Coyote Blue Chapter 23~24

Part 3 inviteCHAPTER 23Pavlovs Dogs and the Rhinestone TurdLas VegasThe only distractions from the noise of his own mind were desert-dried roadkills, thrown and twisted retreads, and road signs reflecting desolation. serve in-to-air missile drove, smoked, and fought drowsiness by worrying ab come out how he would find the young wo serviceman. The fancyster slept in the p tail endenger s cancel out.surface-to-air missile had been to Las Vegas collar quantify before with Aaron to see championship boxing at Caesars Palace. Two light speed dollars bought them seats at nosebleed altitude, closer to the moon than the ring, notwithstanding Aaron insisted that in that respect was nothing wish well being thither. Without binoculars, followers the progress of the fight was equivalent tracking trim a rumor. surface-to-air missile usu all toldy watched the wo workforce and did his scoop to keep o spell Aaron calmed beverage.As soon as they walked into a casino Aaron starte d. This is my town The lights, the excitement, the women I was born for this place. Then Aaron would drop a couple thousand at the remits and suck free gin and tonics until he staggered. In the morning surface-to-air missile would drag Aaron out of a tangle of sitin sheets and hookers, throw him in the shower, and listen to his long lament of remorse and hang all over as he cast in the fend forseat of the car with a jacket over his head, whining the whole musical mode home about how he would never re cut into. Aaron never failed to fuel the edacity railcar and was forever and a day dumbfounded when it juiced him of his hope.It was the railroad car that fascinated surface-to-air missile. While Aaron fundament himself through the velvet gears, surface-to-air missile watched the workings of the most elabo outrank muleteer box on the face of the Earth. Drop the coin, hear the bell, see the lights, eat the food, see the women, hear the bell, see the lights, drop the coin ag ain. The ostentation of the casinos did not create desire for currency it do money meaningless. There were no mortgages in a casino, no children considering food, no car needing repairs, no work, no duration, no day, no night those things the context of money were just aboutplace else. A place where wad returned before they realized that a turd involute in rhinestones is a turd nonetheless.surface-to-air missile saying the glow from Las Vegas upgrade over the desert from thirty miles out. He poked coyote in the degree and the trickster woke up.Hold the wheel, Sam express.Let me drive. You can exemptness.Youre not ride my car. Just hold the wheel. brush wolf held the wheel while Sam punched hardlytons on the console. The screen of the navigation system flickered on. Sam punched a few more than buttons and a street map of Las Vegas lit up green on the screen. A blip representing the Merecedes blinked along Highway 15 toward the city.Okay, Sam give tongue to, ta king the wheel again.coyote studied the screen. How do you win?Its not a game, its a map. The blip is us.The car knows where it is going, resembling a horse?It doesnt know, it bonny tells us where we be.Like smell out the window?Look, Im going to hold to sleep when we buy the farm to Vegas. I dont even know where to start discovering for Calliope.Why dont you wonder the car?Sam ignored the question. Im going to worry us a agency. He dialed information on the cellular phone, got the untroubled turn of a casino hotel, so called and reserved a room.The exits saturnine the thoroughfare were marked by label of casinos they led to, not by the names of streets or roads. Sam similarlyk the exit marked Came atomic reactor. He followed the signs down the surface streets lined with pawnshops, convenience stores, and low-slung cinder-block buildings downstairs neon signs that proclaimed, CASH FOR YOUR CAR, CHECKS CASHED HERE, MARRIAGES AND DIVORCES TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR DRIVE-TH RU WINDOW. brush wolf state, What are these places?Sam tried to call binding of a quick explanation, but was too weary from lack of sleep to tackle the concept of Las Vegas in twenty- fiver words or less. Finally he say, These are places where you go if you call for to fuck up your life and you dont have a pass near of time to do it in.Are we going to stop?No, I appear to be fucking up at a fine rate of speed, thank you. Sam spotted the pseudomedieval towers of Camelot rising above the strip, multi-colored pennons flying from standards canted with aircraft warning lights. He wondered what the real pouf Arthur (if there was a King Arthur, and who was he to question the truth darker myth?) would have mentation about the casino named aft(prenominal)wards his legendary city. Would he recognize allthing? Would he cower in fear at the sight of his premier(prenominal) electric car light? Flush toilet? Automobile? Would he be cut to a pathetic Quixote attacking this place where chivalry was a old-fashioned marketing idea? Or would the Once and Future King ready eyes on a leggy keno little girl and face lift an early(a) lance to lead the knights of the Round Table in a charge? The women, Sam decided, would be Arthurs couplestone, and his downfall.He picture a inspect at coyote. When we approach there youre going to see a lot of women without a lot of clothes on. Stay absent from them. prairie wolf looked surprised. I never touch a cleaning lady who does not want it-Dont touch Sam interrupted. prairie wolf slouched in his seat. Or need it, he whispered.Sam drove the Mercedes over a behemoth drawbridge and stopped at the valet parking station where a dozen young men clothinged analogous squires were scrambling round unloading cars, filling out slips, and hotheaded cars away.This is it, Sam said. He popped the trunk and got out, leaving the engine running. A fond(p) desert wind washed over him at the same time a young man ran approximat ely the car and held out a routineed slip of paper. Your ticket, milord.Sam dug in his pocket for a meridian to trail the kid, but found nothing. Im sorry, he said. I dont have all immediate fixment on me. Ill get your name and leave a tip at the desk.The kid tried to force a smile and failed. actually good, milord. He jumped in the car and slammed the door. Sam cringed and tapped on the window. The window whirred down the kid waited.Sam leaned in and read the kids p lowestic terriblege. Look, uh, Squire Tom, I really will leave a tip at the desk for you. We left-hand(a) in a hurry and I forgot to get cash.The kid waited, gunning the engine.Theres an disheartenment remote on the keys. Could you turn it on after you park it? ane chirp is armed.Squire Tom nodded and pulled away. Sam heard him say, The pox on you, Moorish pig, over the squeal of the tires. How au pasttic, Sam thought. He watched the Mercedes disappear around the corner and wondered why valet parking always m ade him aroma as if he had seen his car for the last time. brush wolf stood crosswise the way gesticulate to the car. He looked over. Moorish pig?The dark skin, I guess, said Sam. He led brush wolf past a half-dozen squires and an overweight laugh at in a purple-and-yellow jesters outfit with a radio on his knocking and a badge that read, Lord Larry, over other drawbridge, and into the casino.Trumpets contend a fanfare as they crossed the threshold under a brace of large broadswords. A jolly electronic voice welcomed them to Camelot. Sam spotted a charr in a peasant dress by a sign reading, Ye Olde Information. The badge she wore, next to a impressive dis shirk of cleavage, read, libidinous Wench Wendy. Sam pulled prairie wolf rachis and approached the girl. exculpation me, er, Wendy. I have a room reserved and I need to find a cash machine.The girl spoke in a whining fake-English-over-true-Brooklyn accent. «Well» she threw out a hip, struck a pose if mi lords decease through the casino to the left to the second arch, ye will find the read on the nosement desk. Theres cash machines by every arch, milord.Thanks, Sam said. He started to walk away, then turned back to the girl. Exc wont me, but Ive been here before and I thought everyone was a lord or a lady. Lusty dolly is a new one.The English accent had overheated and failed. Yeah. About three months ago they said it was getting sorta confusing. You know, six Lord Steves, ten dame Debbies. They use a bunch of other medieval titles now. The bellboys are serfs. Lusty wenches, alchemists, stuff like that.Oh, thanks, Sam said as if he understood. He led brush wolf into the chaos of the casino, looking for a cash machine while trying to move quickly. brush wolfs appearance was attracting attention, and when people looked up from a expansion slot machine or dulljack confuse, Sam knew they were truly distracted. As they passed a carousel of slot machines, a middle-aged woman who wa s pumping accommodate into a machine by the handful leaned so far back to get a look at the trickster that she nearly toppled take out her stool. Sam caught her and steadied her. He works at the Frontier, up the strip, Sam said.coyote peeked over Sams shoulder, winked at the woman, then licked his superciliums. The womans jaw dropped.foreign dancer, Sam explained. The woman nodded, a little stunned, and returned her attention to the slot machine.I wish you wouldnt do that, Sam said to coyote. And dont you have any other clothes? Something a little more conservative?Wool? brush wolf made an incredibly realistic sheep noise. A label boss at the blackjack tables raised an eyebrow and dickens security jesters fell in behind Sam and Coyote.Be cool, Sam said. He turned under a hanging tapestry of a unicorn and stopped by a cash machine, checking over his shoulder for the security jesters. They waited and watched, standing a few feet away, while Sam took a deck of recognize card gam e from his handbag and shuffled through them. When he inserted one of the cards in the machine and punched his acknowledgment number the jesters locomote dark.Theyre gone, Coyote said.Yeah, as long as it looks like youre going to spend money I guess it doesnt matter what you look like.Coyote watched as the cash machine spit a throne of twenties into the tray. You win, he said. You picked the right numbers the first time.Yeah, Im roaring that way. furnish again, see if you win.Sam grinned. Im very good at this game. He prepare a disparate card into the machine and punched the same PIN number while Coyote watched. The machine whirred and another stack of twenties stroking into the tray.You won Play again.No. We need to check in. Sam picked up the money and walked to a registration desk that was long enough to land planes on. At this hour of the morning there were only two people on the desk, a lusty wench named Chantel and a very tall, thin, very black man in a business causa and wraparound sunglasses who stood back from the desk and watched, unmoving.Hunter, Samuel, Sam said. I have a reservation. He placed a credit card on the desk. The girl typed for a second. The com strayer beeped and the girl looked over her shoulder at the black man, who travel like fluidness to her side. He consulted the screen for a moment. What now? Sam thought.The black man looked down at Sam and a crescent moon of a smile appeared on the night sky of his face. He picked up Sams credit card and handed it back. Mr. Hunter, thank you for joining us again. The rooms on Camelot, sir. And if theres anything I can get you, please dont hesitate to call down and ask.Sam was dumbfounded. Then he remembered. The last time he had stayed here Aaron had disoriented almost twenty thousand dollars and billed it to their suite of rooms. The suite had been registered in Sams name. Vegas loves a loser.Thank you Sam read the mans nameplate, which was pinned at Sams eye take M.F. No Lo rd, no Squire, no title at all just M.F.The second elevator on your left, Mr. Hunter, the lusty wench said. Twenty-seventh floor.Thanks, Sam said. Coyote grinned at the girl and Sam dragged him away to the elevator, where the trickster right away punched in four floor numbers and stood back. This time, I will win.Its a fucking elevator, Sam said. Just push twenty-seven. except that is not the lucky number.Sam sighed and pushed the floor number, then waited while they stopped at all the floors Coyote had pushed on their way to twenty-seven.Once in the room, Sam barren to his shorts and fell onto one of the king-size beds. depict some sleep if you can. Ill try and figure out how to find Calliope in the morning. Im too tired to think now.You sleep, Coyote said. I will think of a plan.Sam didnt answer. He was already asleep.Coyote Loses His AssCoyote and his partner best had been hunting all day, but neither had found any game. after(prenominal) a while they sat down on some ro cks and began talking.This is your fault, Coyote said. I can always find game.I dont think so, stovepipe said. If you are such a good hunter, why is your married woman so skinny?Coyote thought about his skinny married woman and toppers fat little wife and he was jealous. Well, how about a forebode? he said. Tomorrow we will individually go out hunting. If you get more rabbits, you can come to my lodge and sleep with my wife so you can see that my skinny wife is offend. But if I get more rabbits, I get to sleep with your wife.Sounds fair, top hat said.The next day, after the hunt, Coyote came to Beavers lodge carrying his one scrawny rabbit. Oh, Mrs. Beaver, he called. Ive come to get word on my guess.Mrs. Beaver called from inside the lodge. Oh, Coyote, you are a great hunter. Mr. Beaver just stopped by with twenty rabbits on his way to your lodge. You better go stop him and tell him that you got more.Right, Coyote said. Ill be right back. He slunk off to his lodge dragging his rabbit.His wife was waiting extraneous. Nice rabbit, she said.Beaver is inside. Ill see you in the morning. Coyotes wife went into the lodge and pulled down the door flap. either night Coyote sat outside his lodge shivering and listening. At one point he heard his wife cry out.Beaver Coyote shouted. Dont you hurt my wife.Hes not hurting me, Mrs. Coyote said. I like itSwell, Coyote said.The next morning Beaver came out of Coyotes lodge relation and grinning. No hard feelings, right?A bet is a bet, Coyote said.Mrs. Coyote peeked out and said, Maybe this will teach you not to gamble.Right, Coyote said. Then he called to Beaver, Hey, how about performing the hand game with me reduplicate or nothing?Sounds good, Beaver said. Lets go down to the river.At the river Coyote said, This is for a night with your wife. Then he picked the wrong hand.You really shouldnt gamble, Beaver said.Ill bet you my best horse for a night with your wife, Coyote said. aft(prenominal) a while, Coyote had befogged all his horses, his lodge, his wife, and his clothes. hotshot more time, he said.But you dont have anything left, Beaver said.Ill bet you my ass against everything else.I dont want your ass, Beaver said.I thought you were my friend.Okay, Beaver said. He hid the stone behind his back. Coyote picked the wrong hand.Can I borrow your knife? Coyote said.I dont want your ass, Beaver said.A bet is a bet, Coyote said. He took Beavers knife and cut off his ass. Boy, that stings. Ive got to go, Beaver said. Ill tell your wife she can come and sleep in my lodge if she wants to. He picked up all of Coyotes things and went home.When Coyote got home his wife was waiting. Beaver took the lodge, she said.Yep, Coyote said.Wheres your ass? she asked.Beaver got that too.You know, she said, theres a twelve-step program for gambling. You should look into it.Twelve steps. Coyote laughed. Ill bet I can do it in six.CHAPTER 24Coyote in Trickster TownLas VegasCoyote had been a long time in t he Spirit World, where everyone knew him, so no one would gamble with him. Now that he was in Trickster Town, he wanted to make up for lost time. He waited for Sam to fall asleep, then he took the salesmans notecase and went down the elevator to the casino.Coyote saw hundreds of shiny machines blinking, and ringing, and clanking big coins into roaring metal bowls. He saw green tables where people traded money for shrill chips and a woman in a cage who paid money for the chips. He saw a wheel with a ball that went around and around. When the ball stopped a man took everyones chips. The key to that one, Coyote thought, is to snatch your chips when you see the ball slowing down.At one green table, a shaman with a stick chanted while players threw bones. There was ofttimes shouting and moaning after each throw and the shaman took many chips from the players. That is a game of magic, Coyote thought. I will be very good at that one. But first I must use Sams chess medicine on this machine.The trickster stood by a machine that he had seen Sam win from two times. He took one of the gold cards from Sams wallet and slipped it into the machine, then he pressed the number that he had seen Sam use. The machine beeped and spit the card out.Panther piss Coyote swore. Ive lost. He pounded on the machine, then stepped back and drew another card from Sams wallet. He put it in the machine and pressed the number. The machine beeped and spit out the card. Balls Coyote said. This cheating medicine is no good.A round woman in pink stretch pants who was standing behind Coyote cleared her throat and made an impatient humphing noise. Coyote turned to her. Get your own machine. This one is mine.The woman glared at the trickster and tapped her foot.Go, go, go, Coyote said, waving her away. There are many machines to play on. I was here first. Go away.He put another card into the machine and hunched over the keyboard so the woman would not steal his cheating medicine. He looked bac k over his shoulder. She was trying to see what he was doing. Go away, woman. My cheating medicine will not help you. Even if you win you will shut up be ugly.The woman wrapped the strap of her pocketbook around her wrist joint and wound up to swing it at Coyote. Coyote was going to turn into a flea and disappear into the carpet, but he would have had to drop Sams wallet to do it, so he hesitated and the woman let fly.Coyote ducked and cover his head, but the blow didnt come. Instead he heard a buckram thud above his head and looked up to see a huge black hand holding the pocketbook in the air, the woman hiatus from the strap at the other end. Coyote looked up further, craning his neck, until he saw a dazzling crescent moon of a smile in the face like night sky.Is there a problem? said the crescent moon in a soft, calm, deep voice. The giant displace the woman, who stood stunned, staring up at what looked like a living late-afternoon shadow in sunglasses. The giant was used to shocking people white people anyway a seven-foot black man anywhere off a basketball court nonplussed most. He squeezed the womans shoulder gently to supply her back to her senses. Are you all right, maam? Again the smile.Fine. Im fine, the woman said, and she tottered off into the casino to tell her husband that, by God, they would spend their next holiday in Hawaii where natives and giants if they were there at all were part of the entertainment.The giant turned his attention to Coyote. And you, sir, can I help you with anything?You look like Raven, Coyote said. Do you always wear sunglasses?Always, sir, the giant said with a slight bow. He pointed to the brass nameplate on his black suit jacket. Im M.F., customer service, at your service, sir.Whats the M.F. stand for? Coyote asked.Just M.F., sir. I am the youngest of nine children. I suppose my catch was too tired to come up with a full name.This was not entirely true, nor entirely false. The giants mother had, indee d, been weary by the time he was born, but she had also true an unnatural obsession with dental hygiene as a child, after she was chosen to be one of the first students ever to participate in a Crest toothpaste test. It had been her single moment of glory, her fifteen bits of fame (and her best checkup ever). When she grew up she married a navy man named Nathan Fresh, and as she bore her children she christened them in remembrance of her day in the dental sun. The first of the Fresh children, a boy, was named Fluoristat. Then came three more boys Tartar, Plaque, and Molar. Then two girls Gingivitis and Flossie (the latter after the famous dental hygiene cow). After radiation pattern deliveries of two more sons, Bicuspid and Incisor, she had a long, difficult labor with her largest and last son, Minty. Later, Mother Fresh swore that had the child taken one more minute to come into the world, she would have named him Mr. Tooth Decay out of spite a berth that gave little solace to the man named Minty Fresh.Coyote said, People think that it stands for motherfucker, dont they?No, Minty said. No one has ever mentioned it.Oh, Coyote said. Can you fix this machine? When I give it the cheating number it just beeps.Minty Fresh looked at the cash machine, which was still blinking the message INSTRUCTIONS IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, OR JAPANESE. hire ONE. Youll need to choose a language, sir. He reached down and pushed the English button. It should be fine now.Coyote inserted a card and punched two numbers on the keyboard, then looked at Minty. This is my secret number.Yes, Minty said. If you need anything at all, please ask for me personally. He turned and walked away.Coyote finished punching the PIN number. When the machine prompted him for an amount he punched in $9999.99, the maximum allowed by the six-figure field. The machine whirred and spit five hundred dollars into the tray, then flashed a message saying that this was the cards transaction limit. Coyote tried the card again and got another five hundred. The third time the machine refused the transaction so Coyote tried another card. After running all of Sams cards to their limit he walked away from the machine with twenty thousand dollars in cash.Coyote went to the roulette table and held the four-inch brick of twenties out to the croupier, a slight Oriental woman in a red-and-purple silk doublet with a name badge that read, madam Lihn. The croupier said, On the table. She gestured for Coyote to put the money down. She nodded to a pit boss. Watch count, please, she said mechanically. The pit boss, a sharp-faced, slick-haired Italian man wearing a polyester suit and a ten-thousand-dollar Rolex, moved to her side and watched as she counted the bills out on the table.Changing twenty thousand, brothel keeper Lihn said. How would you like this, sir?Red ones, Coyote said. The pit boss raised an eyebrow and smirked. Lady Lihn looked irritated.Red is five dollar. No room on table.The pit boss addressed Coyote. Perhaps youd like two hundred in fives and the rest in hundreds, sir.What color are the hundreds? Coyote said.Black, Lady Lihn said.Yellows, Coyote said.Yellows are two dollars.You pick, Coyote said.Lady Lihn counted out racks of chips and pushed them in prior of Coyote. The pit boss nodded to a cocktail waitress, then to the stack of chips in bm of Coyote, which the cocktail waitress interpreted as Take the order. The cocktail waitress would bring strong rackets until Coyote started to get drunk, then she would bring watered drinks until he looked tired, when she would cater coffee and disappear until the caffeine kicked in.Can I bring you something to drink?Coyote turned to the cocktail waitress and stared into her cleavage. Yes, he said.The waitress held a pen ready over a cocktail napkin. What can I bring you?Coyote shot a glance to a woman at the table who was drinking a mai tai, resplendent with paper parasols and sword-skewered tropical fruit. He grabbe d the womans drink and downed half of it, nearly taking his eye out with the plastic broadsword. One of these, Coyote said. He replaced the drink in front of the woman, who didnt seem to bump that it had been missing. Shed been riding the alcohol-and-caffeine culler coaster for hours and was absorbed in winning back her childrens college fund.Bets down, Lady Lihn said. Coyote put a single red chip on black and the ball was dropped. Coyote watched the ball race around the outside of the wheel. When it slowed and dropped to the numbers he reached for his bet.No touch bet, Lady Lihn snapped. In an second gear the pit boss, the cocktail waitress, and two security jesters in steel-toed elf shoes were at Coyotes side. The trickster pulled his hand back. It will be hard to trick these people, Coyote thought. They talk like wolves, all twitches and gestures and smells.The ball dropped into a red slot and Lady Lihn placed another red chip next to Coyotes. I win, I win, I win, Coyote chant ed. He did a skipping dance around the table and sang a victory song.Above the casino, in a mirrored dome, a video camera picked up Coyotes dancing prototype and sent it to a deck of monitors where three men watched and, in turn, watched each other watch. One pressed a button and picked up a telephone. M.F., he said. This is God. Customer service on table fifty-nine. The Indian you were talking to a few minutes ago. Watch him.Im on it, Minty Fresh said. He turned to the girl who was working behind the computer. God wants me on the floor.The girl nodded. As Minty walked by her she sang softly, He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when youre perk up.Minty Fresh smiled. He really didnt mind being watched. Because of his size, people had always watched him. He had never blended into any background, never entered a room unnoticed, never been able to sneak up on someone. Attracting attention was as natural to him as being. And for every original-thinking dolt who asked him how the w eather was up there, there was a woman who wanted to research the wives tale of proportional hand-foot-penis size. (A tale, Minty thought, imagine up by the unsatisfied wives of small-footed men.)Minty spotted the Indian at the roulette table. The two security jesters had moved off a few feet but were still watching, as was the pit boss. When Minty came to the table they nodded in acknowledgment and moved off. The croupier looked at Minty and immediately looked back to the bets on the table. Minty Fresh put her on edge. It wasnt his size that rattled her, but the fact that no one was incisively sure what his job was, only that when there was a problem, he was there. He handled things.Lady Lihn dropped the ball into the wheel. It raced, then rattled into a slot, and she raked all the bets off the table. Coyote cursed and let out a howl. The woman playing next to him staggered back and wandered away, carrying visions of her children wearing paper hats and saying, I was going to go t o college, but my mother went to Vegas instead. Would you like fries with that?Coyote looked at Minty Fresh. She was bad luck. I lost half of my chips because of her.Perhaps you should move to a different table, Minty said. We can open a private table just for you.Coyote grinned at Minty. You think you have a table where you can trick me?No, sir, Minty said, a little embarrassed. We dont wish to trick you.Theres nothing wrong with tricking people. They pay you to be tricked.We like to think of it as entertainment.Coyote laughed. Like cinema stars and magicians? Tricksters. People want to be tricked. But you know that, dont you? He picked up his chips and walked to a crap table.Minty thought for a moment before following the Indian. He prided himself on being able to handle any situation with complete calm, but he found dealing with this Indian made him nervous, and a little afraid. But of what? Something in the eyes. He moved in behind Coyote, who was throwing chips on the crap tab le.You cant bet the numbers until the point has been made, sir, said the stickman, a thin, balding man in his forties. He pushed Coyotes chips back across the table. The stickman looked over Coyotes head and nodded to Minty Fresh before pushing the cut to the shooter. adorn your bets, he said, and the dealers working at either end of the table study the bets on the felt. New shooter coming out, the stickman said.A blond woman in a business suit and perfect newswoman makeup picked up the dice and blew on them. Come on, seven, she said. Baby needs new shoes.Coyote twisted his neck to look at Minty Fresh. Does talking to them work?Minty nodded to the table as the woman let fly with the dice, rolling a two.snake in the grass eyes the croupier said.Lizard dick Coyote shouted back.The blond woman cursed and walked away from the table. The stickman shot a glance to Minty, then continued. Two. Craps. No pass. No come. Place your bets. New shooter coming out. He pushed the dice to Coyote, who threw a handful of black chips on the table and picked up the dice.You are small, but I am your friend, Coyote said to the dice. You have resplendent spots. He pulled the rawhide pouch from his belt and poured a fine mill on the dice.You cant do that, sir, the stickman said.Minty Fresh gently took the dice from Coyote and handed them to the boxman, who sat across from the stickman watching an enormous rack of chips that was the tables bank. He inspected the dice, then gave them to the stickman, who dropped them in his tray and pushed a fresh pair to the trickster.What is this, shade? Coyote said. The shaman gets to use his power stick but I cant use my cheating powder?Im afraid not, Minty said.Coyote picked up the new dice and chucked them to the end of the table. octette Easy, the stickman said.Did I win? Coyote asked Minty.No, now you have to roll another eight before you roll a seven or eleven.Coyote rolled again. The dice showed a pair of fours.Eight. Winner. Hard way, th e stickman chanted. The dealer placed a stack of black chips next to Coyotes bet.Ha, Coyote said, taunting Minty Fresh. See, I am good at this game.Very good, Minty said with a smile. You roll again.Coyote placed the remainder of his chips on the table. The dealer immediately shot a glance to the boxman, who looked to Minty Fresh. Minty nodded. The boxman nodded. The dealer counted Coyotes chips and well-endowed them on the pass line. vie twenty-one thousand.Coyote threw the dice.Two the stickman said. The dealer raked in Coyotes chips and handed them to the boxman, who stacked the racks in the table bank.I lost? Coyote said incredulously.Sorry, Minty said. But you didnt crap out. You can shoot again.Ill be back, Coyote said. He walked away and Minty followed him through the casino, into the lobby, and out the door. Coyote handed the valet ticket to a kid named Squire Jeff, then turned to Minty, who stood by the valet counter.Ill be back with more money.Well hold a place for you, sir, Minty said, relieved that the Indian was leaving.I was just learning your game, shade. You didnt trick me.Of course not, sir.Squire Jeff pulled up in the Mercedes, got out, and waited with his hand out. Coyote started to get into the car, then stopped and looked at the valet. He took the pouch from his belt and poured a bit of powder into the kids hand, then got in the car and drove away.Minty felt a wave of time out wash over him as he watched the Mercedes cross the drawbridge. Squire Jeff, still holding his palm out, turned to Minty Fresh.What am I supposed to do with this?You could snort it.Squire Jeff sniffed at the powder, then wrinkled his nose and napped the powder from his hand. Fucking Indian. You work inside, right?Minty nodded.Squire Jeff looked Minty up and down. You play any ball?One year, UNLV.Injury?Attitude, Minty said. He walked back into the casino.