Tough Luck by Jason Starr Page A

unless you really want in,” Chris said. “I talked to Ralph and Filippo at the diner—they okay’d it, but I need your word.”
    “Come on, just tell me,” Mickey said.
    Chris waited then said, “We’re gonna rob a house in Manhattan Beach.”
    “You’re kidding me,” Mickey said.
    “What?” Chris said.
    “That’s it? ” Mickey said.
    “Just hear me out, will ya?”
    “I think I’ve heard enough.”
    “Just listen. We’re not just gonna go to some house, ring the bell, and if no one answers break in. We’re not stupid. We’ve got it all figured out. We know nobody’s gonna be there, we know what’s in the house, and we know exactly how to get in and out.”
    “Yeah?” Mickey said. “And how do you know all this?”
    “Because Filippo’s cousin lives there.”
    “His cousin?”
    “The guy and his wife are gonna be away at the Poconos for the weekend,” Chris said. “They got another house up there—you know, a country house—and they go away all the time. They leave Friday, come back Sunday. So on Saturday nobody’s gonna be home.”
    “So let me get this straight,” Mickey said. “Filippo wants to rob his own cousin?”
    “He’s rich as hell,” Chris said.
    “It’s still his cousin.”
    “He’s a scumbag too,” Chris said. “Filippo said he cheats on his wife all the time, sleeps with whores, you name it. And the shit we’re gonna take—it’s all insured. The big prize, the wife’s diamond engagement ring, is two fuckin’ carats, worth twenty g’s easy on the street. Filippo heard his mother talking to the wife—she never wears the ring and she doesn’t keep it locked up, neither. She’s got other jewelry in the house too. All we gotta do is find where she keeps it, and we figure with one extra guy we got a better shot at it.”
    “You’re out of your mind,” Mickey said.
    “Why?” Chris said. “We got it all figured out. Last time, I cleared a thousand bucks, but we think we got a shot at more this time.”
    “Who did you rob last time?”
    “Filippo’s grandmother.”
    Mickey shook his head. He couldn’t believe he was even listening to this.
    “We coulda done better with that one,” Chris went on. “We heard a noise and left early, but we didn’t have to. That’s why we all think another guy might help. With another guy maybe we coulda got his grandmother’s wedding band and fancy silverware and made another couple grand easy.”
    “I’m not gonna rob a house,” Mickey said, “and I’m definitely not gonna rob Filippo’s cousin.”
    “Hey, you were the one who called me,” Chris said. “I was just trying to help you out, because I felt bad for you, but if you don’t want to get all your money back plus some, that’s fine. It was hard to talk Ralph and Filippo into it, anyway. They wanted to use this guy Jimmy instead, but I told them you’re in or I’m out, and that finally got them. If we find the ring, we could get at least five grand each. But if you don’t want a chance of getting five grand for fifteen minutes’ work with absolutely no risk, that’s up to you.”
    Mickey wanted to leave, but he kept thinking about the money—five grand, enough to pay off Artie, make a deposit in his bank account, start school in the spring, and get his whole life back on track.
    “So what are you gonna do,” Mickey said, “just go break the door down?”
    “Nah, we’re gonna blow it up with a stick of dynamite.” Chris rolled his eyes. “Ralph used to work for a locksmith on Avenue U. He knows how to pick any kind of lock, and he can dismantle alarms too. Whatever we get Ralph’ll bring to a fence in Queens. Let’s say we come away with thirty grand worth of shit. We sell it to the fence for twenty and boom—we get five grand apiece.”
    “What if the police catch on?” Mickey asked.
    “How could they?” Chris said.
    “Gee, I don’t know,” Mickey said, “what if they figure out only Filippo’s relatives are getting