Bandits (1987) by Leonard Elmore

Author:Leonard, Elmore [Elmore, Leonard,]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-01-21T02:29:38.625000+00:00

Chapter 14

THEY WERE IN THE UPSTAIRS dining room, seated near the wall of glass that looked out on the palmetto garden, the green foliage illuminated with pinpoints of light. Dick Nichols said, Like having Christmas all year round, huh? as he turned back to his dinner guests, the colonel and his silent friend from Miami.

Dagoberto Godoy said, Feliz Navidad, in a flat tone, not sounding too merry. By nex' Christmas I want to be in Managua, but I don 't think is going to happen.

Dick Nichols looked at Crispin Reyna across from him, over the place settings of crystal see if he could get him to open his mouth. Why is that? You boys aren 't doing so good? The guy from Miami shrugged, but didn 't change his cool-sour expression or say anything; which could mean he either didn 't know or didn 't give a shit. So Dick Nichols turned to the colonel. What 's the problem, Dagaberta? I thought you had your war good as won.

You read in the news we have seventeen thousand freedom fighters, Dagoberto said. We have maybe fourteen thousand. The Communists have sixty thousand, more than that in reserve, and all those chicos plasticos in Managua, the kids with no work, nothing to do, they can put in the army when they want. They have helicopter gunships, the Mi-24 from the Soviets. We need ground-to-air missiles, the SA-7, many of them. But most of all we need to have those flying monsters of our own, the gunships.

Dick Nichols said, Now you're talking about a big-ticket item. He looked up, almost caught the eye of a good-looking woman at the next table, but the headwaiter got in the way, coming over. Dick Nichols said, Hey, Robert, I think we could manage three more of these. Tell you what, make 'em doubles and we 'll save you a trip. Huh? How 'd that be?

Chivas, Mr. Nichols?

You bet, Robert. Listen, what you do, stop by every twelve and a half minutes and see how we're doing. Deadpan, waiting for Robert to give him his haughty-waiter smile. Is that a deal?

Robert said, Yes, sir, Mr. Nichols, my pleasure, giving him just a flick of a smile, not looking at the Nicaraguans.

Dick Nichols was drinking scotch with them because they seemed to favor it. He drank scotch or bourbon with people in the business, drank beer with Cajun fishing guides, and chased whiskey with beer sitting with drillers over in Morgan City. It was how you learned things. Drink and grin, egg them on some and listen. He told Dagoberto and his buddy from Miami, dying to call him Crispy, that raising the capital to buy a helicopter was one thing, then you had to service the son of a bitch. An engine overhaul 'd run you a hundred and twenty-five thousand or more. Hell, get a bullet in your fuel-control system, it 's like your carburetor, you 're talking forty-five Gs to replace it, and that 's just your four-seater model.

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