Two and Out
by
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Like clockwork, Richie Speranza left Medford Square as he did every Friday night to have his hair cut, whether he needed it or not, at the Square One Mall in Saugus, about a mile up Route One from Paulie Ayala’s office. He drove up the ramp and parked his BMW in the open area near the Sears entry and wandered into the mall complex, fighting his way through the smokers crammed in the entrance and a clutter of teenage mall rats with those jeans that looked like they were designed by Omar the Tentmaker. Impeccably dressed himself in a Paul Frederick open neck shirt covered by a lamb’s wool red sweater and tan slacks, he snickered as he paraded by them. He walked onto the second floor by the escalator, mixing in with the throng of shoppers. About forty yards up, among a cluster of small shops, he entered Dick’s barbershop.
"There’s the fucker now," Paulie Ayala said, lowering his newspaper. He sat with Sonny on the long, wooden bench outside the Walden’s bookstore and Sam Goody’s. "Where?" Sonny asked. "You payin’ f----n’ attention or what Sonny?" "I’m payin’ attention," Sonny answered defensively. "Over there. Walkin’ into the barbershop." "Oh, yeah. I got time to buy the new Britney Spears record?" Ayala slapped him on the arm with the rolled-up newspaper. "Keep up the bullshit, you dumb fucker, and godson to Sally or not, you’ll be flippin’ burgers back in Chelsea." Sonny frowned and looked down at his shoes. "What did I do?" Ayala didn’t bother to answer but instead turned his attention to the passers-by. "Look at that fuckin’ geek." He pointed to a teen-aged girl with spiked red hair and pale white skin. "How would you like to wake up next to her in bed?" Sonny looked her over. "I wouldn’t mind," he said. Paulie gave him his best dirty look. He decided to change the topic. "You know, I’ve been thinkin’ of our approach to this dirt bag. When he comes out of the shop, I’ll start walkin’ across so I run right into him. Then you join us, and we walk out to the parking lot with him. Then we get his ass into the car like I told you earlier. Think you can handle it without fallin’ into a pile of shit along the way?" "I’m cool," Sonny replied. Paulie Ayala sat quietly for a minute. "On second thought," he said, "go and buy that record you want–what was it?" Sonny perked up. "Britney Spears." "Who the f--- is he?" "It’s a she." "Whatever. Probably one of those transvestites. Go buy the record so it looks like we’ve been shoppin’. And hurry the f--- up." Dutifully, Sonny stood and walked across to Sam Goody’s while Paulie sat looking over the crowd. He felt behind his leather jacket for the Glock nine, assuring himself of his readiness. Did that dumb ass Sonny remember to bring the Louisville Slugger? No matter, he always kept an extra baseball bat in his trunk anyway. The empty faced girl with the spiked red hair and the pale features suddenly appeared from out of a shop on the other side of the mall. Bouncing a copy of a teen magazine off her hip, she was joined by a gangling boy–maybe fifteen–with bad acne. They headed right for his bench. "What did the geek do then?" the boy was asking as they sat next to him. Her hand went to the ring in her nose. "Well, it’s not so much what he did. I asked him, ‘Are you serious?’ y’ know? Well, he said, y’ know, ‘I’m cool.’ So I said, ‘y’ know, I think I am, too.’ Y’ know what I mean?" Paulie tried not to look at them. If that f-----’ broad said "y’ know?" one more time he’d clip her with the Glock instead of Speranza. He almost said, "No, I don’t know," but decided to keep the peace. Where was Sonny? He almost hoped Sonny didn’t appear, his joining up with these two linguists would really make their day. Then, suddenly, from the barbershop, Richie Speranza appeared, looking casually to his left and his right. Paulie stood and walked toward him, being sure to time his interception. Speranza’s handsome face lit in recognition as he saw Paulie approaching. "Hey, Paulie!" he greeted Ayala effusively. "What are you doin’ here? I thought you favored Louis’ and Brooks Brothers and them other high-class places."
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About the Book
In Two and Out the author of Loyalty provides a gritty novel of crime and betrayal centering on four members of a newly formed crew that intends to hit the jackpot with two robberies and then leave the criminal life entirely. While the fall 2000 presidential campaign plays itself out, the so-called Candidates’ crew–utilizing rubber masks of Bush, Gore, Cheney, and Lieberman–plan and execute a robbery on a college campus and in a train terminal in Boston. Led by a brilliant, arrogant professor of criminal justice, the group coalesces. There’s a reclusive, retired Boston detective who dreams of a new life in California; a manic-depressive fallen priest attempting to reconnect to his estranged daughter; a race car driver down on his luck. They see the two big hits as the magic bullet to rectify their lives. But unforeseen complications occur, especially when one target is a leader of the local Mafia. While the FBI races to identify the members of the crew, Mike Fallon, the lead instigator must cope with his own demons– dying wife and gnawing self-doubt. Curry’s first novel was praised by Robert B. Parker as "exciting, intelligent, a pleasure to read. Loyalty was optioned as a movie by the distinguished actor/singer Harry Connick, Jr.
About the Author
John A. Curry is President Emeritus of Northeastern University. He is a graduate of that university and earned his doctorate from Boston University. From 1989-96 he served as president of Northeastern University, elevating its status to that of a research institution. His first novel Loyalty, available through 1st Books, was rated "a four-star novel" by critic David Brudnoy’s Bookshelf and labeled "a truly successful first novel." Two and Out is Curry’s second novel. He lives in Saugus, Massachusetts, where he is currently at work on a third crime fiction novel, the sequel to Loyalty.