Mark my words Hulk, that smirk just ain't gonna last.
Tony's words went cracking down the cold and snowbound streets, echoing along with the crunch of the two men's footsteps. The day's blue was rapidly fading into night's black.
Hulk was walking behind Tony, twice his size and swinging a traveling bag as he gazed up at the evening stars. He looked as though he were enjoying a fine spring day. Only the red of his cheeks attested to the cold; and that only made him look even happier.
Hunched under his coat and tight black ski cap, Tony smiled, but did not look happy. He looked cold. "Mark ten and counting," he said to himself.
"Did you hear that, Hulk?" He said louder, almost shouting. We're gonna be free."
"Yeah, I heard you," Hulk said, looking down from the stars and at Tony. Each word was pronounced slowly, carefully, as if he wasn't quite sure of how they might come out. "What's a smirk, Tony?"
"Don't worry about it Hulk. It ain't important. The important thing is that there ain't gonna be anyone around to tell us what to do no more. We can blow up who and what we want. We're gonna..."
"Can I blow up the moon, Tony?" interrupted Hulk. "It covers up the stars."
"The moon?" Tony looked confused for a moment, his steps faltering. Hulk stopped to avoid colliding with him; started again when Tony's quick pace resumed. "Oh. Sure, Hulk, you can blow up anything you want; or my name ain't Tony Le Boom."
"Your name is Tony Le Boom, ain't it? Like Pepe Le Peu would call you?" Asked Hulk watching to make sure Tony wasn't about to stop again.
"Yeah, Hulk, like Pepe Le Peu would call me."
"Good, I guess I can blow up anything. I like blowing up stuff."
"Like! Jesus, you're a fucking genius at blowing things up; and we're gonna blow lots of stuff up together, Hulk." Tony straightened up as he said this, his arms jerking out a bit for emphasis, but hands still jammed deep into their pockets; like he was imitating a chicken flapping its wings. "We're gonna be Dons, Hulk. Nobody will touch us."
"Dons?"
"Yeah, Hulk. Dons: l'm gonna be Don Carlini and your gonna be Don Smith..." Tony stopped. Hulk was ready and stopped with him. "Well, maybe that won't work."
They started walking again, Tony hunched back down again muttering, Hulk still watching for the next sudden stop. "Maybe Don... hmmm... What's your mother's last name, Hulk?"
"Shouldn't you be Don Le Boom, Tony?"
"Huh?"
"Well if your name ain't Tony Le Boom I can't blow up stuff, right?"
Tony stopped again, a broad smile oveMihelming his face. He turned around, shaking his head, and looked up at Hulk. "Sometimes, if it weren't for the fact..." Tony started to say, as he patted his coat down for cigarettes. Hulk waited, his bag held in two hands in front of him.
"If it weren't for the fact that..." He started again, staring down at his feet, his hands feeling out his pant and shirt pockets. "You know Hulk, I owe you a lot. l'm not like the others, your other partners, the ones that you, like, blew up because they called you stupid. l'm..."
Tony looked back up, "Where are my cigarettes?"
He slapped his forehead and sagged as he remembered, "Oh shit! I left them in the restaurant."
Hulk took a pack out of the bag and put them under Tony's nose.
"Thanks," Tony said, slowly taking the pack. "Like I was saying, if it weren't for you (and Pepe Le Peu) I wouldn't be known as Tony Le Boom."
Hulk stood listening, his eyes not blinking as he watched Tony take a cigarette out and put it in his mouth. As Tony brought up a lighter from out of his pocket his eyes crossed to look at the cigarette.
"Say, ain't these, my cigarettes?" the cigarrette going up and down as he spoke. "I thought I left them in the restaurant."
"You did Tony, you put them in your bag," said Hulk.
Tony stared at Hulk, his cigarette drooping.
A moment past and Hulk, head down, began shifting from foot to foot. "lt's cold Tony. Can we go?"
"My bag?" Tony asked, the cigarette hanging off Tony's lower lip, stuck on frozen spittle.
"Yeah, Tony. The one you left under the table," Hulk held up the bag. "Mr. Modigliani said you'd forgot it.
"Oh n...," Tony started to say.