Kzine Issue 16

by Graeme Hurry et al.

  Jerry raised an eyebrow and looked at me. “You’re not getting ambitious on me, are you?” Carmine’s, though officially on our turf was not my home base. It was where the big boys hung out. Mr. Colletto ate there. Us soldiers stuck with Ragusa’s. Carmine’s had better lasagna though.

  “I just want some lasagna tonight. Is that a problem?”

  Jerry shook his head. “Knock yourself out. But they’re having that summit there with the Russians tonight so you watch your ass.” Old Vito straightened out a stack of bills and pushed them across the table to me. Jerry nodded and I picked them up.

  “I’ll be careful,” I said as I walked out.

  Carmine’s was five blocks away so I drove, finding a parking space in the back alley. I walked in through the kitchen entrance and took a seat at the bar. My watch said it was a quarter to six.

  “Hey, Kevin,” I said to the bartender and my old schoolmate. Kevin’s fisheye stare brought back high school memories, the normal kind this time. He was as tall as me but rail thin with thick lensed glasses that made his eyes look unusually large. Needless to say in high school he’d been a source of endless amusement to us.

  “Vin, what can I get you?”

  “Glass of red,” I said, leaning back on the stool and stretching my spine.

  Kevin nodded and produced a wine glass from under the bar. He took an open bottle of red from behind him and poured.

  “So big doin’s tonight?” I said softly. “Mr. Colletto’s really going to negotiate with the Ivans?”

  Kevin shrugged. “I guess,” he said as he put the wine bottle back on the shelf and wiped the bar with a cloth.

  “Never would have happened in the old days,” I said. “When we were in school Mr. Colletto was a real hardass, a stone cold killer who only cared about how large his cut was. I wonder what happened to him.”

  “People mellow as they age.”

  I shook my head and spoke a little softer. “Not underbosses, Kevin. There are too many goons who want that job. There are too many people downtown wanting larger cuts. Something happened ten years ago. How long have you been working here?”

  “About ten years,” he said.

  “Freaky ain’t it?”

  “Look, Vin. It’s time for my break.”

  “No problem, Kevin. I’ll see you when you get back.”

  He nodded and walked back to the kitchen entrance. Looking to make sure nobody was watching, I finished my wine and followed him.

  Kevin was leaning against the brick wall of the restaurant, eating an energy bar and staring at the dumpsters in the alley. My car was parked twenty feet away. I eased the back door shut and approached quietly. There was nobody else in sight.

  “You want to know what happened to Tommy, don’t you?”

  I almost jumped out of my shoes. Usually, I’m a pretty quiet guy.

  “I’m going to level with you Vin because I need your help tonight. If you don’t like what you’re about to hear, keep in in mind I can defend myself.”

  “Okay,” I said. He wasn’t making sense but he didn’t act like he was lying. That sort of thing confuses me.

  Kevin swallowed. “That night was when I discovered…Tommy was real mad that night Vin. You know what he was like. When he cornered me in that alley, I knew he was going to kill me; I could see it in his mind. So, I… stopped him.”

  “Stopped him?” Inside my head I could see Tommy, high school Tommy, standing in an alley, his face going slack and the bat slipping out of his fingers.

  “I didn’t know what I was doing then and I used too much force.”

  Oh Tommy, I thought, what did you blunder into? Don’t get me wrong. I knew what Tommy was and I knew the neighborhood and probably the world was better off without him. But he was my friend. We’d had a lot of laughs together.

  “What are you talking about, Kevin?”

  He took a deep breath, and avoided looking at me. “Over the years I’ve been putting suggestions—just suggestions—into people’s minds. People like Mr. Colletto. I’ve been encouraging them to be nicer—appealing to their better natures.”

  “You’ve been controlling them.”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t do that. I swore I wouldn’t try to coerce another mind after what happened with Tommy.”

  “Why should I believe that?”

  “Well, if you don’t, then I can make your lasagna to go and you can get out before the Russians come.”

  “How’d you know I was going to order lasagna?” I said.

  “You always order lasagna, Vin. And who do you think put the idea in your head this afternoon?”

  “So you were behind those…”

  “Not me,” he said. “But someone like me. You saw him earlier.” I nodded, thinking about the Ivan in the ski cap. “He works for the Russians and I think he’s trying to figure out who I am. I threw in the bit about the lasagna to get you here tonight.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck and gave Kevin a hard look, thinking about what I was going to do. And it was up to me, I realized. Nobody was going to believe this nerd was messing with our minds. I still wasn’t sure I did. But after ten years of putting the squeeze on people, I’m pretty good at knowing when they’re lying. Kevin wasn’t lying, or at least he didn’t think he was. Which meant he was either right or nuts. The voices in my head debated this back and forth. Maybe you’re the one who’s nuts, is what they came up with. I told them to shut the hell up.

  “Can’t you mojo the Russians?”

  He shook his head. “Not without knowing their language. They’re aware that people like me exist. If I start introducing thoughts in English, they’ll make me for sure.”

  I crossed my arms. “Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”

  Kevin shrugged. “These Russians are bad Vin. They’ll deal drugs around the school. They’ll horn in on the surrounding territories, creating almost constant warfare. Mr. Colletto has always been interested in keeping things calm and prosperous.”

  “Because of you.”

  “I’ve reinforced it but he’s always preferred profit to conflict. The Russians are the opposite.”

  “Why is this guy screwing with me?” I asked.

  “Tommy,” said Kevin. “He heard what happened to him and guessed the truth. His plan is to get you to identify me.”

  “Then ain’t it a risk to bring me here?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “But like I said, I have a plan.”

  I looked at Kevin and took a slow deep breath through my nose.

  “Look Vin, there’s no use in pretending with me. I know you’re a decent guy; I’ve known it since high school. And I know you aren’t unhappy with the way things are.”

  “Tommy was my friend.”

  Kevin wadded up the energy bar wrapper and put it in the dumpster. “Then you have a choice to make. Things are going to happen in there tonight. I need you to play a vital part. But you do what you want.

  “I’ll get your dinner order in,” he said and walked past me to the door.

  I stood in the alley for a minute, staring at my car and thinking maybe the lasagna at Ragusa’s wasn’t so bad after all. But Kevin was right, I did like the way things were going. I always had enough money to go out at night. The people in the neighborhood seemed happy enough because they knew they weren’t getting squeezed too tightly. And they knew they’d be protected when nutcases like the Russians tried to move in.

  But Tommy. Loyalty’s important in my work. You have to know you can count on a guy. Once I became his friend, I never questioned my place at Tommy’s side. And when whatever happened to him happened, I tried to do the best I could for him. But I couldn’t help but wonder if the last ten years would have gone as smoothly with Tommy around. He was ambitious, unlike me. By this time maybe he’d be pushing Mr. Colletto for the underboss gig and I’d have been right by his side. And Tommy’s temperament was a lot closer to these Russians than it was to Mr. Colletto.

  I retoo
k my seat at the bar and motioned to Kevin for another glass of wine. He acted like nothing unusual was happening but I knew I had his attention. It was like he was staring at me, except he wasn’t.

  The door opened and two wiseguys entered. I knew them. They were part of Mr. Colletto’s entourage. I watched as they scanned the joint, noting who was in the booths and at the bar. They nodded at me and then one went to check the bathrooms. When they gave the all clear, Mr. Colletto entered the restaurant. He was a tall guy, silver hair, and carrying more weight than the last time I’d seen him. I didn’t even want to think about how much the pinstripe suit he was wearing cost, but it was impeccably tailored. He scanned the booths and tables just like his guys did.

  Then another man walked in. I didn’t know his name but I’d seen him a few times. He was from downtown. The really big bosses were apparently taking an interest. It was well known that the Russians were promising them more profits so this was not necessarily a good thing. Mr. Colletto didn’t look happy about it.

  He spotted me and said something to one of his guys. The guy replied and Mr. Colletto nodded and walked up to me.

  “It’s Vin, right?” he said.

  “Yes sir,” I said.

  “What are you doing here, Vin?”

  I shifted in my seat, wanting to take a sip of my wine but not trusting my shaking fingers to pick up the glass. “I wanted some lasagna tonight, sir.”

  “And you didn’t want that crap they serve over at Ragusa’s. I understand.” The side of his mouth turned up a little. “But you understand what’s going down here tonight?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Then eat fast and clear…” He paused, his eyes turning inward.

  I started to turn my head to look at Kevin, but the voice said, Don’t look at me.

  “On second thought,” said Mr. Colletto, “why don’t you hang around in case there’s trouble. We’ll be in the back room.” He motioned to a separate room in the back with a single large table set up. The downtown guy was already sitting there. “You’ll know if you’re needed.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Kevin, Vin’s dinner and drinks are on the house tonight.”

  “Whatever you say, Mr. Colletto.”

  I nodded thanks and he walked away. Waiting a second for my blood to stop pounding, I picked up my wine glass and drained it. Over the years I’ve come to believe that nothing good ever comes from talking to an underboss.

  The place started emptying out as the time for the summit approached. Soon there was just me and two other guys in the front. I noticed that nobody was getting checks. Mr. Colletto must have covered everybody’s tabs.

  The Ivans arrived. There were five of them—I assumed that was a negotiated number—including the guy in the ski cap that I’d seen earlier. They weren’t big guys but they were scary. It was like I was looking at five Tommy Vitellis. Unpredictable energy crackled off of them. I saw Mr. Colletto’s entourage pat their coats where their pieces were. I wanted to check mine but something told me not to. The number of guns in the restaurant had probably been negotiated as well and nobody knew I had one.

  Ski Cap walked past me on his way to the back room. He glanced at me and smiled. I felt something in my head: not pain but pressure, like somebody was poking my brain. I sipped my wine.

  The Russians sat across the table from Mr. Colletto, the downtown guy and three of our guys. They started yapping. I couldn’t hear them but I could tell that Mr. Colletto didn’t like what he was hearing. He didn’t talk much, but listened as the Russians talked mostly to the downtown guy who kept a poker face.

  At first the Ivans were calm, their underboss smiling and talking in a low voice. But the guy sitting on his right was not staying cool. He shifted in his chair and his face tightened with every word our side said. Something was eating him and it wouldn’t be long before he went off. Ski Cap sat on this guy’s other side. His brow furrowed and he looked around. He made eye contact with me and again I felt that pressure in my brain. This time it hurt but not too much. I resisted the urge to look at Kevin.

  The front door opened. Almost grateful I broke away from Ski Cap and saw Tommy Vitelli walk in the door. He blinked in the light of the restaurant. The two guys in the front got panicked looks on their faces. One of them, no doubt, was in charge of locking the door and forgot.

  I was the first to act though. “Whoa,” I said, standing up and walking toward the front. “Tommy, you shouldn’t be here.”

  “Uh, uh,” he said and walked past me. I grabbed his arm and hauled him toward the door.

  “Here, let me give you some more money,” I said, placing him right in front of the door and blocking his path to the back room. I reached for my wallet and Tommy sidestepped me and headed straight toward the summit.

  Let him go, said the voice.

  “Forget that,” I mumbled.

  Vin this needs to happen. Tommy started in on his “uh, uh” routine at top volume and the guys in the back room, who hadn’t noticed him up to this point, all looked up.

  The Ivan who was getting agitated, exploded. “What is going on,” he shouted. Then he stood up and pulled his gun. He fired two rounds into Tommy’s chest before anyone else could react. My old friend crumbled to the ground.

  I shouted and pulled my gun and fired two quick shots. They hit Tommy’s murderer in the head which exploded like a melon. He crumpled, hitting the table on his way down. Ski Cap stood behind him blinking at me. Everybody else was staring at the dead men.

  Look at me, said Kevin’s voice in my head, just for a second. I glanced over at the bar and saw Kevin leaning against it, looking pale. Ski Cap followed my gaze, obviously making Kevin, and reached for his gun. It took me forever to pull the trigger. My finger was stiff, unwilling to move even the inch required. Ski Cap was pushing me, trying to keep my finger stiff. I could feel Kevin’s encouragement but he didn’t push. Between that and the effort of keeping the gun aimed, pulling that trigger was the hardest thing I ever did.

  I only got off one shot. Ski Cap’s forehead exploded and he fell against the back wall of the dining room, knocking a few pictures down. I staggered when the pressure on my brain suddenly lifted.

  For a second, nothing happened. I stood there with my gun still aimed at where Ski Cap had stood. The guys in Mr. Colletto’s entourage were all standing and had their pieces out and aimed at the Russians. The underboss himself had pushed away from the table and was staring open mouthed at the two dead Ivans. The downtown guy didn’t move except to lift his elbows when the blood on the table threatened to stain his suit coat.

  The Russian underboss looked up at Mr. Colletto and pointed to me. “That gun was not negotiated.”

  “Neither was that psychopath,” said Mr. Colletto, motioning toward the hothead.

  “You killed two of my men.”

  “You killed my man first,” replied Mr. Colletto.

  “He wasn’t supposed to be here.”

  “He was unarmed.”

  The Russian looked at Tommy’s body. He’d been wearing old blue jeans and a threadbare shirt. There was no place to carry a gun without someone seeing it.

  He shrugged. “You know what this means.”

  “Get out,” said Mr. Colletto, his voice low but reinforced with steel. “We’ll clean up the mess.”

  I watched the Ivans collect themselves and start to leave. My arms dropped to my sides but I still held my gun. They filed past me, giving me hard looks. The underboss stopped for a second and looked at me, no doubt making sure he would remember my face. Then he walked on.

  “We’ll have your back in whatever happens next,” said the downtown guy. “Those guys are too unstable.” Mr. Colletto nodded thanks and the downtown guy left, not even sparing me a glance.

  I knelt beside Tommy, intending to feel for a pulse. But the wound in his chest was still and suddenly I didn’t want to touch him. Instead I put my gun back in my suit coat.

  I looked up and saw Mr. Colletto stand
ing over me. This was a tricky moment. He didn’t like things getting out of control and there was a very good chance I would end the night in my trunk with two bullets in the back of my skull. I stood up on wobbly knees. He examined me with an unreadable expression.

  Finally he spoke. “You better lay low for now. Spend a few weeks in Florida. We’ll let Jerry know what’s happening.”

  I nodded and he walked away, giving instructions to his guys and pulling out his phone.

  With one last look at Tommy, I turned toward the kitchen entrance and walked outside. Kevin was leaning against the wall where I’d found him earlier. His shoulders were hunched over and he rubbed his eyes.

  “You started a war in there tonight,” I said.

  He nodded his head. “I couldn’t pacify them, so I went the other way. That first guy had been dumped by an Italian girl a couple of months ago. I kept putting her image in his mind.”

  “When you weren’t getting Tommy in there.”

  His head drooped a little lower.

  “I oughta plug you right now,” I said.

  “I needed a body Vin—one of ours. Nothing else would have convinced them downtown.”

  “And Tommy was expendable?”

  He looked at the ground. When he spoke again his voice was choked up. “There was no one there Vin. I looked for ten years but there was no consciousness. I burned it away.”

  He looked up at me. “If you still want to shoot me, I’m probably too tired to stop you.”

  I thought about it. But a voice stopped me and it wasn’t Kevin’s this time. In fact it sounded a little bit like Tommy’s.

  “You know things will change if you push Mr. Colletto too far into Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood,” I said.

  “I’ll admit tonight was close but I know where the line is. Mr. Colletto isn’t real popular downtown but he makes enough to satisfy them.”

  “You’re sure about that?”

  He just looked at me.

  “Alright, you’re sure.” I looked at my car. “I’d better hit the road.”

  Kevin nodded. “Thanks Vin.”

  “Kevin…”

  He waved his hand. “I’ll stay away from you.”