Rabbit Markey shot a glance to the right of him and one to the left, hunched his shoulders, pulled his trousers up, took Charlie by the lapel, and drew him close to a post. The buzzer sounded outside to announce that the race was within one minute of starting time. "Charlie, you're about to be had. Now you're playin' it the way you was supposed to in the beginning. You was supposed to play ball with the Hollywood boys to begin with. Now you done it. Now the fix is in!" "How the the hell can there be a goddam FIX?" screeched Charlie Jingle. "Tanker's level. Are you kiddin'?" "Sure! Tanker's level! But how about the Contender? How about Hammerhead Johnny? How about Steamroller Jones?" "You're crazy!" shouted Charlie Jingle. "It can't be! How the hell would _you_ know?" "You wanna know how I know? My daughter Marie--you remember her, she was a kid when you seen her--she's a secretary to Mike Bretz, the East Coast Assistant Vice of Pugs, Inc.... She's got the whole map out, from the word go. Pugs, Inc. is puttin' things in your way so that everybody thinks you got a real thing in the Tank. They're helpin' you get a build-up, you see, as if they wanted to freeze you out. When you finally break through the freeze-out one way or the other, they're gonna have one hellofa drawing-card! Get it now, Charlie?" Charlie Jingle walked away from Rabbit Markey, went some twenty paces, kicked a dent in a refuse-chute, and walked back. "I don't believe it!" whispered Charlie Jingle hoarsely. "I don't believe it!" The bugle blew outside. Rabbit Markey looked at Charlie, looked at his ticket, and started toward the race-track. Charlie Jingle caught his arm. "Wait a minute, Rabbit." Rabbit Markey shook his head. "I already said enough to float me in blood, Charlie. Now lemme go and watch the bloody no-good fixed races." "No, Rabbit. Tell me more. Tell me who else is swingin' this deal?" "Don't you know?" "Harry Belok?" Rabbit Markey nodded. "Jergen?" asked Charlie Jingle with bated breath. Rabbit Markey nodded his head. "How they do it? Tinker with the Fighters?" "You ever see Hammerhead get knocked off his feet?" "I don't get it--they lemme buy my own way into the news, is that it? I think I'm perfectly legitimate. So does everybody else in the game. What then?" "Then a story breaks someplace about the way Pugs, Inc. tried not to give you a fight. Everything looks like Pugs, Inc. is scared stiff of you because you can ruin them. Big build-up. Even Jergen goes to bat, confesses he tried to help you get the fight. Everybody's sore as hell at Pugs, Inc. They force a fight, Tanker goes in--and gets slaughtered. See?" Charlie Jingle felt his guts deflate in a rush. "Yeah," he said, dead-toned. "I see." "What you gonna do?"