Speakeasy

by M. J. Wiliamz

  “Thanks anyway, and maybe next time, but you need to work the crowd. See if you can drum up some business.”

  “All right, gorgeous, but don’t say I didn’t offer.”

  They were watching her walk off when there was a commotion at the door. In walked Waverly and his men, showing their badges and telling everyone to put their hands on their heads.

  They rounded everyone up, including Helen, and locked them in a paddy wagon. When they arrived at the station, Helen was placed in an interrogation room.

  “You want out of here?” Waverly walked in the room.

  “Sure.”

  “Tell me about Big Al. Give me something to go on and you’re free.”

  “I’ve got nothing. I don’t know anything that can help you.”

  “Try me.”

  “No.”

  “Then you’ll stay here.” He called a guard to escort her to the holding cell.

  She waited with her girls and several of the patrons. The same woman who hit on her earlier came over and sat next to her.

  “Hey, sunshine. This is exciting, huh?”

  Helen had to laugh.

  “That’s one way of looking at it.”

  “How long until they spring us?” the woman asked.

  “It shouldn’t be long. I’m sure Kevin’s got people on their way now.”

  “For you. What about the rest of us?”

  “If you work for me, I’ll spring you. Don’t worry.”

  “Thanks, boss lady.”

  Less than an hour later, Helen’s men had posted bail for her and her employees.

  “Can I ride with you?” The working woman was at Helen’s elbow.

  “Sure. We’ll drop you off at your place.”

  They climbed in the backseat of Charlie’s car while Kevin joined Charlie in the front.

  The woman sidled close to Helen and placed her hand on her knee. Helen enjoyed the contact and placed her hand over the woman’s.

  “So, do you have a name?”

  “Carol.”

  “Hi, Carol. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You’re a very handsome woman, you know, Helen Byrne.” She pressed her breasts against Helen.

  “And you’re quite a charmer, Carol.”

  “Sorry if I forget my manners around you. I get distracted.”

  “It’s quite all right. You’re very refreshing.”

  “Yeah? I’d like to show you how refreshing I can be.” She kissed Helen’s neck and sucked on her earlobe.

  Helen drew her breath at the sensation. Her crotch clenched in response.

  “We’re here,” Charlie said. “At Carol’s place.”

  “Please come up with me,” Carol whispered.

  Temptation roared through Helen. Carol was a voluptuous, sensual woman who clearly wanted nothing more than a good time. Helen deserved a good time. It had been a rough week. But logic won out.

  “I’m sorry, doll. I’d love to, but I need to keep a clear head right now with everything going on. I need to think things through. Thank you, though. And maybe next time.”

  She pulled Carol to her and kissed her. It was a soft kiss, yet passionate. Helen’s frustration apparent in it.

  “Good night, Helen.”

  “Good night, Carol.”

  Charlie drove Helen around to her apartment. She said her good nights and entered her place alone. Lonely and exhausted, she stripped down and climbed into bed. Her mind replayed the events of the past few days. She needed to come up with a way to deal with Waverly. She needed to figure out how to make more money now that Lucky’s was shut down.

  She closed her eyes and her last thoughts were of Maria before she fell into a tormented sleep.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “They’re saying you fingered them,” Kevin said to Helen over coffee.

  “I would never give them up,” Helen said, referring to one of Moretti’s clubs having been busted by the Prohis.

  “That’s not what they think. They say you saved your own ass by pointing to them.”

  “Shit. They’ll be all over us again now.”

  “Yeah, they will.”

  “We’ll need to have everyone be extra careful now. No telling when they’ll hit.”

  The hit never came, and three weeks later, the agents were gone, with no further casualties. Helen was pissed that her speakeasy was one of the four that was busted, and she was still paranoid about the South retaliating against her.

  “Be careful out there,” she told her men. “We’re sitting ducks right now. The agents are gone, so it’s back to work, but with no agents watching them, the South should be gunning for us. Please watch your backs and have someone with you all the time while you’re working. No goin’ solo right now.”

  Following her own orders, Helen joined Kevin and two other men as they collected that day. They picked up hefty envelopes as people had started frequenting the businesses since the shootings had settled down while the agents were in town.

  Helen was in good spirits as they drove back to headquarters. They were almost there when the shots rang out. The sound of the tommy guns roared even over the sound of the car. Helen ducked and Kevin covered her. The car swerved. They went up over a curb and crashed into a building. When the car came to a stop, Helen pushed Kevin off her to sit up and see Charlie slumped over the steering wheel.

  “Charlie!” she shouted. She reached forward and felt for a pulse.

  “What the fuck you think you’re doing?” Kevin yelled, pulling her back down. “It’s not safe for you to be sitting up right now.”

  “Fuck that! Charlie’s dead.” She struggled to free herself, but Kevin held her down. They heard another round of gunfire and Helen knew Kevin was right. They had to stay low.

  She slumped under Kevin and waited until the screeching tires sounded and the shooters sped off.

  “Those were Capone’s men. I recognize them,” Kevin said.

  “Fuckers,” Helen said.

  They climbed out of the car. Helen bolted across the street to headquarters while Kevin and Jimmy carried Charlie’s lifeless body.

  Helen was in shock. She couldn’t believe they’d taken Charlie. She also couldn’t believe how close they’d come to getting her. She felt numb. She wanted to give up, to send up a white flag so no more of her men would die. The feeling didn’t last long. Anger soon took hold and she vowed to even the score. She wanted to hit Moretti or close to him. This would take some planning.

  They called Flander’s to take away the body. Helen and Kevin drove to Charlie’s house to tell his wife. Her anger grew as she held the woman and listened to the shrill shrieking as she wailed her grief.

  Helen and Kevin went back to headquarters and grabbed the men who were there. They all went to the Golden Beaver for drinks. Partially to drown their sorrow and partially as a wake to celebrate the life of Charlie.

  “Fuck me.” Kevin captured Helen’s attention and motioned toward the door. In walked Moretti with Maria and a handful of men.

  “You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve,” Helen said as he reached their table.

  “What?”

  “You asshole. Get the fuck out of my bar and take your whore and your goons with you.”

  Maria slapped Helen. Moretti stood his ground.

  “I’d watch what you call her,” he said.

  “Get out of here,” Helen repeated.

  “What is your problem?” Moretti asked.

  “As if you don’t fucking know. You killed one of my men today. It’s takes balls to show up at my place after that.”

  “I didn’t do anything of the sort. I didn’t even hear about it,” Moretti said.

  “Bullshit. You ordered that hit and one of my best men is dead. Now get the fuck out of my bar, or I won’t be responsible for any actions of my men.”

  “I’ll go,” Moretti said. “But I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m sorry you lost a man today, Helen. But I had nothing to do with it.”
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  He left with his entourage and Helen sat fuming. The nerve of the man to stand there and lie to her face. She downed her drink and then another. She needed to numb the pain of the day.

  Her face still stung from Maria’s slap. She acknowledged to herself that she’d gone too far. But she was livid as Maria had stood there, next to him, acting all smug and innocent. She’d chosen Moretti over Helen, and Helen had to accept that. But she didn’t have to accept the bitch in her bar with that lying asshole.

  She ordered another drink and walked back to her table.

  “Can you believe that guy?” Kevin said.

  “He’s got balls the size of Texas,” Helen said.

  “You sure didn’t make any points with Maria there.”

  “Fuck her.”

  Kevin just looked at her. She was pissed in all sorts of directions.

  “What are we going to do about what they did today?” Kevin asked.

  “They’ll pay. Trust me.”

  *

  A month later, Helen still hadn’t ordered the hit on Moretti, but she was biding her time, waiting for the prime opportunity. She wanted them completely unaware when it happened. She sat at her desk crunching numbers when Jimmy came rushing in.

  “They hit Genna!”

  “What? Bloody Angelo? Who hit him?”

  “Some of Weiss’s men. They followed him in his car. He lost control of it and wrapped it around a pole. Then they got out of the car and shot him. He’s dead.”

  “That’s fantastic! Good for them. Genna was a piece of shit.”

  Kevin poured the drinks in celebration. The atmosphere was more jubilant than it had been in weeks. They headed to the Beaver to keep the party going.

  “So what are we gonna do about Moretti?” Kevin asked after a few drinks. “You didn’t forget about him, did you?”

  “How could I? We’ll avenge Charlie’s death. Don’t you worry. Tonight, we’re celebrating, though.”

  “I think we should hit Gattino’s,” Jimmy said.

  “We can’t hit Gattino’s. We go there too often.”

  “But Moretti’s always there,” Kevin argued.

  “He frequents other places, too. We’ll hit him. I promise.”

  “Wouldn’t it be great if we killed that son of a bitch?” Jimmy said.

  “That’s the plan,” Helen said, the idea hitting her like a ton of bricks. “We need to take aim directly at him. We can’t hit Big Al, so we’ll aim for Moretti.”

  “Nice, boss.” Kevin left to get another round.

  “Do you mean that?” Jimmy asked. “Are you really gonna aim that high?”

  “You’d better believe it.” Helen realized she’d had a few drinks, but the idea grew on her. It would be so much nicer than just a random hit on his underlings. To actually take aim at Moretti would be an accomplishment to be proud of. She’d only trust her best men to the job. It was a shame Charlie was gone.

  Kevin returned with the drinks.

  “So when are we gonna do this?” he asked.

  “We’ll have to wait a little while longer,” Helen said. “They’ll be on alert after this hit on Genna. If the leader of the Genna family could be killed, Capone’s men are going to be extra careful.”

  “Well, how long will we have to wait?” Kevin said.

  “I don’t know, Kevin. I’ll know when the time is right though. And at that time, we’ll kill the smug fucker.”

  “That’s gonna be the happiest day in my life,” Jimmy said.

  “Mine, too,” Helen agreed.

  *

  Two weeks later, Helen called a meeting with her lieutenants.

  “It’s time to avenge Charlie’s death,” she said. “We’re going to make it our mission to get Moretti. I want him dead.”

  “Where are we going to do this?” Kevin asked.

  “Jimmy, you, William, and George gather about ten others and hit the Green Door. I’ve been there a couple times. Moretti’s table is in the south corner. I want you to burst in, shoot up the place and make sure you hit Moretti. Get out of their fast. And be safe. I don’t plan to lose another man.”

  “When is this going down?” Jimmy asked.

  “Tonight. Say eleven o’clock. That should give them enough time to have had a few drinks and be a little slower when retaliating. I’m guessing their reflexes will be compromised. Still, it’s critical you’re alert. Don’t be heroes. If you can’t get Moretti, get who you can. I don’t want you leaving any men behind. Do I make myself clear?”

  The men called their finest guys and had them come down to headquarters, where they finalized their plan. They’d barge through security and start shooting before the alarm could be sounded. They were to make it inside as far as they could so they could hit Moretti at his table. If Moretti wasn’t there, they were to shoot as many people as they could. Either way, several of them would shoot up the booze behind the bar while the rest of them would gun for Moretti and his men.

  They played poker to pass the time. Kevin and Helen left to pick up pizza for everyone.

  “Boss, I’m really excited about tonight. It’s a good thing they’re finally going to get what’s coming to them.”

  “I agree. I want Moretti dead more than you can imagine.”

  “Then you get the girl back, huh?”

  Getting Maria back was something Helen only dared to dream of. It would be wonderful, to be sure.

  “Eliminating Moretti is my priority, Kevin. I doubt Maria would want anything to do with me after I kill her man.”

  “What’s her story anyway?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, she’s with Moretti. Then she goes with you, then back to Moretti. Does she like men or women? Or both, maybe?”

  “I think she likes women. But I think that scares her. The world expects her to be with a man. And God knows, she’s been with enough of them.”

  “You don’t really need someone that messed up, boss.”

  “Maybe not, but I really like her. She’s different, Kevin. I can’t explain it.”

  They returned with the pizzas and everyone dug in. Helen watched her men with pride. She was as excited as a kid at Christmas. She wished she could be part of the hit, but she knew it was too risky. Her job was to assign her men to do things. She was the brains of the organization. They’d be lost if anything happened to her.

  Ten thirty arrived and the men left. Helen and Kevin poured themselves drinks and waited. They played cards with the other men who were hanging around headquarters. They tried to avoid looking at the clock every five minutes, but it wasn’t easy.

  Finally, the men came back, two of them nursing gunshot wounds.

  “Get them to the hospital,” she barked. Two of the guys who hadn’t gone helped the men into their cars and left to drive them to the hospital.

  “How did it go?” Helen asked Jimmy when the others were on their way.

  “Excellent. We hit Moretti several times. He was on the floor when we left.”

  “We shot up their booze selection, too,” William said. “I don’t think we left a bottle unhit.”

  “Good job. How many others did you get?”

  “We shot a lot of people. The place was jumpin’,” George said. “A few of us sprayed the crowd while the rest of them went after Moretti and William’s guys hit the bar area.”

  “You guys did good,” Helen said. “Kevin, pour these men some drinks.”

  Helen left the party to check on the men at the hospital. Both were fine, so she paid their bills and followed them back to headquarters. The celebration lasted late into the night. Helen felt great as she finally left to go home for few hours of sleep. She didn’t know if Moretti had made it or not, but she could only hope he was gone. It was time for her to be able to live her life without that man always ruining it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Any news on Moretti?” Helen asked Kevin when he arrived at headquarters late the following morning.

  “He’s f
ine,” Kevin said. “He got hit a couple times, but nothing serious. He was in and out of the hospital last night.”

  “Shit,” Helen said. Not only was he alive, but he was going to be one pissed adversary.

  “No one said anything about hitting Maria, did they?” Kevin asked.

  “No.”

  “I guess that’s good for you.”

  “I guess. I don’t really care,” Helen said.

  “Says you.”

  “So I wonder when Moretti will retaliate,” Helen said, nauseous that her archenemy was still alive.

  “Hard to say. Could be anytime, though.”

  “Yeah. We’ll just keep vigilant and watch everyone around us at all times.”

  They went about their business as usual the next couple of weeks and everything went smoothly. There were no hits on them and Helen started to relax a little.

  She met Kevin at Mickey’s one morning and Kevin had some news for her.

  “Another member of the Genna family is dead,” he said.

  “Who? What happened?”

  “Mike Genna was riding with some of his men when they got in a shootout with the cops. Two cops were killed, as well as Genna.”

  “That leaves only Tony, right? He’s the last of the Gennas.”

  “He is and no one knows where he is. Rumor has it Scalise and Anselmi of the Genna gang have switched over to working for Big Al. I’m sure they’re not the only ones.”

  “Shit. The Gennas never gunned for us. And Al doesn’t need to get any bigger. I don’t like thinking of Genna’s men working for him.”

  “Could be a rumor, boss, but I heard it from a pretty reliable source.

  “I never doubt your sources, Kevin.”

  “We’ve got money waiting. Let’s get back to collecting,” Helen said.

  They said their good-byes to Mickey, and Kevin walked outside to make sure the coast was clear.

  Helen heard the sound of gunfire and watched Kevin hit the ground.

  “Call an ambulance!” Helen told Mickey. She wanted to rush out to check on Kevin, but knew that could be suicide. She waited until she heard the sirens, followed by the squeal of tires. Thinking she was safe, she raced out and met the ambulance. She caught sight of one of the men looking back from the car racing away. He was Moretti’s man. Helen fumed.