The peeling door that announced Dapper Dan's Hot Dogs fooled no one who knew anything about the city. The door wasn't even left unlock most of the time, because anyone who would be served at the restaurant went through the back door anyway. The back door was painted green and in discrete letters decreed the establishment to be The Green Lantern. I personally hated the place, it attracted people who I didn't really want to be associated with. However when Bryan invites me somewhere I go, I don't see him often and he isn't able to just walk around town. This unfortunately also means that his ideas of a good meeting place are places like the Wabash Street Caves or this particular underworld hangout.
I have been to The Green Lantern before, don't get me wrong, I am well accepted there. That doesn't however mean that I like it any more. There are some people who walk into The Green Lantern and are instantly shot at, for no good reason other than that they are simply not liked. I heard about a guy who worked for a fixer who tried to come with his girlfriend to show off and they barely made it through the door before they were forced to hit the floor because of bullets. A lot of it is out of town people establishing a reputation by showing off, but that doesn't make it any safer.
Byran was already there when I arrived, sitting at a small table at the back of the dingy bar. I sat down at his table and looked around cautiously, though mostly it was out of habit. Bryan had let his suit jacket fall open now that he was comfortable, and besides he was as much of a showoff as anyone else there, and his shoulder holster was visible. That would tell anyone who did want to mess with us to keep their distance. Looking around I could see more shoulder holsters displayed, and in a couple of cases there was the hint of a revolver in a purse at tables where women were sitting. Some of the gangster molls are pretty but I know better then to even look at them twice, most of them have men at their shoulders ready to blow the head off of anyone they suspect with intentions.
“Why do we have to meet here?” I complained, turning back to Bryan.
“Can you think of a better place to meet, it's the only place I can think of where we can both sit and neither of us have to worry,” Bryan said, shrugging.
“I'm a respectable member of society, you forget. Do you know what it looks like for me to be seen here? The whole city knows what this place is,” I pointed out. I knew it wouldn't make a difference to him but I still felt that I should argue my point. I know Bryan pretty well, I mean we grew up together, I know him well enough to know that he won't listen to a word I say once he's made up his mind about something.
“You're way too modest. I know for a fact that most of the guys in here owe you favors and you're friends with most of the cops. No one is going to give you a hard time, and anyway, even if they did you would just have to come to me and I would take care of them for you,” Bran tapped a finger on the handle of his gun.
“Give it a rest, you know what I think of you showing off,” I snapped. Bryan just smiled at me, my humility had always stuck him as funny more than anything else, and I had long since stopped trying to seriously convert him to my way of thinking. It was probably just as well, you had to be cocky to be a good gangster, and Bryan was considered a big shot. “Anyway, stop calling me every time you need help, I'm a bondsman, not a fixer.”
“Can I help it that you've got connections,” Bryan said, brushing off yet another of my complaints in his casual way. It was one of the ways that our friendship continued to be firm, most people would grow annoyed with my whining but Bryan had a nonchalance that insulated him.
To be continued...
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