human
These boys were carrying deadly weapons, he told Sand in a polite voice.
gpt
That's hardly the way to treat a brother. His precognitive warning system wasn't ringing any alarm bells, but he kept his gun trained on the pair of thugs as he walked over to Mike Sand's desk and took the two extra revolvers from his pocket.
human
You'd better keep these, Sand, he said.
gpt
Your boys don't know how to handle them.
human
You guys better go downstairs and keep Jerry company, he said.
gpt
You can do crossword puzzles together.
human
Now, Mike, we--
gpt
Go on, he said.
human
Scram.
gpt
But he was supposed to be in the elevator, and we--
human
Scram, Sand said. It sounded like a curse. The two men got out.
gpt
Like apes in the trees, Sand said heavily.
human
Ask for bright boys and what do you get? Everything, he went on dismally,
gpt
About those buttons--
human
I got nothing to do with buttons,
gpt
You do with these, Malone said.
human
A shipment of buttons from the Nevada desert. You grabbed them from Palveri.
gpt
I got nothing to do with it,
human
I'm not from Castelnuovo, he said.
gpt
Or Palveri, or any of the Mafia boys. If I were, you'd know it fast enough.
human
I guess so, he said sourly at last.
gpt
But what do you want to know about the stuff? And who are you, anyhow?
human
The name's Malone, Malone said.
gpt
You might say trouble is my business. Or something like that. I see an opportunity to create a little trouble--but not for you. That is, if you want to hear some more about those buttons. Of course, if you had nothing to do with it--
human
All right, Sand said.
gpt
All right. But it was strictly a legitimate proposition, understand?
human
Sure, Malone said.
gpt
Strictly legitimate.
human
Well, it was, Sand said defensively.
gpt
We got to stop scab trucking, don't we? And that Palveri was using nonunion boys on the trucks. We had to stop them; it was a service to the Brotherhood, understand?
human
And the peyotl buttons?
gpt
So we had to confiscate the cargo, didn't we? he said.
human
To teach them a lesson. Nonunion drivers, that's what we're against.
gpt
And you're for peyotl, Malone said,
human
Now, look, Sand said.
gpt
You think you're tough and you can get away with a lot of wisecracks. That's a wrong idea, brother.
human
O.K., let's forget it, he said.
gpt
But I've got some inside lines, Sand. You didn't get the real shipment.
human
Didn't get it? Sand said with raised eyebrows.
gpt
I got it. It's right where I can put my finger on it now.
human
That was the fake, Malone said easily.
gpt
They knew you were after a shipment, Sand, so they suckered you in. They fed your spies with false information and sent you out after the fake shipment.
human
Fake shipment? Sand said.
gpt
It's the real stuff, brother. The real stuff.
human
But not enough of it, Malone said.
gpt
Their big shipments are almost three times what you got. They made one while you were suckered off with the fake--and they're making another one next week. Interested?
human
The hell, he said.
gpt
Didn't you hear me say I got the first shipment right where I can put my finger on it?
human
So?
gpt
So I can't get rid of it, Sand said.
human
What do I want with a new load? Every day I hold the stuff is dangerous. You never know when somebody's going to look for it and maybe find it.
gpt
Can't get rid of it? Malone said. This was a new turn of events.
human
What's happening?
gpt
Everything, Sand said tersely.
human
Look, you want to sell me some information--but you don't know the setup. Maybe when I tell you, you'll stop bothering me. He put his head in his hands, and his voice, when he spoke again, was muffled.
gpt
The contacts are gone, he said.
human
With the arrests and the resignations and everything else, nobody wants to take any chances; the few guys that aren't locked up are scared they will be. I can't make any kind of a deal for anything. There just isn't any action.
gpt
Things are tough, huh?
human
Things are terrible, Sand said.
gpt
The locals are having revolutions--guys there are kicking out the men from National Headquarters. Nobody knows where he stands any more--a lot of my organizers have been goofing up and getting arrested for one thing and another. Like apes in the trees, that's what.
human
Nothing's going right,
gpt
Listen, Sand said.
human
You want to hear trouble? My account books are in duplicate--you know? Just to keep things nice and peaceful and quiet.
gpt
One for the investigators and one for the money,
human
Sure, Sand said, preoccupied with trouble.
gpt
You know the setup. But both sets are missing. Both sets. He raised his head, the picture of witless agony.
human
I've got an idea where they are, too. I'm just waiting for the axe to fall.
gpt
O.K., Malone said.
human
Where are they?
gpt
The U. S. Attorney's Office,
human
So you're not in the market for any more buttons?
gpt
All I'm in the market for, Sand said without raising his eyes,