by Amy Rachiele
My phone buzzes with a text from Carlo. What time?
I text back. Leaving now.
*****
Carlo, Alex, and Joey are waiting for us in the basement interrogation room of the casino. Carlo plays with a deck of cards, fanning them professionally. Joey is leaning over a map that is laid out on the table. I appreciate their loyalty and efficiency.
Why is she here? The words are forming on my lips when Patrick walks in distracting us all. He is carrying a high-powered sniper rifle. It’s a beauty.
“Before you flip out, this was my idea,” Joey starts.
“What was your idea?” I ask, and then the unpleasant realization dawns. “NO! No. Fucking. Way!”
“Hear us out.” Joey talks with his hands like a true Italian. “She is an incredible shot! She will be far away for the whole thing. I’ll stay with her. We’ll even suit her up in bullet proof gear.”
“No! Absolutely not!” I shout.
I examine my beautiful Megan. She looks petrified. Every time I see her, my heart softens in a way that is not healthy for this type of business. She is one of the only things in the world I care about.
Joey pleads his case. “She’s your ace in the hole, Tonio. Her ability is going to give you the upper hand with Demetrius.”
“You want her to fuckin’ kill someone?! You want that on her conscience?!” I smash my fist against the table. “This isn’t her acting in self-defense. This is placing her in an assassination nest!”
“Can I finish?” Joey asks sarcastically. “You only need her if things go bad. She will be far away. She might not even have to do anything.”
I turn to Patrick for his input. It’s his daughter - flesh and blood that he brought into the world. He is his typical emotionless, stoic self. Dammit!
“Can I say something?” Megan says quietly, standing up. “Antonio, I want to do it. I can live with this. I know I can.” I can tell her mind is made up. “What I can’t live with is something happening to you, or anyone else, if I could have stopped it or helped in some way,” she pleads with me forcefully.
“No, you need to stay here on the family floor. I won’t be able to concentrate.” I am adamant.
“You can’t keep me locked in a tower!” she yells. “I have done everything you have asked of me. I’ve been trapped for weeks, waiting for this nightmare to be over. I want to get on with our lives. Please let me help.”
This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. I never wanted Megan anywhere near this shit. No matter how hard I try, my fucked up life follows and leads straight to Megan whether I want it to or not.
I level my gaze at her. “I don't want this for you. This is my burden to bear. I don't care if you think I locked you in a tower, it's the only thing that gives me comfort.” I suck in an angry breath. “Patrick, can I speak to you?”
We step out in the hall with everyone staring after us.
“You know why I immersed us in a rundown shabby hotel? So that I could keep the fight away from them!” I spit out angrily.
“I don't want my daughter involved in this anymore than you do, but, Antonio, clearly she has a talent that rivals the best of them. She's clever, and she has instincts. I will protect her.”
“This is scumbati! We shouldn’t even be having this conversation.”
“If I thought she would be in any danger, I wouldn’t even consider it. She will be far away,” Patrick promises.
I am losing this battle, and the clock is ticking. We still haven’t planned what we are going to do when faced with Demetrius tonight. I glance at the rifle in Patrick’s hands. It has a half-mile range on it, but even twenty miles away is not far enough for me when it comes to Megan. In this short span of time, with all of the crap that has gone on, I feel like she is more my family than any of my own blood; she is a part of my soul. I didn’t even know that was possible in this life.
Patrick and I go back into the room and sit down with the guys and Megan. Even with all of Alessandra’s knowledge and experience, she has never been a part of any of this type of business. But I know it isn’t my decision to make. I just have to have faith in my girl...that when the time is right, she’ll know what to do. I silently pray that it never comes to that point.
I let out an exhausted sigh when we finish making plans. Carlo and Alex have an excellent strategy. Hopefully, Demetrius doesn’t have a better one.
Chapter 14
Wise guy: has proven loyalty to the family and taken life
Megan:
I am so uncomfortable. I am padded up ridiculously. Besides a bullet proof vest, I have on the pants that I can barely walk in. To top off my outfit, I have on a helmet that is so heavy it weighs my head down. I look like I should be in a foxhole in Afghanistan, not on a rooftop in Chicago.
My father and I never did a ton of father/daughter bonding activities, and the strangeness of this whole situation makes me feel oddly connected to him as we wait together. I am worried that this is going to be a bloodbath, and my anxiety over Antonio’s welfare is brimming over inside my chest.
My father’s voice sounds far away when he starts talking to me. The wind whips and howls making it difficult to hear. He is repeating instructions he already gave me at the casino when everyone agreed to the plan of attack. Antonio made it very clear that he needed to confront Demetrius. Demetrius’s abduction of Uncle Tutti is a personal attack on Antonio’s abilities. Not to face it head on would look weak in the eyes of the underworld.
From what I have observed and seen, there will always be a Demetrius or Uncle Tutti scratching to get to the top. It is the nature of the beast. It happens in all walks of life, and the underworld is no different than the rest of society when it comes to lust for power and greed.
“Don’t fire unless I tell you to,” Dad says forcefully over the wind.
I nod my head in understanding, and he hands me the rifle. It’s a heavy one. Planted next to him is another one, but it is not as fancy as mine.
“Lay down. Look through the scope. Learn the area.”
I bend myself the best I can, struggling in these clothes, but I am suddenly thankful for the thick padding because the cement on the roof is very cold. I position my eye to look through the site. The helmet gets in my way, and I push it back a little on my head.
The scope is like using a set of binoculars. Everything looks so close. I do what my father says and use it to scan the area. All I can see is bits and pieces and shadows in the dark.
“How am I to know who’s who? I can barely see anything,” I ask, terrified of shooting one of my friends.
My father flips the switch on the scope. A green light comes on. He beckons me to look through the site again, and I am astonished.
“Night vision scope,” he says informing me. “If things get out of hand, I will get a call and instructions on where to fire.”
I nod my head remembering that part of the plan. I have an ugly tickle of nerves at the back of my neck showering me with worry. This could turn out very bad.
My father lays his phone out in front of us. I glance at the time...it is 2:53 a.m. I am so awake, which is odd for me at this hour of the night. It must be the adrenaline pumping through my body, pushing the need for sleep away.
I check the site again to see if there is any movement down below...nothing. This experience is so surreal; like it is out of an action movie. I jostle a bit in an attempt to get comfortable. My father is like a statue beside me...waiting.
I look at my dad’s phone again...2:55 a.m. Time has never moved so slowly before. Earlier, the hours of planning flew. Now, time’s new trick is to stop.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Waiting.
I obsessively look at the clock on my father’s phone...2:56 a.m. Suddenly it lights up, ringing and causing me to jump. My father moves quickly and answers it. I try to listen to what he’s saying over the noise of the wind.
“Yes...(pause)...How long?...(pause).” He shuts off his phone
and puts it back.
“Who was that?” I ask hoarsely.
“Vito.”
I turn my head back to hold my position like I’ve seen on TV. It is my only frame of reference, fake snipers fighting battles with flying motorcycles. Maybe I should watch more reality TV...or the military channel. I put my eye back in the site. A red light blinds me for a second. I pull back to shake it off.
“What the...?” I say under my breath.
Beside me, my father goes down. Stunned, I look over and he is lying flat on his back. I scramble to get up to get to him. He raises his hand and fiercely motions for me to get down. My father has been shot!
I don’t hear it, but I feel a bullet whiz over my head. Holy Shit! There is a sniper firing at us. Another whizzes by, farther off the mark.
My father stays low and crawls to me. Blood oozes out of his left arm. I panic, my heart thundering in my chest. I reach quickly for the phone to call for help, but fumble and drop it.
Dad puts a gentle hand on mine, stopping me. Another bullet flies by as we lie on the roof flat. Holy Shit! They’re gonna get us!
“Megan!” he shouts, “Stay low and fire back.”
Tears fill my eyes seeing my father hurt. He smiles at me. Huh?.
“You can do it!” he says over the blast of wind. ”Take em out, honey!” He smiles reassuringly again.
I have to kill someone?? Antonio’s words press themselves into my mind. Don’t think, just do!
If I don’t do this, that asshole over there could kill my father...me...Antonio. I have to do this. I can do this!
I go into a zone in my brain that I have been to before. My father says I have instincts. I go to them...I call on them.
I stay low and raise my rifle. I move the damn helmet out of my way again. I focus through the site. I lock on a green apparition across four buildings. I aim, suck in a breath, and fire. The figure falls like a sack of potatoes out of my site line.
“Did you get ‘em?” my father asks.
“I’m not sure if I hit them, or they hit the deck to get down,” I say, unsure of myself.
My father smiles again. “I think you got them.” He closes his eyes and winces in pain.
I reach into one of the pockets of the pants I’m wearing and pull out the mini first-aid kit that Joey gave me earlier. I find bandages, unwrap them, and begin wrapping my father’s wound. He grits his teeth as I apply pressure.
“I’m sorry,” my father says. If I wasn’t so close to him right now, I would never have heard him.
“About what?” I ask, quickly sopping up blood.
“I should have told you years ago about this. Me,” he says remorsefully. “You would have been more prepared. I thought that if I kept it from you and Erin, you would never have to face it.”
I continue working on his arm thoughtfully, all the while, waiting for another bullet to zing by.
“This all started with those gangsters breaking into our house,” he says sorrowfully. “I think every day about what could have happened. I wasn’t there...but you were. You took care of your mother and Erin. You are an amazing girl.”
My father just called me amazing. I can’t believe it. My father thinks I’m amazing!
“That’s me,” I smile. “I can play the harp and shoot a tin can right through the center from a mile away.” I tie a knot of bandages around his arm in a bow.
“Antonio always saw it,” he says thoughtfully. “He has been in love with you since you were little. I saw it...knew it. It scared me.” He pauses and touches his arm. “He’s a smart kid, though. People respect him and not just because they’re afraid. He has a lot of integrity for someone in this business.”
The phone rings, and our talk is cut short. It’s 3:02 a.m. My father answers, then motions for me to get back in position. I do with a new sense of purpose. I have people counting on me. And my father has faith in me.
My father slides over and joins me once again, hovering next to me. With the phone to his ear, he tells me to aim below.
“Over to the left. Look through the sight,” his voice trails off in the wind, but I know what he said.
I see my target, aim, focus, suck in a breath...and fire.
Chapter 15
Contract: someone is paying to have you scheduled for execution
Antonio:
The kiss I gave Megan before we separated wasn’t enough for me. It killed me to let her go, like there is a gaping hole in my chest that gets bigger every second without her. Knowing she is in this sickens me.
Carlo and Joey are positioned dockside. Vito is with me, but is headed to take cover in the trees to the left. Alex has a car waiting a block away. Vito calls Patrick to let him know where almost ready.
The metal of the guns strapped to me feels cold against my skin. I walk to the deserted building where Demetrius killed Lisa’s brother, and Vito and I separate.
I gingerly open the door, the click when it opens loud in the air. I stalk as quietly as possible inside, hearing movement in one of the inner rooms. I proceed cautiously knowing full well that my nemesis has no qualms about pumping holes into me. As I take more steps forward slowly, I keep my hand ready to grab my gun at the first sign of trouble. Someone shushes someone else, and the noise in the other room silences. My feet move, taking me closer. I am pinned tightly against the wall. I glance around the corner.
There are four people in the room. Demetrius and one of his goons stand gazing at the object of my search...Uncle Tutti is strapped to a chair, looking bloodied and broken.
Rage forms a red haze over my eyes as I see the images of Megan’s raw throat...the attack on my friends. The alliance with Sommersville and trussing me up like a turkey hanging from a ceiling. I’m ready to just pull my gun out and fire. I don’t.
I am ready to take care of all of them. One clean sweep. My thoughts falter when my eyes catch movement to the right. Strapped to a chair, just like Uncle Tutti, is the girl from the other night, Lisa. Guilt quickly floods through me, pushing out the red for an instant.
Holy shit! This fucker has got to go!
“Come on in, Antonio, and join the party,” Demetrius says maniacally. He walks over to Uncle Tutti and grabs him by the back of the hair and rips his head up. His eyes are swollen shut. “Say hi to your Uncle Tutti.” He lets go, and Uncle Tutti’s head slumps back down. He’s either unconscious or drugged.
Lisa looks frantically around the room for me with fear in her eyes. Her black hair is knotted, and her face is red and dirty. As Demetrius walks over to her, I stiffen, wanting to lunge and crack his head against the floor. He strokes his fingers down her filthy cheek. She cringes away from his touch and he steps closer antagonizing her. She turns her head away disgusted.
“Don’t look away from me, bitch!” he sneers.
Demetrius grabs her chin roughly and crashes his face into hers, kissing her. She squirms and wails, but they are muffled by his mouth ravaging hers. So easy...it would be so easy just to take my gun and shoot him in the back, but impatience causes mistakes. I don’t know what traps he has set, how many people are in the shadows. His thug stands there enjoying the show.
I skim the room looking for any signs of booby-traps, bombs, any sort of device that could be set off. Lisa whimpers again, drawing my attention. Demetrius slaps her hard across the face making her head whip to the side.
He is such a bastard! I seethe with effort to ground myself.
“Awww, Antonio feels bad for the girl,” he says, with sadistic sarcasm. “I wanted to take Megan and show her a good time, just like I did for little Lisa over here, but there were just too many people around.” Demetrius struts back over to Uncle Tutti with an ungodly amount of confidence. “And Uncle Tutti...God, don’t you just hate disloyalty, Antonio?”
He waits for an answer that I don’t give.
“I mean seriously, did Tutti really think he could overthrow your father? He’s oobatz, right?” Demetrius laughs, almost sounding normal. “It’s the l
ittle guys that think they’re big and powerful, but all they are really good for is fish food.”
Where is he going with all this bullshit?
I feel a presence behind me, and the click of the gun. The trap is sprung and it seems to be a simple one. The gun taps me in the small of my back, gesturing for me to move forward. I take a small step, wanting to stay close to the doorway. The gun taps me harder, and I take another step.
“Come on, Antonio. Come right in here,” Demetrius offers.
I have to make a move because Demetrius still has the upper hand. Things changed the minute I saw Lisa. I need to get her out of here alive. No one knows she’s in here, and I have no way of telling them. I have done everything he’s asked me to do. And everything he asks will lead me closer to my death.
I decide I have to change my tactics and talk to him.
“How did you get him?” I ask attempting to sound interested. Uncle Tutti dropped down on my to-do list. Demetrius’ interference changed everything.
“It was easy,” Demetrius laughs. I paid off some of his guys. It is mind-boggling how little allegiance they had to him. After Prazzo went missing, Tutti couldn’t handle his crew.”
Faint gunshots sound in the distance. Demetrius looks up at the noise and smiles.
“How nice that you put Megan and her daddy on a rooftop,” he says, his ego bloated. His happy tone letting me know he was aware of what we were up to.
I feel the adrenaline kick my body into overdrive at the thought of someone shooting at Megan, and I take advantage of it. I whip around tackling the gunner behind me to the ground. As we wrestle for his gun, it goes off into the air. The recoil throws us back and the gun lands on the floor.
The bullet’s trajectory makes a gaping hole in Uncle Tutti’s lowered head sending his chair flying backwards with the splat. Lisa screams and knocks her chair over, putting her lower to the floor.
Demetrius’s second goon comes at me, and I fight with the two of them with every ounce of anger and fear. I knock the gun out of the hands of the second goon, and it skids across the mangy floor. I am able to grab my own gun, but they both tackle me. Instead of firing it, I can only use it to knock them away from me and the smaller guy goes down easily and unconscious. The bigger guy is a bit more of a struggle. Demetrius simply watches, not intervening, even when his second guy crashed to the ground. Stupidly, I lose the grip on my gun, and it skids across the floor as well. Dammit!