Guy goes out, John fills the silence by making introductions.
Marvin’s guy gets back, so now there are steaks and baked potatoes and buckets of fried chicken on the table. Danny would rather have the KFC than the overcooked beef, but he don’t want to be disloyal, so he spears himself a steak.
Marvin ain’t one for small talk. “So what are we doing here?”
“We want your help against the Morettis,” Danny says. “Right now, they control the drug business in South Providence.”
“It’s neocolonialism,” Marvin says. “The white man selling drugs in the Black community.”
This prompts an ugly stir from the Irish side, who don’t want to admit that this is now a Black community, and who have no idea what neocolonialism is, so Danny quickly says, “We want the Morettis out, too.”
But one of Marvin’s guys says, “But we don’t want to replace them with a bunch of donkeys.”
Danny don’t mind Irish slurs—bogtrotter, mick, Harp, donkey—go for it. But Marvin gives his guy a shut-your-stupid-fucking-mouth glare, and the man looks down. Which means that Marvin don’t think he can beat the Morettis without us, either, Danny thinks. “We don’t have any interest in selling drugs.”
“No,” Marvin says, “you have an interest in adversely affecting the Morettis’ income stream. What weakens them strengthens you.”
Danny nods.
“The Italians kicking you all’s ass,” Marvin says.
“They’re tough,” Danny says.
Marvin shrugs, as if to say Not so tough. Like he’s killed tougher guys. Maybe he has, Danny thinks. Word is that Marvin Jones has put a lot of rivals away—Blacks, Jamaicans, Puerto Ricans. “So what would you want?”
“Our unions,” Danny says. “Our docks.”
Marvin takes this in, and then says, “We’d want jobs on the docks.”
“No,” Danny says.
“No?”
“You get dope, women, and the numbers,” Danny says. “The docks are ours.”
Danny knows it’s a risk that could scuttle the deal. But there’s no point in just replacing Peter Moretti with Marvin Jones, and anyway, he can’t get Blacks into the unions because the union guys simply wouldn’t accept it, and Marvin should know that. Danny’s betting that he’s just testing, seeing how far he can push.
“All right, Danny Ryan,” Marvin says. “You got yourself some Zulus.”
Marvin laughs at his own joke and then everyone laughs. Even Bernie Hughes ventures a chuckle.
It’s a win for Danny.
He don’t care about a victory inside the back room, even if it raises his status. What Danny cares about is the Dogtown Irish surviving this war. This alliance changes the numbers, maybe enough to bring Peter to the peace table.
The surprising thing about the dinner is that Marvin Jones and John Murphy become buddies.
When John starts telling old war stories, Danny tries to shut him down, but Marvin waves him off—he wants to hear them. Sits there like a grandson while John goes on and on about the old days. Danny, he’s just glad that Marty ain’t there to chime in or start singing or something.
When John gets up to take a piss, Danny says, “Sorry about my father-in-law.”
“No,” Marvin says. “Respect.”
John comes back in wiping his hands on his khakis. When he sits down, Marvin says, “This is how I look at it, Mr. Murphy . . .”
Danny sees that John likes the “Mr. Murphy.”
“No offense,” Marvin says, “but the Irish were the British niggers. My people are the Americans’ niggers.”
Danny is afraid John will go off, but he says, “When my grandfather got here, there were signs reading ‘No dogs or Irish allowed.’”
“What I mean,” Marvin says.
Bobby Bangs brings in a new round of drinks. John says, “Not the house shit. Go get the private stock.”
So Danny sits there in disbelief as John and Marvin sit sipping vintage Irish whiskey and swapping stories. They’re both pretty much in the bag when John says, “Can I ask you something, Marvin?”
Marvin nods.
“Grape soda,” John says. “Do you like it?”
“You got any?” Marvin asks.
“No.”
“Then why ask?”
Not all Marvin’s guys are behind the new alliance.
His cousin Demetrius, for instance, doesn’t like it at all. “Let ’em kill each other. That’s a good thing. The fewer whites, the better. Why do we want to get in the middle of that?”