"What are we, morons?" Ennio demanded. "Dat's what makes things fall."

"Close enough for government work," Remo said. "How about super-conductivity?"

Ennio and Gino looked at one another, each apparently unwilling to admit he didn't know. They looked relieved when the floating stranger let them off the hook.

"No matter," Remo said. "That's a tough one. What I do, see, is I meet the force of gravity with an equal repulsive force. It only looks like I'm walking on the wire. In point of fact, I'm a fraction of a millimeter above it."

There was a spark of genuine curiosity in Gino's eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but was suddenly interrupted.

"What the hell is dat?"

A new voice. This one came from behind Remo. He glanced over his shoulder, back to the neighboring building. Three new angry faces peered over at him from just above the spot where the cable snaked into the old brick building.

"He was just tellin' us!" Gino hollered across the alley to his compatriots. "Somethin' about supercondominiums or somethin' !"

Remo rolled his eyes. "Could you yell a little louder? I don't think they can hear you in East Providence."

Gino wasn't paying attention to the others. He was staring at Remo's feet. They seemed anchored to the swaying line as firmly as if it were a broad concrete sidewalk.

"So it's like wit two magnets," Gino ventured.

"Sort of," Remo admitted, tearing his eyes away from the new arrivals. "But the repulsion isn't that intense. It's equal parts repel and attract."

Gino was clearly fascinated. Ennio, less so. With the appearance of the other three men, he had taken on a more authoritarian demeanor.

As Remo watched, a lightweight SMG swung into view, its collapsible skeleton stock already locked in place. Ennio aimed the barrel of the gun at Remo.

"I don't care about no supercondominiums or any of dat gravity bullshit."