While thinking things through, Payne pulled from the crowded police lot and turned onto a busy side street. He maneuvered his vehicle in and out of traffic until he got to McKnight Road, one of the busiest business districts in the area. As he stopped at a red light, Payne reached across Jones’s lap and pulled a small book out of the Infiniti’s glove compartment.
“What’s that?” Jones asked.
“It’s my address book. I’m checking to see if I know anyone from Louisiana. I figure maybe a local would know something about the Holotat. You don’t know anyone down there, do you?”
“Sorry. My roots are up north, just like yours. Why, do you have someone in mind?”
“No, but-” The light turned green, and as it did, the word
green
clicked in Payne’s mind. “I’ll be damned! I just thought of someone from New Orleans.”
“Who?”
“Did I ever introduce you to Levon Greene?”
Jones’s eyes lit up with excitement. Levon Greene was an All-Pro linebacker for the Buffalo Bills before a devastating knee injury knocked him from the NFL. Before getting chop-blocked by Nate Barker, a guard with the San Diego Chargers, Greene was a fan favorite. He was known throughout the country for his tenacity and his colorful nickname, taken from a famous Bob Marley song. “The Buffalo Soldier? You know the Buffalo Soldier?”
Payne nodded. “He lived in Pittsburgh for a year after the Bills cut him. The Steelers signed him and kept him on their injured list for over a season. Our paths crossed on more than one occasion on the b-ball courts. He liked to play hoops for therapy.”
“But that doesn’t mean you
know
him. I see Steelers and Pirates all of the time, but that doesn’t mean they’re my boys.”
“True, but I know Levon.” He handed Jones the address book and told him to look for a phone number. Jones quickly flipped to the
G
s and was stunned when he saw Greene listed.
“Holy shit! You do know him.”
“I told you I knew him. What’s Levon’s home number?”
Jones glanced at the page for the requested information. “You don’t have a home number. You only have a cell listed.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. When he gave me his info, he was just getting ready to move back to New Orleans and didn’t know his new number.”
“He was moving to Louisiana, and he gave you his number? What, were you guys dating or something?”
Payne laughed. “Jealous?”
Jones shook his head and grinned. He’d always been amazed at Payne’s ability to keep his sense of humor in the most tragic of times. Sure, his buddy would have the occasional flare-up and reveal his true emotions during a crisis, but on the whole Payne was able to conceal his most personal feelings under a facade of levity.
Originally, when the two first met, Jones had interpreted Payne’s frivolity as a lack of seriousness, and he actually resented him for it. After a while, though, he learned that Payne’s sense of humor was simply his way of dealing with things. He realized that Payne never mocked the tragedy of a situation. Instead, he tried to use humor as a way of coping with the fear and adrenaline that would otherwise overwhelm him. It was a good trick, and eventually Jones and several other MANIACs learned to do the same thing.
“Seriously, what’s the deal with you two? Have you known him long?”
“I met him in North Park playing basketball. We were on the same team, and the two of us just clicked on the court. He was rehabbing his knee, so he couldn’t move like he used to on the football field. But he was strong as an ox. He set some of the most vicious screens I have ever seen in my life, and most of the time he did it to get me open jumpers.”
Jones laughed at the description of Greene. “It sounds like Levon plays hoops with the same intensity he showed in the NFL.”
“Hell, yeah! Even though we were in the park, he had a serious game face on. In fact, some people were afraid to play against the guy.”
“I bet, but that still doesn’t explain why he gave you his number.”
“We ended up making it a daily thing. We’d meet at the courts at the same time every day, and we’d take on all comers. Kicked some serious ass, too. Unfortunately, right before Steelers camp started, he failed his physical and was released from the team. But he told me if I was ever in New Orleans I should give him a call.”
“Wow, I’m kind of surprised. I thought I knew most of your friends, and now I find out you’ve been keeping a celebrity from me. So, are there any movie star chums that I should know about?”
“Did I ever tell you about my three-way with the Olsen twins?”
Jones laughed at the comment. “What are you going to do about Levon?”
“It’s not what I’m going to do. It’s what you’re going to do.” Payne handed him his cell phone. “I want you to dial his number for me.”
“You want me to call Levon Greene? This is so cool!” Jones dialed the phone, then looked at Payne when it started to ring. “What should I say to him?”
Payne snatched the phone from Jones’s grasp. “Not a damn thing. He’s my friend, not yours.”
“You are such a tease!”
Payne was still laughing when Greene answered the phone. “Who’s this?”
“Levon, I don’t know if you’ll remember me. My name is Jonathon Payne. I used to run ball with you at North Park when you were living up in Pittsburgh.”
“White dude, nice jump shot?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Yo, man, wazzup? I haven’t heard from your ass in a long time. How ya doin’?”
“I’m fine, and you? How’s the knee?”
Greene winced. It was one topic that he didn’t like dwelling on. “Still not a hundred percent, but it’s better than it used to be. I’m still hoping some team needs a run-stuffing linebacker and gives me a look in camp. But I don’t know. It’s getting kind of late.”
“Well, they’d be crazy not to take you, Levon. You’re as fierce as they come.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it. So, wazzup? Why the call out of the blue? Are you coming to New Orleans? I got a big-ass house. I can hook you up with a room. Won’t charge you much, neither,” he joked.
Payne wasn’t sure what he was hoping to find out from Greene, but he figured the only way to learn anything was to be up-front with the man. “Actually, Levon, the reason I called is an important one. You know how I told you I was doing fine?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, I lied. Something’s going on up here, and I was hoping you could give me a hand.”
“I don’t loan people money, man. You’re gonna have to ask someone else.”
Payne grinned. If Greene knew how much money Payne actually had, Levon might be asking him for a loan. “No, it’s not about cash. Nothing like that. I promise.”
“What is it then? What’s the deal?”
Payne exhaled, trying not to think about Ariane. “I was hoping to get some information about a gang that might be operating in Louisiana, and I figured since you play a lot of street ball, you might be able to find something out on the courts.”
“Is that all you need? Shit! No problem, man. What’s the name of the posse?”
“Actually, that’s what I was hoping you could tell me.”
“All right, but you gotta give me something to go on, ’cause there’s a lot of motherfuckin’ gangs down here. And every day a new crew pops up.”
“Damn,” Payne mumbled. He had been naively hoping that New Orleans was a one-gang town. “Do any of the gangs have Holotats? You know, tattooed gang emblems on their wrists?”