Little Myth Marker By Robert Asprin

I was moderately astounded to discover this was true.

I’d always been a bit of a loner, but lately it seemed I not only was able to talk to people, I enjoyed it. I hoped it wouldn’t seriously change my friendship with Gleep.

“Me? Sure, Boss. What did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, nothing special. I guess I just realized we’ve never really talked, just the two of us. Tell me, how do you like our operation here?”

“It’s okay, I guess. Never really thought about it much. It’s not your run-of-the-mill Mob operation, that much is for sure. You got some strange people hangin’ around you . . . but they’re nice. I’d give my right arm for any one of them, they’re so nice. That’s different right there. Most outfits, everybody’s tryin’ to get ahead … so they spend more time watchin’ each other than they do scopin’ the opposition. Here, everybody covers for each other instead of nudging the other guy out.”

“Do you want to get ahead, Nunzio?”

“Yes and no, know what I mean? I don’t want to be doin’ the same thing the rest of my life, but I’m not pushy to get to the top. Actually, I kinda like workin’ for someone else. I let them make the big decisions, then all I gotta do is figure out how to make my part happen.”

“You certainly do your part around here,” I nodded. “I never knew before how hard a bodyguard works.”

“Really? Gee, it’s good to hear you say that. Boss. Sometimes Guido and me, we feel like dead weight around here. Maybe that’s why we work so hard to do our jobs. I never thought much about whether I do or don’t like it here. I mean, I go where I’m assigned and do what I’m told, so it doesn’t matter what I think. Right? What I do know, though, is that I’d be real sorry if I had to leave. Nobody’s ever treated me like you and your crew do.”