19 December

“Yes? Who’s this?”

“He’s talking.”

“I’m sorry, it’s the middle of the night, I—”

“I said: ‘He’s talking,’ for Christ’s sake!… Hello? Are you there?”

“How did you find out?”

“That’s my business. Goddamn it, man, I thought you were going to keep this from happening.”

“Are you sure of your information?”

“Very sure.”

“Who’s he talking to?”

“A federal shyster, name of Richter.”

“No names, please.”

“Okay, a goddamn nameless federal shyster.”

“Do you know what they said?”

“What the fuck difference does that make?”

“You’ve always assured me he doesn’t know enough.”

“And you assured me you had it under control! You let me go ahead and stick it to him! For Christ’s sake, as long as he’s talking, the wrong people can end up hearing about it. It’s a goddamn good thing they’re out of the country. He says if they …”

“Who says? Who else knows about this?”

“What do you mean, who else knows about it?”

“Just what I said. Whom have you been talking to?”

“Nobody! Do you think I’m crazy?”

“At least one person.”

“What do you mean, one person?”

“The person who told you. I want to know who it is.”

“Sorry, I—”

“It’s their attorney, isn’t it.”

“Listen, I—”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“I don’t see what the fuck you’re so afraid of. He’s in it with us, isn’t he?”

“So you keep telling me.”

“Because it’s true, and you know it! But what are we going to do? I gotta know, so does he! We’ve got a goddamn time bomb that’s going off, and if we don’t—”

“You’re going to do nothing. You did what you had to do, now you’re going to stay perfectly calm and do nothing.”

“But—?”

“We’re going to control the damage.”

“Oh? Just like that?”

“Yes, since you ask. Just like that.”