by Amy Rachiele
“Mannegia! What did you do that for?” I huff.
“I didn’t hit him that hard. The fucking guy is a chooch!” Vito says remorsefully.
“Come on,” I say, a little disgusted, and move back down the alley towards the SUV. Vito drags this Zee guy along by his shirt behind me.
I pop open the back, and Vito shoves the guy in. He binds his hands and feet with duct tape and shoves a rag in his mouth. I call Carlo.
“We got him. Be there in fifteen. Have the room ready,” I instruct.
I drive us right past the casino main entrance to a small underground garage entryway at the back of the building. Carlo is waiting there. He moves a sawhorse out of the way, and I steer past him into the basement of the casino.
The bluish-tinted lights are bright in the hollow expanse of underground. Noises and voices echo in the cavernous space. I was going to interrogate this guy in the alley, but Vito knocked him out, changing my plans.
I push the button for the back door to the SUV. Vito hoists Zee out and throws him over his shoulder, still unconscious. Across the private garage is a room specifically made for this kind of thing, similar to a police interrogation room...except this room includes many forms of, um, illegal components to physically extract information. A two-way mirror, metal table, and chairs are probably the only things in the room that are not made for hurting someone.
Alex meets us there. The four of us have some work to do. No one likes doing this kind of shit, but it is necessary and part of the code to keep people in line. Finding Uncle Tutti is my primary concern right now, and this fucker is supposed to have answers for me.
My adrenaline starts to pump and flow. Vito carries the guy into the room. Against the wall are shackles, and Alex helps Vito by binding the traitor to the wall. The guy’s head hangs to his chest, and his arms and legs are spread eagle.
I walk behind the two-way mirror. Carlo is arranging the equipment we need. He slips a clip out of a pistol, checks it, and clicks it back in. On a shelf in the room is a bottle of smelling-salts.
“You ready,” he asks me.
“Ready when you are,” I tell him.
I try to suppress my monster. It is seething, gearing up for what it knows is coming. My thoughts antagonize my body, getting it set.
This guy defected from his family, is helping my uncle...an uncle that attempted to strangle the life out of my girlfriend, a man who wants to see my father taken down. My loathing and hatred grows with every thought.
In the other room, Vito and Alex wait. Carlo and I come in, and I stand in the back while Carlo waves the smelling-salts underneath the nose of the defector. He rouses slowly, his unconsciousness battling the harsh aroma. Whatever this guy shot up or took before we found him is probably wearing off. Carlo waves the small bottle again. The second time is more effective and a small moan escapes his mouth. His pasty, greasy skin is more evident as he slowly awakens.
“Wake up, Zee!” Carlo says loudly.
Unintelligible rumbles sound from the guy’s chest. Carlo raises his hand and slaps him. Zee groans with the harsh contact. His limbs shake and sweat pours down his face. He’s obviously going through withdrawal. A hint of recognition forms in his eyes. Carlo slaps him again on the other cheek, a whimper escapes his lips.
“Where is Tutti?!” Carlo yells at him.
“I don’t know anythin’!” Zee cries out.
“Don’t bullshit me, you fuck!” Carlo is pissed. He rears back his fist and punches the guy square in the stomach. Agony is clearly written on the traitor’s face. It is going to be a long day if this asshole keeps it up.
“Let him hang there for a while,” Vito says. “When his hands and feet go numb, he’ll talk.”
I nod my head. I agree. If we just let this guy hang here, he’ll talk eventually. We all leave the room and go to stand behind the mirror. My phone buzzes, I pull it out. It’s Patrick.
“Hello.”
“When you get what you need from Zee, call me,” Patrick says.
He hangs up. Hasn’t Patrick ever heard of small talk? I think sarcastically.
Carlo calls upstairs to the casino kitchen to order lunch for us.
He hangs up grinning wickedly. “How about a little blackjack while we wait?”
“Dude, you are so fucking lame at blackjack! Why do you torture yourself? I don’t mind taking your money, but I’m also your friend. You suck!” Alex exclaims.
Personally, sitting down and playing blackjack while my girlfriend is upstairs does not interest me anyway. I have the urge to head to the top floor to see Megan.
“I’m going upstairs. If anything happens or you think this ass smartens up, call me, and I’ll come back down.” I tell them.
“No problem, Tonio,” Alex says, grabbing a deck of cards. “We’ll take care of it for you.”
I pass through the door out to the garage towards the elevators. I feel a presence behind me. It’s Vito following me upstairs. I press the elevator button and tap in the code. My heart rate accelerates wanting to be close to Megan.
“Aren’t you going stay with the guys?” I ask while we wait.
“Nah, I’ll come upstairs.”
Erin’s upstairs. The thought clicks like a light switch. I’m not sure what I think of his interest. Alessandra is thoroughly convinced that Vito is in love with Erin, but, seriously, he’s too old for her...too rough. Erin needs a nice quiet guy. Someone who is not involved in all this shit.
The elevator doors open and Joey steps out.
“I heard you have someone down here. How is it going?” he asks.
“He needs to hang around a bit before he spills what he’s got.” I tell him. Vito laughs at my stupid pun.
“We’ll catch you later,” I say as Vito and I enter the elevator.
*****
Megan:
I am shocked when Antonio and Vito stepped through the suite door. I hadn’t expected to see him again for a long time. My body had a mind of its own when I raced across the room and threw myself at him. He picks me up, and I wrap my legs around his body. He squeezes me tight and laughs into my hair.
“Well, hello to you too,” he says chuckling.
“What are you doing here?” I ask breathlessly.
“I have some business here, but it can wait until later.” He puts me down, but doesn’t remove his arms from around my waist. “Where is Erin?”
“She’s sleeping,” I answer.
As he sweeps me up in his arms and carries me towards my bedroom, he glances at Vito who is getting himself a cup of coffee. “Let me know if anything happens.”
“Yup,” Vito clips without turning to see us.
Antonio kicks the door closed with his foot and plops me on the bed. He follows me down, kissing me with a drugging passion...like we didn’t just see each other yesterday.
*****
An hour or so later, Vito knocks on the door. “He’s awake.”
“Who’s awake?” I ask. Antonio’s heated eyes find mine as he begins to rise.
“Nobody.” He kisses me again. “But I have to go,” he says reluctantly. He pushes himself off my bed, and I feel the loss of his warmth.
As we come out of my room, Erin is in a chair with her legs curled up reading a book. Vito has the TV remote in his hand as he sits on the couch looking bored. Vito and Erin apparently aren’t speaking. I’ve noticed that they tend to avoid each other lately. It confuses me, even more when I think of Vito buying all those expensive clothes for my sister. I haven’t asked her yet if she’s thanked him. We’ve all been through so much together; their sudden aloofness towards each other is odd.
Vito pops off the couch and tosses the remote on the coffee table and stretches, his muscles rippling under his shirt. Antonio reaches for my face and kisses me gently.
“I have to go,” he says. I don’t want him to. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” And they leave just as quickly as they showed up.
*****
; I have barely sat down when the suite door opens.
“How about some target practice? Not that you need much.” Joey quips as he comes in. He observes Erin and me.
I look over at my sister, not really wanting to leave her. I’d love to get out of here, though. I am so sick of staying cooped up. Especially since Alessandra left this morning for Palmetto and Clarissa is at dinner with her family in their suite.
“Can I come too?” Erin asks. Joey is as dumbfounded as I am.
“Umm, I guess so,” Joey says, unsure. Erin dashes into her bedroom for her shoes. “That’s new.”
“I know. But, it’s a good sign right?” I ask Joey, perplexed.
“Yeah. It’s better than locking yourself in the suite all the time.”
We arrive at the basement floor. This time when the doors open, no one is there.
“Where is everybody?” I ask.
“It’s Sunday. Everyone is on the floor. Those seniors can be pretty rough.” Joey chuckles. “It is usually arguments over machines...someone hogging too many.”
“Oh.”
Erin’s eyes are like saucers when she takes in the sophisticated room. “I didn’t know this was all down here,” she says in amazement.
“Only security, bodyguards, and enforcers are allowed down here,” Joey tells her.
Joey takes us through to Gilly’s room, and he’s is sitting at the multitude of screens chomping on a powdered doughnut.
“Hey, what a great surprise!” Gilly exclaims.
“Hi, Gilly. Nice to see you again,” I say. “This is my sister, Erin.”
Gilly’s face is beaming. He obviously doesn’t have many visitors down here, probably just sees the same guys every day.
“We’ll be in the range,” Joey states.
Joey walks Erin and I into the range. Erin takes my hand, which is understandable as the room is very cavernous and intimidating.
“I think we’re going to try a rifle today,” Joey says.
He picks up a long, heavy-looking gun with a round black thing on the top. Erin steps back as Joey moves me towards the lane. I pick up the headphones and place them on my ears, and Joey hands me the rifle. He picks up another headset, handing it to Erin who covers her ears. After he has put on his own ear protection, he moves me into position.
“Put the butt of the gun against your shoulder. Like this.” He moves my hands and arms into the correct spot. This doesn’t feel as comfortable as the pistol. The rifle is heavy and awkward. “Look through the site,” he instructs. “Aim it so that the cross is in the middle of your target.”
He moves my hands a little bit more, adjusting them. I turn my head to look at Erin, just to check on her. She is watching in awe as I prepare to fire.
“How’s this?” I ask him. He stands back to admire his handiwork.
“Looks good. Whenever you’re ready, fire.”
I lean down focusing myself. I force my eye to look through the site. I line it up...and pull the trigger.
The gun bucks wildly, jamming into my shoulder painfully. I let out an OUCH! I was not ready for that.
“Are you okay?” Joey asks in a panic. He rubs my shoulder. “I forgot to tell you about that! Sorry!” My shoulder feels as if someone rode a motorcycle over it.
Erin comes over to examine me. “You okay, Meg!”
“I’m fine. It just startled me, that’s all,” I say letting out a breath.
Joey hits the button on the panel. The target swings towards us. There is a hole just off the center of the heart. Good. But not as good as my shooting with the pistol.
“Wow, you still had a great shot though!” Erin says excited. “Can I try to?” she asks Joey.
Joey’s face becomes indecisive. “Well...” He pauses a long time.
Erin speaks up again. “I’d like to learn how to defend myself. I’m tired of feeling helpless and weak.”
Joey and I share a look. I can tell in his eyes, and he can probably tell in mine, that this is a big step for her, and we shouldn’t dismiss it.
“Okay. Meg, why don’t you keep practicing. I’ll set Erin up over here.”
Joey and Erin walk all the way down to the far end. He selects a small pistol. I watch for a minute as he points out the different parts of the gun and stuff. He is showing her how to hold it, how to load it. I can’t really hear them with my headphones on, but I note how my sister looks so tiny next to Joey.
I position myself again with the rifle, attempting to remember everything that Joey has shown me. This time though, I rest my elbows on the counter and bend down.
I fire off a couple of shots until the ache in my shoulder becomes too much. I relax for a few seconds and stand up straight, working the cramp out of my shoulder.
I feel rather than see the door open, and suddenly I recognize a new presence in the room. I turn my head to see a man I don’t know standing about ten feet from me.
Joey yells, “Get down!”
Don’t think, just do. I drop to my knees and throw my body under the counter between the lanes. Clutching the rifle, I sneak a peek at the stranger. His clothes are torn and he is talking to himself wildly as he bounces around the room like a monkey in an unwanted cage, trapped.
An instant later I see Antonio and Vito in the doorway, breathing heavily. Without a thought, my body raises the rifle and aims. A familiar kind of protectiveness overcomes me. Antonio sees me at the last second and yells to me, his hand raised, “Just nick him! Don’t kill him!”
I fire.
My bullet flies through the room and punctures the guy’s leg, blood sprays in slow-motion onto the cement floor. I crippled him. He falls hard, groaning.
I pull off my headphones and I hear Joey yell, “What the fuck?”
My eyes immediately search for Erin. She is pinned underneath Joey against the wall. The room fills with more people...security, I think.
Antonio scoops me up off the floor, takes the rifle, and holds me.
“It’s okay,” he says soothingly. “You did great.”
“What happened? Who was that?” I question, my hands shaking.
“Zee. He’s a guy we’re interrogating,” he sighs. “We left the guy for a couple minutes with a rookie,” he informs me, angry at himself. “When we were walking back, we saw Zee taking off down a hallway.”
“Why did you tell me not to kill him?” I ask, trying to catch my breath.
“I saw the look in your eye. And you’re a great shot,” he laughs. “But, I still needed to ask him questions.”
The thoughts that had run through my mind were not of killing, rather of protecting. I don’t know where I would have shot him if Antonio hadn’t yelled to me.
“What are you doing down here?” he asks me.
“Joey brought us down here. He was showing me how to use a rifle. And Erin wanted to shoot, too,” I spill out in a rush.
I look over Antonio’s shoulder to see two security guards dragging this Zee out the door, leaving a trail of blood. Behind them is Vito lifts Erin, and, cradling her is his arms, walks to the doorway cautiously to avoid the blood. Antonio and I follow him out into the main room. Gilly is not at the security cameras. He is sprawled out on the couch with a bag of ice. I hurry over.
“Gilly, are you okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, he hit me on the back of the head...put me out for couple minutes.”
“Do you need anything?” I ask. Gilly looks so vulnerable lying alone on the couch.
“I’ll be fine,” he says good-naturedly.
I look around the room, but can’t find my sister among all of the people. Every face I see is male.
“Where is Erin?” I entreat Antonio.
“Vito must’ve taken her upstairs.”
The elevator seems to take forever to arrive with all the different people coming and going because of the chaos this guy, Zee, started. Antonio tries to call Vito, but it goes immediately to voicemail. My patience is fried, and I am about to suggest we walk up the stairs when fina
lly the elevator is free. Antonio punches in the family floor code, and, thankfully, we’re off.
Chapter 8
Marked Man: slated for death
Megan:
As soon as we walk into the suite, I can see that things are not good with Erin. Doc Howie and Ennio are already there, talking quietly when we come in. Clarissa is sitting at the table with her head in her hands. Seeing Ennio surprises me the most...we haven’t seen him in over a week.
We quickly say our hellos, and I rush directly to Erin’s room. She is on the bed enfolded in Vito’s arms; her head is against his chest. She is silently crying. I cautiously sit on the bed next to them and brush the hair out of her eyes. My sister again seems fragile, like a porcelain doll.
I am guarded by what I should say. Her behavior has been so erratic when it comes to these types of things happening. She spent thirteen years not having to deal with it, now, unfortunately, scares like this are a constant fixture in our lives with only short reprieves.
A soft knock on the door jam. Doc Howie comes in. He checks her pulse, and Vito shifts Erin so that Doc can listen to her heart. His expression is unreadable.
“Ennio would like to speak to you,” he says to her tenderly.
Suddenly, a voice I recognize travels through the main room. My father! I have mixed feelings when I see him. I’m angry that he hasn’t kept in touch with us or even contacted Erin on her birthday. But at the same time, I miss him. That twinge consumes me as I walk directly to him and encircle my arms around his waist, hugging him to me. He leans down and kisses the top of my head. That fatherly gesture releases some of my anger.
After all, the phone goes two ways. I could’ve called him. But a niggling voice in the back of my head stops me...a whisper that reminds me what he is probably doing. I’m not really sure why I can easily accept the lifestyle from Antonio, but not my father. I’m certain it has something to do with the fact that I’ve always known Antonio’s legacy and decided I wanted him anyway. My father lied blatantly for years and years.
“Why don’t we all sit down?” Ennio suggests.