Killing Them Softly (Cogan's Trade Movie Tie-in Edition)

Cogan said. “Onna robbery thing, am I right?”
    â€œYeah,” Frankie said.
    â€œWell, there you are,” Cogan said, “and that’s why it’s such a good thing, you’re not carrying. You know how those guys are. They’re gonna be measuring your dick every time somebody pulls a job looks anything like what you did. You think they don’t know you’re out?”
    â€œNope,” Frankie said.
    â€œAnd of course,” Cogan said, “they’re not gonna get nothing on you, because you’re not doing nothing, am I right?”
    â€œJust havin’ a beer and watchin’ the girls,” Frankie said.
    â€œSure,” Cogan said. “Nothing wrong with that. But, they pick you up, even though you didn’t pull a job, you’re carrying, they’re gonna run you again.”
    â€œI know that,” Frankie said.
    â€œWell,” Cogan said, “that’s good. That shows, your friends that’re worried about you, shows them you must’ve grown up some since you went in.”
    Frankie looked at Cogan. “Grown up some?” he said. “A dog’d get born and live and die in the time I was in.”
    â€œWell,” Cogan said, “yeah, you’re right. But, maybe even since you got out. Maybe you grown up some since then.”
    â€œWell,” Frankie said, “I finally got laid.”
    â€œThat’s good,” Cogan said. “How was it?”
    â€œNot so good,” Frankie said. “Matter of fact, it was kind of shitty. I naturally got some broad that’s been fuckin’ since they found out how to do it, and I naturally shot my mouth off all over the place and I got through and she told me I’m a lousy lay. I’m gonna keep at it, though. I figure, can’t be too tough to get the hang of it, and there must be some reason, there’s so many people running around doing it.”
    â€œThat’s the idea,” Cogan said. He made a sucking noise with his tongue and his teeth. “Jesus,” he said, “that’s too bad. If I’d’ve only run into you sooner. I should’ve got on this right away, when I first get the word from China and them. I knew a guy could’ve helped you along that line. Really knew some great broads. But he’s dead.”
    â€œOh yeah?” Frankie said.
    â€œYeah,” Cogan said. “It’s too bad. You maybe saw it inna paper. Somebody whacked him out the other night. Markie Trattman. Nice guy. A real nice guy, and what that guy didn’t know about getting broads, nobody knew.”
    â€œMust’ve fucked the wrong one, I guess,” Frankie said.
    â€œYeah,” Cogan said, “it was either that or something else. He got somebody pissed off, that’s for sure. That’s the way it is with most of them guys, I think, that get whacked. They get somebody pissed and then something happens. You got to be careful, these days. Youdo something, looks perfectly all right to you, and the right guy gets pissed off for no reason at all and you’re in the shit. Look at China. How long you known China?”
    â€œChina?” Frankie said. “Ten years or so, I guess.”
    â€œWell,” Cogan said, “that’s long enough. Now there’s a guy, you should’ve heard what they’re saying about China, year or so ago.”
    â€œI did,” Frankie said.
    â€œYeah,” Cogan said, “and, knowing China, you got to know, it’s not true. China’d eat shit before he’d talk to anybody. But the trouble is, some asshole gets it in his head that something’s going on or something, and he starts spreading stuff around about China, and of course nobody asks any questions or does anything smart like that. They just talk and talk and talk and pretty soon China’s getting all this static, and he wasn’t even doing anything.
    â€œNow,” Cogan said, “China’s a smart bastard. He’s down there and he knows he’s gotta see somebody and see them quick. So he gets himself a habe or something and they bring him up here and he gets a chance to get the word to a few guys and somebody got in to see him and he told him: ‘Look, I’m gonna get a shiv up my ass if somebody doesn’t start stopping all this talk and shit, you know? And, I’m not gonna stand still for that. If I gotta protect myself, I’m gonna have to go to somebody