Read Getting Higher for Free Online Page B

need's to go someplace an' lose it, or maybe have some cop find it. No way."
    "Okay, let's go to your place, th-then. I'm freezin'! You wanna' get fuckin' frostbite or somethin'?"
    "No, no man...," mumbled Crank, suddenly looking thoughtful in the brittle streetlight beams. "I got a better idea. Let's go over to Benny's place, all right? Maybe he's got some beer."
    Joe stopped shaking. "Ah, hell! You want to go there ? What th' hell's wrong with you, man? You remember what happened the last time we were at Benny's?"
    Crank grinned slyly. "Ahh, c'mon Joey. Forgive and forget, I always say."
    "Forgive nothin', man! That fucker almost killed you! He hates your guts, and if you go over there again, you're askin' for trouble."
    Still smiling, Crank slid over and spread an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Look, Joey, this is how it is. Benny and I had a little...disagreement. So what, right? We been friends for a lot longer than we been enemies. He probably already forgot the whole damn thing. Let's go over there and bury the hatchet."
    "Right, man. He'll bury it in your fuckin' head! No way, uh-uh. You got a death wish, that's your business. I don't. If you go over there, you give me that bag and leave me here. That dude's a bruiser, you know? He's liable to take me down with you."
    For a moment, Crank stood there, staring at the bag, then at Joe. Then, he started smiling again. "Okay, sure. You don't have to go. Stay right here till midnight, then deliver the cash. Just do me one favor...don't bother coming by my place to sleep tonight."
    "You sonnuva' bitch," said Joe vehemently. "That really sucks, you know that? It really does."
    "Ah, Joey," chortled Crank, "don't be mad. Let's go see Benny."
    With that, they started down the chilly street toward Benny's place.
    *****

    Benny Firestone lived three blocks from Crank's apartment, on Miller Avenue. He inhabited an old garage, a low, collapsing hut between two houses; nobody used the garage anymore, and Benny rented it for just twenty dollars a month. Of course, the place had no heat, electricity, or sewage, but Benny got by without them. As a result, the place didn't smell too good most of the time.
    Joe and Crank arrived at Benny's around nine-thirty; when they got there, Crank marched up and rapped loudly on the door. It was a typical, rickety garage door, about ten feet wide, which only opened by rolling and folding up into the sagging ceiling. There were three square spaces at eye level across it which had once been windows, but all the glass was broken out of them and boards were nailed over them on the inside of the garage. Crank waited a moment, then knocked again.
    Again, there was no answer, no voice or movement behind the stingy door. After a minute, Joe turned and started walking away. "Well, guess there's nobody home, man. Let's get somethin' to eat."
    "Shut up and get your ass back here," snarled Crank, beating on the door again. "He's here, I know it."
    "Yeah," said Joe over his shoulder. "That's why there's no lights on in there. I'm leavin'."
    "He's asleep, or stoned, man. Probably both." He knocked again, much harder this time. "Wake up, you fucker," he mumbled to the ratty wood, huffing. "Wake up already."
    Suddenly, a strip of light appeared along the base of the door. Something thudded inside, and Crank pressed his ear against the wood to hear better. "Yo, Benny!" he shouted, laughing a little. "You there, man? Open up, it's me!"
    In the garage, something else thudded; then, there was a loud crash, and a clatter like falling cans. Joe and Crank heard a muffled voice, then heavy footsteps shuffling in their direction.
    "Hey!" yelled Crank. "Benny-boy! Open up! You got some beer?"
    "Ah, shit !!" roared someone behind the door. "What the hell is this ? Who the fuck is it?"
    Joe did not like the sound of Benny's voice and considered running away immediately. Benny was not a guy to fool with; he was a huge man, an unemployed construction worker who was welded