In half an hour the whole upper level has been raked down except for the front, which they plan on knocking back into the hole they have just created. Simon leans into the truck. He is surprisingly sad and angry. The crew moves the Cat toward the front of the house and throws the stabilizers again. The bucket rises and moves against the chimney. Dust billows out, a last cough, as the old brick gives. But it falls the wrong way. It topples over the bucket and caves in a section of the roof and hangs there, perilously close to the street. Simon looks at the operator, who grimaces around the Swisher Sweet clamped in his mouth. He tries again to sneak the teeth under the piece of chimney but succeeds only in driving it farther toward the front. He retracts the bucket and leans back, silently deferring to the foreman with a shrug.

The crew gathers out front and clusters on the sidewalk, studying the chimney.

“I’ll be damned,” says the foreman, banging dust from his gloves against his jeaned thigh. “Gonna have to monkey it.”

“I ain’t crawlin up there,” declares one, and the rest nod their heads vigorously. They know the danger of a small job like this. The house is unstable to begin with and the damage to the upper floor could send the plaster-heavy walls down at any moment. There isn’t much for footing on the damaged joists and not even time and a half will get them to risk it.

“Just cable it and pull it back.”

They all turn and look at Simon. The foreman shakes his head.

“Who’s gonna run it up there? You wanna do it?”

“I don’t care. What the hell kind of pussy crew you runnin here anyway?”

“I can’t let you up there. Union rules.”

“Suit yourself. But you got yourself a pussy crew. That’s for damn sure.”

The whole crew turns, ready to take off their hard hats for a rumble. The foreman waves them down.

“I run a safe crew.”

“Safe. Pussy. Call it what you want. I can get the cable around that chimney in ten minutes.”

The foreman chews this for a few seconds. He knows he shouldn’t allow it, but the insult to his crew makes him want to see Simon risk his life.

“Can’t pay you.”

“I know.”

“We’ll chip in for a twelver if you can do it.”

“Don’t touch the stuff no more.”

The foreman shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

“Gonna have to move the Cat to the back so we can pull the brick away from the road.”

The foreman agrees. “Hop to it, boys.”