Chapter 26

YOU COULD BE in a mall in the food court and you could have no idea where in this great republic you might be. Same cuisine. Same decor. Same clientele. It was comforting. Anywhere in America, you could count on the same fried rice, the same cheese steaks, the same slice of pizza. We met George at a table near the souvlaki stand. She was enjoying a large Diet Coke and a cigarette. She didn't look at me when we sat down.

"Hi, Janey," she said.

Janey said, "Hi."

"Remember me?" I said.

George nodded. She had changed clothes, but the look was the same. Cropped T-shirt, low pants. Her eyes were slathered with dark makeup, and her lips with dark gloss. She had silver rings on all her fingers. And her nails were painted black.

"Have you seen Animal?" I said.

She shook her head.

"Tell me a little about him," I said.

George looked at Janey.

"He's an okay guy," Janey said. "You know? You can, like, talk to him. He won't tell."

George nodded and looked back at me. "Whatcha want to know?" she said.

"Animal get you dope?" I said.

"Yes."

"What?" I said.

"Mostly, like, weed," she said. "But whatever you want, you tell him, he gets it for you."

"Know where he gets it?"

"Some gang in Boston, I think," George said. "I think it's his brother's gang."

"Know the name of the gang?" I said.

"No."

"Wendell Grant hang with you guys?" I said.

"Some."

George stubbed out her cigarette and lit another one. She had a thin face. Under the makeup were dim traces of acne scarring.

"Dell do any dope?" I said.

"He was, like, heavy-duty," she said. "Coke, meth, lots of stuff. "

"He get it from Animal?"

"Yeah, 'course. You get stuff around the Rocks, you get it from Animal."

"Dell tight with Animal."

"Nobody was tight with Animal. He is the Man, you know? I mean, everybody is scared of him and like, sure Animal, anything you say, Animal."

"King of the Rocks," I said.

"Yes."

"Animal ever have a gun?" I said.

George looked at Janey again.

"I'm telling you," Janey said. "He's okay."

She was right, of course, but I wondered how she knew that. Probably didn't matter. I was now a celebrity and, more important, at this moment, I was her celebrity.

"Yeah, he had a gun. Him and Dell, like, used to shoot guns sometimes."

"What kind of guns?" I said.

"Little ones. You know ... like ... handguns!"

"Did you see what kind of handgun?"

"I don't know," she said. "Just, like, a gun you hold in your hand and go bang bang."

"Square-looking or kind of round."

"Square, I guess."

"Shoot a lot of times without stopping?" I said.

"I guess."

"What did they shoot at?"

"Bottles, and boxes and stuff. Sometimes they'd find a stray cat and, like, shoot at it."

"Did Dell have a gun?"

George shook her head.

"Animal let him use one of his," she said.

"Animal have many guns?" I said.

"I don't know," George said. "I guess he could get them whenever he wanted them."

"From his brother?"

"I guess."

"Ever see Jared Clark around there?" I said.

"Jared? The phantom? No. He'd be too scared."

"You scared?"

"Yeah, of Animal."

"But you're his girlfriend."

"Sure. All the girls, you want to hang at the Rocks, you got to fuck Animal."

"What would happen if you didn't?" I said.

"Nobody, like, doesn't," she said. "You don't, you don't hang there."

"And you got to hang somewhere," I said.

"Acourse," she said.