near midnight Menefee led me in the rain to a meeting with Dr. Pepper. He sheltered me with a large black umbrella, the kind doormen use, almost twice the normal size. Our route was circuitous1 in the extreme, full of loops, detours2 and backtrackings. A man emerged from beneath a freight platform and came toward us, barking strange words, his hair pasted straight back in choppy wet strokes, like a Cuban prize fighter's hair. He lunged at Menefee, who tossed the umbrella away and backed quickly to the middle of the street where he leaped repeatedly in panic, inundated3 by his own cape5.
"New York!" he screamed at the man. "New York! New York! New York!"
The man, who'd stopped only long enough to lunge, continued on his way. I picked up the umbrella and tried to calm Menefee. We turned a corner, doubled back and then walked north on Lafayette. There was nobody in sight ana the rain fell heavily. A car went by and Menefee lowered the umbrella until the spokes6 grazed our heads.
Water began to flood the sewers7 and when we crossed a street we had to wheel around the estuaries8 developing at every corner.
"Azarian's been murdered."
"Far out," he said.
On Astor Place he pointed9 to a city bus parked on the dark corner where the route begins and drivers take their break. The front door was open and I got on, leaving Menefee on the sidewalk. Dr. Pepper was sitting on the long seat at the back of the bus. I joined him there. He was hatless this time, dressed in a belted trench10 coat equipped with buttons, zippers11, flaps, epaulets and at least four pockets. Although it was dark in the bus I could tell he was wearing perforated shoes.
"Driver's having a cup of coffee over at Iggy's. He's a good boy, friend of mine. I have friends in low places. I cultivate such people. It pays to have friends in low places. I find they do more for me in the long haul than the average maker12 and shaker."
"Azarian's been murdered," I said.
"He was a good boy," Pepper said. "Never met him myself. But the word on him was good. A good boy. I heard they did a number on his throat."
"That's what they did. Last time I saw him, he had a destroyer escort. Black woman. About twenty-five. Dressed for the heavyweight championship of the world. Epiphany Powell. I'd say she was five-eight, kind of dumb-sounding, no marks or scars."
"She's a police informer. Her name's Ferry or Sperry or something. Bureau of Narcotics13 Enforcement, et cetera, et cetera, state of California, so on, so forth14."
"This is ending for me. I've got other things on my mind. What do you want to see me about?"
"Hanes," he said. "Hanes first and foremost. Has he tried to get in touch with you? Has he tried to lay off the package? These questions need answering, Buck15."
"Hanes is riding the subways. If you want the package, go hunt him down."
"Your tone of voice doesn't go unnoted," Pepper said. "I guess if anybody's got the right to be irritated by all the amateurism on display, you and I would be the ones. This whole affair is beginning to rankle17. Too much booshit being thrown around. I've maintained a high level of professionalism for a good many years and this dipsy-doodle stuff is affecting my equilibrium18. I've set lofty standards for the whole damn profession. I could tell you about the Brownsville dope wars. Dave Grady and his microbus. The cocaine19 nun4."
"Not right now," I said.
"Your tone is duly noted16. Tell you why I asked you here, Buck. To get a fix on Hanes. See, we've got to wind this thing up. The dog-boys are running wild. Bohack is getting edgy20. Azarian's black legions are poised21. The narcs are everywhere. All in all the next few days figure to be crucial. If I can't get to Hanes in forty-eight hours, I'm pulling the hell out. This is a reluctant move but it's a move I've got to make for the sake of my own safety. Too many amateurs. Look what happened to Azarian, a good boy. Consider what may happen to Hanes, a homeless lad, orphan22 of the storm. It's definitely an unpromising future that boy appears to have. That's why I've got to liberate23 the product. Get it and fade. Leave Happy Valley to its own devices. Buck, you and I are the only parties in positions of mutual24 trust. Now I know you've been in touch with Hanes. All you have to do is point me in his direction. It's an act you'll never regret Damn shame to see a dream product end up in the hands of unschooled people. Once-in-a-lifetime stuff. Do this thing, Buck. Point me toward Hanes."
"He's in the subways. That's all I know. He's got the product with him. I told him I wasn't interested in taking it off his hands. I've got other things. I told him to keep it."
"You amaze me, Buck. It's a street-wise gent you're talking to. An old politico of the back rooms. Do you realize what you're telling me? You're saying you came within arm's length of the product and you didn't make a grab. That story has no hair on it. I thought we were partners. I thought sure we'd be able to function in an atmosphere of mutual trust. Guess I'm losing my judgment25. Getting all mellowed26 out. This grieves me, Buck. Dog-boys are running wild. U.S. Guv is sniffing27 at my laundry. I thought sure I had one ally in this whole sorry league of misfits. Hell of a note. Deeply disappointing. Face to face with Hanes. The product within arm's length. I assume that to be the case. Is arm's length an accurate term of measurement to the best of your recollection?"
"We shared a subway seat. We walked through tunnels together. At times our cuffs28 touched."
"And I'm to believe you didn't talk him off the product? I'm to believe you don't have possession of said product? If not possession of, then access to. I'm to believe you and Hanes didn't make a deal? I'm to believe all this? Oink-oink. That's all, folks."
"Sorry."
"Well now," he said. "You grant me no leeway, friend. None at all. I'm forced to bring pressure to bear. Not by choice. Not by inclination29. It's a matter of balance and edge. Circumstances weigh against me. Old alliances have fallen on evil days. I'm left with no cards but the last nasty trump30. According to my sources you're going back out on tour. I was apprised31 on that fact no more than two hours ago. So take the following proposal home and mull it over. It's simple, Buck. Either get the product to me or I make arrangements to extend your sabbatical. You won't leave that room is what I'm saying. That room will become your past, present and future. Four walls and a flush toilet. Don't doubt I can make such arrangements. It won't be easy, I grant you that. It'll take maneuvering32 of the riskiest33 kind. Arf-arf. Ill have to cut my drinking water with a splash of Wild Turkey. Oh, I'll have to be right on edge, spit-shined, cold as a witch's tit. Your decision to make. Forty-eight hours. A generous allowance by anyone's reckoning. Ill be in touch soon after. Get the product to me, Buck. For the sake of both our souls. I've got to have it, son. It's the making of a legend."
It was Menefee's duty to escort me back to Great Jones Street. It had stopped raining but he kept the umbrella close to our heads, bringing it down into my face every time a car passed. Our outing was less roundabout this time, a feint to the east, a shallow probe north, then straight down Lafayette past the warehouses34. Two women with aerosol35 cans were spraying insect repellent into a heap of abandoned furniture. When they were finished, they dislodged the frame of an old sofa and dragged it off.
"He was wearing perforated shoes."
"I know," Menefee said. "I tried to talk him out of it, the rain and all, but I guess he thought perforated shoes were called for. He's had them twenty years, he said. The man's uncanny. He's a master of apparel, a master of vocal36 dynamics37, a master of the odd fact. He's got style, he's got guile38. Good thing he came along is all I can say in terms of my own development as a human thought module39. I was being systematically40 depersonalized by the whole educational apparatus41 at the University of California at Santa Barbara and all I heard from my parents day after day in letters, phone calls and telegrams was that I should transfer to the University of California at Santa Cruz, which they wanted me to do for their own selfish grabby reasons, probably tinged42 with incest. So I got myself apprenticed43 to Dr. Pepper and since then I've developed unbelievably in terms of seeing myself as a full-service container with access outlets44. So there we were traveling all around. So my parents said where are you? So I said I'm back in school. University of California at Pittsfield, Massachusetts."
Menefee closed the great umbrella and walked up the stairs with me. He checked the apartment before allowing me to enter. Then he left like a mythological45 bird returning to its jeweled nest. There was no heat. I ran the bath water and undressed. The water turned cold almost immediately but I let it run until the tub was nearly full. Then I took a bath, scrubbing my body with a hairbrush, outlasting46 the series of deep quakes that passed through me. When I stepped out finally, I was colder than the room.
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circuitous
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| adj.迂回的路的，迂曲的，绕行的 | |
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detours
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| 绕行的路( detour的名词复数 )； 绕道，兜圈子 | |
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inundated
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| v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付 | |
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nun
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| n.修女，尼姑 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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spokes
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| n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 | |
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sewers
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| n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 ) | |
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estuaries
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| （江河入海的）河口，河口湾( estuary的名词复数 ) | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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zippers
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| n.拉链( zipper的名词复数 )；用拉链的人，装拉链的包 | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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narcotics
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| n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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rankle
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| v.（怨恨，失望等）难以释怀 | |
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equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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cocaine
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| n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂） | |
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edgy
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| adj.不安的；易怒的 | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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liberate
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| v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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mellowed
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| （使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香 | |
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sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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trump
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| n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭 | |
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apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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maneuvering
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| v.移动，用策略( maneuver的现在分词 )；操纵 | |
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riskiest
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| 冒险的，危险的( risky的最高级 ) | |
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warehouses
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| 仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 ) | |
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aerosol
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| n.悬浮尘粒，气溶胶，烟雾剂，喷雾器 | |
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vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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dynamics
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| n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态 | |
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guile
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| n.诈术 | |
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module
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| n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱 | |
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systematically
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| adv.有系统地 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apprenticed
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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outlets
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| n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店 | |
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mythological
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| adj.神话的 | |
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outlasting
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| v.比…长久，比…活得长( outlast的现在分词 ) | |
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