IV Chapter 18 Summary
rich
richard.romeo at gmail.com
Sun Dec 13 13:23:05 CST 2009
Part 1
Doc decides to pay a visit to Adrian Prussia's establishment, AP
Finance, somewhere between South Central and the Los Angeles River. It
is a very unsettling place, a poor section of town with drunks, the
lost, those just waiting. He has some questions to ask about Puck.
Puck appears and entices Doc to share a joint with him that,
unbeknownst to Doc, is laced with PCP.
We now get a brief description of Doc's hallucinations--his body and
mind, separate, having a conversation (noted as Visible Doc and
Invisible Doc respectively). Doc then meets the creepy embodiment of
The Golden Fang, a cloaked figure with freaky eyes and golden canines,
who admits to dining on Dr Blatnoyd's neck.
Doc is then given an injection which brings him back to earth by a
leering Puck, who tells him that Glen Charlock was the target of the
hit at the Channel Estates massage parlor not Mickey. Puck tells him
this because Doc seemed the only person who gave a shit about Glen.
Puck gives a detailed history of Prussia's work ethic as a loan shark
and eventually his teaming up with elements within the LAPD and in
particular his role in kidnapping, torturing, and murdering a
pornographer who knew about a sex ring operating out of Sacramento
which if known would threaten the administration of Governor Reagan.
We also learn of the origins of Prussia's deal with the LAPD acting as
a contract killer and the arrangement whereby Prussia would be
arrested for these crimes but never serve any jail time which not only
eliminated individuals who needed to be eliminated but also giving the
LAPD a larger clearance record of criminal cases which in turn would
attract increased amounts of federal dollars to the department.
Eventually, Prussia would be specializing in political cases and the
feeling that with his newly added connections and immunity/protection
from/by the law, he had made it.
But Prussia is then asked to kill a cop, Vincent Indelicato (Bigfoot's
partner), who had it out for Puck, and harassing Einar. Prussia gives
the assignment to Puck since he doesn't have the thrill of seduction
and desire for the hunt which Puck has more than enough of.
Before Doc can find out more Puck tells him that they are going to
dose him with very high grade heroin to induce an overdose.
While Puck departs for the goods, Doc escapes from his handcuffs, and
surprises Puck and beats him senseless, handcuffs him and shoots him
up with the heroin slated for him.
Doc having retrieved his pistol battles with Prussia and wounds him.
He stops and calls an ambulance and finds Bigfoot in the garage
apparently stealing heroin. Doc is both pissed from having Bigfoot set
him up and dumbfounded that Bigfoot would get himself entangled
further with the Golden Fang by stealing their dope.
Doc storms off on foot and find himself on the infamous Gummo Marx Way
where Prussia though wounded reappears but collapses dead before
either can get off another shot.
Doc hears ambulances and cops as he continues to walk away from the
scene where he is picked up by Bigfoot who is driving his wife's car
and who tells Doc everything's fine.
Part 2
On the drive back, Bigfoot informs Doc about his partner Vinnie, a New
York cop originally, crazy, but the best partner he ever had and the
events surrounding his death. Bigfoot is angry that Doc would think he
bumped off his own partner but Doc thinks of Bigfoot as the LAPD's
version of Charlie Manson, waiting his time till he brings everything
down around him.
Doc tells Bigfoot that Puck killed Vinnie and he [bigfoot] may know
who within the LAPD paid Prussia for the hit. Bigfoot either won't say
or he doesn't know, in either case Doc will never find out.
After all this, Bigfoot again asks Doc to become a paid snitch again!
Doc is surprised also that he isn't being taken in for what happened
on Gummo Marx Way.
Bigfoot says that Prussia was getting too cute and that the force will
be happy that he's gone.
Doc feels he's owed a commission or something for the work he did
unknown to him for the LAPD and that Puck also mentioned that Glen
Charlock was the target of the hit at the Chick Planet all along and
not Mickey. Bigfoot gives Doc the lowdown on Mickey and how he just
stumbled upon something not involving him but the feds and others
panicked and eventually got him to the Ojai institute for
"reprogramming". But Mickey may not be totally reprogrammed and he may
not be what he was before he decided to become charitable.
Bigfoot drops Doc off at the pound to get his car which has been towed
once more.
While pulling out of the lot, Doc discovers that Bigfoot has planted
the heroin in his trunk of his car.
Doc calls Tito and asks him to meet him so he can switch for a
untraceable car. Doc takes a dummy carton of debris disguised as the
heroin and drives to the airport and checks it for a flight to Hawaii
on Kahuna Airlines knowing the airline is noted for losing baggage and
it will be some time before the Golden Fang finds out about the
switch.
Doc creates a diversion, sings a song, and exits to find Tito's
partner Adolpho in his car and waiting for him with Doc's car parked
nearby. They drive some and then switch cars, with Doc putting the box
with the heroin from his car to Adolpho's.
So Doc driving Adolpho's car with the heroin, heads home and hides the
heroin in Denis' corrupted by flood apartment. Doc finds Denis staring
at the heroin package the next day like it was a television. Denis
thinks its some new model as the carton with the heroin once held a 25
inch color TV.
Doc, Denis and Jade [all stoned] who has brought lunch watch the box.
Part 3
Doc is dreaming about the Golden Fang (the ship) and its
dezombification by the same dude who helped the Boards, back to its
original state as the Preserved. Doc is with Sancho on the beach
watching the ship where Sancho is hoping the ship is bound for a
better shore, some undrowned Lemuria.
Doc thinks he sees Coy, Hope and Amethyst on board, safety-bound;
Sancho is not so sure.
The call from Crocker Fenway interrupts Doc's dream. Fenway, being
known as a fixer, inquires of Doc about retrieving The Golden Fang's
property (heroin), with no penalties. Doc agrees to a meeting but on
Fenway's turf.
Fenway invites Doc to his club, where Doc will have to wear more formal dress.
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