Chapter 11
So this how I finally meet Josey Wales. I staring at my face up next to a giant Coca Cola sign and it moving like I do. I scratch my nose and it scratch it nose. I try fix my lip and it try fix it lip. My face get warm and some color come to it face way up on that screen. All them people in Time square don't stop walking but they slow way down. A baby cry. A woman yell. Someone laugh. The men get ready. People looking around, looking for me. Looking for that face in the flesh. I don't know who putting my face up there but I go home and call Dugan to ask why he have me wait in Time Square and why the van never come but he don't answer so I turn on the television and pop open a beer for some casual drinking and they say on the television the police have to identify a man from his dental record because one of the homeless shoot his face off and they show the beautiful new M-16 rifle with a tag around the barrel but the police show the man face who get killed next and the reporter say the police think it have to do with Uglyman ongoing war on drugs. That or it a mercy killing.
The police commissioner come on and say there been 17 killing of ugly men around the city in the last month alone and he putting together a special force to catch the vigilante Uglyman and one of the news man ask shouldn't he be going after the people doing the killing and he say if everyone know we catch Uglyman then the killing gonna stop. The news man say so great, so the gang who put the hit out can keep selling they drug in peace and I laugh a little at that and then there a knock on my door.
Still looking at the television, I take a drink of my beer and yell, "Who is it?"
A voice that don't belong here say, "Sir we represent Wynan studios."
I go to the door, look through the hole. There a woman and a man, they face big, they body little. I open the door they regular size. They wearing nice clothe. Even the woman wearing a suit. They mouth come open like they forget how to keep it shut. But they not afraid. They something I never see before. The woman mouth close and open a few time like she a fish someone throw on dry land.
She say, "Sir, my name is Marsha Clemens. These are my co workers, Gary Marshall and"-
I burp and say, "Whadoyou want?"
She look me up and down and say, "Right. Sir like I said we come from Wynan studios"-
"How you find me?"
They all laugh, one at a time, like they don't hear what I say. Like they crazy people. But I never see no crazy people look like them.
One of the men lean in so he in my space, and his hand held out like he expect me to shake it and I strongly thinking about punching him. When he see I not gonna grab it, he pull his hand away and stroke his slick hair back.
He say, "Sir, we're qualified to make you an offer of $20,000. May we come in?"
I stagger out the way. They come inside, stepping like a duck does, staying close to each other, pushing they feet through the beer can and whiskey bottle.
I say, "Well? Where is it?"
The woman say, "The money?" and the way she looking at me it seem like she seeing a whole bunch of money herself. "Sir, you misunderstand. You would have to work for it."
I say, "Get out. Now."
"Sir"-
"I hurt you."
They laugh, like my threat excite them. I stagger.
"Listen," one of the men say, his eye moving over my body. "This is not a hard job."
"I already got a job."
"This job would require very little exertion on your part."
The woman say, "We saw your face up on the screen. You see, officially we're in New York checking out locations, getting permits, laying the ground work so they can shoot here come fall time."
