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''Got a couple bulls myself." |
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"Chopper and Muffin," Muzzy said. "Shoulda seen Chopper two weeks ago. For warmup they threw him a dachshund. The thing lasted two minutes. Put him away like a Fenway frank." Muzzy wheeze-laughed. "Umbelievable. You would of loved it. Then he finished off French DeRoche's Buzzsaw in twenty minutes. Umbelievable. Be a great match against Rufus." He popped another wedge of cheese into his mouth. "When you gonna match him, huh? I mean, you got a natural champion and you keep him locked up." |
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For months they had been after Jerry to pit Rufus. Jerry kept him finely conditioned, but he knew the fate of convention dogs. Unlike the hundreds of other dogfights taking place any weekend across the country, these were not fight-to-first-yip contests. The animals pitted here fought to the death. Even the winners themselves got so badly chewed up, they ended up in the dumpster out back with a bullet in the head. The men in this building raised fighters, not pets. It was costly, but they could afford to maintain the purity of genetic intention. Decades of selective breeding had produced beasts engineered for mortal combat. If they were humans, they'd be modern-day Samurai. |
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Rufus, though, was for business, not sport. "I tell you, the gun's not for hire." |
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Muzzy shook his head. "You're gonna turn that dog into a fucking pansy, the way you treat him. Feeds him health food, so help me God, Mooch. I mean, the dog won't even look at Alpo. Doesn't know what steak is." Muzzy popped another hunk of cheese in his mouth. "Umbelievable." He chewed, licking his fingers. "Plays him classical music records, gets a bath and rubdown once a week. Lives a better life than I do, for Chrissakes." |
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"Also better looking," Jerry said. |
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Muzzy let out another wheezy laugh, his eyes pressing to black slits. "Madone, the tongue on this guy. I fucking love him." He threw his arm around Jerry's shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. |
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Jerry hated thatthe implied intimacyand that disgusting stinkhole of a mouth on his face. But Jerry bit the bullet, he needed this pig of a man. |
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Muzzy Mozzicato was a regional capo who had given Jerry his first break when he came home from Vietnam wild and hurting for |
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