charles entered the dunkin donuts. magnus recognized him immediately and waved him over.
“boomer, old buddy, where have you been?” magnus pumped charles’s hand. “i was just thinking about you.”
“really? that’s very flattering.” charles disengaged his hand and sat down across from magnus and johnny. why had he come in here? he already regretted it. he did not really have anything to say to magnus, and would have preferred to be by himself thinking about his possibly changed circumstances.
magnus did not bother to introduce johnny, and charles did not much like johnny’s looks. he thought he looked like a cheap two-bit grifter.
charles felt johnny’s eyes on him. he turned to him and gave him his most charming smile. “hello, there.”
“hello, yourself,” johnny answered evenly.
“oh, have you two gentlemen met?” magnus asked innocently.
“i don’t think so, “ said johnny.
“boomer, this is j j, he used to be a regular at the alligator club, over on the west side. j j, this the boomer, that you might have heard people talking about him back at zack’s. we were at zack’s last night, ” magnus told charles, “and were thinking of heading over there now.”
“how was the action there last night?” charles asked.
“pretty slow.”
“i see.” suddenly charles did not want to go to zack’s, or any place else. he wanted to get away somewhere and ponder his fate, speculate on the implications of his recent encounter with ms folger…
and then it hit him.
a plan formed in his mind, almost complete. magnus, with his flow of talk even if he had nothing else… and this punk, who looked mean enough even if he turned out to be not very bright… they were all he needed.
“say,” charles said to magnus and johnny, with the air of a man who had just had a sudden inspiration, which in fact he had, “how would you two fellows like to make a few dollars?”
neither of them looked either surprised or particularly enthusiastic.
”i’ll listen to anything.” magnus told charles. “what’s on your mind?”
“i’m not going anywhere,” johnny added. “what have you got?”
charles looked around the dunkin donuts. “can we talk in here?”
“that’s up to you,” magnus told him.
“i know a place we can go - a little more private.”
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