Bob scratched his balls. "Flamethrower parts. I got to say there ain't much demand for them in Lost Wages."

Pete nodded. Pete whistled. Pete cued Mesplиde. Mesplиde grabbed Franзois and bartered in.

Pete signaled-six loads/six payments.

Mesplиde bartered. Franзois bartered. Mesplиde bartered back. They talked polyglot-French-Viet-diphthongs and shouts.

Pete walked up. Pete listened. He got the _bonnes affaires_. He got the _tham thams_. He got the Lyonnaise slang.

Francois rolled his eyes. Franзois stamped his feet. Francois steamed up his pajamas. Mesplиde rolled his eyes. Mesplиde balled his fists. Mesplиde smoked three Gauloises.

Franзois went hoarse. Mesplиde went hoarse. They coughed. They slapped backs. They bowed.

Franзois said, "Okay, big daddy-o."

o o o

They drove back. They talked shit. They cut through Bien Hoa. The Cong hit ten days back-mortars predawn.

The stretch got close. They saw the mess. They saw flags at half-mast.

They cut back. They laughed. They slugged Bacardi. They told tales-Paraguay to Pigs-they goofed on CIA gaffes.

It's '62. Let's pluck the Beard. Let's shave him impotent. Let's dope the water. Let's spook the spics. Let's stage a visit from Christ.

They laughed. They drank. They vowed to free Cuba. They stopped and hit the Go-Go.

There's Wayne.

He's alone-per usual. He's pissed-per always. He's watching Bongo and his whores.

64

(Las Vegas, 11/22/64)

One year.

He knew it. Jane knew it. They never _said_ it.

Littell drove to Tiger Kab. Littell played the radio. Radio pundits assessed. One fool stressed Jackie. One fool stressed the kids. One fool stressed innocence lost.

Jane drove to Vegas. Jane holed up. Jane stayed in his suite. They called it "Thanksgiving." The date hit. They never factored it in.

The papers rehashed it. The IV rehashed it. It rehashed all day. He left early. Jane kissed him. Jane turned on the TV. He returned late. Jane kissed him. Jane turned off the TV.

They talked. They skirted it. They discussed prosaics. Jane was mad. He'd coaxed her to Vegas. He'd coaxed her for IT.

He said he had business. He kissed Jane and walked out. He heard Jane turn on the TV

Littell killed the radio. Littell cruised by Tiger Kab. Littell perched across the street.

He parked. He watched the hut. He saw Barb B. There's Barb in lounge garb-heels put her over six feet.

Milt Chargin ran shtick. Barb laughed. Barb palmed a package. Barb grabbed an outgoing cab. Tiger stripes-Miami West-all roads to Cuba.

Littell watched the hut. Drivers walked through-fey minions of tolerant Pete. Pete collected strays. Pete ignored their faults. Pete courted diversion. Pete said he clocked Betty's visits. Pete said he clocked Betty gone.

Two hours tops-don't kill what you can't suppress.

Littell watched the hut. A cab pulled out. Littell tailed it. The cab drove west. Littell stuck close. They hit West LV.

The cab stopped-Monroe and "J"-two men got in. The cab pulled out. Littell stuck close. They hit Tonopah Highway.

The cab stopped. The men got out. The men hit the Moulin Rouge. The cab pulled out. Littell stuck close. They drove straight back to Tiger.

Memo to Pete: No pill sales/no inferred betrayal.

Littell yawned. Littell went queasy. He skipped his dinner. Jane cooked prime rib. She'd cooked all day. She'd watched TV concurrent.

He lied his dinner off. He walked out. He invented "business."

Littell skimmed the radio. Littell caught Jack's Greatest Hits: "Ask not" and "_Ich bin_." The passed torch and more.

He killed the sound. He drove to the Sahara. The lounge was packed. He stood ringside. He caught Barb's closer.

Barb sang "Sugar Shack." Barb blew the crescendo. She saw him. She waved. She said, "Oops."

She was bad. She knew it. She goofed on it. She played off it. She ragged her shelf life as a chick.

Men loved her. She goofed on her height. She played off it and went knock-kneed. She was a con. She played to the men who knew it.

The Bondsmen bowed. Barb jumped off stage. A heel jammed. She teetered. Littell caught her. He felt her pulse. He smelled her soap. He felt her perspiration.

They walked to the bar. They got a booth. Littell faced the TV.

Barb lit a cigarette. "Pete's idea, right? Look in on me."

"Partially."

"Partially, how?"

"I'm killing time. I thought I'd kill it with you."

Barb smiled. "I'm not complaining. I've got forty minutes."

The TV blipped. Jack's Greatest Hits revived. Paris with Jackie. Touch football games. Romps with his kids.

Barb looked over. Barb saw the TV Barb looked straight back at Littell.

"You can't run from it."

Littell smiled. "Some of us try."

"Do you think about it?"

"It comes and goes."

"I'm all right until something reminds me. Then it gets scary."

Littell checked the screen. Jack and Bobby laughed. A waitress showed. Barb shooed her off.

"Pete never talks about it."

"We're useful. He knows it comes down to that."

Barb chained cigarettes. "Wayne knows. I figured it out."

"Did you brace him?"

"No, I just put it together."

Littell smiled. "He's in love with you."

Barb smiled. "In a tolerable way."

"We're useful. Tell yourself that the next time something reminds you."

Barb stubbed her cigarette. Barb burned her hand. She flinched and cradled it. She said, "Shit."

Littell checked her eyes. Littell saw pinholes-nerves off amphetamines.

Barb lit a cigarette. Littell checked the TV. Jack laughed. Jack worked That Old Jack Magic.

Barb said, "Jane knows."

Littell flinched. "You've never met her. And Pete wouldn't have-"

"He didn't. I heard you two being oblique and put it together."

Littell shook his head. "She's back at the hotel. She's teething on it right now."

"Do you talk about it?"

"We talk _around_ it."

"Is she scared?"

"Yes, because she knows who did it, and there's no way she can be useful."

Barb smiled. Barb wrote "useful" in the air.

"I got a letter from Pete. He said it's going well."

"Do you know what he's doing there?"

"Yes."

"Do you approve?"

Barb shook her head. "I like the useful part, and I don't think about the other."

"Like the notion of plundering one nation in order to liberate another?"

Barb squeezed his hands. "_Stop it_. Remember what _you_ do and who you're talking to."

Littell laughed. "Don't say you just want him to be happy."

Barb laughed. "To a free Cuba, then."

Janice Tedrow walked in. Littell saw her. Littell watched her. Barb watched him watch.

Janice saw him. Janice waved. Janice grabbed a side booth. She ordered a drink. She faced the TV. She watched Jack and Bobby.

Barb said, "You're blushing."

"No, I'm not. I'm fifty-one years old."

"You're _blushing_. I'm a redhead, and I know a blush when I see one."

Littell laughed. Barb pulled his sleeve up. Barb checked his watch.

"I have to go."

"I'll tell Pete you're okay."

"Tell him 'I'm useful.'

"He knows that already."

Barb smiled. Barb walked. Barb went knock-kneed. Men stirred. Men watched her. Littell watched the TV.

There's Bobby with Jackie. There's Jack in the Senate. There's old Honey Fitz.

Littell got hungry. Littell ordered dinner-the prime rib he'd missed. The waitress was Jack-struck. The waitress perched by the TV

Littell ate. Littell watched Janice. Janice watched the TV.

She sipped toddies. She chained cigarettes. She twirled her cane. She didn't _know_. Wayne Senior wouldn't tell her. He knew him well enough to say.