Laser sighs hard. Cuts another nail and shakes his head. “You have a show tomorrow?”
“Fuck yes. Big show.”
“How big?”
“I’m hoping for a hundred.”
“That is big. Any reps?”
“Haven’t heard.”
“Were there reps last show?”
“I think so.”
“That guy with the mullet and the tie?”
“I think so.”
“That’s cool.”
Lulu drops her half-smoked cigarette into a beer can by the side of the bed and gets up. She walks into the bathroom, pulling her thong down and leaving it on the floor. She leaves the bathroom door open and Laser can hear her piss splashing. He closes his eyes and groans for a second time. Tries to remember if sex with Lulu last night was enjoyable. He’s not sure but he doubts it was great.
“You have a last name?” Laser shouts.
Lulu laughs. “I didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“How many days have I been here?”
“Two. But sleeping mostly. I think you’ve been awake maybe six hours. You ate a burger yesterday. Watched that one movie about Klaus Nomi.”
“That was fucked up.”
“What’s your last name?” Laser shouts.
“I like being anonymous.”
“Seriously?”
Lulu comes out of the bathroom, grabs her underwear and sits down on the bed next to Laser and kisses him on the cheek. She says, “It’s been fun. Fun for you?”
“Sure,” he says, not looking up at her. He’s using the nail-file end of the clippers to pick something out from under his thumb. Maybe it’s a poppy seed. Maybe just a bit of fuzz.
Lulu stands up and pulls her underwear on. She digs around in Laser’s closet and grabs a T-shirt and some shorts. “I can’t remember if I came here wearing anything,” she says. “You mind if I borrow this?”
She holds up the T-shirt. It’s black and says Shinobi.
Laser looks up. “Actually, I’d rather—”
“Thanks,” Lulu says. She throws the shirt on braless and pulls on the shorts. She walks over to Laser and kisses him again, this time on the lips, and then she licks the tip of his nose. “I’ll see you tomorrow night,” she says and then she leaves.
Laser gives up on fishing the black thing out from under his nail. Decides it’s just paint or ink. He gets up and opens the shades again and lets in the light. There is light traffic outside but it’s enough for him to decide that he’ll wait to drive over to the electronics store. He grabs a manila envelope from on top of his dresser and catches himself in the mirror across the room.
He is not lean enough. He stretches and poses and is self-conscious the whole time. Turning twenty-five was something of a cold shower. Laser’s metabolism downshifted when he turned twenty and now he has to work out to stay fit, not just to remain toned. Looking in the mirror, he doesn’t see the new weight so much as he sees the stress grinding away at him. He looks haggard and sleep deprived and not nearly as energized as he thinks he needs to be. For the first time in forever he reminds himself that he has a way out. That he could chuck the manila envelope in the trash and go back to bed. Even more he could disappear. The thoughts pass quickly, sharply. He shakes his head and pinches his eyes closed. Laser is sure of this. Butterflies will not dissuade him. Stress will not sideline him. I can sleep when I’m dead, he tells himself. Laser smiles and says, whispering, “This is going to work.”
Laser meets Gustav Richter in the lobby of a hotel in Chelsea and already the bile is coming up in his throat.
It’s always this way. Laser abhors these meetings but sees them as a necessary evil. Part of him, a very large part, wants to just fast-forward to when he doesn’t need money like this. Money from someone like Gustav. Laser swallows his pride and rage and just smiles. Gustav, older than he looks in clear plastic-framed glasses and a gray goatee, gives Laser a big, long hug. “You look fantastic. I can’t wait for you to tell me all about this latest endeavor of yours.” His Austrian accent thick as the lenses of his glasses.
Gustav escorts Laser to a table in the back of the lobby adjacent to the café. A waitress appears almost immediately. Gustav orders coffee and Laser a Bloody Mary. When the waitress leaves, Gustav, grinning wildly, rubs his hands together and says, “Tell me. I’ve already heard some rumors.”
“Really?”
“Yes. These building remodels, if they’re anything like the one you did in Passaic, are going to be massive. I’m estimating, and this is just based on stuff we’ve done together in the past, that we’ll come in about twice what you needed for the ConsumerTronics murals. Rumor has it you’ve got your eyes set on something really big. An apartment complex perhaps?”
“At least twice, Gustav.”
“Oh, you do have something good for me.”
“Better, actually. The rumors are true. We’ve been toying with an apartment building, someplace here in Newark. The vision is taking something slated for demolition or just fallen into total disrepair and creating a green living space out of it. Cody sees a hollowed-out center with a garden and spiral staircase. Rufus sees solar panels and interactive water features. I’ve been partial to seeding the place, letting nature run riot and then bombing over the overgrowth.”
Gustav nods along to every word.
“But the plan has changed. We’re doing something spectacular.”
“Yes.”
“Your first two down payments have allowed us to set up not one building but three. Cross-country. We’ve already got months put into this and over three hundred operatives. A small group of us will head West and organize, do overnights like we did in Bangor and Silver Springs. In and out and the community is transformed within hours. Take a look.” Laser pulls a sheet of paper from the manila envelope and hands it to Gustav.
Gustav reads, shakes his head. “This is incredible. This second one…”
“Boulder?”
“Yes. I can’t imagine how this will look. You said three. There are two here.”
“Last one’s a surprise.”
“Do tell.”
“The Tiller Casino in Vegas.”
“It’s certainly a nice target—bastion of everything wrong with America. I heard it was originally going to be a replica of the Taj Mahal but that got too pricey. Regardless, it’s officially the most wasteful and hideous construction site in the United States. But to get in there you’d need hundreds of people and months of preparation. Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“We’ll do the Tiller Casino. Already have several hundred people lined up to help. Uniforms have shipped.”
Gustav laughs. It’s an uncomfortable cackle. “Don’t be ridiculous, Laser. There are over fifty floors, several hundred rooms. Not to mention the fact that the building will be open by the end of the summer, mid-August at the earliest. How would that even be imaginable?”
“I’ve got a secret weapon is how.”
The drinks arrive. Laser sees himself kicking the table up and pouring his drink over Gustav’s head. He takes a deep breath instead. For his part, Gustav takes a long sip and eyes Laser