Double Danger

Chapter 4

Louis Santos was sweating profusely as he scaled the levee. Although it was now dark, he wanted to avoid the tourists on the nearby walkway to the river. As he scuttled along the rise of the levee, he slipped several times on the grass, which was laden with humidity. He finally came to an old barge that was docked at the foot of the levee away from the more populated river boat landing.

Louis pulled out a cigar, bit off the end, and struck a match, waving the match slowly back and forth before lighting his cigar. He then took a long pull off the Havana and waited.

As he straightened his tie and smoothed his wet shirt, he thought about how much he hated New Orleans. It was too damn hot, too French, and the light was all wrong. He missed Baton Rouge, and he had no intention of hanging around much longer. He"d be here just long enough to finish business, collect his share and split.

Louis removed a handkerchief and wiped his brow. When he noticed a flashlight illuminate one area of the barge, he approached cautiously, keeping his face turned from the light.

“You "ere on biznez?” the voice from the barge asked in heavy Cajun dialect as Louis got closer. The voice strained to be heard, as if leaking out through the pores in the man"s throat.

“It"s me, you crazy old f**k,” Louis snapped. “Point that light the other way!”

“I thought it was you, but I can"t see much in the dark. Co"mon "board.” The disfigured barge captain struggled to time his words with each out-breath.

Louis knew that despite the old Cajun"s cordiality, he was as scared as a rodent in a buzzard"s claws. And Louis enjoyed that immensely. “No, I"ll stay on shore,” Louis growled, “I"m just here to make the delivery, Faustin.”

Louis pulled an envelope from his pocket and waved it at the man. He observed how Faustin kept his distance, his feet frozen to the deck of the barge. When he saw a shudder crawl down the old duffer"s body, Louis smiled with satisfaction.

“You kin pass the money to me from dere,” Faustin responded as he reached for the envelope. He kept his eyes fixed on Louis in the dim light, focusing on the heavy pouches beneath his visitor"s dead eyes. He had long ago memorized Louis"s meaty neck and short arms with those savage, cinder block hands.

Louis purposely let Faustin get a look at his strong frame and grinned as the barge captain struggled to suppress his trembling. After a moment, Louis abruptly pulled back out of the light and took a puff off his cigar. While he waited for Faustin to count the money, he glanced toward the river boat landing and the voices that were wafting their way.

When Faustin finished counting, he suddenly came to his senses. “Din"t need ta count. "Wasn"t thinkin." Of course I trust you. No insult intended.” He shoved the envelope into his pocket and clumsily lit a long brown cigarette to ease his nerves.

In the glimmer of the lighter, Louis could see the left half of the barge captain"s head. Faustin"s face was covered with gnarled scar tissue so tight to the bone that the side of his face looked like a death mask. A hole marked his throat like a sunken bulls eye.

“Fuckin" gargoyle,” Louis mumbled. Louis believed people deserved what they got. And he figured that was why he himself had it so good, because he deserved it. He took another long puff off his Havana and then stepped a bit closer to Faustin just to get a reaction.

“Ya shur dere"s no chance of dogs detectin"?” Faustin asked as he backed further away. He squeezed out the sounds, each word fraught with tension.

“No way. And no more questions. Lookin" at you makes me wanna puke. You"re getting top dollar for this business arrangement, and you"re not backing out now, hear me? The rest of the money will be on the delivery end. So shut your ugly face.”

“But the last attempt whar aborted. You din"t say nothin" about no girls dyin" on us.”

“Unfortunate accident,” Louis shrugged.

“Cops gonna be checkin" on dis one, too?” Faustin prodded.

“Of course they"ll come sniffin" and doing a bunch of procedural bullshit. But it"s all been taken care of, so shut the f**k up about it.”

“Sorry. Jus" watchin" out for m"self.”

“You just watch out for me,” Louis warned menacingly. “I"m the one delivering your future. In the meantime, keep out of sight.” When Louis saw another river boat coming in close to the barge, he turned around and started to scale back up the levee.

meFaustin"s hand automatically went to the hole in his throat. In a self-protective urge to make sure things were smooth between him and Louis, he hustled to the edge of the barge. “No need ta rush off,” he barked to Louis, “I got some whiskey here on da barge.”

Louis paused to look back at the old Cajun. In the moonlight, he could see the two mismatched sides of the captain"s head. “No, I can"t stand your face,” Louis snarled. Just don"t f**k anything up, or you"ll lose whatever face you"ve got left. Do you remember how that felt, Faustin?" Louis stamped a foot toward the old captain as if he were about to come back after him.

Faustin backed away so fast he had to grab onto an oil barrel for support. He could feel the wet seep down his pant leg as he waited for Louis to disappear over the levee. Then he abruptly unzipped his fly and relieved what was left in his bladder over the side of the barge. His face twitched, and his hands shook uncontrollably as he struggled to tuck himself back into his pants.