David Goodis: Five Noir Novels of the 1940s and '50s (Library of America) (17 page)

Arbogast smiled and shook his head. “You wouldn’t be checking in here alone if there was a mob. You’d either want someone with you or if there was a boss the boss would want someone with you. I know how these things go. Let’s call it the way it is. It’s you and the girl and me and nobody else.”

“I won’t argue with you.”

Arbogast widened the smile. “That kind of talk is music to me. Who did that job on your face?”

“I’m not saying.”

“It’s high-class work.”

“What good is it now?”

“Don’t talk like a dope,” Arbogast said. “You’re going to be better off now than you ever were. As soon as I get the sixty thousand I’ll be clearing out and you’ll be set. All right, what do you say?”

“You’re holding the gun.”

“Now you’re using your head. I’m holding the gun. I’m holding the high cards. And as soon as I rake in the chips I walk out of the game.”

“You make it sound simple.”

“Sure, because that’s the way it is. It’s simple. Why make it complicated?”

Parry wanted to think that it was simple. He wanted to conclude that once she gave Arbogast the sixty thousand everything would be all right. And yet he knew that once Arbogast got the sixty thousand he would ask for more and keep on asking. The man was made that way. This was the first real money Arbogast had ever come up against. For Arbogast it was a delicious situation and Arbogast would want it to remain that way.

Parry told himself what he had to do. He looked at Arbogast and he told himself he had to get rid of Arbogast. He had foxed Arbogast once and maybe he could do it again.

“No,” Arbogast said.

“No what?”

“Just no, that’s all. The only way you get rid of me is sixty thousand. That’s the only way. Look at the gun. If you try to take it I put a bullet in you. If you try to run away I put a bullet in you. And I make myself five thousand. Either way you die and either way I make money.”

Parry told himself he had to get rid of Arbogast because Arbogast would keep on bothering her. Arbogast wasn’t interested in him. He wished Arbogast was interested in him and only him.

Arbogast said, “All right, what do we do?”

“We’ll go there,” Parry said.

“That’s fine,” Arbogast said. “You’ll stay just a bit ahead of me and you’ll remember there’s a gun behind you.”

They walked out of the room. In the elevator Arbogast remained slightly behind Parry. In the lobby Arbogast was walking at the side of Parry and half a step behind. On the street it was the same way. The street was bright yellow from hot August sun following the heavy rain. The street was crowded with early morning activity and horns were honking and people were walking in and out of office buildings and stores.

“Let’s turn here,” Arbogast said.

They turned and walked up another street, then down a narrow street and Parry saw the Studebaker parked beside a two-story drygoods establishment.

“You drive,” Arbogast said. He took keys out of a pocket and handed them to Parry.

Parry got in the car from the pavement side and Arbogast came sliding in beside him. Parry started the motor and sat there looking at the narrow street that went on ahead of him until it arrived at a wide and busy street.

“The whole thing won’t take more than an hour,” Arbogast said.

The car moved down the narrow street.

“And remember,” Arbogast said, “I’ve got the gun right here.”

“I’ll remember,” Parry said.

The car made a turn and it was on the wide street. Parry took it down three blocks and turned off.

“What are you doing?” Arbogast said.

“Getting out of heavy traffic,” Parry said.

“Maybe that’s a good idea.”

“Sure it’s a good idea,” Parry said. “We can’t afford to be stopped now. As long as we’re started on this thing we might as well do it right.”

The car made another turn. It was going past empty lots. There were old houses here and there. The sun was very big and very yellow and it was very hot in the car.

“I can’t start worrying about her,” Parry said.

“You gotta be selfish,” Arbogast said. “That’s the only way to get along. Even if she means something to you. Does she mean anything to you?”

“Yes.”

“How bad is it?”

“It’s not too bad. I’ll manage to forget about her.”

“That’s what you gotta do,” Arbogast said. “You gotta go away and forget about her. She’ll be all right. I won’t keep after her. Once I get that sixty thousand I’ll leave her alone. You don’t need to worry about anything. Hey, where we going?”

“We’ll go down another few blocks and then we’ll circle around and get up there from the other side of town.”

The street was neglected and bumpy and the car went slowly and there were empty lots and no houses now and it was very hot and sticky and quiet except for the motor of the car.

“You do that,” Arbogast said. “You go away and forget about her.”

“She helped me out and I thanked her,” Parry said. “I can’t keep on thanking her.”

“What you gotta do is get away,” Arbogast said. “You got that new face and it’s a dandy. All you gotta do is fix up some cards and papers for yourself and you’ll be in good shape. Where do you figure on going?”

“I don’t know.”

“Mexico’s a good bet.”

“Maybe.”

“You won’t have any trouble in Mexico. And if you use Arizona you won’t have any trouble at the border. How much did she give you?”

“I’ve got about fifteen hundred left. Close to sixteen hundred.”

“That’s plenty. Tell you what you do. You use Arizona and when you get down there buy yourself a car in Benson. That’s about thirty miles from the border. Once you got some papers arranged you won’t have any trouble buying the car. They’ll be only too happy to sell you one. And once you have the car you’ll have the owner’s card and that’s all you’ll need. Do you know where you can get papers arranged?”

“I guess I can find a place.”

“Sure, it’s not hard. There’s guys with printing presses who specialize in that sort of thing. Once you get to Benson and buy that car you’ll be all right.”

“They’ll ask questions at the border.”

“Sure they’ll ask questions. Don’t you know how to answer questions?”

“They’ll ask me why I’m going to Mexico.”

“And you’ll tell them you’re going there to mine silver. Or you’re going there to look for oil. Or you just want a vacation. It don’t make any difference what you tell them. All you gotta do is talk easy and don’t worry about anything and don’t get yourself mixed up. Didn’t you learn all these things when you were in Quentin?”

“I didn’t mix much in Quentin.”

“You should of mixed. It’s always a good idea to mix. That’s the only way to learn things. Especially in a place like Quentin. And you don’t need to tell me anything about Quentin. They put me in there twice. And I learned things I never knew before. I learned tricks that got me out of more jams than I can count. You got some shrewd boys in Quentin.”

“Where can I get the papers arranged?”

“Well,” Arbogast said. “Let’s see now. There’s a guy I know in Sacramento but that won’t do because you’d have to give my name and I can’t act loose in Sacramento for a while yet. Then there’s a guy in Nevada, in Carson City, but I did a job in Carson City a few weeks ago so I’m still hot there so that lets Carson City out. So let’s see now. Las Vegas is out because I’m wanted there and let’s see, maybe if we come back to California, but, no, I’m still hot in Stockton and Modesto and Visalia, it was all little jobs but these small town police are terriers, that’s exactly what they are. And don’t go thinking they’re dumb, because they’re anything but dumb. Don’t go calling them dopes. Especially in some of these little California towns. I tell you California is plenty mean and the sooner I get out when I get the cash——”

“Get what cash?”

“The two hundred thousand, I mean the sixty.”

“You mean the sixty thousand dollars.”

“Sure, that’s what I mean. The sixty. What did you think I meant?”

The car was going very slowly now and the lots were very empty. There was thin wooded area going away from the lots on the left and on the right the nearest houses were away past low hills and almost at the horizon. In front the bumpy road was all yellow dirt going ahead slowly as the car went slowly, going ahead toward more stretches of empty lots. The sun was banging away a hard and bright yellow steadiness that seemed to splash and throw itself around, thick and wriggling and squirming in its hot stickiness.

“I figured you meant the sixty,” Parry said. “We’ll turn soon. There’s an intersection down ahead.”

The car crawled. Under the hot sun the empty lots were very bright and yellow and quiet. The grinding motor was a sphere of sound complete in itself and apart from the quiet of the empty lots.

“Where’s that intersection you were talking about?”

“We’ll come to it.” He wondered how long he could stretch this out.

“I don’t see anything out there,” Arbogast said.

“It’s there,” Parry said. He half-turned and saw Arbogast sitting beside him, leaning forward and looking ahead and trying to see an intersection. Then Arbogast was looking at him and waiting for him to say something and he said, “I wish you could think of a place.”

“What kind of a place?”

“A place where I could get those papers arranged.”

“Yeah,” Arbogast said. “That’s something you’ll need to do. You can’t overlook that. You’ll need papers and cards. Let’s see now, let’s see if I can help you out. You’ll be going through Nevada by train or maybe bus is better. Yeah, that’s what you better do. You better use one of those two-by-four bus companies. Let’s see if I can think of a place. You can’t do anything in California and I can’t think of any place in Nevada. Let’s see, you’ll be buying that car in Arizona, in Benson, so let’s see what’s north of Benson. Yeah, there’s a place. There’s a guy I know in Maricopa.”

“Maricopa?”

“Yeah. You ever been there?”

“I was born and raised there.”

“Come to think of it, you did tell me. Yeah, that day I picked you up you said Maricopa when I asked you where you came from. It’s funny, aint it?”

“It’s one of those things.”

“It just goes to show you we’re always going back. You went away from Maricopa and now you gotta go back there. How long since you left there?”

“About seventeen years.”

“And now you’re going back. Out of all the places you could go it’s gotta be Maricopa. That’s really something.”

“Who do I see?”

“Well, this printer I know. He did a few license jobs for me and some guys I sent to him. He knows his work and he’s tight as a rivet. He’ll remember my name. It’s been more than a year now but he’ll remember. He’ll give you what you want and he’ll take your money and that’s as far as it goes. You look him up when you get to Maricopa. His name’s Ferris.”

“What?”

“Tom Ferris.”

“That name’s familiar,” Parry said.

“What?”

“That’s right,” Parry said. “Tom Ferris, the printer. I remember him.”

Arbogast slapped a hand on a knee. “Now what do you think of that?” he said. “You know him. That takes it. I tell you, that takes it. You’re gonna go back to Maricopa and you’re gonna see your old friend Ferris. Good old Ferris is gonna fix up those papers for you. Well, I’ll tell you something. That takes it.”

“Tom Ferris.” Parry smiled. He shook his head slowly.

“And he prints fake cards and papers for guys on the run,” Arbogast said. “He prints the town paper and people think he’s as straight as they come. You’d never believe it, would you?”

Parry stopped smiling. He said, “How do I work it?”

“It’s easy,” Arbogast said. “You just go there and look him up. Get him alone and tell him Arbogast sent you. Tell him what you want and the price you’re willing to pay. That’s all he wants to know. It’s gonna cost you about three hundred for a license and a few other cards and papers that you’ll need to have. He knows all about it. He knows just what you need. He’s been doing this work for years.”

“How long will it take?”

“Maybe an hour. He’ll go to work right away. You can’t tell me it aint worth a few hundred.”

“It’s worth every cent of that,” Parry said.

“Sure. Well, I’m telling you, that takes it. Now where’s that intersection?”

“Right up ahead.”

“I don’t see it.”

“It’s there.”

“I tell you I don’t see it,” Arbogast said. “There’s no intersection. What are you trying to pull?”

“We’ve got to stay away from traffic.”

“That don’t mean we gotta go to the South Pole. I’m telling you there’s no intersection up ahead.”

“I’m telling you there is.” He brought the car to a stop, readied himself.

“And I say no,” Arbogast said. “And I’ve got the gun. Look. Go on, look at it.”

“All right,” Parry said, “it’s your car. It’s your gun.” He reached forward to release the emergency brake and then without touching the emergency brake, he sent his hands toward the wrist of the hand that held the gun. Arbogast was raising the gun to fire but Parry had hold of the wrist and was twisting it. Arbogast wouldn’t let go of the gun and Parry kept twisting and Arbogast let out a yell. And Parry kept twisting and Arbogast let out another yell and then he dropped the gun and it fell on the space of empty seat between Parry and Arbogast. With his free hand Arbogast grabbed at the gun and Parry kept twisting the wrist of the other hand and Arbogast’s head went back and he yelled and kept on yelling and forgot about taking the gun. Parry released Arbogast’s wrists and snatched at the gun and took it. He got his finger against the trigger and he pointed the gun at Arbogast’s face.

A
RBOGAST LOOKED
at the gun. He started to go back. He kept going back until he came against the door and then he tried to push himself through the door.

“Just stay where you are,” Parry said.

“Don’t shoot me in the face,” Arbogast said.

Parry lowered the gun and had it aimed at Arbogast’s chest.

“How’s that?” Parry said.

“Look,” Arbogast said. “Let me go now and I promise you I’ll keep on going and I’ll never bother you again.”

Parry shook his head.

“Please,” Arbogast said.

Parry shook his head.

“I had an idea you were going to pull something like this,” Arbogast said.

“Why didn’t you do something about it?” Parry asked.

“Why did I have to start with you in the first place?” Arbogast said.

“I can answer that,” Parry said. “You’re a crook.”

“There’s honor among crooks,” Arbogast said. “Believe me, there is. And if I give you my word I’ll go away and won’t bother you——”

Parry shook his head.

“Are you going to shoot me?” Arbogast said.

Parry shook his head.

“What are you going to do?” Arbogast said.

Parry gazed past Arbogast’s head. He saw the stretch of empty lot very yellow under the bright yellow sky and beyond the lot the beginnings of woodland. He said, “Get out of the car.”

“What are you going to do with me?”

“Open the door and get out,” Parry said.

“Please——”

“Do as I tell you or I’ll be forced to shoot you.”

Arbogast opened the door. As he stood there on the side of the road he looked up and down and he saw nothing but emptiness. Then Parry was turning off the motor and coming out there with him and closing the door. And they stood out there together and Parry had the gun pointed at Arbogast’s chest.

“Let’s take a stroll,” Parry said.

“Where are we going?”

“Into the woods.”

“Why?”

“I want us to be alone. I don’t want any interference.”

“You’re going to shoot me,” Arbogast said.

“I won’t shoot you unless you make a try for the gun,” Parry said.

They were walking across the empty lot, and Parry had the gun aimed at Arbogast’s ribs.

They weren’t saying anything as they walked across the lot. Then they were past the lot and they were going through the woods. It was moist in the woods, very sticky and very hot. They were going slowly.

They went about seventy yards into the woods and then Parry said, “I guess this is all right.”

Arbogast turned and looked at the gun.

Parry looked at the place on Arbogast’s middle where the gun was aiming. Parry said, “Did you kill Fellsinger?”

“No.”

“Did you follow me to Fellsinger’s apartment?”

“No.”

“But you knew Irene Janney had money. You knew she had two hundred thousand dollars.”

“Yes, I knew that. I told you.”

“And you wanted to get your hands on that cash.”

“I’ll admit that.”

“All right then, it checks. Part of it, anyway. Two hundred thousand is something out of the ordinary. You could have figured it this way—you could have said to yourself she’d get a year or two for helping me get away. But if I killed somebody while I was loose then she’d be in real trouble and she’d get maybe ten years or even twenty. And you had your mind set on that two hundred thousand. So maybe you followed the taxi when I left her apartment.”

“No.”

“Maybe you followed the taxi and when I went in there you followed me and you were hiding in the vestibule and watching to see what button I pressed. Then after I left you pressed that same button. And here’s what you could have been thinking—that the taxi driver would be a witness. At least when the police gave him my description he’d say I was the man who came to the apartment house at a certain hour that night. So the taxi driver would be one thing and my fingerprints here and there would be another. You knew I wasn’t going up there to kill Fellsinger and you knew I was going up there to see somebody who would help me. You didn’t know it was Fellsinger but you knew it was a friend of mine. And you knew the police would tie me in and when they got my fingerprints and when they got a statement from the taxi driver they would come right out and say I did it. You knew all that. So maybe you went up there and killed Fellsinger.”

“No.”

“It’s got to be. You admit you were watching her apartment house. You admit you were waiting for me to come out. That checks. You had your car there. And that checks. And you could have followed me to Fellsinger’s apartment. And you had a reason for killing Fellsinger. Because you knew I’d be blamed and that would bring her in on it. So that checks.”

“No,” Arbogast said. “I didn’t kill Fellsinger.”

“Then who did? Somebody did, and it wasn’t me. So who was it if it wasn’t you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Whoever killed Fellsinger followed me there, went up and killed him after I went away. I know that much. So let’s go back. You were outside her apartment house. You saw me get in a taxi. You saw the taxi going down the street. Did the taxi pass you?”

“Yes.”

“Did you follow the taxi?”

“No. I told you no.”

“You just stayed there and watched the taxi going away?”

“That’s right.”

“You’re a liar. I walked three blocks before I got in that taxi.”

“And I followed you for three blocks,” Arbogast said.

“You said you stayed there.”

“I said I stayed at the place where I saw you getting in the taxi. That was as far as I wanted to go. Look, here’s what I did. I saw you walking down the street. You made about a block, and then I put the car in gear and followed you. I stayed about half a block behind you and I had the car in second and I was just creeping along and watching you. Then you were about three blocks away from the apartment house and you were getting in that taxi.”

“What did you do?”

“I pulled up at the curb.”

“And then what did you do?”

“I stayed there. I watched you going away in the taxi.”

“And then what?”

“I made a turn and went back to the apartment house. I parked on the other side of the street, far down the block.”

“You say you made a turn. What kind of a turn? Around the corner?”

“No,” Arbogast said. “It was a U-turn.”

Parry examined Arbogast’s eyes. Parry said, “You’re sure it was a U-turn?”

“I’m giving it to you straight. I made that U-turn and went back and parked across the street from the apartment house. I knew you’d come back.”

“How did you know?”

“I’m no dope. You had a perfect set-up there. You got new clothes out of it, and I knew you were getting money out of it. And when they gave me the lowdown on her they told me she was single and that meant you were alone with her up there so it was perfect for you and you’d be a dope to walk out on it. What I figured was you’d stay there until things calmed down and then you’d make a break out of town.”

“Now you’re sure you made a U-turn? You’re sure you didn’t go around the corner and up the next block and then down?”

“Look,” Arbogast said. “If I made a turn around the corner and up the next block and then down it would’ve brought me on the same side of the street as the apartment house. You lamped the car, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“You saw it was on the other side of the street?”

“Yes,” Parry said.

“The front of the car was facing you, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“All right, that proves I made a U-turn. And what’s all this about a U-turn?”

“Two U-turns.”

“Well, sure it was two U-turns,” Arbogast said. “I was parked on the other side of the street when I saw you coming out of the apartment house. I had to make a U-turn to follow you, didn’t I? And I had to make another U-turn to come back.”

“You made the first U-turn right away?”

“No,” Arbogast said. “I told you I waited until you were about a block away.”

“You had your headlights off ?”

“They were off. I’m not a dope.”

“That second U-turn. Tell me about it.”

“What’s there to tell about a U-turn? You turn the steering wheel and you turn the car around and that’s all there is to it.”

“That second U-turn. Did you make it right away?”

“No. Like I told you I stayed there and watched the taxi going away.”

“You’re trying to tell me you saw the taxi going away and you just stayed there and watched it go away. That doesn’t make sense.”

“My car can’t do more than thirty.”

“All right, that does make sense,” Parry said. “But you didn’t know the taxi would go past thirty. So again it doesn’t make sense. There was a reason why you didn’t follow that taxi and I know what it is and you know I know what it is. You saw a car going after that taxi.”

“What do you mean a car?”

“A car. A machine. An automobile. You saw it following the taxi. That’s why you waited there. You saw that car going down the street with its headlights turned off. You didn’t know who it was but you knew it was going after the taxi. So here’s what you thought. You thought it could be the police. Then again maybe it wasn’t the police. And as long as you weren’t sure you decided to make a U-turn and go back and watch the apartment house and wait for me. You figured maybe the taxi would shake the car and maybe I’d come back and even if I didn’t come back there was a chance I’d stay on the loose. And even though I was on the loose you had something on her. And as long as you had something on her you were going to stay in the neighborhood and watch the apartment house. So that night you were playing for say ten or fifteen thousand. The next morning when you saw me coming back with the bandages on my face you knew you were still in it for ten or fifteen. Later that day you were patting yourself on the back and saying I’m no dope because a morning paper told you of a man murdered the night before and the police said I did it. So then you knew you were in it for all she had. You saw yourself with every cent of her two hundred thousand. Now all you see is a gun. And all you know is you’ve got to tell me about that car.”

“I didn’t see any car.”

“Tell me or I’ll shoot you above the knee. I’ll keep on shooting until I tear your leg off.”

“There wasn’t any car,” Arbogast said.

“There had to be a car. And it had to be a certain kind of a car. You got a chance to walk away from here with both legs if you tell me what kind of a car it was and if it’s the same car I’m thinking of.”

Arbogast looked at Parry’s face.

Parry stood there waiting. He knew he had thrown everything into that one. That was the big one. That was the big bluff.

Arbogast looked at the gun.

“I don’t have a thing to lose,” Parry said.

Arbogast took a lot of air in his mouth and swallowed it.

“I can see it’s no use,” Parry said. “You won’t tell me. And if you do tell me you won’t be telling the truth. You’ve tried to make things miserable for her and for me and now I’m going to make things miserable for you.”

“I’ll tell you,” Arbogast said.

“Tell me and make it good the first time, because there won’t be a second time.”

“It was a roadster,” Arbogast said. “It had a canvas top and it was a bright color. I think it was orange.”

“Bright orange,” Parry said.

“A bright orange roadster,” Arbogast said.

“And who was in it?”

“I couldn’t see.”

“All right,” Parry said. “I guess that doesn’t matter. I guess I got everything I need now.”

“What happens to me?”

“That’s not my worry.”

“What are you going to do with me?”

“Nothing. I’m going to leave you here. What do I need you for? You’re out of it now.”

“If I’m out of it, let me go.”

“Sure,” Parry said. “You can go. Just turn around and start walking.”

“Let me take my car.”

“No,” Parry said. “I’m taking that.”

“You can’t take my car.”

“And you didn’t think I could take your gun either but I took it.”

“You won’t get away.”

“I’m not trying to get away,” Parry said. “Not any more. I’ve got the big lead now. You handed it to me on a silver platter. You followed me and kept on following me until finally you gave me exactly what I needed. Maybe that’s the way things are arranged. I don’t know, do you?”

“I’m not out of it yet,” Arbogast said.

“Maybe it’s got to be that things always turn out this way,” Parry said. “Maybe there’s a certain arrangement to things and even if it takes a long time it finally has to work itself out.”

“You’re not taking that car.”

“You can’t tell me what I can take and what I can’t take. All you can do is stand there and tell yourself you’ve lost a couple hundred thousand dollars. You know it’s wonderful when guys like you lose out. It makes guys like me believe maybe we got a chance in this world.”

“I tell you I’m not out of it yet.”

“Take a walk, mister. Turn around and take a walk.”

“I’m not through yet,” Arbogast said. “I started out to get something and I’m gonna get it.”

And he came leaping at Parry. And Parry lifted the gun and fired in the air hoping to scare Arbogast but Arbogast was beyond scaring and came slamming into Parry and they went down together with Arbogast trying for the gun. Parry stretched his arm
back to get the gun away from Arbogast’s hand. The weight of Arbogast was heavy on Parry and Arbogast went sliding forward to get the gun and Parry tried to slide away and Arbogast kept on sliding forward. Parry twisted and rolled but Arbogast was there now with the gun and trying with both hands to get the gun out of Parry’s hand. Parry held onto the gun. Arbogast used his knees to keep Parry down and he was still going forward and making noises down in his throat as he tried to get the gun out of Parry’s hand. Parry wouldn’t let go of the gun and Arbogast kept going forward until he got a knee against Parry’s throat and when he knew he had the knee there he pressed with the knee. Parry’s head went back as the knee went jamming against his throat and hurting and blocking the air and the knee pressed harder and already it was bad and then it was very bad and it was getting worse but he wouldn’t let go of the gun. And he had a feeling that his hand had become part of the gun and it was impossible for anything to get the gun away from his hand and he had a feeling that Arbogast knew that also because now the knee was taking everything away from him because the knee was so heavy and fierce against his throat and taking everything away from him and now the pain in his throat was a long tube of pain that went out from both ends, went up to his eyes and down to his stomach and twirled itself and kept twirling as the knee pressed harder. And he wouldn’t let go of the gun as the pain went driving into him and going up and down the tube and in his stomach the tube was glossy and purple and in his brain the tube was black and burning and somewhere in the middle the tube was clear and it was a glass tube and he could see into it and know that Arbogast was no longer trying hard for the gun but trying hard to kill him with the knee in the throat. He could see it in the glassy clear middle of the tube, Arbogast burying him here and then going back to her and getting sixty thousand from her and going away and getting twenty more thousand from her and going away and coming back and getting thirty more thousand, forty more thousand, going away, coming back, going away and coming back and he could see her giving the money to Arbogast and he could get the sound of her asking Arbogast where he was and what had happened to him and Arbogast telling her he was somewhere around
and what difference did it make where he was and what he was doing as long as she gave the money when she was asked for it. And the pain came slashing into his throat and pouring into the tube, going up and down, going fast now and it was killing him. Outside the pain he felt something on his hand, like a little warm breeze warmer than the warm yellow air, and he knew it was the breath of Arbogast, coming from the face of Arbogast close to his hand as Arbogast kept jamming the knee into his throat. He twisted his hand and, bringing it up as he twisted it, bringing the gun up, far outside the tube of pain he heard the scream of Arbogast and then he pulled the trigger.