrespect your friendship – I know you guys are tight and all – but you've got to look at this from my end. This isn't like the scams we bought into in the past. This deal could put us in the big time. It's going to take a lot of work, a lot of risk, and I don't want it blown because some circus freak I don't even know fucks everything up.'
'I'm telling you he's all right.'
'I only met the guy a few times and already I know he's not the type you go into business with. Christ, if the way the motherfucker looks isn't bad enough – and in most cases, it is – he talks like a goof, Frank. The first time I meet the guy he starts with this bullshit about being a Ninjitsu master and how he kicks ass all the time. He hits me with so many lies in the first few minutes I start thinking maybe this guy's a retard or something. I figure there's no way a normal man is gonna say such stupid fucking things to me, you see what I'm saying? And this is the first time I met him, Frank. The first time.'
'You let me worry about Gus,' Frank told him.
Vincent draped the towel over his shoulder. 'You know me better than that.'
'Vin, what the hell you expect me to do? He's a loyal friend and he's a great salesman, too. He could help us out.'
'Do you honestly expect me to put my ass on the line for a guy like that? Do you think for one minute that we could sit down for a meeting with my brother and have Gus with us? Come on, for Christ's sake, you're acting like a fucking jerk about this. I understand he's your friend, I got plenty of crazy friends too, but you don't see me making them my fucking business partners, do you?'
'I can't cut him loose.'
'This has nothing to do with anything but business.'
Frank followed Vincent back into the kitchen. He knew deep down that Vincent was right, but the thought of betraying Gus riddled him with guilt. 'I can't fuck the guy over on this, Vin. I can't. He doesn't deserve that. I'm the only friend he's got.'
'Tragic, but not my problem or yours. Let him join a fucking dating service.'
Frank stared into Vincent's dark eyes for several seconds without speaking. 'What do you want me to do?'
'I'm not asking you to cut him out completely,' Vincent explained. 'If you want to hire him because you think he could help us out in the long run, then I got no problem having him around. But he can't be a partner, Frank. Period.'
'Don't seem right,' Frank said softly.
Vincent shrugged. 'That's the way it's got to be or I'm out. Come on, Frank, use your head. You know I'm right about this.'
The humidity in the room seemed to increase, and Frank felt sweat beading along his forehead. He went to the window, opened it, and watched a small group of children playing in the street below. 'I'll take care of it.'
