by Tony Farraj
“What’s so important that you had to find me in my new home?” Anthony asked
“I will give you a better understanding when you arrive at my establishment, but in the mean time if there is anything you need, my men will be happy to accommodate you, good day to you Mr. Sakakini.”
They drove down the freeway, until they got to China town. The driver pulled off the freeway and stopped in front of Mr. Hong’s restaurant.
It was a two-story building, with Chinese moiety. The large windows on either side were covered in Chinese writing. The exterior brick was painted red, with an impression of a dragon carved into the walls. Anthony stepped out of the car and walked to the solid oak door. The Asian man that sat in the back seat with him escorted him inside where he was greeted by a beautiful Asian woman. She looked like she was no more than twenty years old. She led Anthony up a set of stairs that was roped off to the public.
In a large dining room, Mr. Hong sat behind a large black marble table. He stood up and greeted Anthony.
Anthony noticed Mr. Hongs’ height. For an Asian man, he was quiet tall. He bowed in front of Anthony and extended his hand in friendship. Mr. Hongs’ skin was smooth. It was hard to depict his age, but he appeared to be in his mid fifties. He had black and white hair that was combed back.
“It is good to finally meet you Mr. Sakakini. Please, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?” Mr. Hong asked with a pleasant smile.
“A glass of water, please.” Anthony’s mouth was as dry as a powder keg. “So, what’s the big emergency that you had to tell me in person?”
The beautiful Asian woman that led Anthony to the dining room placed a large glass of water in front of him. She bowed, and then returned to the spot where she was standing.
Anthony noticed a large tattoo on the back of the Asian women. The symbol looked like it was a red faced tiger, clutching a dragon in its mouth or was it a red dragon clutching a tiger? Anthony couldn’t be certain.
“The day Mr. Mazellie passed way, you and I where to meet. Everyone knows Mr. Mazellie and I where not the best of friends, but we did respect each other. But, ever since his passing, his predecessor has been disrespectful toward our prior agreement.” Mr. Hong spoke slow and eloquent.
“I don’t understand. You’re having trouble with Carlo?”
“I am told that Mr. Mazellie trusted you and that you where in a position to negotiate our differences. I would like to sit down with your associates and my associates and settle our grievances, before this gets out of hand.”
Anthony sat and listened to Mr. Hong with great intent. “I’ll see what I can do, but I’m not making any promises. Is that all you brought me here to tell me?”
“Mr. Sakakini, I have a bit more information for you. I know who tried to kill you.” Lee Hong said calmly.
“You do?” Anthony was intrigued. “Are you going to tell me or am I suppose to guess?” Anthony reached for the glass of water and began to take tiny sips.
“It was someone in your own organization.”
Anthony dropped the glass he was holding. The words shattered inside his head like the glass that crashed to the floor. The words mutilated through out his body like a jagged knife. “How do you know?” Anthony finally asked.
“A couple of your associates came by one of my other establishments for dinner, during which their waiter over heard them talking about you, but by the time he realized who they where, they had left.”
Anthony sat motionless. “Did he hear who ordered the hit?”
“No. They finished their meal and left. I know it must be a shock to know your own associates planned to kill you.”
“How do I know you’re not lying to me?” Anthony asked suspiciously. “You could be setting me up here. You could be doing this so I’d go and start an interior war among my own people.”
“Mr. Sakakini, I have no reason to lie to you. I wanted you to know what I heard.” Mr. Hong said calmly.
“Maybe, I would like to get back home now, I’ll be in touch.” Anthony stood up and made his way to the door. “Mr. Hong, if I find out you’re information is correct, I’ll deal with my associates. But, if I find out you’re lying to me, I’ll personally come back here and rip out your heart.”
“Please Mr. Sakakini, do not threaten the messenger, I only bring you the news.” Mr. Hong smiled graciously.
“Very well, until we meet again.” Anthony walked out of the dinning room and into a waiting car.
Mr. Hong’s men drove Anthony back home and slowly pulled away. Anthony walked up the pathway and into his house. His mom had been busy emptying out boxes, most where gone from the living room hallway. Mrs. Sakakini had her back turned away from the kitchen entrance. She was to busy cooking, to hear her son walk through the door. The aroma of fresh spices filled the tiny little house. Anthony leaned over his mothers’ shoulder and dipped his finger into the pot.
“Are you hungry?” His mom asked.
“No.” Anthony walked to the kitchen table and sat down and began to contemplate everything Mr. Hong had said to him. Names began to flash into his head like a shutter from paparazzi camera. Michael? Sal? Maybe it was Carlo? His shoulder began to throb with pain. The pain seemed to travel through out his whole body. He knew what he had to do. It was time to rattle the cage. Someone in his organization knew something, it was time he got his questions answered.
Mrs. Sakakini heard the front door close. “Where are you going?” She ran to the front and asked. “What about dinner?”
“I’m not hungry.” Anthony shouted, as he made his way down the narrow street of his new neighborhood. It was a clear and cloudless evening. The stars twinkled like tiny flashlights in the ebony sky. Anthony briskly walked across town, until he found himself standing on the same block as the social club. He ducked into the dark shadows and stood there a moment. He could hear Frankie’s laughter cut through the evening air. He could see Frankie leaning on his car, talking to Sonny and Chris. Anthony also noticed Helen’s car parked out front, but she was nowhere in sight. Anthony took a deep breath and made his way toward Frankie, Sonny and his old friend Chris.
“Anthony!” Frankie shouted the moment he saw the dark gray figure approach. “It’s good to see you. How you doin?” He leaned in and kissed Anthony on the cheek.
“Good.” Anthony choked down the rage he was feeling. He didn’t want to make any trouble, not until he could find out if what Lee told him was the actual truth.
“How’s that shoulder?” Sonny asked.
“It’s healing.” Anthony couldn’t look anyone of them in the eyes. He walked to the door and began to walk in, when Michael was walking out.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Michael asked as he nearly knocked Anthony down. The rage that both men felt for one another was as strong as it ever was.
“It’s nice to see you, too Michael.” Anthony said with pure hatred. If Lee Hong was telling him the truth, Michael’s name was at the top of the list.
“Go to hell!” Michael said as he stood there glaring at Anthony.
“Is your sister inside?” Anthony reached for the front door.
“What the fuck do you want with my sister?” Michael stepped in front of Anthony and prevented him from going inside, by placing a hand on Anthony’s shoulder. Meanwhile, Frankie and Chris took one step closer to Anthony.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll move your hand away from my shoulder or else?” Anthony stood tall and stared angrily into Michael’s eyes, and then quickly glanced behind him and caught Frankie and Chris stepping closer. “Is there a problem here?”
All three men stepped a side and let Anthony through.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I want to go and see my girlfriend.” Anthony could see Michael and Chris fuming with rage. He opened the door and stepped inside the club. He saw Helen sitting at the bar, with her back facing the front door. He quietly snuck up behind her, avoiding the large new mirror. “Hey sexy, can I buy you a drin
k?” Anthony tried to disguise his voice.
“No thank you. I already have one.” Helen said without looking up.
“Well then…” Anthony continued. “How about you and me go back to my place and fuck like rabbits.”
Helen stood up and was about to slap the face of the rude patron, when she saw it was Anthony. “What are you doing here? You should be home resting your shoulder.” She said, as she through her arms around Anthony’s neck.
“I need to talk to Carlo and I missed seeing you today.”
“Ah, you missed me? I missed you, too. I was going to stop by on my way home.” Helen said, while she still had Anthony in her grip. “Do you want to go back to the house?”
“Yeah, but I have to talk to Carlo. Is he here?” Anthony said in-between kisses.
“He was in the back talking to Sal.” Helen said softly.
“Why don’t you finish your drink, then we’ll go.” Anthony gave her another kiss and turned to go, when he ran right into Sal. “Mr. Giganti, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you standing there.” Anthony said apologetically. He began to franticly scan the bar for a towel, paper napkins, anything to wipe up the spilt wine.
“What the fuck is some matter with you?” Sal yelled at Anthony. “I thought we got rid of you!”
“Uncle Sal, Anthony didn’t mean to bump into you. It was an accident!” Helen pleaded.
“Do you know how much this suit is worth? More than your lives put together!” Sal through the wine glass on the floor and franticly began to wipe the red wine off his pants. The red wine immediately began to soak into the fine Italian fabric.
“Don Giganti, I’ll be happy to buy you another suit.” Anthony said nervously.
Carlo could hear all the yelling. He stepped to the front of the club and saw Anthony, Sal and Helen. “What happened?”
“This fuckin cocksucker ran in to me and ruined my fuckin suit!” Sal said angrily, as he continued to wipe up the spilt red wine.
“Uncle Carlo, it was an accident.” Helen took a step forward, when suddenly Sal reached out and slapped her across the face. Helen went flying into a near by table and chairs.
“You motherfucker!” Anthony pounced on Sal like a lion. He grabbed Sal by the throat and slammed him against the bar. With all the strength he had, Anthony began to squeeze the life out of Sal. “You will never lay a hand on her again!” Anthony grabbed a beer bottle and smashed it against the bar. He stuck the jagged edge against Sal’s jugular.
Carlo franticly reached out and grabbed Anthony’s hand. “You don’t want to do this!”
“Why Carlo? Why don’t I want to do this?” Anthony jabbed the bottle harder into Sal’s neck. “And why in the fuck are you taking his side, again? He just slapped your niece clear across the room! Do you give a shit about anyone in this family?”
Helen stood up and walked to Anthony’s’ side. “Let him go. He’s not worth it, I beg you, please let him go.”
Anthony turned and gazed into Helen’s eyes. Her beautiful skin was branded with Sal’s palm print. Her eyes filled with pain. Anthony’s heart felt heavy. He wanted to leave a mark on Sal’s face, the way he left one on his angel. Anthony removed the sharp edge of the broken bottle away from Sal’s jugular and placed it on his right cheek. “I’m going to show you that no one fucks with anyone I care about. You hear what I’m telling you, you cocksucker!” Anthony stuck the sharp end into Sal and ripped down the side of his face.
The warm reddish blood ran down his arm. Carlo turned away. Helen shielded her eyes from the vicious assault. Anthony peered blankly into Sal’s horrified eyes. He slowly let Sal’s body fall to the ground. The broken bottle still clutch in his hand, Anthony collapsed onto a stool. The smell of copper filled the air. Sal’s blood dripped from the bottle and on to Anthony’s shoe.
“What the fuck have you done?” Carlo asked in horror.
“The fucking guy had it coming. He had no respect, none.” Anthony answered half heartily. He sat on the bar stool and stared down at Sal’s lifeless, mangled body.
Carlo knelt down and checked for a pulse. The wound on Sal’s face was extremely deep. Anthony had used such force, that pieces of the broken bottle where protruding out of the cut.
“You fucken killed the guy! You sliced his face all the way to the bone!” Carlo stood up and wiped the blood off his hands with a handkerchief. “You know what this means?”
“Yeah, it means I don’t have to listen to this piece of shit anymore.”
“Anthony, you don’t kill a guy like Sal and expect to wash your hands from the whole mess. The boys in New York don’t like it when one of their Capo’s are found dead.” Carlo continued to wipe the blood from his hand. “You got to have permission to whack a Capo.”
“Permission! I need permission to kill a scum bag like him?” Anthony spit on Sal’s lifeless body. “Fuck him!”
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with, these guys play hard ball. You don’t fuck with these guys. When they found out what happened here, they will send someone down to kill you, your mother and anyone associated with you.”
“Well Carlo…” Anthony said scornfully. “I guess they better not find out.”
Carlo paused for a moment. He knew what Anthony was implying; after all, he did nothing to stop the vicious attack. “We have to get rid of the body.”
“How? It’s not like we can walk him out the front door.” Carlo looked into Anthony’s eyes. A cold-blooded gaze stared back at him. For that moment, Carlo knew Anthony was now in charge. He may have been the acting boss, but Anthony was running the show.
“We’ll take him down to Hawthorn Bridge and dump his body over.” Anthony quickly began to plan a way to get Sal’s body out of the social club without the guys in front seeing them.
“Are you crazy?” Carlo said nervously. “We’re all dead! Your stupidity has cost us our lives.”
“Do you have a better idea? We get rid of the body or we die, you choose.” Anthony sat back down and waited.
Carlo nodded grudgingly. “Alright. What do we need to do?”
“Helen, go and get something to clean up this blood.” Anthony barked. “Carlo, grab his legs and we’ll drag him toward the back door.” Anthony slipped his hands under Sal’s arm- pits and lifted him up. “He feels like he weights a fuckin ton.”
They both slowly walked to the back door. When suddenly, Anthony could feel Sal beginning to slip. With a loud thud, Sal’s head slammed into the concrete below.
“Be careful.” Carlo cried.
“Why?” Anthony asked. “It’s not like he can feel it. The guys’ dead.” A gentle smile formed on Anthony’s face.
Carlo unlocked the back door and peered out. He wanted to make sure no one was lurking in the shadows.
“Go and unlock your trunk. We’ll throw him in the back.”
Carlo took one more look around, before walking to his car to unlock the trunk. They both lifted Sal off the social club floor and threw him in the back of Carlo’s trunk.
“Wait here, I want to go and check on Helen.” Anthony walked back inside. He found her busy cleaning the rest of the blood off the social club floor.
“What happened?” Michael asked, as he stood over Anthony and his sister.
“I spilt my wine.” Anthony said, while helping Helen clean up Sal’s blood.
Helen made sure not to reveal the mark Sal left on her face.
“I don’t see what my sister sees in you. You’re such a fuck up.”
Anthony ignored everything Michael had to say. He had bigger fish to fry. There was a stiff in Carlo’s trunk that was dying for a late night swim.
“Is Carlo still in the back, I have to talk to him.” Michael side stepped Anthony and proceeded towards the back booth.
“He’s waiting for me in the car. We have some business to take care of on the other side of town.” Anthony quickly stood up and blocked Michael from going any further.
“Don’t put your hands on me, you got that
asshole?”
“Michael, I’m in no mood for your shit.” Anthony held his ground. “Whatever you have to talk to him about, can wait.”
“Fuck you! I don’t wait for nobody!” Michael forcefully pushed Anthony’s hand away from his chest.
Anthony grabbed Michael by the collar of his shirt and slammed him up against the bar. With one quick punch, Michael was spread eagled by his feet.
“You don’t have time for this.” Helen tugged on Anthony’s pants leg. “Go and do what you have to do.”
“This isn’t over!” Michael moaned. “When Sal hears about this, he’ll kill you!” Michael looked around for Sal to come to his aide.
“Sal isn’t here.” Anthony said with a smirk. “He left out the back, something about an old friend on the north side.”
“He told you that?” Michael asked suspiciously, as a trail of blood dripped down his lips. He slowly got to his feet and looked around the club. Michael wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “When I see him and tell him what happened, you’re going to wish you where dead.” Michael slowly made his way to the front door and stepped out.
Anthony waited for Michael to walk out, before he exited the rear of the social club. He jumped into Carlo’s car and they both headed towards Hawthorn Bridge. Neither man spoke much on the way to the remote area. They both got out and stretched, before walking to the back of the car. The air was still and cool. A small layer of fog covered the top of the bayou water. Carlo opened the trunk and stepped back. The dim light flickered several times, before revealing Sal’s curled up body. The blood that poured out of the wound that Anthony had inflected now covered the front of Sal’s expensive shirt.
“Let’s get him out of there and onto the ground.” Anthony grabbed him by his fine Italian jacket, which was now covered with black dust from Carlo’s truck and the red wine form the social club. “Not on his stomach. Flip him on his back. I have to get rid of the air that’s left in his lungs or the bastard won’t sink.”
Carlo watched as Anthony went through Sal’s pockets. First, Anthony took out Sal’s wallet; he put the money into his pocket and threw the wallet into the bayou. He then removed Sal’s diamond stud cross and his diamond pinkie ring and pretended to throw them into the bayou. “You never told me how you intend on getting the air out of Sal’s body?”