what is the use

by horace p sternwall

duke walked into the room. curtis was sitting on the bed, staring at his feet. he did not even have his shoes on. what are you doing? duke asked. we are leaving in an hour and a half. you do not even have your shoes on. i will have them on, do not worry. you know how i operate. i like to be ready in plenty of time, just in case something comes up. curtis nodded. i know, i know. what are you doing, anyway? you look like a goof, just sitting there. i was thinking. thinking! about what? about what is the use of all this? it is just the same thing, over and over. go on, duke said. first we set up the job. then we pull the job. then we lie low. then we go to reno or vegas and blow it all. then we set up another job and start the whole thing over again. i am getting a little tired of it, and wondering what is the point of it all? duke stared at curtis for a few seconds. just get your shoes on and get ready, he finally said, and turned and walked out of the room. inwardly duke was raging. the punk was getting soft! he was getting the wind up. duke farlow did not tolerate no guys on his crew that got the wind up. it was bad business, and bad for his reputation. but when duke calmed down a bit, he saw a silver lining. duke had had a hunch, nothing definite, that the job had been fingered, and that they were walking into a setup. he did not want to pull out without something definite, but … duke had been planning to go in first, but later that afternoon, when they were all ready to go and piled into the two cars, duke turned to curtis, who was driving the second car, and said, you know, curtis, i think you should go in first. you have not gone in first for a while. sure, duke, no problem, curtis replied. * the first car, with jake, murray, and hank, circled the block and parked across the street from the bank. the second car, with curtis at the wheel, and duke beside him, and lulu in the back seat, came in directly and parked not quite in front of the bank. curtis got out of the car and walked a few steps and entered the bank. he reached into his jacket and headed to the first cashier’s cage when he heard - that is one of them, boys! - and he was hit with a hail of hot lead. duke had moved into the driver’s seat and he threw the car into reverse and headed straight back down the street and on to the interstate, right behind jake, who had wasted no time peeling out after the first shot. that is that, duke thought, at least i got rid of that worthless daydreaming punk…. but duke’s calculations were a little off. curtis woke up in the hospital the next day covered in bandages and looking with one eye at special agent drew mcgee sitting easy as he pleased beside his bed. your pals left you for dead, curtis, mcgee drawled. are you going to let them get away with that? or are you going to play ball with us? let me think about it, curtis replied. right now i got a headache. but curtis had already made up his mind. he would keep his mouth shut and do his time. and then he would track duke farlow down if it took him his whole life to do it, and make duke pay. look into his beady eyes and make him pay. curtis smiled behind his bandages. for the first time since he was a kid with a paper route, trying to save enough to buy a baseball glove, he had a purpose in life.