The Outfit by Richard Stark

York. When Fairfax came on the line, Bronson said, "Parker's causing some more trouble."
    "St Clair's conscious," Fairfax said. "They say he'll pull through."
    "What? Who cares? Two professionals knocked over a gambling setup of ours tonight."
    "You mean Parker's threat of-"
    "I mean two pros knocked over one of our operations! You got wax in your ears?"
    "All right, Art, all right. Just take it easy."
    "The hell with take it easy! What have we got, god damn it, do we have an organization or don't we? Do we have twelve thousand employees, coast to coast, or don't we? What the hell is this? One lousy man can goose us any time he wants?"
    "You sure this was connected with Parker, Art?"
    "Who else?"
    "Parker was just in New York two days ago."
    "For Christ's sake, do you listen or do you just stand there and play with your moustache? This wasn't Parker, this was two of Parker's friends! You know what that means?"
    "Art, did they say so? Now quit screaming at me for a minute. Did they say it had anything to do with Parker? Maybe it was somebody else altogether-"
    "No. Amateurs try to hit us sometimes, but not pros. Pros leave us alone. Why should two pros suddenly hit us? You like coincidence, maybe?"
    "All right, so it was Parker himself, faking it. Right now he's on a plane to Oregon, maybe, or Maine, or someplace, and tomorrow night he does it again. And you stick pins in a map and say, 'Look at that, all over the country. It couldn't all be just one man.'"
    "Maybe so."
    "Sure. Those robbery guys are loners. They don't go help somebody for the hell of it."
    "Yeah. And what the hell difference does it make?"
    "What?"
    "If Parker's doing it, or somebody else is doing it, what the hell difference does it make? Somebody's doing it! We still got hit for eighty-seven grand last night!"
    "Well, all I was saying was-"
    "Don't give me a lot of talk! I didn't call you you should give me a lot of theories – who needs them?"
    "All right, Art, it's your dime."
    "It's a hell of a lot more than a dime, you bastard. Don't get snotty with me."
    "I'm not Parker, Art. Shout at him if you want, don't shout at me.
    "All right. Wait. Wait a minute." Bronson put the phone down and took a deep breath. He rubbed his hand over his face. He lifted the instrument again and said, "All right, I just got upset, that's all."
    "Sure, Art. What did you want?"
    "Parker. I want Parker. Don't that sound easy? He's one miserable man, and I'm a coast-to-coast organization. Don't it sound easy?"
    "But it isn't easy."
    "I know that. All right. What about this Parker? What about his background? Where's he from? Where's he live? What kind of family? He's got to have some family some place."
    "He had a wife, but she's dead. He killed her himself."
    "There's got to be somebody. I need a hook in him. I need to be able to grab him. Listen, you put people on it. I want to know who this guy Parker is. I want to know where he's soft."
    "I don't think he's soft anywhere."
    "Everybody is. Everybody's soft somewhere. We're an organization, right? Can't we find one man? Find me this bastard Parker. Find what he is, what he does, who he knows! Find HIM!"
    "I'll do my best, Art."
    "Don't do your best, god damn you! Find him!"
    "All right, Art, calm down. I'll call you back tomorrow or the next day."
    "Just find him."
    He hung up and sat a while longer at the desk, brooding. Then he got to his feet and left the office. He was remembering how abrupt he'd been with Willa, and he wanted to make it up to her. She was somewhere in one of these draughty rooms, maybe still down at the television set. He'd find her and they could go for a drive. Maybe up to the Falls. And stop someplace for dinner. And leave the damn bodyguard behind for once.
    He stopped, halfway down the stairs, and thought it over. There was no sense going overboard. Just keep the bodyguards in the other Cad, like this morning. It would be almost the same. Willa would hardly even know they were there.

4
    THREE DAYS