It"s a sign, just a neon sign, I don"t know what tower it is you"re thinking about but this is just a bar, Balazar"s place, The Leaning Tower, he named it that after the one in Pisa! It"s just a sign that"s supposed to look like the f.u.c.king Leaning Tower of Pisa! Let up! Let up! You want to get us killed before we have a chance to go at them?
Pitsa? the gunslinger replied doubtfully, and looked again. the gunslinger replied doubtfully, and looked again.
A sign. Yes, all right, he could see now: it was not the Tower, but a Signpost. It leaned to one side, and there were many scalloped curves, and it was a marvel, but that was all. He could see now that the sign was a thing made of tubes, tubes which had somehow been filled with glowing red swamp-fire. In some places there seemed to be less of it than others; in those places the lines of fire pulsed and buzzed.
He now saw letters below the tower which had been made of shaped tubes; most of them were Great Letters. TOWER TOWER he could read, and yes, he could read, and yes, LEANING LEANING. LEANING TOWER LEANING TOWER. The first word was three letters, the first T, the last E, the middle one which he had never seen.
Tre? he asked Eddie. he asked Eddie.
THE. It doesn"t matter. Do you see it"s just a sign? That"s what matters!
I see, the gunslinger answered, wondering if the prisoner really believed what he was saying or was only saying it to keep the situation from spilling over as the tower depicted in those lines of fire seemed about to do, wondering if Eddie believed the gunslinger answered, wondering if the prisoner really believed what he was saying or was only saying it to keep the situation from spilling over as the tower depicted in those lines of fire seemed about to do, wondering if Eddie believed any any sign could be a trivial thing. sign could be a trivial thing.
Then ease off! Do you hear me? Ease off!
Be cool? Roland asked, and both felt Roland smile a little in Eddie"s mind. Roland asked, and both felt Roland smile a little in Eddie"s mind.
Be cool, right. Let me handle things.
Yes. All right. He would let Eddie handle things. He would let Eddie handle things.
For awhile.
14.
Col Vincent finally managed to get his tongue off the roof of his mouth. "Jack." His voice was as thick as s.h.a.g carpet.
Andolini turned off the motor and looked at him, irritated.
"His eyes."
"What about his eyes?"
"Yeah, what about my eyes?" Eddie asked.
Col looked at him.
The sun had gone down, leaving nothing in the air but the day"s ashes, but there was light enough for Col to see that Eddie"s eyes were brown again.
If they had ever been anything else.
You saw it, part of his mind insisted, but had he? Col was twenty-four, and for the last twenty-one of those years no one had really believed him trustworthy. Useful sometimes. Obedient almost always... if kept on a short leash. Trustworthy? No. Col had eventually come to believe it himself. part of his mind insisted, but had he? Col was twenty-four, and for the last twenty-one of those years no one had really believed him trustworthy. Useful sometimes. Obedient almost always... if kept on a short leash. Trustworthy? No. Col had eventually come to believe it himself.
"Nothing," he muttered.
"Then let"s go," Andolini said.
They got out of the pizza van. With Andolini on their left and Vincent on their right, Eddie and the gunslinger walked into The Leaning Tower.
CHAPTER 5.
Showdown and Shoot-Out
1.
In a blues tune from the twenties Billie Holiday, who would one day discover the truth for herself, sang: "Doctor tole me daughter you got to quit it fast/Because one more rocket gonna be your last." "Doctor tole me daughter you got to quit it fast/Because one more rocket gonna be your last." Henry Dean"s last rocket went up just five minutes before the van pulled up in front of The Leaning Tower and his brother was herded inside. Henry Dean"s last rocket went up just five minutes before the van pulled up in front of The Leaning Tower and his brother was herded inside.
Because he was on Henry"s right, George Biondi-known to his friends as "Big George" and to his enemies as "Big Nose"-asked Henry"s questions. Now, as Henry sat nodding and blinking owlishly over the board, Tricks Postino put the die in a hand which had already gone the dusty color that results in the extremities after long-term heroin addiction, the dusty color which is the precursor of gangrene.
"Your turn, Henry," Tricks said, and Henry let the die fall from his hand.
When he went on staring into s.p.a.ce and showed no intention of moving his game piece, Jimmy Haspio moved it for him. "Look at this, Henry," he said. "You got a chance to score a piece of the pie."
"Reese"s Pieces," Henry said dreamily, and then looked around, as if awakening. "Where"s Eddie?"
"He"ll be here pretty soon," Tricks soothed him. "Just play the game."
"How about a fix?"
"Play the game, Henry."
"Okay, okay, stop leaning leaning on me." on me."
"Don"t lean lean on him," Kevin Blake said to Jimmy. on him," Kevin Blake said to Jimmy.
"Okay, I won"t," Jimmy said.
"You ready?" George Biondi said, and gave the others an enormous wink as Henry"s chin floated down to his breastbone and then slowly rose once more-it was like watching a soaked log not quite ready to give in and sink for good.
"Yeah," Henry said. "Bring it on."
"Bring it on!" Jimmy Haspio cried happily.
"You bring bring that f.u.c.ker!" Tricks agreed, and they all roared with laughter (in the other room Balazar"s edifice, now three levels high, trembled again, but did not fall). that f.u.c.ker!" Tricks agreed, and they all roared with laughter (in the other room Balazar"s edifice, now three levels high, trembled again, but did not fall).
"Okay, listen close," George said, and winked again. Although Henry was on a Sports category, George announced the category was Arts and Entertainment. "What popular country and western singer had hits with "A Boy Named Sue," "Folsom Prison Blues," and numerous other s.h.i.tkicking songs?"
Kevin Blake, who actually could could add seven and nine (if you gave him poker chips to do it with), howled with laughter, clutching his knees and nearly upsetting the board. add seven and nine (if you gave him poker chips to do it with), howled with laughter, clutching his knees and nearly upsetting the board.
Still pretending to scan the card in his hand, George continued: "This popular singer is also known as The Man in Black. His first name means the same as a place you go to take a p.i.s.s and his last name means what you got in your wallet unless you"re a f.u.c.king needle freak."
There was a long expectant silence.
"Walter Brennan," Henry said at last.
Bellows of laughter. Jimmy Haspio clutched Kevin Blake. Kevin punched Jimmy in the shoulder repeatedly. In Balazar"s office, the house of cards which was now becoming a tower of cards trembled again.
"Quiet down!""Cimi yelled. "Da Boss is buildin!" is buildin!"
They quieted at once.
"Right," George said. "You got that one right, Henry. It was a toughie, but you came through."
"Always do," Henry said. "Always come through in the f.u.c.kin clutch. How about a fix?"
"Good idea!" George said, and took a Roi-Tan cigar box from behind him. From it he produced a hypo. He stuck it into the scarred vein above Henry"s elbow, and Henry"s last rocket took off.
2.
The pizza van"s exterior was grungy, but underneath the road-filth and spray-paint was a high-tech marvel the DEA guys would have envied. As Balazar had said on more than one occasion, you couldn"t beat the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds unless you could compete with the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds-unless you could match their equipment. It was expensive stuff, but Balazar"s side had an advantage: they stole what the DEA had to buy at grossly inflated prices. There were electronics company employees all the way down the Eastern Seaboard willing to sell you top secret stuff at bargain bas.e.m.e.nt prices. These catzzaroni catzzaroni (Jack Andolini called them Silicon Valley c.o.ke-Heads) practically (Jack Andolini called them Silicon Valley c.o.ke-Heads) practically threw threw the stuff at you. the stuff at you.
Under the dash was a fuzz-buster; a UHF police radar jammer; a high-range/high-frequency radio transmissions detector; an h-r/hf jammer; a transponder-amplifier that would make anyone trying to track the van by standard triangulation methods decide it was simultaneously in Connecticut, Harlem, and Montauk Sound; a radiotelephone... and a small red b.u.t.ton which Andolini pushed as soon as Eddie Dean got out of the van.
In Balazar"s office the intercom uttered a single short buzz.
"That"s them," he said. "Claudio, let them in. "Cimi, you tell everyone to dummy up. So far as Eddie Dean knows, no one"s with me but you and Claudio. "Cimi, go in the storeroom with the other gentlemen."
They went, "Cimi turning left, Claudio Andolini going right.
Calmly, Balazar started on another level of his edifice.
3.
Just let me handle it, Eddie said again as Claudio opened the door. Eddie said again as Claudio opened the door.
Yes, the gunslinger said, but remained alert, ready to the gunslinger said, but remained alert, ready to come forward come forward the instant it seemed necessary. the instant it seemed necessary.
Keys rattled. The gunslinger was very aware of odors-old sweat from Col Vincent on his right, some sharp, almost acerbic aftershave from Jack Andolini on his left, and, as they stepped into the dimness, the sour tang of beer.
The smell of beer was all he recognized. This was no tumble-down saloon with sawdust on the floor and planks set across sawhorses for a bar-it was as far from a place like Sheb"s in Tull as you could get, the gunslinger reckoned. Gla.s.s gleamed mellowly everywhere, more gla.s.s in this one room than he had seen in all the years since his childhood, when supply-lines had begun to break down, partially because of interdicting raids carried out by the rebel forces of Farson, the Good Man, but mostly, he thought, simply because the world was moving on. Farson had been a symptom of that great movement, not the cause.
He saw their reflections everywhere-on the walls, on the gla.s.s-faced bar and the long mirror behind it; he could even see them reflected as curved miniatures in the graceful bell-shapes of wine gla.s.ses hung upside down above the bar... gla.s.ses as gorgeous and fragile as festival ornaments.
In one corner was a sculpted creation of lights that rose and changed, rose and changed, rose and changed. Gold to green; green to yellow; yellow to red; red to gold again. Written across it in Great Letters was a word he could read but which meant nothing to him: ROCKOLA ROCKOLA.
Never mind. There was business to be done here. He was no tourist; he must not allow himself the luxury of behaving like one, no matter how wonderful or strange these things might be.
The man who had let them in was clearly the brother of the man who drove what Eddie called the van (as in vanguard, vanguard, Roland supposed), although he was much taller and perhaps five years younger. He wore a gun in a shoulder-rig. Roland supposed), although he was much taller and perhaps five years younger. He wore a gun in a shoulder-rig.
"Where"s Henry?" Eddie asked. "I want to see Henry." He raised his voice. "Henry! Hey, Henry! Hey, Henry!"
No reply; only silence in which the gla.s.ses hung over the bar seemed to shiver with a delicacy that was just beyond the range of a human ear.
"Mr. Balazar would like to speak to you first."
"You got him gagged and tied up somewhere, don"t you?" Eddie asked, and before Claudio could do more than open his mouth to reply, Eddie laughed. "No, what am I thinking about-you got him stoned, that"s all. Why would you bother with ropes and gags when all you have to do to keep Henry quiet is needle him? Okay. Take me to Balazar. Let"s get this over with."
4.
The gunslinger looked at the tower of cards on Balazar"s desk and thought: Another sign. Another sign.
Balazar did not look up-the tower of cards had grown too tall for that to be necessary-but rather over the top. His expression was one of pleasure and warmth.
"Eddie," he said. "I"m glad to see you, son. I heard you had some trouble at Kennedy."
"I ain"t your son," Eddie said flatly.
Balazar made a little gesture that was at the same time comic, sad, and untrustworthy: You hurt me, Eddie, You hurt me, Eddie, it said, it said, you hurt me when you say a thing like that. you hurt me when you say a thing like that.
"Let"s cut through it," Eddie said. "You know it comes down to one thing or the other: either the Feds are running me or they had to let me go. You know they didn"t sweat it out of me in just two hours. And you know if they had I"d be down at 43rd Street, answering questions between an occasional break to puke in the basin."
"Are they running you, Eddie?" Balazar asked mildly. they running you, Eddie?" Balazar asked mildly.
"No. They had to let me go. They"re following, but I"m not leading."