Childhood of the Dead (16 page)

After they bagged his purchases, he walked on a side street next to the supermarket; passed a section of the side walk under construction and stopped next to a truck looking to the deserted square. He noticed the Italian ficus tree and the street's lack of movement. The supermarket's loading doors were very tall. A VW bus was about to leave.e watched closely. The gate looked as if it opened and closed automatically. He approached the entrance, still carrying his bags and waited for another car to show up. This time it was a truck filled with boxes. One of the men got out, pressed a button and the doors opened slowly. That's what he had to do. He would choose a time when the cars were expected tp go in and out. This way, no one would be suspicious.

V

“You bought all that for Beth, man? She's enchanted!”

Dito heard Pin's observation, and felt the disdain in the comment. He knew the girl was rolling johns for Pin, but he didn't want to get closer to Pin. It was a matter of compatibility.

Dito was scribbling on a paper, the others encircled him in silence. Mother's Scourge thought the idea to do a job on the supermarket was great. Encravado had his doubts: he wanted to be included only if it were not dangerous. Slowly, Dito got annoyed.

“Well, if you are afraid, you get out.”

Encravado didn't like it. “Afraid my ass! I just don't want to repeat the mistake of the first night of rolling johns.”

“But that was always bad, I've always found it risky!” Dito said.

“If we had done it as we planned, we would be still at it.”

“This is small potatoes,” Dito said nervously. “Time has come for us to think big, to have a real man's plan. Something that will bring profit. Or we will just end up like beggars.

“You're right,” Scourge agreed, to Dito's surprise.

“I am in,” said Pin.

“Figurinha okayed it. He'll be here later on,” Scourge said.

Dito finished drawing on the paper.

“That's it,” he said. “We have thirty per cent chance going in the front and seventy per cent going in the back. There is a gate that automatically opens and shuts. Delivery trucks must go through them. The only problem will be to cross the warehouse and go up the stairs without being noticed.”

Scourge suggested they steal a VW truck and enter as if they had a delivery to make.

“We could stay there until the time to attack,” he added.

“What if someone finds out?” Encravado questioned.

Dito thought Scourge's was a good idea.

“You stay at the wheel, Pin and Figurinha in the outside, Encravado and I get the money.”

Scourge rubbed his hands, Encravado asked Dito if he still had the lockpick. Dito said he hid it somewhere, but wasn't sure where. He would try to remember.

“I am sure the money will come,” Dito said.

“What if the manager says he has no money in the office?” asked Encravado argumentatively.

“Well, we just burn him, man,” Pin replied.

“Not so,” said Dito. “We ask him to order the money brought up from the cash registers. And it has to be quietly, or he just gets fucked. We just grab the clerk with the money.”

“And where do we put all these people when it's time to leave?”

“We put everyone in the bathroom. There will be no on to run after us or to ring the alarm.” “From the beginning Encravado should cut any wire he sees,” Scourge suggested.

Dito listened to their conversation. He was aware of Encravado's reservations and admired Scourge's courage. He felt like changing Encravado's role, only to conclude that Scourge would be better behind the wheel. They would need hi to escape. Pin said he considered the plan perfect, adding:

“But everyone needs to study his role. Or it will be a big mess!”

“There is no way to go wrong,” Mother's Scourge added.

“We must look for a delivery van,” Encravado reminded them.

“How about finding one with the name of the supermarket?” joked Mother's Scourge.

Dito and Pin laughed.

“Are you losing your nerve, man?” Pin asked.

Encravado did not like the joke.

“You all talk tough, now. I want to see it when we do the job.”

Dito felt Encravado's caution was prudent.

“There's no point in anyone getting mad. All this talk is just to make the plan better. It's risky. But it can bring a lot of dough,” Dito reminded them.

“That's what we need,” Mother's Scourge commented “I need to take a vacation.”

“How much do you think we'll get?” Pin wanted to know.

“I have no idea. But I think a supermarket like that can sell almost a million cruzeiros on Saturdays. Dito's little purchase was more than two hundred, wasn't it?”

Dito confirmed it.

“I think it may be one and a half million. If we get one half of it, it would already be quite a sum.”

“Enough to keep the wolf from the door,” said Mother's Scourge, lying down on the ground.

“I would move to a far away town,” Encravado said.

“That's stupid, man,” Pin said. “In a small town evryone will be looking at you. The first big bill you get out of your pocket, they'd put you in jail.”

Dito found those worries funny. He knew the plan was good and it should not fail. He thought about his cut. One thing he knew: he would buy a gift for Beth and he would look for Mother Dolores to ask her to order grave markers for Pichote and Smokey. They deserved to have their part. He wouldn't tell the others, because he didn't want them to laugh at him, but he knew the dead boys had a right to the money.

“Now, we must get the lockpick and leave,” Mother's Scourge said.

Dito stood up, went under some nearby bushes and returned with the lockpick, giving it and the file to Scourge.

VI

Mother's Scourge left with Encravado and Pin to look for Figurinha, while Dito stayed stretched out on the bench, thinking of his plan, of Mother Dolores, of the graves for his friends, of Beth's gift. He remembered her body; the way her buttocks felt against his thighs; of his entering her and feeling the aroma of her skin and breath.

Birds leaped in silence from branch to branch in the
oiti
- tree, while Dito thought of the transformation in Mother's Scourge and in Encravado's fear. How come he was pulling back from such a good idea? Since Brown Sugar's death he wasn't the same. Sooner or later he would leave the gang and disappear. Dito wasn't worried about this. At the moment, the important thing was the plan. After they pulled the job, each one could do as he pleased. He would stay with Beth, as she herself had chosen. He went back to thinking about her, of being there at night. He would knock on her door and be able to feel her close to him. Ah! Then, time could pass by. Tired they would sleep embracing, without worrying about the cold of the wee hours of the night. It was clear to him that one day Beth would get tired of him, but until then he would have lived well enough. He wasn't worried about the future.

While Dito was daydreaming on the park bench, Mother's Scourge suggested something to Encravado:

“What if we get one of these guys by force?”

Encravado couldn't understand.

“We kick him out and stay with the bus,” Scourge explained.

“That will be a big mess.”

“It's nothing. Let the chickens stay at home.”

Encravado was alarmed by the idea, though he knew it was a good one.

“That's much better than to break into a car, and run the risk of not being able to get it moving,” Mother's Scourge said.

“And where would we do this?”

“Anywhere,” Scourge continued. “It doesn't matter. You call a guy, ask him to help you light up your cigarette, and I give him a blow in the head.”

They walked along a busy street, crossed a square, an overpass, finally reached a section of businesses and dry goods stores, where there were plenty of parked cars and trucks loading and unloading. They continued their search until they found a VW bus with commercial logos painted in the outside.

“That's the one,” Mother's Scourge said.

Encravado felt a chill go down his spine.

“No problem.”

They approached the bus. Mother's Scourge picked up a crate to hide his intentions and asked a short and fat man about another bus. The driver didn't know what they were talking about, when Encravado joined in the conversation. The man tried to understand, to remember the bus the boys were talking about, Mother's Scourge intervened, opening his pocket knife. “Get in and not another word.”

The man tried to escape. Scourge scratched his belly with the point of his knife and the driver obeyed him. The keys were in place. Encravado turned on the engine and they went away.

“Where are we going?”

“Straight ahead,” Said Mother's Scourge.

The VW bus crossed the speeding lanes, went through the tunnel, went up and down overpasses. The kidnapped driver told them they were wasting their lives. Mother's Scourge found that funny.

“We don't like advice, man. You can keep that to yourself. Our life is fine just as is, until it ends.”

VII

The gang had gathered again. Dito and Pin were interested in the story Figurinha was telling. Encravado cleaned his teeth with a toothpick, Mother's Scourge smoked, trying to draw the alphabet with his exhaled smoke.

“And how is this Galego?” Dito wanted to know.

Figurinha got a bit confused in the description. “I don't know very well. It's Edu who knows him.”

“When we need to can Edu take us there?”

“Sure. Pichote was his friend,” Figurinha answered.

As soon as the boy stopped talking, Encravado informed them that the VW bus was ready.

“Scourge had a great idea, to take the car by force,” he explained.

“And did it work?” Dito asked.

“It's parked close to the airport. In a stretch no one will look for.”

“Brand new, it even has a company's name on the outside.”

Dito wanted to know the day of the week. None of them knew it for sure. Pin ran up to the newspaper stand and came back saying it was Wednesday.

“That gives us a lot of time. It will be better to move the bus from this place, tomorrow.”

“We'll move it everyday. This way they won't be able to find it right away,” Dito explained.

He took a paper from his pocket and began examining the plan again.

“Pin and Figurinha will stay outside. Mother's Scourge will be the driver, Encravado and I will get the manager.” He said.

“You'll need a good gun.”

Dito drew out his gun, unlocked it and rolled the drum.

“This one has never failed.” He said.

Dito put the weapon back, while Mother's Scourge promised to lend his pocket knife to Encravado, for he would be getting a gun the following day.

Figurinha went on remembering the days he had been in jail, and the prisoner who talked about Galego.

“He killed two little girls and nothing happened. He was taken to the police station, but they cleared him of any wrong doing.”

“After we finish the supermarket job, I'll go get this Galego,” Dito threatened.

“I'm going with you,” said Mother's Scourge. “Pichote was my friend too!”

Dito was happy with the solidarity. He remembered that he didn't always think well of Mother's Scourge, and he wondered if his reservations had been caused by distrust or if Mother's Scourge was changing.

“Sunday I wanna do something special. I'll invite Sueli to go with me to Bu'zios,” Pin said suddenly.

“That place is tough. The police are always there.” Encravado explained.

“Then, I'll stay here, humping Sueli,” Pin said, not concerned. “This way my money will last longer.”

He looked at Dito and winked. Dito didn't appear bothered, but he didn't talk about Beth either, which is what Pin wanted to know about. Dito knew it, and he thought of the small town he would take Beth to and the return to Sao Paulo. He could open a shop to fix bikes, and he wouldn't have to worry anymore. He would live like German, with the little money of his work, without getting himself into trouble.

As soon as it began to get dark, Dito went to see Beth. She wasn't home. So he sat down on the curb in front of her place and waited for her to show up. Passersby appeared to be surprised by his presence, but he didn't mind; he knew he wasn't creating any problem. He liked to sit on the curb and observe the people going by, just as he was now doing. Cars went up and down the street, sometimes backing up at the red light. He suddenly saw a brown cab, with its light's on. Beth came out of it, accompanied by a guy who passed his arm around her shoulders. Dito felt his blood boiling, his eyes reddened, and the scar over his eyebrow hurt. He saw them going into the big house and disappear. He didn't have the courage to stand that kind of thing. Perhaps the bitch would say the same things to the guy that she had said to him. How could he have believed her? He was disturbed and remembered what Pin and Mother's Scourge had said.

“I only want them to fuck, nothing else!”

They were probably right. But Beth had not told him she would change her life around. After all, what could she do so suddenly? He tried to resign himself, wishing to knock at the door and interrupt that romance. At the same time it could be worst. He didn't want to see her embracing the stranger. He would go far away and would not return soon. He would come back only when he had enough money to propose a new life to her. She could choose then either to stay with him or to sleep with those that passed in the streets. At any rate, it would be important to talk to Beth that evening and let her know of his plans. He would not want this kind of life. Pin could enjoy it, because he didn't like Sueli. But he was different. He believed that Beth was a great girl, who looked as if she understood him, someone to treat him kindly. He was not going to let her give herself to just any one. He walked through the busy street, his eyes tearing up; he kicked a trash can; crossed dangerously in front of cars; entered a bar; thought of asking for some
cachac,a
, but he knew the barman wouldn't serve him. In the small square, at the bus stop, he stayed put watching the people who came in and out of the buses; looking at the cars that rode slowly with the drivers propositioning young women. His thoughts however were still on Beth, her naked body, her pinkish breasts, her warm buttocks and flat belly. The same words she had pronounced in his ears would now be heard by someone else. He would never again go back there.