The Double-Cross

The Double-Cross

Slumped wearily over a chair, Casey Violet spat out a sharp request to
his manager, Billy Greenback. "Go see how he's doin,' Billy. He was
still flat on his kisser when we left the ring. See what you can do for
him, will ya?"
"Sure Champ, sure," said Greenback. His silk suit was tailored to
precision, but nothing could conceal his bat-like clavicles. He was
tall and narrow; had a pencil thin mustache, and wore his fedora tipped
low, below his brows. He was in the process of praising Casey over his
victory, but Casey was in no mood for any bootlicking while Jimmy was
lying on the canvas.
Jimmy "Pretty Boy" Adonis wasn't just his opponent; he was also his
best friend. They fought side-by-side together in the war against the
Kaiser.
Jimmy saved Casey's life once. It wasn't in the trenches, or some
god-forsaken hill, and it wasn't on some insane bayonet charge across
No-Man's Land. It was in a French pub in Paris-the kind where American
Doughboys weren't welcome.
It seems that the two were fresh from the battlefront-a nasty affair
that left them coveting for anything that took away the memory of death
and misery-namely anything over 80-proof.
Jimmy was the first one to down his drink, and the first one to catch
the shank before it entered Casey's ribcage. An ugly Frenchman, a
German sympathizer it was later revealed, along with his tosspot
co-conspirators, were in the habit of eliminating thirsty and weary
challengers of the German Empire. For their troubles, they were
remunerated a generous sum.
But the whole enterprise was put out of its terrible business when
Jimmy took the shank from the Frenchman and with one deft plunge into
his abdomen, spilled his guts all over the floor.
Casey, surprised, but completely inured by the violence at the Front,
involved himself quickly with some tricks of his own. Grabbing a poker
from the hearthside, he proceeded to impale every man that met his
wrath.
Then, delirium came over the two from the sheer madness of the Front
and the lack of comity from the pub's denizens. To ameliorate their
present state of mind, they proceeded to drown their thoughts in
whiskey for an entire fortnight; ending up later with a tube shoved
down their throats, and a nurse's hand at the administering end.
After filling them with fluids to counter-act the alcohol poisoning,
they were soon released and sent back to the Front. They made it back
to New Jersey a year later, both discharged on the same day. Needing a
job, they fell into boxing and worked their way up the pugilistic
ladder, their eyes on the crown.
Casey never forgot that Jimmy saved his carcass, and swore that he'd
never fight him in the ring. Not that it wasn't considered and
calculated by some of the promoters who saw a possible fortune in a
match between the two. Casey was on top of the fight game with his
brute savagery, and was the most obvious contender for the Heavyweight
championship. Yet Casey always let it be known with adamant ferocity,
"I'll fight anybody, but Jimmy's off limits."
Casey went on to fight an aging hanger-on past his prime, "Haystack"
Patsy Thatcher, the present Heavyweight champion. He was a thick,
dim-witted southpaw, who lacked the common sense to take a knockout
punch when it met him square on the jaw. Despite Patsy's reluctance to
take a ten-count, Casey won the decision and was crowned Champion after
giving Patsy a murderous pounding.
Much to the frustration of boxing promoters, the press, and the public,
Casey avoided what appeared to be the next logical step, a bout with
Jimmy. He knew Jimmy wasn't ready. He had speed, but little power.
However, they were relentless in their efforts to see the deed done,
and the pressure finally caved upon Casey.
Billy Greenback was ecstatic at the prospect of making more money than
he ever dreamed of-"Possibly the biggest purse in all of boxing
history," he raved to the sports writers.
Casey on the other hand, was facing a personal dilemma; how could he
fight a friend who saved his life in a French pub a decade ago? How
could he lay his big hams on such a pretty mug like Jimmy Adonis?
Jimmy's body looked like it was carved out of marble, his face graced
with seraphic beauty. Women swooned over the dark-set saliency of his
eyes and his curved lips-the straight broad nose; and the strong,
masculine chin. Though Casey mourned for his friend, he promised the
public a good fight.

Before the bout, Casey's trainer, Toot McCoy, was busy taping Casey's
hands while he battled with his conscience.
"Ya gotta welax, tamp," said Toots. Toots drooled down his shirt from a
minor stroke he had years earlier. The left side of his face was
permanently numb and his bottom lip stuck out like a pouting child. "Ya
can't concentwate on da fight if yous can't welax."
"Jimmy's my friend, Toots. I was hopin' it would never come to this.
You know he saved my life once. I can't forget that. Maybe I ought ta
go talk to him. You know-tell him I'll go easy on him."
Billy Greenback was sitting in a chair smoking a cigarette and checking
the time on his pocket watch. He looked across at Casey. "You'll do
nothin' of the sort, fella. You want the press comin' up with all kinds
of angles bout you and Jimmy. Suppose they construe your meetin' with
some kind of fix? No-and double no. You'll meet your boy in the ring
and that's final."
Casey leaped to the floor, inadvertently knocking Toots off his stool
in the process. He grabbed Greenback by the collar and lifted him up on
his toes.
"Listen, you snake in the grass! Jimmy's my friend and don't you
forget it. He saved my life and I owe him somethin.' Maybe I ought ta
do my business on you if ya don't watch your mouth."
"All right, all right," said Greenback nervously. Casey lowered him to
the floor, keeping his grip on his collar. "I didn't mean nothin' by
it. Now that I think about it, it wouldn't endear us any to the public,
now would it? The people love Jimmy and that pretty face of his. Maybe
you ought ta go easy on him after all. We don't need the bad
publicity."
Casey let go of Greenback and sat back down on the steel table. Toots
resumed the taping.
After adjusting his collar, Greenback, with a sinister flash of teeth,
said, "Just don't let us down, huh kid?"

Casey met Jimmy in the center of the ring. The ref gave the perfunctory
rules and both fighters touched gloves before returning back to their
corners. The bell rang and Toots mumbled out the obligatory, "Go git
'em Thamp!"
Most of the crowd was in agreement as to who was favored to win. The
fans didn't seem to mind the inevitable. They were much more curious as
to how the two pals would battle it out.
The press used the bar fight angle in Paris and played it all out.
Would Casey play softball with his pal, and refrain from hurting him,
or would he remain true to his craft?
Jimmy had come a long way in mastering his combinations and was awful
fancy with his feet. Would he run circles around Casey and pepper his
slower moving opponent with some lightening shots to the body?
Everybody was speculating and everybody was cheering when the first
blow from his right collided with Casey's chin.
Casey's head snapped back sharply, and then shook it sideways it to get
his bearings. Jimmy popped him again, this time with two straight jabs.
Casey staggered and then moved in and held him in a clinch, in order to
sneak in a few words with Jimmy.
"What's a matter with ya pal?" Casey breathed down Jimmy's neck, his
arms wrapped around his shoulders. "How do ya expect me to go easy on
ya when you're tryin' to rearrange my face?"
Jimmy broke free without the ref's help and said to Casey. "Who told ya
to take it easy on me, ya big bum? I can hold my own in here." Then, to
prove his point, Jimmy walloped Casey good with a shot to the belly and
then an uppercut to his chin. Casey was thrown back onto the ropes and
struggled there, like a bug trapped in a web.
Jimmy came in for some finishing touches, but Casey's huge forearms
took the brunt. Finally extricating himself, he managed to get inside
close enough to say to Jimmy, "I promised myself not to waylay ya pal,
but yous ain't makin' it easy."
"Don't worry about me Champ," said Jimmy, discreetly, while pelting
away at Casey's ribs. "You should be worryin' bout yourself. I've had
my eye on the belt for a long time, and I plan on winnin'
tonight."
Throughout the duration of the fight, Casey gave a perfunctory
performance, pulling his punches just short of Jimmy's face. Casey
swore he wasn't gonna hurt Jimmy, even if it meant losing the
decision-and the title.

The bell rang and ended the 10th round. Casey bled from the nose and
his arms were bruised and sore.
"He's pretty good," said Casey, as Toots gave him a quick rub down. "I
forgot how good he was."
"But yur better an' yous knows it," Toots said. "Da shmuck is twyin to
kill ya an' yur lettin' 'em do it. Why don' ya go in dare an' thinish
'em and caw it a night?"
"Ya know I can't Toots. I owe the guy somethin' for savin' my skin. If
it wasn't for him, I'd be pushin' up daisies."
"Lissen Casey," said Toots, looking him straight in the eye. "If 'ees
yur friend like yous says he is, din let 'em know dis game ain't fur
'im. If yous let 'em beat yous, din some utter mug is gonna fight 'em
an' hurd 'em good. Yous want dat on yur consince?"
Casey didn't answer. The next thing he knew he was back on his feet and
taking more punches from Jimmy. Casey knew Toots was right. He knew
Jimmy was good a good fighter, but the business was brutal. He didn't
want Jimmy to end up half paralyzed and drooling from his mouth like
Toots some day.
Casey thought about ending it with one punch, and he proceeded to do
so. He didn't mean to hit him so hard, but that's the only way a
fighter knows how. It was instinctive-find an opening and fill it. He
caught Jimmy with a right cross to his temple, and Jimmy crashed
hard.
Amongst the cheers and flashing bulbs, Casey was still Champion. But
Casey didn't stick around for the party; instead, he tried to break
through the mob that crowded around Jimmy. Toots caught him and pulled
him back.
"Let 'em be Casey," he said. "Dale give 'em da smellin' sawts and he'll
be fine. Don't yous worry bout 'em. He'll come to." He led Casey out of
the ring and to his dressing room.
Moments later Billy Greenback came in with a cheerful look on his face.
"You did it my boy; you succeeded in bringing in the biggest purse in
all of boxin' history. Matchin' you with Pretty Boy was pure genius, if
you ask me."
"Never mind that. How's he doin?"
"Jimmy? Oh yeah, right." Greenback nervously fingered his silk tie and
for the first time ever, Casey saw him sweat.
"Spit it out Billy. How is he?"
"Uh, well?ya see?right now he ain't doin' so good." Then, Greenback
quickly qualified his disclosure. "But the physician said he could snap
out of it anytime."
"What are you talkin' bout, Billy? Give it to me straight, or I'll
knock ya back to that hole you came from."
Greenback said, "Look Casey, I just agreed to the fight. I had nothin'
to do with settin' it up. I'm your manager. I do what ever brings in
the money for us. You could have done a lot worse with some bum with no
business sense. It ain't my fault your friend couldn't take a
punch."
"What's happened to him?" Casey shouted, moving towards him like a
freight train.
"There's no need to get violent," said Greenback, nervously. He'll be
all right. Just give it some time. He'll come out of it okay. You'll
see."
Casey sent Greenback crashing against the wall, and then stalked out of
the room. He met a physician talking with reporters in the hall. He
heard him say Jimmy suffered some possible brain damage and was in a
coma.
Casey was stunned. Toots heard the news along with Casey and braced
himself. He knew Casey wasn't going to take it well.
"It's my fault," Casey said to Toots. "I should never have laid a hand
on him."
"It ain't yur fawt, Casey," said Toots, his hand on his shoulder. "He's
a fighter like yous are an' he's gotta take 'is chances ike erry one
else. Dis game ain't fur babes. Thimmy knew dat goin' in."
"But I didn't have to clobber him like I did, Toots. I'd give up the
title any day, just to have him back. I lost my best pal."
Casey suddenly whipped around and slammed his right fist into the brick
wall, chipping a corner. Then, followed that one with a left and
another right. He continued the pummeling until his hands were bloodied
and broken. He fell to the ground moaning in agony; not from the pain,
but from the loss of Jimmy.
Toots was frantic. "Tumbody git da Doc! Casey's 'ad an
acthident!"

The x-rays gave the final analysis, and Toots and Billy Greenback were
under no illusions; Casey was finished as a fighter. His hands would
never heal properly. The Doc said they were busted up for good.
Greenback snarled as he stared at the florescent pictures. "So that's
the way it goes, huh Champ? Two hours ago and you were on top of the
world. Now look at ya, you're just a useless bum with no hands. You
might as well sell life insurance from now on, cause your finished as a
boxer."
"Lay off 'em, will ya Bilwy?" said Toots. "Can't ya thee he's feewin'
sontin awfo? He's got enuff on is wined wifout yous jeerin' 'em."
"Ah, he deserves it. We were really in the dough and then you go and
gum up the works over that pal of yours. I say good riddance if you ask
me."
Greenback turned towards the door and said over his shoulder, "So long
girls. Wish ya luck-for what it's worth."

Toots drove Casey too the Hospital where Jimmy was being tended. Casey
walked into the room with his hands covered in plaster; his fingers
lightly stained with blood. A ridged figure was lying on a bed on his
side, his back to Casey.
Casey's eyes pooled with tears, "How are ya Jimmy?" he asked, not
expecting any answer.
"I'm doin' great, Casey-'specially after that wallop you gave me." The
voice didn't come from the bed's occupant, but from behind.
Casey and Toots whirled around to see a spectacular sight coming out of
the bathroom; clad in pajamas with a towel draped over his shoulders
and some left-over traces of shaving cream streaked under his chin.
Casey and Toots were dumfounded-Casey to the point of stammering.
"J-J-Jimmy. H-How?I mean?W-What's?" Finally, Casey pulled himself
together, expressing frustration at the sudden revelation.
"All right Bub, what's goin' on here? You tryin' to pull a fast one on
me? You was supposed to be down for the long count-'two feet in the
grave', as the Doc was sayin.' Yet here you are about as spirited as
barnyard cock. What gives?"
"That's what they all thought, Casey. There I was, with all them quacks
ready to throw in the towel, when I heard a bell go off in my brain;
that's when I jumped off the table and smacked one of them right in the
nose. It just took awhile to get my noggin' back into thinkin' clearly.
That was one big thump on the head you gave me. Bye the way-what
happened to your..."
A knock on the door-"Come in," said Jimmy.
It was Greenback. "What the hell you doin' here?" asked Casey. "You've
got a lot of brass showin' your face. Why don't you go back into that
hole you crawled out of?"
"Now, there ain't no use in getting' ugly about it Champ. This is
strictly business." Greenback nodded his head toward Jimmy. "You tell
him about it yet, Jimmy? You tell him that I'm your new manager?"
Casey scowled at Jimmy, "What's he sayin?"
"That's right, Casey. Billy say's you gave him the brush-off. He say's
he can make me more money than I ever dreamed of. My only mistake
tonight was letting you slip that punch in on me. You had me fooled by
that soppy act of yours. I didn't expect the conk on the head. But next
time, I'll be ready. We'll get a rematch and give 'em all a fight
they'll never forget."
"There ain't gonna be no rematch, Jimmy. The Doctor say's I'll never
be able to fight again. For now on, I'm retired."
Casey and Toots started for the door, but not before Casey turned and
said to Jimmy, "I guess that squares us?"
"What do ya mean?" asked Jimmy.
"I owed you my life," said Casey. "I guess losin' my fightin'
abilities is payment enough. That ought to make you a shoe-in for the
next title."
"Yeah?I suppose that would square us, if you think we needed squarin.'
Friends don't owe nobody anything, 'cept to stay friends."
Casey said good luck to Jimmy, and then had a sudden afterthought. "By
the way pal, when was it when you came to?"
"It was in my dressing room. Greenback was there, he'll tell ya. The
Doc said I should go to the hospital just so they could check me out
and make sure your punch didn't mush up my brain. Why?"
Casey gave Greenback a venomous look. Greenback went rigid and broke a
sweat. "Look Casey," he said, his voice quaking, "It was nothing
personal. I got to look out for myself, ya know. You were good-the best
even. But the crowd adores Jimmy with his handsome Greek looks and all.
He can sure draw a crowd. And the money-why the money is what counts.
Let's be reasonable fellows; business is business. Jimmy's got a real
future. I can make him mountains of cash. The crowd's crazy about
him--"
Casey let Greenback have it with his plaster cast, breaking his jaw.
He fell to the ground in a heap.
"Ya double-crosser," Casey said to the twisted lump that was presently
seeing stars. "You tell me Jimmy's never comin' out of it when you knew
he was already up and about. You knew I'd do somethin' crazy like bust
myself up so you'd have a good excuse to drop me and make the move on
my partner. Well, congratulations, ya little weasel."
Jimmy grabbed his clothes and followed Casey and Toots out of the
hospital, leaving Greenback sprawled on the floor, moaning.
"That was quite a right cross partner, plaster cast and all," said
Jimmy, grinning.
"I should have followed with a left hook, just to polish it up a bit,"
Casey said, grinning back at him. "Look's like you're gonna need a new
manager; sorry about that."
"I've already found him," Jimmy said pointing at Casey.
"Oh, know ya don't," said Casey. "I don't know the first thing about
managin' no fighters."
"Look pal," said Jimmy. "I say we ain't square until you say yes.
Besides, what else you gonna do, push some hot-dog cart?"
"Alright, alright. You got yourself a deal. But then were even, got
that?"
"Sure, Casey. Just make sure you don't mess things up. Remember, I
wear the gloves, you wear the suit."
"I ain't never wore no monkey suit and I ain't gonna start now. That
ain't in the bargain."
Jimmy leaned an elbow on Casey's shoulder as they walked down the
sidewalk, Toots in tow. "Just like old times Casey; me and you against
the world."