"Tony Garner, I'm starting to think that you're more trouble than help these days," Jerome accused slyly as the pair seated themselves at the small table in Marcel's bar.
Stunned, Tony looked up from the tablecloth and into the face of his friend. "What are you talking about?" stammered the younger man, confused as to what would have incurred such an accusation.
At the look on Tony's face, Jerome let out a boisterous laugh and patted Tony on the shoulder. "Haven't we agreed that you have to stay out of trouble? How is challenging Sam Lincoln staying out of trouble?"
Suddenly, Jerome's statement came into focus, and Tony sighed in disgust. He had known that the girl would cause him problems. "Is that what you heard?" Tony needed to elucidate Jerome on the reality of what had occurred. "I could hardly avoid him, the way he was walking across the park like that with his gang in tow. I barely spoke a word to him."
"I think you sound a little defensive." Jerome never lost his smirk.
"Well, you sound a little accusatory," Tony retorted, feeling some distress at the idea that he could cause Jerome any trouble.
Finally, Jerome leaned in and smiled as widely as he could. "Relax, Tony. I'm only teasing you because I heard that this encounter involved a very pretty young lady."
That assertion irritated Tony even more. A very pretty young lady. A weak, sentimental young lady from whom he had just run away as if she were a savage lion.
"You should know better than most that you can't believe rumors," Tony insisted. "I was looking out for her because she's friends with my brother." Not a total lie, though Tony hadn't known of the girl's relationship with Mario before interfering with Sam.
At Tony's words, Jerome nodded, a surprised pleasure spreading across his face.
"So, Mario's finally pulled his head out of his books, huh? She must be something special."
"I wouldn't know," Tony answered a bit too quickly, and Jerome squinted suspiciously at his friend. "She's only been in town a couple of days, and I've only seen her twice. Hopefully, she can stay out of trouble. Mario certainly doesn't have the sense to take care of her if she keeps courting catastrophe."
Something in Tony's voice must have betrayed his ambivalence regarding the girl because Jerome pressed his lips together and gazed at Tony a bit too intensely.
"Sure," Jerome offered noncommittally before turning the subject. "About tonight: I know it's late, but we have a large group. Were you able to gather what we need?"
Shrugging off his discomfort, Tony embraced the change in topic. "Well, I have enough for about fifty people. Do you think that'll be sufficient?"
"Well, it'll be close, so if we have a good turnout, I'll just tell my people not to eat." Jerome shook his finger at Tony. "That includes you."
Those words finally brought a grin to Tony's face. "You'd better consider me one of 'your people.' There's not much I wouldn't do to get this campaign off the ground."
"I know that, Tony. I do. If I didn't trust you like my own brother, I would never have brought you into the middle of this foreign culture with a bunch of people who may prejudge you because of the way you look. I want you to know how brave I consider you."
Tony felt a swell of pride at Jerome's words, but quickly deflected them. "You, Jerome, are the brave one. I have to walk into a dark plaza twice a week and attend meetings with largely poor and oppressed individuals. You are taking on a well-established political and criminal organization that doesn't consider you worth the time to trample over. I'd say you're in a little deeper."
Again, Jerome smiled, this time kindly. "And those poor and oppressed people might resort to equal violence as your politicians and criminals if they are spooked into considering you a threat. Most of them are good men, but some think that the best way to succeed is to paint you all as enemies."
"Alright," Tony conceded, feeling almost as uncomfortable with the current discussion as with the former one. "We're both treading in snake-infested waters, so maybe we should quit talking and start trudging our way across the river."
Pulling back his chair, Jerome stood to his feet, in apparent agreement with Tony's idea, and nodded to Marcel for the check. "Well, let's get moving then!" he
stated, and when Tony stood as well, the older man turned to head out the back door toward the meeting place that could launch Jerome's nascent political career.
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