Part 2, Babylon in Brooklyn Summary

Coney Island on a drizzly day seems even more garish, pathetic and futile when empty of visitors than on clear, sunny days. Cy has hung out a sign, "The Electric Michelangelo, Freehander, Antiseptic Treatment, Crude Work Removal, No Tattoos under 18 years of age." A neighboring vendor offers Cy bratwurst so it will not go to waste. He wants his fading lucky charm tattoo redone some day and Cy invites him to visit when business is slow. Some tattoo artists do not bother opening on wet days, but Cy knows that this can cost two-thirds of one's business or more.

Sure enough, two men pause to look at the bright walls of Cy's small hut and Cy strides over and launches into his brassy, polished patter. Cy concentrates on Eddie, who seems more serious about a tattoo than...