‘He calls it Promontory Point,’ Bucky says. ‘I did some digging, it’s amazing what you can find with a computer these days if you know how to dip into the darker regions. Nick’s been there since 2007, and with his back to the mountains nobody’s ever bothered him. Maybe he’s gotten a little careless, but I wouldn’t count on that.’
No, Billy thinks, it wouldn’t do to count on it. Someone who could get rid of a valued long-time associate like Giorgio Piglielli can’t be taken lightly. The only assumption he can make is that Nick is looking for him. Waiting for him. What Nick maybe doesn’t understand is how angry Billy is. There was a bargain. He held up his end of it. Instead of holding up the other end, Nick stiffed him. Then tried to kill him. Face to face Nick might deny that, but Billy knows. They both do.
Bucky taps a spot on the Google Earth aerial photo of the grounds. ‘This little square is the gatehouse, and it’ll be manned. Guarded. You can count on that.’
Billy has no doubt. He wonders again how many men Nick will have guarding his little kingdom. In a Sylvester Stallone or Jason Statham movie there would be dozens, armed with everything from gas-powered light machine guns to shoulder-mounted missile launchers, but this is real life. Maybe five, maybe only four, carrying automatic pistols or shotguns or both. But there’s only one of him, and he’s no Sylvester Stallone.
Alice pulls one of the photos from Google Earth to the middle of the table. ‘What’s this? I don’t see it on any of the Zillow pix.’
Bucky and Billy look. It’s where the west side of the wall ends against a rocky rise. After a bit Bucky says, ‘I think it must be a service entrance. You wouldn’t bother showing that on a real estate site, any more than you’d show the shed where the trash gets stored for pickup. Real estate sites stick to the glamour. What do you think, Billy?’
‘I don’t know.’ But he’s starting to. The more he thinks about that beat-up old truck, the more he likes it. And the new wig. That, too.
8
After supper, Alice commandeers the bathroom to dye her hair. When Bucky offers her a beer （‘Just to keep up your strength’）， she accepts. They both hear her lock the door behind her. Billy’s not surprised. He doubts if Bucky is, either.
Bucky gets two more bottles of beer from the fridge. After Bucky puts on a light jacket and tosses Billy a sweatshirt, they go out on the porch and settle side by side in the rockers. Bucky clinks the neck of his bottle against the neck of Billy’s. ‘Here’s to success.’
‘Good toast,’ Billy says, and takes a drink. ‘I want to thank you again for having us. I know you didn’t expect guests.’
‘You serious about wanting a silencer for the Ruger?’
‘Yes. Can you also get me a Glock 17 and ammunition for both?’
Bucky nods. ‘Shouldn’t be a problem, not around here. What else do you need?’
‘A mustache to match the wig she bought me. I don’t have time to grow one.’ There’s more, but Alice will have ideas about finding the rest.
‘What are you thinking of doing? Maybe it’s time to tell me so I can try to argue you out of it.’
Billy tells him. Bucky listens closely and after awhile starts to nod. ‘Going out to his place is risky, bearding the lion in his den type of thing, but it could work. Any bounty hunters looking for you are apt to be downtown, especially around Nick’s casino. Double Deuce, or whatever.’
‘Double Domino.’
Bucky leans forward, looking at him. ‘Look, if you’re worried about the money you promised me—’
‘I’m not.’
‘—you can let it go. I’m doing all right for money, and I’m glad to be out of the city. I have no idea why I stayed so fucking long in the first place. Someday someone’s going to blow up a dirty bomb on Fifth Avenue, or a communicable disease will come along that turns everything from Manhattan to Staten Island into a giant Petri dish.’
Billy thinks Bucky has been listening to too much talk radio but doesn’t say so. ‘It’s not about your money or mine, although I’ll take it if he has it. He cheated me. He fucked me. He’s a bad person.’ Billy hears himself falling into the speech patterns of the dumb self and doesn’t care. ‘He killed Giorgio, or had him killed. He meant to do the same to me.’
‘All right,’ Bucky says quietly. ‘I get it. A matter of honor.’
‘Not honor, honesty.’