WITH A NEW DECADE LOOMING, Aloysius Archer was on a creaky busheaded west to California to seek as much a life as someone like himcould reasonably expect. A roof over his head, three squares a day, a pint ofdecent liquor every now and then, and a steady supply of his Lucky Strikesto keep his mouth supple and amused. And a job. Actually, more of aprofession. He needed that right now. It was like seeking water while in adesert, you just required it and didn’t care how you got it. Otherwise, he’dbe a chump, and there was no future in ...Read More

IN HIS HOTEL ROOM, which looked like a shower stall with halfheartedambition, Archer ditched his hat on the bed, his satchel in the narrowcloset with two feeble hangers dangling from the wooden rod, and sat in theone chair by the one window. He parted the faded and frayed curtains andstared out at Reno. It just looked average, maybe a little below that, in fact.Yet maybe it punched above its weight, like he always tried to do.He smoked another Lucky and took a drink from the flask he carried inhis jacket pocket. Archer didn’t need beautiful women, watery wine, orgolden ...Read More

THE WHEELHOUSE WAS LOCATED in a building about as big as an aircraftcarrier, but with nicer furniture, no portholes, enough booze to launchher. Inside an army of gamblers was looking to win big, although almost allwould lose what they had brought plus what they hadn’t brought. Archerdidn’t need Shyner to tell him the odds favored the House. Somebody hadto pay for the liquor, the neon, and the ladies, and the chubby old man whoowned it all and liked his champagne and fifty-dollar suckers.Pretty much every game of chance invented was being played in the mainroom as cocktail waitresses in ...Read More

HEY. HEY, YOU!”Archer looked over and saw the woman waving enthusiastically at him.It was Liberty Callahan, of the Dancing troupe, sitting at theroulette table. She had changed out of her stage outfit and lost her condorsized feather. While her sparkly dress was tight, her welcoming smile,promising skittish fun with few rules, was even more appealing to Archer.And yet when he more soberly took in her toothy smile and friskyappearance, Archer saw in it prison guards itching to bust his head, chaingangs to nowhere, and food that was not food at all. That was what hadhappened to him the last ...Read More

IT’S RIGHT DOWN THIS STREET,” said Callahan as they turned off the strip. “Afriend told me it used to a speakeasy back when they had Prohibition.”Callahan slipped her arm inside his. “Isn’t life just grand sometimes,Archer? I mean, five minutes ago we had nothing, really. And now look atus.”Archer wasn’t sure what to make of her move on him, but he let the ladystay right where she was, even as her soft hip bumped his. He could figurethat out later, if need be.“It took guts what you did back there, betting all those chips.”“Doesn’t seem anything like that.”“I suppose ...Read More