He Who Hesitates

Liu Shifu used his last triangle of toast to wipe up the egg yolk from his otherwise empty plate. From his booth at the diner he could see a strip mall on the other side of the road. He looked at his watch. He'd beeped Dominick a while ago and given him the pay phone number here at the diner. He wished Dominick would call him back before the place got crowded for lunch so they could talk with a little privacy.

He chewed and sipped coffee, staring out at the sunny fall day. The leaves hadn't started to turn yet down here in south Jersey, but it wouldn't be long. The days were getting crisper, and it was beginning to feel like fall.

The pay phone by the cash register started to ring. Shifu sipped his coffee, waiting for one of the waitresses to get it. The old blonde with the tinted glasses answered it.

"Hello?.....Who?....Hold on a minute." The waitress looked around the diner. When she spotted the big bald man with the gray beard sitting by himself, she went over to him. "Sir, are you waiting for a call from a Dominick?" she asked Shifu.

"Yes, I am." Shifu got out of the booth.

"Can I get you anything else, sir?"

He looked over his shoulder at his empty coffee cup. "Yeah, sure. How about a refill?" He continued toward the phone and made sure no one was nearby before he picked up the receiver.

"How ya doing?"

"Shifu?"

"Yeah, how's it going?"

"All right. Who was that who answered the phone?"

"That was the waitress here at the restaurant."

"So what're you doing?"

"Not much. I called to see if anything is happening with your girl."

"As a matter of fact, everything's fine with her."

"Yeah?"

"They're very pleased with what I showed them."

"Yeah?"

"So it looks like good business, you know what I'm saying?"

"Good. And how did you make out with the rich kid.? Is he gonna do that thing with you?"

"Yeah, we're gonna do that. You know..."

Shifu grinned. "Well, whenever you're ready, give me a beep."

"Yeah, all right. How long are you gonna be down there in south Jersey?"

''Don't worry about it. It'll take me two and a half hours to get up there, my friend. That's all."

Dominick laughed. "I hear you. There's no rush on this thing, though, you know what I'm saying.? The kid bounces around, goes away with his family sometimes, disappears for a while—"

"He who hesitates is lost, my friend."

"You're right about that. Shifu."

"Gotta strike while the iron is hot."

"I hear you, I hear you. I'll let you know when the time is right."

"Okay. And how about the other thing with the girl?"

"Don't worry. I'll be in touch as soon as I hear from her."

"Okay. You know how to find me."

"Right. I'll be in touch."

"Take care now."

"Bye."

Shifu hung up and went back to his booth. The saucer was on top of his coffee cup. The waitress had poured him a fresh cup and covered it to keep it warm. He shook out two packets of sugar, ripped the tops, and poured them into the cup. He was thinking about the rich Jewish kid. Dominick had said the kid wanted two kilos of coke. The price would be sixty-five thousand. The kid would bring cash. They'd kill him, take his dough, and split it. That would give him another thirty-two five on top of whatever he and Sposato ripped off from Dominick with the bogus arms deal.

Shifu brought the coffee cup to his lips and sipped as he looked out the window. He who hesitates is lost, he thought. He who hesitates....

There was one time when he had hesitated, and he ended up regretting it. Back in the early seventies a guy who owed him money was telling people that he didn't intend to pay up. Liu Shifu wasn't about to let it get around that he sat back and allowed people to stiff him, so he paid the deadbeat an unexpected visit late one night at his office in midtown Manhattan. The man was very surprised to see him. He was more surprised to see Shifu's .38 Special.

Shifu told him he'd done wrong, and there was no making up for it now. The man just fell apart.

"Please, Shifu, no. Please don't do this. Please, God, don't let this happen to me. Please! God, please make him listen. Please, God."

Shifu stood over the deadbeat as he fell to his knees. The man couldn't walk. He was so upset, crying and pleading, praying to God for mercy, promising God he'd do anything if He just helped him this one time.

Shifu sneered down at him.

''I tell you what," he said. "If you believe so much in your fucking God, I'll give you a half hour to pray to Him. We'll see if He can do something for you. Okay." He leaned on the desk and made himself comfortable, then looked at his watch and told the guy the clock was ticking.

That was a mistake.

The guy started to blubber something awful, crying and wailing and begging. It was pathetic. It was degrading. The guy couldn't even get up; he was such a mess. He tried to drag himself across the floor like some kind of cripple who'd lost his wheelchair. Eventually the guy shit his pants, literally. It was disgusting.

Shifu never thought anyone could be this desperate. After a while he couldn't take it anymore, so he just shot him and got it over with. He hauled the body down in the service elevator and threw him in a Dumpster. He never heard another word about the guy after that, but that one still haunted him.

He shouldn't have hesitated. He should've just shot him right away and kept it simple. Doing it that way, making the guy beg like that—it wasn't worthy of Liu Shifu. It made him feel small, and he knew he was better than that. He learned a good lesson from that one, though: He who hesitates is lost.

"More coffee, sir." The waitress was hovering over the table, ready with the coffee pot.

"No, thanks," he said. "Just the check."

"Yes, sir." She scurried back behind the counter to tally up his check.

He drained his cup and waited.