Chapter 3

Vermeer wondered what the hell the scheme was going to be as he walked back to his flat from where Eddie had dropped him off (this time it was in front of a butcher shop) and he was looking forward to the dinner he was going to enjoy at his favourite restaurant.

Joe hadn't changed, he could see that. He was glad: the Joe Cabot he knew was shrewd and calculating while containing an animal-like ferocity that could lash against anyone that opposed him at the wrong time. Vermeer remembered moments during the war where it seemed completely hopeless, and Joe had never lost his cool head. Vermeer had learned to respect Joe then, and Joe in turn learned to trust Vermeer.

He headed into his flat, wondering if he ought to go rent a movie or something. He was in the mood for one of those Westerns that he always used to watch. All those guys were fantastic in those days- real hardass bastards that wouldn't think twice about pumping the other guy full of bullets. Vermeer remembered watching loads of Westerns as a child, but the way he saw it, the best ones were made later, with Clint Eastwood and Charley Bronson and Lee Van Cleef. Those three were Vermeer's personal favourites to watch on screen, because they didn't just pretend to be tough: they were tough.

He headed over to the nearest video store. He wondered what he ought to get: maybe one of the newer films. He heard that JFK and Silence of the Lambs were both amazing films, but he was not sure which one he would enjoy most. He figured he ought to ask the store clerk if he saw them.

He walked in, nodding to the young guy behind the store. The guy had a weird face: Vermeer could see that there was some guinea blood in there somewhere. His eyes were narrowed and blinked every minute or so. A jumpy guy, Vermeer thought, one who'd never be able to shoot a gun at someone.

Vermeer looked around, and then back at the guy behind the counter, "Have you seen JFK?

The man shrugged, "Who hasn't?"

Vermeer continued, "Is it about Kennedy himself or what?"

The man smiled, as though he had been waiting for that question all day: it was a chance to show off his intelligence with movies. He started off in a voice that spoke faster with excitement, "Well that depends entirely on your preference. I mean, what do you really want to see? Because if you want to see a movie that's got this stubborn son of a bitch taking on the whole fucking American government, then JFK is the one for you. It's not about JFK himself, really, it's about the murder and how nobody in the country had the guts to try and solve it publicly. Then this guy named Garrison- Kevin Costner in the film- he's a fucking bulldozer. He goes right for the jaws, ready to figure this whole murder scheme and sue the asses off the people that paid for Kennedy's execution."

Vermeer was surprised by this guy's intensity, and his confidant opinion, and he found it hard to interrupt to tell him about how he had stood in the crowd during Kennedy's assassination in Dallas and how he had heard shots coming from the grassy knoll. He had been there and had seen it all, and he wondered when he'd be able to talk back to this guy.

He zoned back into what the guy was saying.

"So anyway, the assholes realize what's going on, and they get scared. Really scared. They send him a shitstorm of trouble you know? It gets worse and worse. I mean, how's he going to go to court? What's he gonna do? And then, by the time he's in court, it doesn't even fucking matter whether he wins or not. It's the fact that he stood up to the motherfuckers in power and questioned what was told. That's the real essence of the story."

Vermeer scratched his right temple, "Well, haven't you given it away to me now? I mean, I was there when the bullets tore his head apart, I was watching Garrison on TV when he went into court, so what the fuck do I have to look forward to now that you've given away the storyline?"

The man stared incredulously at Vermeer, "What are you talking about? I've given you the essence. I haven't given you any revealing information about the story! I was just answering your question."

Vermeer shook his head, "Word of advice, kid. Never overload on info. You'd get more customers."

The man snorted sarcastically, "Well thanks for the advice." Vermeer had the feeling that he would have said more, but he wanted the customer to rent a film. Vermeer wondered if this guy always acted like this when asked a specific question about a movie he saw.

Vermeer headed over to where the copies of JFK were, and gave it to the man to ring out. He dropped the money onto the counter and took the movie into his hands.

He headed out of the door, not knowing that he had just met one of the guys that Joe was pulling in to be in the heist.