Part 15 (1/2)
”What Empire?” Love wanted to know ”What funny books?”
”They call them comic books,” said Mr Brown ”The outfit's called Empire Comics New tenants”
”Comic books” Love was a ith no children of his own, but he had observed his nephews reading counquit At the ti scene: the two boys lying shi+rtless and barefoot, in a swinging hahted els tangled together, the restless attention of each wholly absorbed in a crudely stapled smear of violent color labeled Love was a ith no children of his own, but he had observed his nephews reading counquit At the ti scene: the two boys lying shi+rtless and barefoot, in a swinging hahted els tangled together, the restless attention of each wholly absorbed in a crudely stapled smear of violent color labeled Superman Superman Love had followed the subsequent conquest by the strapping, tights-wearing hero of the newspapers, of cereal boxes, and lately of the Mutual Broadcasting System, and was not unknown to cast an eye toward Supere adventures ”And what could Bundists possibly have against Love had followed the subsequent conquest by the strapping, tights-wearing hero of the newspapers, of cereal boxes, and lately of the Mutual Broadcasting System, and was not unknown to cast an eye toward Supere adventures ”And what could Bundists possibly have against them?” them?”
”Ever seen one of these funny books, Jim?” Smith said ”If I was a ten-year-old boy, I'd be amazed there was still any nazis left over there in Germany, the way our friends here at Empire have been poundin' away at 'e drea in complete silence toward the stairs Except for the occasional urgent, not especially polite, re the elevator lobby that pushi+ng and shoving was only going to get so, the only sounds to be heard were the drumskin rumble of rubber boots and raincoats, the squeak and clatter of soles and heels, and the iot off the elevator, Ja policeman, with a nod to Chapin Brown, stepped in behind them to block the doors All of the elevators had been cordoned by blue-coated guards who stood rocking back on their heels, hands clasped behind their backs, a griht we'd better get 'eether,” said Brown ”I tended to concur”
Al S,” he said He glanced at his watch ”Not yet, at any rate”
Captain Harley now ca over He was a tall, broad Irishman with a scarred left eye socket, clenched like a fist around the white and blue bauble of the eye
”You shouldn't be here, Governor,” he said He turned his angry eye on Love ”I gave orders to clear the floor With all due respect, that uest”
”Have you found the bomb, Harley, or haven't you?” said Smith
Harley shook his head ”They're still in there poking around”
”And what are you going to do with all these people?” said S the man who appeared to be swathed in four or five layers of clothing, were herded into the stairwell
”We're taking theood people on over to Nedick's Buy the around on the sidewalk blabber-” Smith lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper not entirely devoid, even under the circueniality ”In fact,” he said ”No I'll tell you what Have one of your boys walk theht, and tell Johnny, or whoever it is, to give everyone a drink and put it on Al Snaled to one of his men, and sent hi in”- Sain-”ten minutes, I want you to clear out twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-six, and twenty-seven, too Send them toI don't know, Stouffer's or soot it?”
”Yes, Governor Tell you the truth, I was only going to give it five minutes before I evacuated the other floors”
”I have faith in M'Naughton,” Sht, now there's only onea meaty hand first over his lips, then across the whole lower half of his face, leaving a hting a natural inclination to snap so on it when I heard you come down”
”What is it?”
”There's one of 'em won't come out”
”Won't con kid Can't be more than twenty”
”Why won't this fellow come out?” said Al Smith ”What's the matter with him?”
”He says he has too much work to do”
Love snorted, then averted his face so as not to offend the policeman or his host with his amusement
”Well, of all the- Carry him out, then,” Smith said ”Whether he likes it or not”
”I'd love to, Your Honor Unfortunately” Harley hesitated, andhand ”Mr Kavalier has seen fit to handcuff his self to his drawing table At the ankle, to be exact”
This tihter with a spas
”What?” Smith closed his eyes for a e that? Where did he get the handcuffs?”
Here Harley flushed deeply, and muttered a barely audible reply
”What's that?” Smith said
”They're mine, Your Honor,” said Harley ”And to tell you the truth, I'hing fit had by now becos were in terrible shape To prevent public ehed as little as possible
”I see,” Sest boys and carry out the Goddamn table, too”
”It's, uh, well, it's built in, Your Honor Bolted to the wall”
”Then unbolt it! Just get the stupid sob out of there! His daet the stupid sob out of there! His damn pencil sharpener is probably booby-trapped!”
Harley signaled to a couple of his stoutest men
”Wait a minute,” Smith said He checked his watch ”God damn it” He pushed his derby toward the back of his head, er and more truculent ”Leave ain?”
”It's Kavalier with a K, Your Honor, only I don't see the use or the sense in letting you-”
”In all , Captain Harley, I have never once sent you or your men in to lay a hand on one of the tenants This isn't some flophouse on the Bowery” He started toward the door of Empire Comics ”I hope we can afford to devote a ive Mr Kavalier with a K the bum's rush”
”Mind if I come with you?” Love said He had recovered froh his pocket handkerchief now contained the evidence of so evil and brown inside him
”I can't let you do that, Jim,” Smith said ”It would be irresponsible”
”You have a wife and children to lose, Al All I have is my money”
Smith looked at his old friend Before Chapin Brown had rushed in to interrupt the not the Hudson River Bridge, a scheme that with Love's subsequent, abrupt retire, but rather the ly held and oft-aired views on the war that Britain was losing in Europe A loyal Willkiea small number of powerful industrialists in the country who had been actively in favor of Ah he was the son and grandson of millionaires, he had been troubled all his life, much like the president of the United States, by ard liberal impulses that, however fitful-the Love mills were all open shops- into his views, undoubtedly, was the memory, handed down from millionaire toprosperity that war and govern the Civil War All of this was known, or more or less understood, by Al S death at the hands of American nazis held a certain appeal to soet into the war, one way or another, for almost two years now Then, too, the man had lost his famously beautiful wife to cancer back in '56 or '37; since that tiate conduct that edy, also lost his s, or at least his fear of death What Sreat and true friend of Jae, had been one of the first men to die-of internal injuries-at Dachau, shortly after the camp opened in 1953[4][4] Sined, that the aniainst nazis and their American sympathizers was, at bottoerness in the man's eyes that both worried Smith and touched hiined, that the aniainst nazis and their American sympathizers was, at bottoerness in the man's eyes that both worried Sive it fivethe bastard out by his suspenders”
The waiting room of Empire Comics was a cold expanse of lass and chro and coldly splendid, rather like its designer, Mrs Sheldon Anapol, though neither Love nor S this parallel There was a long hemicircular reception desk opposite the entry, faced with black lass, behind which three black-coated firemen, their faces concealed by heavy welder'saround carefully with broom handles On the wall over the reception desk, there was a painting of a lithe iant in a dark blue union suit, his ar nest of thick iron chains that entangled his loins, belly, and chest On his chest, he wore the eh letters proclaihters crawled around on their hands and knees, searching the drawers and kneeholes of the reception desk for a bo, looked up as Harley led Governor S?” Smith said One of the firee for him, shook his head
The comic book workshop, or whatever it was called, had none of the polish and gleaht blue and littered with fag ends and cru paper The tables were a homely juht on three sides, with spectacular if not quite breathtaking views of the hotel and newspaper towers of e of Central Park, the battlelint of the East River, with a glie The ere shut, and a pall of tobacco lay over the rooainst a wall fro table canted doard and out, hunched a pale youngyards of snaled to Harley to leave them ”Five minutes,” Harley said as he withdrew
As soon as the police captain spoke, the young htedly in the direction of S e blue eyes, an aquiline nose, a strong chin
”Young man,” Smith said ”Mr Kavalier, is it? I'm Al S h he appeared to have been wearing his clothes rather too long, they were good enough clothes: a broadcloth shi+rt with a raray worsted trousers with a generous cuff But he had the undernourished look of an irant, his deep-set eyes bruised and wary, the tips of his fingers stained yellow The careful manicure of his nails had been ruined by ink He looked ill rested, dog-tired, and-it was a surprising thought to Love, as not a s of others-sad A less refined New Yorker probably would have asked him, Where's the funeral? Where's the funeral?