Killing Them Softly (Cogan's Trade Movie Tie-in Edition)

with.”
    â€œNothing,” Cogan said. “Only, there’s a couple things I didn’t know.”
    â€œTell me about it,” the driver said.
    â€œMitch,” Cogan said. “He can’t do it. I had things pretty well lined up for tonight. I know where Amato’s gonna be, and I’m pretty sure I can find out before dark where the kid that I’m sure of’s going to be. But at least we had Amato lined up. We could do a double, if things went right, or we’d at least get the Squirrel and he’s the big one anyway. But Mitch can’t do it.”
    â€œYou asked for him,” the driver said. “You and Dillon both asked for him. You said you couldn’t do it, and Dillon of course can’t. We got you what you asked for.”
    â€œWhat I asked for,” Cogan said, “was, I didn’t know this, see? I wanted Mitch the way he was a year, a couple years ago. He’s fuckin’ worthless now.”
    â€œWhat’s the matter with him?” the driver said.
    â€œThe first thing I heard about,” Cogan said, “he’s got this beef down in Maryland. He thinks he’s gonna do a bit for it and he’s scared of the bit because he thinks his wife’s gonna dump him if he does. Which, from what he tells me, she is, and even if she wasn’t, he hasn’t got any idea he’s gonna really enjoy doing the bit anyway.”
    â€œI don’t see what that’s got to do with this,” the driver said.
    â€œIt don’t seem to, at first,” Cogan said, “except that he’s not supposed to go any place but Maryland without getting permission, and naturally he didn’t, come up here, so he’s afraid to go out and he stays inna room all the time. Because they’ll heave him in just for being here.
    â€œAnyway,” Cogan said, “he’s staying inside and he’s fucking everything that jumps.”
    â€œHe said,” the driver said, “when I told him you wanted Mitch, he said it was all right, but it might be the best idea if you could find some way to keep the fellow locked in the bathroom all the time he’s here. Well, what is it? Won’t he come out?”
    â€œHe’ll come out if we want him to,” Cogan said. “I don’t think we do. When he landed here he wanted me to get him a broad, and I thought, what the fuck business is it of mine? I thought he wanted a broad. I called up a guy, guy got him a broad. Beautiful. But what he did was get that broad to give him the names of some other broads, and these aren’t hookers in from Lawrence for the night, either. These’re girls that see a lot of guys and talk to a lot of guys, and they all know he’s in town by now, and that isn’t gonna help us. This kid I sent around, I asked for one that’s just getting started and doesn’t know anybody from a pisshole in the snow. But he also found Polly, he tells me, and there isn’t one guy in town doesn’t know Polly, and this silly bastard hadda fight with her, for Christ sake. That girl talks to cops.”
    â€œHas he lost his mind?” the driver said.
    â€œI think,” Cogan said, “I think there’s a limited amount of shit a guy can take, and Mitch went over his limit. When I met him he was drinking up a storm, and I said something to him and he told me, it scares the shit out of him when he’s got to fly and he can’t sleep the night before and he’s got to get something in him so he can sleep. So, okay, and I could see there’s a lot of things bothering him. Let the guy do what he wants.
    â€œWell,” Cogan said, “that was three days ago, andwhat he didn’t fuck in them three days, he drank. When I left him, he was drunk. Two-thirty in the afternoon, and he was finishing up a fight with another heavy cruiser he got from some place. Really drunk, talking and everything, he can’t remember what year things happened, for Christ sake, and I chew him out for it and he’s gonna go right out in his skivvies and do the job now. He won’t shut up.”
    â€œHave you talked to Dillon?” the driver said. “Is Dillon well enough to talk to?”
    â€œTold me he went out for a walk yesterday,” Cogan said. “Said he’s feeling much stronger, he had a good dinner last night and watched TV. Yeah. Dillon thinks what I think. This guy’ll blow the whole thing if we