Editing Getting the Band Together (section)

==='''Forty Threes'''===

Looking out from the shadows at the Ugly Ferret, the boys of the 43rd Street gang, often called the Forty Thieves as an homage to the movie *Gangs of New York*, watched the crowds of people going into the crappy old bar for a performance of the weird twangy group called the Stone Bench Group.

The bar had belonged to the Blind Reapers for years until their sudden disappearance. The boys didn’t know why but knew they couldn’t find as good a source for their habits. Sucked for them, but life went on. The new popularity of the old Ferret was an opportunity. They had gone to a few of the shows and didn’t understand why people liked these freaks. But money was money.

After the music was going and the people had all gone in, they moved. Running low to avoid cameras recently installed on the outside of the building, they ran past parked cars, sticking long sharpened screwdrivers into the tires on the street side, dragging them along the paint, and occasionally breaking a window. They laughed as they went by, peeking in the cars occasionally. Toward the end, two slipped into minivans and, popping the ignition, hot-wired them, filling the vehicles. They drove away, laughing.

Inside, Reggy watched the screen of a widescreen TV set up in the garage area he and Wrecker used as living quarters for now. The feed was from security cameras set up with a great deal more skill to be hidden from sight. He smoked a Urala cigar and listened to the surfpunk sound from the other room.

"Well?" he said.

Wrecker said, "Yeah. Let them make their play. Maybe we can use them. Twenty-two of the rattlings in the gang. Ten out there. Two stolen cars. Ask Lucky who he would call to fix flats. Talk to Gadget. There are going to be some angry people after the show. She and the group should go out and help change tires, meet the fans, pitch in. Hand out kazoos. Order a thousand kazoos." He handled a kazoo, the top emblazoned with the letters SBG, tooting on it with amusement. Reggy wandered out to talk to Lucky.

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