“Absolutely.”

“You care that much about her?”

“I like to fuck her,” Gary said.

“She’s not your only option,” I said.

“I told you before, I’m tougher than I seem,” Gary said. “I been punched around before. But I’ll fuck who I want to fuck, and no one tells me who that can be.”

“My God,” I said, “a principled position.”

“So I need a gun.”

I shook my head.

“Can’t give you a gun,” I said. “But maybe I can take Zel and Boo off your back.”

“You?”

“Yep.”

“How you going to do that?” Gary said.

“Sweet reason,” I said.

“ ‘Sweet reason’?” Gary said. “You being funny?”

“I hope so,” I said.

“How quick can you do this?”

“Pretty soon. In the meantime ask Beth to, ah, lay off, at least for a few days,” I said.

“What are you going to do,” Gary said.

“Talk to some people, arrange a few things, call in some favors,” I said.

“Who you gonna talk to?” he said.

“I have friends in low places,” I said. “Can you keep it in your pants for a few days while I save your life?”

Gary nodded.

“Why you doing this for me?” he said.

“Damned if I know,” I said.

BETH IS STILL SEEING EISENHOWER,” I said to Chet Jackson.

He sat across his desk from me, looking as hard-polished and expensive as he had last time.

“You think?” he said.

“It’s why you sent Zel and Boo to see him,” I said.

“They went to see him?” Chet said.

The view through the picture window behind him was still marvelous, but I’d seen it before. It was what I’d always thought about paying for a view. After a day or two you don’t even notice it.

“Boo beat him up,” I said.

“What a shame,” Chet said.

“I don’t want it to happen again,” I said.

“And you think I’ve got something to do with it?”

I said, “Let’s not screw around with this, Chet. I want you to call them off.”

“And let that sonovabitch continue to bang my wife?” Chet said.

“That’s a question to take up with the bangee,” I said. “Not the banger.”

The lines around Chet’s mouth deepened. I could hear Susan’s voice in my brain: “Banger” and “bangee” are sexist distinctions, the voice said, implying aggression on the one side and passivity on the other.

I know. I know. I can’t think of everything. Then I heard her laugh.

“That’s probably true,” he said.

“But?”

“But I can’t,” he said.

I nodded.

“Because you love her,” I said.

“Yes.”

“Chet,” I said. “This is not between you and Gary Eisenhower. This is between you and your wife. The problem won’t be resolved by beating up Gary Eisenhower. It won’t be resolved if you kill him.”

“There’d be someone else,” Chet said.

“Uh-huh.”

“I know that,” Chet said. “You think I don’t know that? Hell, I even had some counseling about that.”

“Uh-huh.”

We were quiet. I could feel his resistance slide into place like a shield between us.

“I can’t let the sonovabitch get away with it,” Chet said.

“Even though you might do the same thing,” I said.

“In his shoes? Sure,” Chet said. “Might not get into blackmail, but the rest? Yeah, of course.”

“So maybe you should back off with Boo,” I said.

Chet shook his head.

“I gotta do something,” he said.

“Will it help you with Beth?” I said.

He looked at me steadily for probably thirty seconds without speaking. Then he shook his head.

“I gotta do something,” he said.

“Even if it doesn’t take you where you want to go,” I said.

“I’m a tough guy,” he said. “But not that tough. I can’t take it.”

“Too bad,” I said.

“You gonna do something?” Chet said.

“Yeah,” I said.

“I may have to send Boo and Zel to see you.”

“You may,” I said.

We looked at each other. I felt sort of bad for him. But the shield was in place. The conversation was over. I stood and walked out.

I CALLED HAWK on his cell phone.

“You with Eisenhower?” I said.

“I in the lobby of a motel in Waltham,” Hawk said. “ Gary upstairs, with a woman.”

“First of the day?” I said.

“Uh-huh,” Hawk said.

“Well, it’s early still,” I said.

“Uh-huh.”

“He had anything to say since you been tagging along with him?”

“He want to know do I think I can handle Boo, if he shows up,” Hawk said.

“And you said you could.”

“But modestly.”

“If it comes to that,” I said. “Zel is the real issue.”

“Shooter?”

“Yep.”

“I never heard of him,” Hawk said.

“Me, either, but if you meet him, you’ll know.”

“Like Vinnie,” Hawk said.

“Or Chollo,” I said.

“They do have the look,” Hawk said.

“So does Zel.”

“I keep it in mind,” Hawk said.

“Anything else?”

“Eisenhower say he don’t mind me tagging after him,” Hawk said. “Long as I don’t cramp his style.”

“Are you cramping it?”

“Not so’s I can tell,” Hawk said. “Mostly I trying to learn from it.”

“It’s good to make the most of a learning opportunity,” I said.

“He a pretty cool dude,” Hawk said. “As you honkies go.”

“He is,” I said. “Maybe he’s got some sort of natural rhythm.”

“He ain’t that cool,” Hawk said. “But he don’t seem scared. He seem like he can handle getting beat up, ain’t gonna change him.”

“He claims he’s tougher than he seems,” I said.

“Might be,” Hawk said.

“He ask you for a gun?” I said.

“Uh-huh,” Hawk said.

“And?”

“I say why you need a gun, you got me.”

“And he said?”

“I may not always have you.”

“Which is true,” I said.

“It is,” Hawk said. “So I tell him you could retire your dick for a while, or at least use it someplace else.”

“He didn’t buy that,” I said.

“Nope,” Hawk answered. “Say he fuck who he wants when he wants and he ain’t gonna change.”

“Man of principle,” I said.

“Sure,” Hawk said. “People live by worse codes.”

“And we know a lot of them,” I said.

“Where you calling from?” Hawk said. “You sound kind of echo-y.”

“ Rowes Wharf,” I said. “I’m looking at the water.”

“You on you cell phone?” Hawk said.

“I am,” I said.

“You dialed it by yo’self?” Hawk said.

“I did,” I said.

“Man, you makin’ progress,” Hawk said.

“Susan’s been helping me,” I said.

Hawk’s chuckle was very deep as he broke the connection.

SUSAN AND I were in her booth in Rialto, where she always sat, because it was quiet and you could watch people come and go. We had just taken our first sip of our first drink when Hawk showed up with Gary Eisenhower.

“That’s the best you could do for a date?” I said to Hawk.

“I just the babysitter,” Hawk said. “You tole me to bring him.”

Gary put out a hand to Susan and said, “Hi, I’m Gary.”

Susan shook his hand.

“I’m Susan,” she said.

Gary slid into the banquette next to Susan. Hawk took a chair on the outside next to me.

“So,” Gary said. “This is the main squeeze?”

“Only,” I said.

“Well,” Gary said. “You going to limit yourself to one, this is a good one.”

The waiter took their drink orders and went to get them. “You are not yourself monogamous, Gary?” Susan said.

“You know I’m not,” Gary said.

“I’d heard that,” Susan said.

“Gets me in trouble sometimes,” Gary said.

“I’d heard that, too,” Susan said.

She looked at Hawk and at me.

She said, “I think you’re pretty safe tonight, however.”