by Joe Corso
The lounge area wasn’t crowded but that didn’t matter to Red. Jimmy nonchalantly rose from the table and stood behind the man. He grabbed him under his armpit and lifted him off the chair quite easily. Jimmy nudged the guy in his back with the barrel of his gun. “Move. We’re takin’ the elevator.”
Once alone in the elevator, Jimmy searched the stalker for a weapon. Sure enough, he found a snub nose 38 in a side holster. There was a silencer in his left pocket. Jimmy removed both the gun and suppressor and placed both into his jacket pocket.
Jimmy and Red led the man to their room. There was a plastic tarp in the closet. It appeared to be something a maintenance man must have left. They placed it into the middle of the room with a chair in the center of the tarp, sorta’ interrogation style, more for effect than anything. Red ordered the stranger to sit. Jimmy searched him once again, this time for any identification. He found nothing - no I.D., no license, nothing. All he had was nine hundred ninety-five dollars in cash, which Jimmy returned to the stranger’s back pocket. “Bolt the door, Jimmy, and turn the television on real loud. I don’t think the next hour is gonna’ be very pleasant for our guest here.” Jimmy did as instructed. He took out his gun and placed it on the desk.
“Now, big guy, who are you? Look … you work for somebody . . . just like we do. We’re both pros, so don’t make me hurt you,” he said as his voice rose to the next key. “This can be settled easily. No one has to get hurt. Now, who the fuck are you?”
There was no response.
“Jimmy, silencer, and let’s have mister twenty two say hello to his knee cap,” he said in a Mister Rogers sort of way.
“This is the last time I’m gonna ask. What’s your name?”
Silence.
Jimmy cocked the gun, aimed it and . . .
“No! Wait! I’ll tell you! Carlos.”
“Carlos what?”
“Carlos Garcia.”
“Good Carlos. Where are you from Carlos Garcia?”
“The Bronx.”
“The Bronx? Good, now who’s payin’ you?”
There was a strong hesitation. “Rodrigo Cordero.”
“Rodrigo Cordero? I heard of him. He works out of the Bronx.”
Carlos nodded nervously.
“What were you supposed to do with us?”
“We were expecting you to fly into Fort Lauderdale, not to drive, and we weren’t expecting anyone to be with you. That threw me a little.”
“What is this, the amateur hour? Man, I’m glad you don’t work for me. Who in our business ever travels alone? Now, you still haven’t answered my question, Carlos Garcia. What were you supposed to do with us?”
“Look, it’s nothin’ personal. I was supposed to take you out when the time was right - only I pegged you at the beach and there were people around you so I couldn’t get close enough to do anything. Then last night, you had two girls with choo so I figured I would tap you when you went to the men’s room, but that didn’t work so I figured I’d wait ‘til morning and get you outside on a side street. I had to time it just right to get both of you at the same time. Like I said, it’s nothing personal, just business.”
“Yeah I know. I’ve done business like that myself. That’s the reason we’re down here. Does Rodrigo contact you by phone?”
“Yeah. Or I call him. Either way, we stay in touch by phone.”
“Where does he hang out? How can I find him? Gimme’ some good info and you live.”
“Bullshit. You gonna’ kill me.”
“How do you know I’ll kill you?” Red asked.
“Because if it were me, I’d sure as hell kill you.”
“Look. I’m givin’ you a way out, so tell me what I want to know and you live. How do I find this bum?”
“He lives in the Bronx but he hangs out in Harlem, above the cleaners on Broadway and Tiemann Plaza. He keeps an apartment there where he conducts business - apartment two oh one. Hardly anyone knows about it, just a few guys. I think he’s got a deal with the blacks in Harlem to join forces and split the Queens territory.”
“Guys like you go to his place?”
“Yeah, I was there once, to get half my money and instructions. I was gonna’ get paid the other half when the job was done. Guess I won’t be gettin’ the rest of my money.”
“I’m curious. How much was he payin’ you for this job?”
“Twenty grand.”
“That’s all. Twenty thousand?”
“Yeah. I needed the dough so I agreed to do it for the twenty plus expenses.”
“Does he really think that we’d stand by and let him take our territory? Does he know the army we have?”
“He figures that a war between the Gallo’s and the Profaci’s is happenin’, and when it moves into Queens and you guys are busy fighting each other, he’ll move in and take over.”
“How big is his organization?”
“Pretty big, not as big as yours, but big enough to make demands or fight a limited war.”
“One more thing Carlos. I want you to call Rodrigo right now and tell him that you completed the contract, you took care of us. Do it. It’s a command, not a request.” Red seated him at the desk and handed him the phone.
Carlos made the call with Red’s ear close to the receiver. Red could hear both sides of the conversation. A voice on the other end said, “Great. Good job Carlos. Head on back. The balance of your money is waitin’ for ya.”
“Carlos, we’re finished here. Let’s go.”
“Whoa! Wait a minute. You said you wouldn’t kill me! You gave me your word!”
“I’m gonna let you live. We’re just takin’ a little ride, that’s all.”
The elevator opened at the garage level and the three men walked through the garage to their car. Carlos was sobbing.
“Relax man, you’re gonna’ be alright,” Red told him, reassuringly.
The three men drove for a while past a tollbooth on State Road 84 and onto State Road 75 Alligator Alley, which was a direct route across the state leading to Naples, Florida. Jimmy slowed down when they reached the rest area near mile marker seventy - one and pulled into it.
“Get out,” Red barked.
Carlos knew about the walks like the one he was about to take. He had taken others for walks like this, only then he was the one holding the gun. A few short steps later and the two men were no longer visible from the road. Red led Carlos a short distance into the thick underbrush and deeper into the green foliage of the everglades until they came to a fence by the water’s edge. That fence ran along the entire length of alligator alley and was put there to prevent a child or a drunk from wandering into the alligator and snake infested waters. Conversely, another purpose for the fence was to keep the alligators from walking out of the water and onto the highway. Red discovered that a large portion of the fence, at this particular rest stop, was cut away. He attributed it to Everglades’ boaters who made themselves a convenient access to the waterway, away from the prying eyes of the law.
“That’s far enough.” Before Carlos had a chance to even turn or speak, Red squeezed the trigger on Jimmy’s LR 22. The little gun coughed twice as he fired two shots into Carlos’s knees. He then fired two more quick shots, shots that might have been mistaken for a cricket signaling for a mate. These rounds shattered his elbows. The damage was done. Carlos collapsed helplessly in the soft mud, whimpering in pain. He had total loss of the use of his arms, hands, and legs. Red helped himself to Carlos’ money, bent over him and whispered, “I told you I wouldn’t kill you Carlos, but I can’t leave you unpunished now, can I? We’re leavin’ you here alive so you still have a chance. Somebody may find you but I’m warnin’ you, if they do and you talk, we’ll find you and we’ll gut you like a pig and feed you to the gators. Do you understand me?”
Carlos nodded once. He was happy to be alive. This was a pleasant surprise. He had expected to be dead by now but alive was good, alive was a second chance. Oh yeah, alive is definitely good, he thought
.
It was unnecessary, as they were rendered useless, but Jimmy pulled Carlos’ arms behind him, wrapped them with duct tape, and taped Carlos’s mouth to keep him quiet. Better, he thought, to err on the side of caution. Carlos couldn’t walk, couldn’t move his arms, couldn’t scream. He’d bleed out, be dead before morning or sooner, if the alligators came for him.
Cruisin’ down Alligator Alley, heading back to their hotel, Red turned to Jimmy and said rather matter of factly. “Ya’ know, Jimmy, the right thing would have been to shoot him in the head and put him out of his misery. It just ain’t right to leave a man in the Everglades like that, with blood an’ all. You know what’s wrong with me? I’m too damned soft hearted, that’s what’s wrong with me. I care too much about people and that’s a weakness I have to work on.”
Jimmy asked, “Do you want me to turn around and we go back and put him out of his misery?”
“Nah. Let’s just get back to the hotel, but you know what I forgot?”
Jimmy looked at him. “No, what?”
“I never bothered to ask him how he knew what hotel we were staying at.”
“I can still turn around and head back there. I’ll find out how he knew about the hotel and then I’ll cap the guy.”
Red shook his head but didn’t say a word to Jimmy.
“Look Red, about this Rodrigo character that ordered the hit on you, I’ll take care of Carlos now and then I can leave tomorrow, go up north and take care of this Rodrigo guy and we end this thing.”
“No, let him think he has us. We’ll take care of him when we get back. What I’m worried about is now that he thinks we’re dead, will he try to take out any of the guys at the Starlight Club? We’ve gotta call and warn ‘em.”
Chapter Twelve
As soon as they returned to the hotel, Red went straight to his room and called The Starlight Club. Trenchie answered. He couldn’t help but smile when he heard Red’s voice.
“How you guys doin’ down there? I bet you’re gettin’ plenty of sun so you can both come back and make all of us jealous with your tans.”
“Yeah. We’re having a helluva a time down here. We met some nice chicks, we’re catching some shows. I got four tickets to see that kid from Jersey, Frankie Valli tomorrow night at the Diplomat and we still have some sightseeing to do.” Red purposely guarded his words. He knew the phones might be tapped, most likely they were, so he chose his words carefully. “And you know the advice you gave me before we left? Well, you were right. It was just a little flea bite so I took care of it. But I’m afraid the bar might get infested soon. I think you should call Ralph, the exterminator. Tell him to make sure he brings his exterminating equipment. This might be a big job so tell him to bring some help. Now what about Yip and his buddy George? Yeah, George, you know who I’m talkin’ about. How are they coming along with that little matter they were tryin’ to work out just before we left for our vacation? Do they have it worked out yet? Almost, eh? And when do they think they’ll settle it?”
“Couple of days? Well that’s promising. Look, I’d like to time the resolution of that matter with the end of my vacation, so I’m thinkin’ that in a few days we’ll start back. How’s that sound?”
“Sounds good to me,” Trenchie responded. “I’ll run it by Yip and get back to you. Meanwhile everything is great. Frank dropped in a few times and the restaurant’s doin’ good. I still haven’t visited my restaurant yet. I’m plannin’ on doin’ that when you return. I’ll keep in touch and you do the same. I’m glad you treated that flea bite.”
“Yeah, me too. I was told that the flea I got came from the Bronx but there’s a big ole nest of ‘em in Harlem, spreadin’ around. Gotta’ run now. Talk to ya later and give my regards to all the jealous guys in the bar.” Red hung up the phone looked at Jimmy and said,
“It’s still early. Let’s call the girls and see if they’re free. Maybe they’d like to take in a show.”
Jimmy called Tiffany’s number. She answered on the second ring. “It’s Jimmy,” he said and she squealed with delight. She sounded excited and told him she loved the idea. She promised to call him back in a few minutes after she spoke to Iris. Forty-five minutes later, the girls arrived in the hotel lobby, all dolled up.
While seated at the bar, Red informed the girls that their “business” had been taken care of and that he and Jimmy were now free for the next few days. He gave them a faint smile, not waiting for some sort of acknowledgement, but rather just stating a fact. “We can start by goin’ to dinner tonight, somewhere nice. If you girls have any preferences, speak up because I’ll go anywhere you want as long as the food’s good.
“If anyone’s in the mood for a good steak dinner, there’s The Reef Restaurant over on Las Olas,” Tiffany said. .
Red perked up. “Good choice, Tiffany. I’m in the mood for a good filet. Are we dressed appropriately for that place?” Both girls nodded in agreement. “Jimmy, head over to the desk and have them call The Reef for us and make a reservation. Give this to whoever makes the call for their trouble,” and he handed Jimmy a twenty.
The boys each wore chic Italian slacks, open neck shirts, Bally Swiss shoes and almost matching, crisp, blue blazer sport coats. There were differences in the color scheme elsewhere. Red wore navy blue slacks and a white open collar shirt while Jimmy wore gray slacks and a gray open collar shirt. The sport jackets were not worn for fashion sense. They had one purpose - to hide their guns.
Iris gave the boys a glance over and remarked, “You guys look terrific. It’s like you knew we’d wind up going to The Reef because you’re dressed perfect for the place.”
If the boys looked good, the girls looked better. Iris wore a clingy red dress that made her look sexier than ever. Her dark hair was swept up in the back and it changed her looks somewhat. Red noted how pretty she was when he first studied her in the Elbow Room, but tonight she was the most beautiful girl he had ever dated. Tiffany wore a tasteful, yet sexy, emerald green dress with a slit on the side displaying a firm, toned leg. The dress reminded Jimmy of the mandarin style dresses the girls wore in Japan during the Korean War. He always thought that style dress makes any woman look better, but looking at Tiffany, he thought she’d look good wearing a potato sack.
The group received first class treatment. They were escorted to a prime table overlooking the water where there were drinks on the house. It seemed as though some of the people in the place were staring at them. Red was a little paranoid, given the hit that had been put on him. He thought it was over for the time being, but there could have been a backup shooter. Then he spotted a man he had seen earlier today in the lobby of their hotel. Great, here we go again, he thought.
Iris felt compelled to say, “You know, I’ve been coming here for a long time and I never seen them give anyone free drinks right off the bat. Do you know anyone here? Maybe the bartender or the manager?”
“No, this is the first time for me and Jimmy.”
Jimmy looked at Red and said sarcastically, “Relax Red. Nobody buys you a drink if they’re gonna kill you. They’d just shoot you and be done with it and save themselves the cost of a round of drinks to boot.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right, but I’m sure I saw that guy at the end of the bar and he’s been starin’ at us since we got here.”
“Red, look at these two beautiful girls sittin’ next to us. The whole room’s lookin’ at us, at them, not just that guy.”
“Still, I don’t like it. Stay here. I’m going over to have a little chat with him.”
Red left the group and walked over to the man sitting at the end of the bar and sat next to him. “Do we have a problem pal?”
The stranger responded calmly.
“No, there’s no problem with me and there’s no problem with you either.”
“You just lost me.”
“Yip called me after the incident last night and asked that I cover your back. I took the job, so wherever you go, I go. If there’s a problem, I’ll
handle it.”
Red was embarrassed and a little speechless. “Look, sorry about mouthin’ off to you. I’m a little paranoid ever since last night but we handled the problem so you don’t have to do this. We’ll be alright.”
“No you’re wrong. I do have to do this. It’s my job, so just act like I’m not here.”
Red felt indebted to him. He glanced back at Jimmy and the girls he asked, “why don’t you join us, have a drink or dinner?”
“No, it’s better I remain invisible. I don’t want anyone to know I’m shadowing you. Now as far as anyone who might be observing us now, you don’t know me, you made a mistake coming to this table. You thought I was someone else and well, you know the drill.”
“What’s your name?” Red asked.
“Johnny Downs, but everyone knows me as Johnny Eight Fingers on account of having two of my fingers cut off.”
“Look Johnny Eight Fingers, if you’re ever up in New York and find yourself in Queens or if you have any problems while you’re there, or if you need anything, look me up.” He reached into his jacket, pulled a card from his shirt pocket, and handed it to him.
“I owe you one, Johnny.”
As he turned to walk back to the table, he stopped and asked Johnny, “Were you responsible for the special courtesy we got when we walked in?”
“Indirectly I guess I was. I checked in with Yip to give him an update and while we talked, I didn’t realize the bartender was listening. It wasn’t his fault. He was bending down behind the bar replacing a barrel of Reingold beer and I didn’t see him. There was hardly anyone at this end of the bar, but I guess he heard things he shouldn’t have. You should have seen the surprised look on my face when this guy’s head pops up from under the bar.”
Johnny laughed and said, “We stared at each other like two jerks not knowing what to say.”
“So what happened?” Red asked.
“Nothin’. I told him that my conversation never happened, because if I found out he told anyone, that’d be the last person he ever spoke to. He said he didn’t know what I was talking about.”