by K'wan
There was a guy named Slick who hustled heroin out in Irvington. He was relatively new on the scene, having taken over the spot after his predecessor was busted. Normally Nicholas didn’t have a problem with the black guys in Irvington, but Slick was a different breed. Since he’d taken over, he figured he would change the natural order of things, and tried to buck a system that had been in place for nearly five years. Word around town is that he was telling anyone who would listen that they would no longer be kicking up to the Italians. Nicholas, being the gentleman that he was, went to see Slick and tried to have a civil conversation, but found that he couldn’t be civil with a savage. Slick took one look at Nicholas in his tailored suit and perfectly combed black hair and took him as soft, and proceeded to tell him to “Fuck off.” Nicholas did fuck off, but when he came back, he brought a few friends along. Nicholas detested violence and avoided it when he could, but when he did engage in it, he was very, very good at it. They spent the better part of an hour beating Slick to within an inch of his life. Once Nicholas felt like the dealer learned his lesson, he pushed him into early retirement with the business end of his gun. Nicholas left it for those who remained on the block to choose a successor. Didn’t matter to him who ran the block, so long as they had his weekly envelope.
Handling the mess with Slick had not only been a headache, but it had also thrown him off schedule. He had to drive like a maniac through traffic and had even gotten a ticket outside the Holland Tunnel, but it had all been worth it for him to be on time for his standing Friday appointment in Little Italy.
Nicholas parked the car in a garage near the courthouse and walked the rest of the way. It was a nice night and he could use the exercise. As his wife, Judy, pointed out every time she got a chance, he was putting on a few pounds. She was one to talk, considering she was nowhere near the one-hundred-and-fifty-pound looker he married fifteen years prior. It seemed like the older she got, the more bitter she became, and he was about sick of it. The only reasons that he hadn’t left her was because of the kids, the fact that divorce was frowned upon in the secret society (which he was a member of) and the fact that her dad, Big Joe Ragotta, was also the head of the family. Big Joe was very protective of his daughters, and Nicholas reasoned that staying in an unhappy marriage was better than being found in the back of a trunk with a bullet in his head.
Pulling his thoughts away from murder, Nicholas focused on his surroundings. He was a long way from home and moving through the territory of a rival mafia family, the Cissaros. There had always been bad blood between the Cissaros and the Melonis, but things got worse when Gee-Gee took over. Unlike his predecessor, who was content to work hand in hand with the Melonis, Gee-Gee showed no such respect. The Cissaros were a bigger family, so he was always trying to flex his muscle. He’d been stretching Cissaro operations so far out that they’d started to press against the walls of Meloni turf. Nicholas and some of the Capos figured maybe it was time to put the Cissaros in their places, but Big Joe wouldn’t give them the go-ahead. Big Joe and Gee-Gee were tied up in some big business deals together, and he didn’t want to risk it over a street beef. His passive stance when it came to the Cissaros didn’t sit well with the Capos, but Big Joe was the boss…at least for the moment.
Regardless of Big Joe’s stance on the situation with their cousins on the other side of the Hudson, tensions were still running high. The situation was a powder keg waiting to blow once the right match came along. In an effort to help avoid this, Big Joe had cautioned his men to avoid New York when possible, and be vigilant when not. Nicholas fell into the latter. He refused to stay holed up in New Jersey when something sweeter than the Garden State could offer awaited him. The few who knew about Nicholas’ secret weekly trips couldn’t understand why he would risk his neck every Friday, especially when there was no money involved, but that was because none of them ever had the pleasure of resting between the legs of Carmela Monroe.
Nicholas first met her six months ago at a birthday party in Scores Gentleman’s Club in Midtown. Carmela had been one of the bottle girls working their table. Nicholas took one look at those blue eyes and perky tits and fell head over heels. She made Nicholas chase her for a while before finally giving up the goods, but when she did, it was like he had gone to heaven and was knocking on God’s door. Two weeks later, he made her quit her job at Scores and set her up in an apartment in Little Italy. He didn’t care what she did during the week, but Fridays were his, and every week like clockwork, she took him to a place of pure bliss.
Just thinking about Carmela’s sweet pussy added pep to Nicholas’ steps. She lived in a five-story walk-up building off Bowery that he’d gotten the hook-up on because the landlord owed him money. He crossed into the lobby and bounded up the stairs two at a time to the third floor. He didn’t have to knock because he had a key, but when he went to put it in the lock he realized that the door was open. Fearing the worst, Nicholas drew his gun before slipping inside the apartment. When he crossed the threshold, what he saw surprised him. Candles lined a pathway made of rose pedals leading into the living room. Taped to the wall was a sign that said “Make Me Hot.” A smile crossed Nicholas’ face, as he could only imagine what she had in store for him.
He followed the path, and near the kitchen found another sign that read “Warm.” Crossing into the living room, he found a bowl of strawberries covered in whip cream with another sign that said “Warmer.” He placed his gun down and picked up the bowl, headed to the bedroom. Nicholas had already come out of his suit jacket and kicked off his shoes by the time he made it to the bedroom and finally, the sign that read “Hot.”
Nicholas pushed the door open and poked his head inside. The bedroom was just as dark as the rest of the house, only lit by the few candles on the nightstand. In the dim light he could see Carmela’s silhouette lying across the bed. Even standing across the room, he could smell the sweetness of whatever she had bathed in. His dick swelled so mightily in his pants that he prayed to the saints that he lasted longer than five minutes.
“All this for me, baby?” Nicholas called out. In response, he could hear Carmela moan, and saw her shift on the bed. He planned to ride her like a buck that was being newly broken, after he tasted every inch of her. Nicholas planned to do all this and then some, but first he needed to see her…to lay eyes on the tight young body he’d been longing for over the last two weeks. When he cut on the bedroom light, Nicholas found himself dumbfounded. On the bed was his beloved Carmela, naked as the day she was born, gagged and bound to the bed. It only took Nicholas’ brain a split second to process what was wrong with the picture, but by then it was too late.
“The thing that steals the joy from hunting creatures of habit is that you don’t have to track them, because you always know where they’re going to be,” someone to Nicholas’ left said. He turned to see a hooded man sitting on a chair, pointing a gun at him.
“What the hell did you do to Carmela?” Nicholas’ eyes darted back and forth between his mistress and the intruder. In the light, he could see the fear-stricken look in her eyes and the bruises on her face. She had been worked over before being tied down.
The man removed his hood, revealing a youthful face and a mop of wild curly hair. When he spoke, you could see the gold covering his teeth. “Considering your position, I’d be more concerned about what I’m going to do to you,” Animal said as he stood.
“Listen, kid. I don’t know what this is about or who sent you, but you’re about to make a huge mistake. Do you know who I am?” Nicholas questioned, hoping his status would give the young man second thoughts.
“Sure do,” Animal assured him. “Nicholas Bucco, Capo in the Meloni crime family and general piece of shit.”
“So if you know who I am, then you know what happens if you kill a Made man…”
“Yes, I do. Killing you means that’s one less child who’ll be violated tonight.” Animal’s eyes went to the young girl he had bound to the bed.
“Child? She’
s twenty-eight!” Nicholas told him.
“This one might be legal, but what about the rest?” Animal inched forward. “I sometimes wonder how the brains of perverts like you work to where you can find children sexually attractive? Is it a genetic defect, or some learned behavior that you picked up because someone played in your booty as a kid?” Animal pondered it.
What the young man was trying to insinuate finally clicked in Nicholas’ head. He was being set up, and considering where the trap was found, he had a good idea of who was behind it. “I’m no more a pedophile than your black ass is the queen of England. Why don’t you put that gun down so we can try and sort this all out.” He went to take a step, but was clubbed in the head with the gun. The world exploded in stars as Nicholas hit the floor face-first, dropping the bowl he was carrying and shattering it. Before he could right himself, Animal had a fist full of his hair and was pressing his gun against Nicholas’ cheek. “Please,” he rasped, “I got kids.”
Animal sneered. “That’s even more of a reason to end you.”
Nicholas could tell by the look of rage that there would be no reasoning with the young man, so logic went out the window and his survival instincts kicked in. The gun went off at the same time Nicholas threw himself backward, ripping a batch of his hair out. The bullet skinned his chin, sending a wave of fire through his face, but he was free. Before Animal could fire another shot, Nicholas charged at him, wielding a piece of the broken glass bowl. Had Animal not beenwearing the oversized hoodie, the glass would’ve gutted him, instead of just opening a nasty wound across his belly.
Nicholas tackled Animal to the ground, sending the gun flying. Animal tried to shove him off, but the older man was much stronger than him. “You little black bastard!” Nicholas punched Animal in the face. “I’ve never touched a kid in my life!”
He grabbed Animal about the throat and started bouncing his head off the hardwood floor over and over. Spots started dancing before his eyes and he knew he was about to black out. Animal had many plans when he entered the apartment, but dying wasn’t one of them.
Just as the darkness came to swallow him, the grip was released from his throat and Animal gasped for air. He propped himself on his elbow, and saw Nicholas locked in a struggle with a new opponent. A one-eyed man with a shaved head was behind him, choking Nicholas with what looked like a prayer rosary. Nicholas grasped at his throat but could do nothing to free himself. Within seconds the battle was over, and Nicholas fell limply to the floor.
For a time, Animal and the one-eyed man just stared at each other silently from opposite sides of the room. The one-eyed man studied Animal quizzically as if he was trying to decide what to do with him. Animal cast a glance at his abandoned gun on the floor, weighing whether he could reach it before he met a fate similar to that of Nicholas.’ The one-eyed man must have been reading his mind, because he let out an amused chuckle.
“I’ve seen you in action, and though you’re fast, I don’t think you’re quite that fast. But by all means, try it if you like,” the one-eyed man challenged. Animal wisely dropped his hands to his sides. “You’re smarter than you look,” he said as he stepped from the shadows. It was then that Animal noticed for the first time that the one-eyed man was dressed like a priest. “A closed-casket.” “Huh?” Animal was confused by the statement.
“A closed-casket funeral,” the one-eyed priest repeated. “Those were the instructions you were given, correct?” He picked Animal’s discarded gun up from the floor and examined it. Without warning, the man shot Nicholas twice in the face. “Tommy tends to get a little testy when his instructions aren’t carried out to the letter.”
Carmela’s muffled cries reminded both of them that she was in the room. The one-eyed priest raised the gun to finish her, but Animal stopped him.
“No,” Animal blurted out, surprising himself and the priest.
“Friend of yours?” the priest asked curiously.
“Nah, I don’t know her. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She ain’t gotta die,” Animal told him, not totally sure of why he was advocating for the girl.
The priest shook his head. “A witness is a loose end, and if it were up to me I’d kill the bitch, but it’s your call.” He lowered the gun, much to Animal’s relief. “One day that tender heart of yours is going to be your undoing.” He went to the window and rested on booted foot on the ledge.
“Wait, why did you help me?” Animal wanted to know.
“Who knows? Maybe I’m just trying to assuage an old man’s guilt.” Priest tossed the gun in Animal’s direction.
Animal took his eyes off the priest for only a second to catch the gun, but it was all the time he needed to disappear. The only things left to mark his passing were Nicholas’ dead body and several unanswered questions.
*
It took all of Animal’s self-control to keep his steps brisk instead of running like his brain was screaming for him to do when he came out of the building. The sooner he got away from Nicholas’ corpse and the crime scene, the better he would feel. Animal was no stranger to dead bodies, but it was the one-eyed priest that had him rattled. The man moved as swiftly and silently as the wind. Watching him kill was like watching an artist paint a beautiful portrait. Animal was almost envious at of the man’s skills, and only hoped to be that lethal if he lived long enough to reach adulthood.
Something else that troubled him about the whole situation was Nicholas’ response when he was informed of the charges levied against him. He seemed genuinely clueless as to what he was talking about. It’s possible that he was lying in an attempt to save his life, but Animal didn’t feel like he was. That was a question that would have to wait for a later date. All that was left to do was meet Tommy’s guy and pick up his money. Animal was so busy mentally ticking off all the things he would spend his ten grand on that he never noticed the man perched in the window across the street snapping pictures of him.
CHAPTER 20
After they left Daddy’s House, Shai let Swann talk him into hitting up a local bar. Shai’s good mind told him to take his ass home, but after about twenty-minutes of Swann giving him grief over it, he relented. He told himself that he was only going to have one drink and spend no more than an hour out with the fellas, but a half bottle of tequila and three hours later, he was still perched on the same bar stool.
Just hanging around the bar, drinking and trading war stories was no big deal to Swann, but to Shai it represented the most fun he had in months. Over the last few years, he had spent so much time trying to figure out how to be a good and fair king, that he had forgotten how to be just a regular kid. If only for a few hours it felt good to not be a boss, but just an average twenty-something-year-old getting drunk at a bar.
He looked around the room curiously, watching the people in the spot. The crowd had damn near doubled since from the time they walked in. At a table near the back, he noticed some guys sitting with their girls. One in particular, a brown-skinned girl in a blue dress, was slyly watching Shai for most of the night. He shook his head sadly. Even though she was obviously with someone, she was still checking Shai out. It just went to show how trifling some women were. This made him thankful that he had a good one at home.
“Slim, I’m glad you decided to come out with us tonight,” Swann said as he draped his arm around Shai’s shoulder. From the way his words were beginning to slur, he was obviously drunk. “I miss this kinda shit.”
“Me too,” Shai said honestly.
“Yo, from here I’m gonna shoot to this spot in Midtown. My homegirl is the bartender so we can drink for free all night,” Swann told him.
Shai looked at his watch. “Nah, it’s getting late. I should probably be getting home.”
“Shai, it ain’t even midnight. Come fuck with me, bro!” Swann tried to convince him.
“Another time, Swann. I’m still in the doghouse for the shit I pulled at the baby shower. Best I get back before it gets too late.”
S
wann wasn’t happy, but he understood. “Aight. I gotta go take a leak before we jet.”
“Cool, I’ll meet you outside.” Shai slid off the barstool. “I need to get some air before I jump on the road to take that drive back to Jersey.”
“I’ll be out in a second.” Swann staggered off to the bathroom while Shai walked out.
The night air helped to clear some of the fog from Shai’s head. He was buzzed but not quite drunk, which is why he decided to quit while he was ahead. The last thing he needed was a DUI on his record. All he wanted to do was get home and snuggle up under his lady. Thinking of Honey made him remember that he hadn’t spoken to her since he’d left the house. He’d been so caught up with his boys that it had slipped his mind. He whipped out his cell phone and hit speed dial.
“Oh, so you finally remembered you had a woman at home?” Honey started right in.
“My fault, babe. I was caught up handling business,” Shai told her.
“Seems like you’re caught up a lot these days,” she said with an attitude.
“Look, I didn’t call to argue. I was just trying to see if you needed anything when I come in?”
“What I need is my man to start spending more time at home than in the streets, chasing pussy with his dumb ass friends,” Honey barked.
“First of all, I ain’t chasing no pussy. And second of all, when is the last time I hung out? That pregnancy got you bugging the fuck out lately.” Shai was starting to get frustrated. He was having a good night and she was blowing his mood.
“How am I bugging because I want you to be more attentive to me than your friends?” she asked.
As Honey was going in on him, Shai noticed the girl in the blue dress come out of the bar with one of her friends. From the way they were giggling, he could tell they were tipsy. Blue Dress’ eyes landed on Shai, and she whispered something to her friend before heading in his direction. He could smell trouble coming.