"He's out back. I reconnoitered a half hour ago. Now, you get your ass back there and kill him."
Wayne saw reruns-in slooooow motion.
"You know Jack Ruby."
Moore picked his teeth. Moore tapped the blade on the dash.
"So what? Everyone knows Jack."
Wayne leaned in the window. "What about Bowers? He saw Kennedy get-"
Moore swung the knife. Moore snagged Wayne's shirt. Moore grabbed Wayne's necktie. They hit heads. Moore swung the knife. His hand hit the door ledge.
Wayne pulled his head back. Wayne pulled his piece. Wayne shot Moore in the head.
Recoil-
It knocked him back. He hit _his_ car. He braced and aimed tight. He shot Moore in the head/Moore in the neck/Moore with no face and no chin.
He ripped the seats. He tore up the dash. He blew the windows out. It was loud. It echoed loud. It outblew wind gusts.
Wayne froze. The 409 bounced-reverb off hi-end shocks.
Durfee ran out. Durfee lost his legs. Durfee slid and fell flat. Wayne froze. There's that speck up I-35-it's a car oh luck.
The car drove up. The car pulled in. The car stopped by Moore's sled. Sand blew. Scrub balls bounced. Gravel scattered.
The speck-car idled. Pete got out. Pete put his hands up.
Wayne aimed at him. Wayne pulled the trigger. The pin clicked-you're empty-you're fucked.
Durfee watched. Durfee tried to run. Durfee stood up and fell flat. Pete walked up to Wayne. Wayne dropped his gun and pulled Durfee's gun. Wayne popped in the clip.
His hand slipped. The gun fell. Pete picked it up.
He said, "Kill him."
Wayne looked at Durfee. Pete said, "Kill him."
Wayne looked at Durfee. Durfee looked at Wayne. Wayne looked at Pete. Pete gave him the gun. Wayne dropped the safety.
Durfee stood up. His legs went. He fell on his ass.
Pete leaned on Moore's car. Pete reached inside. Pete flipped off the key. Wayne leaned in his car. Wayne grabbed the six thousand. Wayne coughed up gravel grit.
Pete said, "Kill him."
Wayne walked up to Durfee. Durfee sobbed. Durfee watched Wayne's hands. He saw a gun. He saw a cash bag. He saw two hands full.
Wayne dropped the bag. Durfee grabbed it. Durfee stood up. Durfee got legs and ran.
Wayne leaned on his knees. Wayne puked his lunch up. Wayne tasted hamburger and sand.
Durfee ran.
He tripped through sand drifts. He got his Merc. He gunned it. He bumped drifts. He plowed them. He made the lot. He made I-35 south.
Pete walked over. Wayne wiped his face. Wayne smeared Maynard Moore's blood.
Pete said, "You picked a good place for it. You picked a good weekend, too."
Wayne leaned on his knees. Wayne dropped the gun. Pete grabbed it up.
"There's an oil dump two miles down. You can ditch the car there."
Wayne straightened up. Pete steadied him. Pete said, "Maybe I'll see you in Vegas."
13
(Dallas, 11/25/63)
Jack's wake blared-epidemic boo-hoo-it cut through the bridal suite walls.
Barb said, "I'm getting the picture. The fix is in."
Pete packed his suitcase. "Some people got Christmas early. They know how things work, and they know what's best for the country."
Barb folded her gowns. "There's a catch. For us, I mean."
Pete tuned her out. He'd just talked to Guy. Guy just talked to Carlos. Carlos loved the Ruby Show. Carlos wanted to clip Maynard Moore.
Guy told Pete that. Pete ad-libbed. Pete said Moore vanished-kapoof!
Guy spritzed on Moore's Vegas gig. Guy ragged Wayne Junior. Junior knew shit-small fucking world-Wayne Senior greased the hit fund.
Barb said, "The _catch_. Don't tell me there isn't one. And don't tell me those tickets to Vegas aren't part of it."
Pete stashed his piece. "Are you saying that two tickets was being optimistic?"
"No. You know I'll never leave you."
Pete smiled. "There's some fuck-ups I wouldn't have made, if I'd known you better."
Barb smiled. "The catch? _Vegas?_ And don't make eyes at me when we have to run for a plane."
Pete shut his suitcase. "The Outfit has plans for Mr. Hughes. Ward's putting some things together."
"It's about staying useful, then."
"Yeah. Stay useful, stay healthy. If I can get them to bend a certain rule, I'd call it a lock."
Barb said, "What rule?"
"Come on, you know what I do."
Barb shook her head. "You're versatile. You run shakedowns and you sell guns and dope. You killed the President of the United States once, but I'd have to call that a one-time opportunity."
Pete laughed. Pete made his sides hurt. Pete leaked some wiiiiild tears. Barb tossed a towel up. Pete wiped his eyes and de-teared.
"You can't move heroin there. It's a set policy, but it's probably the best way I can make the Boys some real money. They might go for it, if I only sell to the spooks in West Vegas. Mr. Hughes hates jigs. He thinks they should all be doped up, like he is. The Boys might decide to humor him."
Barb got This Look. Pete knew the gestalt. _I_ fucked JFK. _You_ killed him. _My_ craaazy life.
She said, "Useful."
"Yeah, that's it."
Barb grabbed her Twist gowns. Barb dropped them out the window. Pete looked out. A kid looked up. The blue gown hit a ledge.
Barb waved. The kid waved back.
"The Twist is dead, but I'll bet you could get me some lounge gigs."
"We'll be useful."
"I'm still scared."
Pete said, "That's the catch."
Part II
December 1963-October 1964
_DOCUMENT INSERT_: 12/1/63. Internally circulated FBI intelligence report. Marked: "Classified Confidential 2-A: Restricted Agent Access" / "Pertinent Facts Observations on Major Las Vegas Hotel-Casino Ownerships Related Topics." Note: Officially logged at Southern Nevada Office, 2/8/63.
The major Las Vegas hotel-casinos are situated in two locales: The downtown (Fremont Street/"Glitter Gulch") area and "The Strip" (Las Vegas Blvd, the city's main north-south artery). The downtown establishments are older, less gaudy cater to local residents less affluent tourists who come to gamble, enjoy lowquality entertainment engage the services of prostitutes. Junket groups (Elks, Kiwanis, Rotary, Shriners, VFW, CYO) are frequent downtown hotel-casino visitors. The downtown establishments are largely owned by "Pioneer" consortiums (e.g., native Nevadans general non-organized crime groups). Some of the owners have been forced to sell small (5%-8%) interests to organized-crime groups in exchange for continued "Preferential Treatment" (e.g., on-site "protection," a "service" to insure the absence of labor trouble untoward on-site incidents). Organized-crime associates frequently serve as casino "Pit Bosses" thus as enforcers and on-site informants for their organized-crime patrons.
The downtown area is jurisdictionally covered by the Las Vegas Police Department (LVPD). The LVPD's jurisdiction adjoins that of the Clark County Sheriff's Department (CCSD). Both agencies work within the other's jurisdiction by mutual consent. The Sheriff's Dept patrols the "Strip" area south of the Sahara Hotel. Like the LVPD, it provides investigatory services for its specific jurisdiction, with an operational mandate inside LVPD, or "City" jurisdiction. The LVPD is similarly allowed to conduct investigations inside Sheriff's Dept, or "County" jurisdiction. It should be noted that both agencies are widely influenced and corrupted by factions of organized crime. This corruption is of the type most identified with "Company Towns" (e.g., casino revenue forms the financial base of Las Vegas thus influences the political base law-enforcement policy). Numerous officers within both agencies benefit from organizedcrime bestowed "Gratuities" (free hotel stays, free casino gambling chips, the services of prostitutes, "police discounts" at various businesses owned by organized-crime associates) outright bribery. The LVPD and Sheriff's Dept enforce organized-crime policies with the implicit consent of the Clark County political hierarchy by extension the consent of the Nevada State Legislature. (E.g., Negroes are strongly discouraged from entering certain "Strip" hotel-casinos and on-site casino personnel are allowed to see to their expulsion. E.g., crimes against organized-crime-connected casino employees are frequently avenged by LVPD officers, acting on orders from the Casino Operators Council, an organized-crime front group. E.g.' LVPD officers and Sheriff's deputies are often used to track down casino card cheats, "discourage" them run them out of town.)