The Peddler by Richard S Prather

Maria’s arm and pulled her to him, slid an arm around her waist and fondled her breast. “Come on, sweetheart, I’m anxious to see what makes you so popular.”
    Maria glanced at Tony, frowning, but he smiled and winked. Alterie started out with her, then stopped again.
    “Oh, pardon me,” he said. “You gentlemen will excuse me? You’ll excuse me, won’t you, Romero?”
    Tony knew what he was going to do now. He didn’t want to raise hell in the parlor, though, unless he had to. He squinted, as if considering Alterie’s request. “Well … I don’t know,” he said. “Ye-e-es, Frankie, you’re excused.”
    Alterie stopped smiling, started to speak, then pulled Maria with him as he headed for the door. “Come on, sweetheart,” he said, “let’s have us some fun.”
    After they left, Leo said, “Uh, Tony, you want to blow?”
    “Go get your business done; I’ll wait here in case Alterie comes out in a hurry.”
    Tony thought Leo looked relieved, but he also seemed to become suddenly more nervous and tense. He leaned closer and said, “He’s a mean bastard, Tony. I mean it. You got to watch him.”
    “Go on, pick up the stuff. You can tell me how mean he is later.”
    Leo went out and Tony sat on the gray couch. He lit a cigarette and smoked half of it before Leo returned.
    When Leo came back in he sat down by Tony and said, “We got nothin’ more to do here, pal. We can take off if you’re ready.”
    “Maybe you got nothin’ more to do here. Go ahead if you want to.”
    “You’re gonna wait for him, huh?”
    “What you think?”
    “O.K. I know it wouldn’t look good if you took off—to Sharkey particular, but I don’t like it. I tell you he’s a mean bastard. He knows you’re after him. He gets a chance, and you jump him, he’d like nothin’ better’n a chance to kill you. Shark’d cover for him, and you’d be no more trouble to him.”
    Tony didn’t say anything. There was a tight feeling in his stomach. He stubbed out his cigarette and lit another.
    “O.K.,” Leo said. “He wears a gun, just like I do. You want mine?”
    Tony shook his head.
    “Carries a knife, too, sometimes. You wouldn’t be the first guy he used it on.”
    Tony inhaled deeply on the cigarette. He felt sure he could handle Alterie, but there was always a chance some damn thing could go wrong. This had to be handled now, though. Tony knew that everything that happened—and for that matter everything of any importance he’d done since he started going around with Leo—would reach Sharkey’s ears in a matter of hours. And Angelo’s ears.
    He turned to Leo. “You sticking around?”
    “Hell, yes, I am. Hell, I’m in it as much as you. I ain’t gonna run out on you. Not now.”
    “Thanks, Leo. I knew you weren’t anyway. Do one thing, will you. Don’t let him pull the gun on me. I’ll take care of anything else.”
    Leo licked his lips and nodded silently.
    “Say, Leo,” Tony said after a minute, “you know Alterie’s district, don’t you? About as well as he does?”
    “Sure. Why?”
    “Nothin’. I was just wondering.” They waited.
    Tony was beginning to feel excited. There was a muted roaring in his head that spread through his body, made him seem to tingle all over. This was a break, when you came right down to it, he thought.
    He heard Alterie in the hall before he saw him. He was laughing and joking loudly with somebody, then he came through the door into the parlor. He stopped and looked at Leo and Tony.
    “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said. “You guys still here? Hey, Romero, you waiting for me to get through, or what?” He laughed. “Worth waiting for.”
    He walked across the room and stopped in front of Tony and Leo as they got up from the couch. He didn’t look at Leo, but he said to him, looking at Tony, “This pal of yours, he’s just a kid, huh? Practically a baby. Hey, Romero, you been weaned yet?”
    “Alterie, seems like you been on my back since we come in. Seems