THE FIX-UP

fiction, comedy · EN

The time and the place: 1975, Chicago’s Far North Side. Meet LOU - an enforcer for the Chicago Outfit. Lou has also performed the occasional odd job for the CIA’s Miami station AKA "JM/WAVE". When he’s not breaking fingers or smuggling ancient relics, Lou writes thinly veiled tales of his exploits - under a pen name - for a pulp magazine publisher. That would be J.R. NASTE. (Pronounced, “Nast” not “Nasty”. The “E”, as J.R. often reminds others, is silent.) THE FIX-UP is a tale within a tale. There is the story of Lou and J.R., as the two berate, betray, belittle and finally befriend one another. Then there's the story of Lou's exploits. J.R. has convinced Lou these need a little editing - a "fix-up". And if Lou is willing to give J.R. a cut, J.R. will forward the stitched-together bio tell-all to Hugh Hefner, whom J.R. claims is an old pal. The goal - for now: sell Lou’s story of his mentorship under historical gangster JOHN ROSELL