I had my hands full digging up all the crap Lt. Moore had been up to. He was on the pad from just about every branch of the vice squad, and no-one had been able to step up and take him down. The old phrase about the fox and then hen-house kept coming to mind. He was able to move with impunity because he was selective about his shake-downs. He didn't go after the biggest bookie in town, but numbers two and three were deep into him. He essentially sat on the board of an escort service, and maintained a network that kept an eye on the local force, always keeping an eye out for 'talent'. Mustache and Hands wouldn't be around for ever. Empire building within the structure. Just needed to find the one string to pull to bring it all down.
That's why helping him had such appeal. If he was interested in finding out who was shaking his cage, he must be scared. If he's scared, he might make a mistake. At least that's what I was thinking when the coffee wasn't warm and the bourbon wasn't working. The thing that really pissed me off, was that I wasn't getting paid. Stupid things said in the heat of the moment.
I did have an ace up my sleeve, but more on that later. Seeking momentary escape from the underbelly of town, I called a few friends to chit-chat about football.
"Leroix! My man, what have you got for me this week?" I called out, forcing enthusiasm.
"Hoo, cher. I gots four games to keep an eye on, but dey all pretty much decided befo' deh kickoff. Les Tigres L'Orange ar at Nort' Carolinah State. Clemson should handle dat pretty easy, say 45-21. Arkansaw gets to play Missippi State, which might be good for a half, Piggies 41-20. Deh Gumps have a tussle wit' deh mighty powerhouse of Geo-gia Southen, If Saban ain't restin' his starters after deh fust possession of deh second half, den he's a foo. Bama 56-13. Les Tigres have to all deh way to Oxford and play Missippi. Dey coach is resigning, and dey starting quarterback and running back done got suspended. I want to see deh thud string in by deh second quarter. LSU 63-7."
"I need you explain how Clemson gets into the National Championship Game."
"Sit back and relax, 'cause dis is intrestin', not plausible, but intrestin'. Clemson beats NC-State and Sout' Carolinah and win deh ACC Championship game. Den dey need help. USC beats Oregon, Auburn beats Alabama, LSU beats Arkansaw, and den loses in deh SEC Championship. Okie State beats OU in Bedlam, and dat would leave Clemson and Okie State in position to play for deh NGC...It could happen, right, cher?"
"Sure, Leroix. Enjoy the games."
My next call went out to Bubba Tataglia, who was in an irritable mood. "Bubba, how're you holding up?"
"I tell you what, I am worried as a cat in the toddler room of a daycare. The Baptists can't stop anybody, but they're weapon is the pass, which is the same thing that Tech killed us with. This will look like a basketball score, but as long as OU wins, I don't care. I'm thinking this will be 63-52, Sooners. Over in Stillwater, they got people just dying to spend cash on Big 12 Championship and National Championship T-shirts, and I can't say I blame them. They've got Iowa State, this week, who they will nuke like they did Tech, last week, I'm thinking 70-10, Cow Rapers. Then they get an extra week to prepare for my Sooners, who will go in without their best running back or receiver. Everyone Better get used to the idea of Okie State playing down in New Orleans."
Bubba's confidence in his team was less than contagious. I placed a call to Marcus, who had moved his VW Combie to Eugene, for the duration.
"How's life among the trees, Marcus.?"
"Dude, I can focus like a laser-beam on the Oregon game. No Stanford to worry about, no Boise State, just waiting for the University of Spoiled Children to show up and be the latest victims of the Quack Attack, dude."
"I take it you're expecting Oregon to win?"
"Dude, Trojan Man may be able to keep it within a couple of scores, but the Quackers are hot. I'm thinking 48-34, Quackers, dude."
I had to let Lloyd have his say, even though his games were not exactly earth-shakers. "Michigan State will handle Indiana, at home, and be within reach of going to Indianapolis. Sparty 38-21. Minnesota has to go to Northwestern, this will be the better game to watch, but The Wildcats pull away, late, 34-21."
That just left Grandma, who I was hoping had let some of her homicidal rage abate, since last week. "Granny, what have you got for me?"
"Wisconsin will handle Illinois, who has collapsed, 45-10. Iowa will be in a tussle at Purdue, but I don't think the Boilmakers will be able to sustain the emotion from last week, Iowa 27-24. In the Big Game this week, we have the poster children of corruption and avarice playing against each other. If I could, I'd have this game played on the ninth circle of Hell. Columbus is a close second. In a long-asses boring game, where the fans should be ashamed of themselves, but aren't, The Buckeys will prevail 13-10 over Pederast State."
"Thanks, Grandma."
I was reminded this week, that there is a quote that says in effect, 'For evil to flourish just takes good men to do nothing'. I was being pretty complicit in helping Lt. Moore, who was a local evil. He had Lloyd and I working to secure his position. He didn't know about Cassandra, and Edmund Burke never said anything about a good woman.
Plus I got a hold of some incredible footage of Joe Paterno's statue being removed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5zPMbPLxXk
My Bad. Wrong Joe.
Husk-husk and on the qb.
No comments:
Post a Comment