She talked too much. She enticed men. She lived for the thrill. She thought she controlled men. Her stories disproved it. She confused prowess with heart.

She divorced Wayne Senior. She ditched his name. She went back to "Lukens." She earned her two million. She paid with cramps. She paid with a limp.

She fought back. She played golf. She broke par as a gimp. She never cried. She never whined. She never complained.

They met at her cottage. They made love. They talked.

Janice _talked_. He listened.

She fucked a Negro man. Wayne Senior found out and killed him. She fucked Clark Kinman. Wayne Senior watched. She fucked bellboys on dares and bets.

She fucked Wayne Junior. She paid.

She talked too much. She drank too much. She limped through A-club tennis. She was pure will unconsidered. She was inimical to Jane.

Janice talked. Janice digressed. Janice discussed Wayne Senior. He was bad. He was cruel. He'd do ANYTHING.

Janice talked. Janice scared him. Wayne Senior was FATHER RABBIT.

69

(Las Vegas, Miami, Port Sulphur, Saigon, Saravan, Dac To, Dak Sut, Muang Kao, 3/21-6/15/65)

Rotation:

East to west-V to V-Vietnam to Vegas.

He flew west-rotation 1-Barb met his plane. She sparkled. She beamed. She refuted that letter.

The letter bugged him. Jerky words and the lines "up down." He thought about pills-lounge-popcorn uppers and reds to come down.

No/_nyet_/_nein_. _Noi_ in Viet. Barb radiated. Barb fucking glowed.

_They_ glowed three years in. They glowed with crazy shit concurrent. Barb got better. Barb got stronger. Barb got X-ray eyes.

She saw through show people. She saw through the Life. The Life was rigged. The men took the risks. The men had the fun. The men conspired. The men served causes. The women served tea.

Barb said it: "I peaked early. I extorted JFK." Barb said it: "You've got Cuba. I've got the Sultan's Lounge."

She didn't nag him. She didn't play shrew. She just said she'd changed.

They hashed it out. He sensed cabin fever. Vegas hemmed her in. He sold dope batch #1. He bought two tickets east.

They booked to Miami. They took the cat. They booked a suite at the Doral. The cat leveled it.

He clawed the drapes. He shit on chairs. He killed terrace birds. He bootjacked their room-service food.

They caught Dino. They caught Shecky Green. They got ringside seats. They slept late and made love.

They talked. He laid out Vietnam. He lied. He downplayed the killing. He downplayed the slaves.

Barb pressed him. Barb tripped him up. Barb nailed his lies. He said fuck it. He cut loose. He disclosed.

Barb said, "All that for _Cuba?_"

They got some rays. They ran into Jimmy H. They went out for stone crabs. Jimmy fumed. Jimmy fugued. Jimmy ran nonstop boo-hoo.

His legal woes. Sam G. in stir. His ripe hemorrhoids.

Pete bored in. Pete pumped him. Pete worked his mood. Pete pumped angles. Pete pumped oblique.

It's Kansas City. It's '56. Danny Bruvick fucks you.

Jimmy cut loose-six fucks!/six cocksuckers!/six Arden cunts! Jimmy dished on Arden. Jimmy tossed a bomb:

Arden Bruvick-that cunt-she was Jules Schiffrin's ex.

Pete said, "Excuse me." Pete walked to the John. Pete found a throne. Pete sat down. Pete hashed it all through.

Jules Schiffrin-Mob money man-dead in '60. The "real" fund books-Schiffrin's property. Arden Bruvick: bookkeeper.

It's '56. It's K.C. Danny Bruvick splits. Jimmy fugues out. Cops bust Arden. The T C Corp bails her. Carlos M. owns T C.

Cut to:

'59-New Orleans-J.P. Mesplиde passes through. Mesplиde sees Arden-with some Carlos goon.

Cut to:

1960-Wisconsin-Ward Littell steals the books. Schiffrin heartattacks and drops dead.

Cut to:

Fall '63. Carlos taps Ward. Carlos says this:

You got the books. Jimmy don't know it. The Boys and I do. We know you. We _own_ you. You'll sell Drac our hotels. You'll _work_ the books. You'll dredge up data. You'll funnel skim through.

Cut to:

Dallas-hit time-Arden meets Ward. She works for Jack Ruby. She keeps _his_ books. She's seen the safe house. She's seen the targets. She's seen the crew.

Ward falls for Arden. Carlos wants her dead. Ward makes Arden "Jane." Ward hides "Jane." Ward brews fund-book schemes.

So:

Did Carlos find Arden? Did Carlos pledge mercy? IF YOU SPY ON LITTELL? Arden was a bookkeeper. Arden knew Schiffrin. Arden _lived_ with Littell.

Sound logic, but:

He saw Ward with "Jane." They were _real_. He _knew_ it.

It scared him. He teethed on it. He riffed: _Real_ deals with women could be undercut-and thus shot to shit.

Barb saw him pump Jimmy. Barb gauged his john run. Barb got halfway hip. He filled her in. He abridged it. He omitted Carlos. He omitted Big D.

Barb loved it. Barb loved secrets. Barb held them tough. They discussed it. He told her-I'll probe up more stuff.

He called Fred Otash. Otash weighed in. Otash said I'm on it-don't sweat. I'll buy _more_ cops. I'll put out _more_ search fees. My cops will check files and call back.

They schmoozed. Otash had news. Otash said Ward hired him. Ward craved dirt. Ward bought a dirt search-let's find the old scandal-rag files.

Pete riffed on his Arden search. Pete said don't tell Ward-don't clue Ward in. Otash played ball. Otash had Arden pix already. Otash _knew_ Arden was Jane.

Pete teethed on it. Pete sifted it. Pete lived with it. Pete ran rotations.

Vegas was good-100%. White horse hits. The word expands. Clients accrue: Sniffers/tasters/junkies/skin-popper geeks.

The street pushers worked. The street pushers proselytized. They wore flash threads. They drove jig rigs. They glorified "H." They glamorized it. They accessorized it. They Tupperwared it.

They cruised the projects. They drew crowds. They sniffed powdered milk and bopped strong. They debunked that addiction jive.

They wore pendants. They wore processed hair. They carried mock-gold guns. They lied. They said spooks ran the biz. They denied that the White Man existed.

Wayne tailed them. It scared them. They knew Wayne's rep. Wayne Junior be baaaaaaaaaaaad. Wayne Junior kill our kin.

Profits accrued. Milt totaled them. Milt praised the horse epidemic. It was restricted. It was contained. No whites need apply.

A dope punk moved in. Said punk brought ambition. Said punk sniffed the air. Said punk sniffed the wrong vibration:

Horse is cool-let's sell some-the Mob don't mind.

Pete dispatched his niggers. Said niggers grabbed said punk.

Santo T had a shark named Batista. He lived in Santo's pool. He ate burgers. He ate steak. He ate pizza.

The niggers dropped the punk in the pool. Batista ate him live.

White horse stayed west. Junkies stayed home. Junkies eschewed white Vegas. Tiger Kabs prowled west. Tiger orbs glowed.

So far:

No new pushers. No pending fuzz heat. No unbribed narcs making noise.

Tiger Kab was hip. Sonny Liston tigerized. Sonny ate at the hut. Sonny drank at the hut. Sonny went on local TV.

Sonny did ads. Sonny proselytized:

"Tiger Kab packs a knockout punch." "Tiger Kab kicks Cassius Clay's patootie."

Fag drivers drove. Straight drivers drove. Pete enforced faction dйtente. Fag drivers sold boys. Fag celebs bought boys. Fag drivers drove fags to hotels.

Fag clerks minced. Fag clerks smirked. Fag clerks supplied rooms. Said rooms: Bugged/tapped/extortionized.

Fag drivers drove fags. Fag drivers turned tricks. Donkey Dom tricked with Sal Mineo. Donkey Dom tricked with Rock Hudson.

Sonny said it:

"Tiger prowls 24 hours! If you don't swing, don't ring!"

Tiger Kab swung in Vegas. Tiger Kamp rocked Laos hard.