Pinpoints of light began to flow across his vision as he struggled to wrap up the summary of how he found himself here. The “here” being dangled outside a window of a predatory loan business in Las Vegas, Nevada. Not to be confused with Las Vegas New Mexico. He thought he should be specific in his summary since there were predatory loan places everywhere and not just Las Vegas Nevada.
He took the pinpoints of light as an indication that his vision would soon be lost to unconsciousness and he should wrap things up quickly before he passed out but the lights came into focus and he recognized the shiny faces of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington flying out of his pockets. Oh well, it’s not like he had a couch to lose them in. He made a mental note to find a couch for his concrete man cave. He needed a place to store loose change.
The name predatory loan office was the ever imaginative Acme Loans. Not surprisingly they don’t advertise themselves as a predatory loan service and the more accurate Loan Shark term is a no-no,
It’s as if it the name sprang from the imagination of a crook who had grown up on Looney Tunes but then Frank reminded himself that he used to be a crook who had been raised on Looney Tunes and put a halt to the judging. He’d best get a move on with this story before consciousness left him.
The good news was that he had found Arnie Spilatro. The bad news was that he had found Arnie Spilatro. Along the way he discovered he had some detective skills. It also helped that Nick The Peep knew of the type of places where Spilatro could be found hanging out. Asking around at some of the bars and casinos that fit his profile, Frank was able to identify Acme Loans as belonging to one Arnie Spilatro.
One other thing he learned about his skills was that his ability to keep things on the down low needed work. Arnie was waiting for him with two friends. They were the two very large friends who were now emptying Franks loose change all over the streets of Vegas.
Nick was afraid that even though he was offering Arnie a job he would not believe the offer coming from someone claiming to be Nick over the phone. This is why he hired Frank to make the offer in person in an attempt to avoid the very situation Frank was in now. It had worked, for Nick. He was not in Frank’s predicament. It was time to plead his case before he lost consciousness and/or was dropped.
“Mr. Spilatro, there is no way I could cause you any harm. These two gueril-uh large gentleman are quite capable of preventing that. Especially since any weapons I could have but did not have on my person would be on the streets of Vegas below.”
The blur that was Arnie Spilatro appeared to shrug his shoulders and muttered “You have a point. Let him up.”
A few minutes later his vision returned and Frank was sitting on a beat-up old couch that had a look that said, “I fell off a truck at 70 miles an hour and I still look better than you.” Frank felt like he’d been thrown off a truck so the couch was getting no argument from him. Coming into focus was Guerrilla #2 offering him a cappuccino. A name totally made up without much imagination but he did look smaller than Guerrilla #1. Frank had a smart remark about the cappuccino and stereotypes but thought better of it.
“Mr Spilatro thanks for listening to me and for not killing me, mostly for the not killing me part. I just came to on behalf of Nick The Peep to offer you employment. I do not know the nature of the job but I have a number to call and he will tell you all about it. Frank pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and handed him a card. Thankfully, his fat George Castanza-like wallet had not succumbed to the gravity inversion he had been subjected to.
Spilatro told him he was making a call and that he should make himself at home. The kind of home where guests are routinely hung outside the window, thought Frank.
Ten minutes and a cappuccino refill later, Spilatro returned looking happy or a happy as a Vegas mobster could look without having just beat a murder rap.
“Well it looks like your boss and I have come to an agreement so you are free to go.” Frank had a few questions but decided that “thank you” was the safe response and headed back to the airport.
Nick had been happy with the job that Frank had done and wired him his money before he left for airport. Deciding he had earned himself a treat he upgraded his seat to avoid the middle aisle and included a drink voucher.
Upon draining his Scotch he reclined his seat, closed his eyes and put the upside down vision of the Vegas Streets to rest.
