by Rath Dalton
was using the gun they had taken from Reese.
“You’re a good man, Gino. You won’t be doing any time. I’ll make sure Gina and the kids are taken care of.”
“Boss, no . . .”
Gagliardi pulled the trigger. The gun was painfully loud in the enclosed space, making Reese flinch. A hole appeared in Gino’s forehead. His eyes twitched upward as if to get a look at the damage, then he pitched forward.
“What the hell are you doing?” shouted Reese, clinging to the chain fall for support. The gun swung toward him. “What – hey. You - you’re crazy. You can’t shoot your way out of this – they’re coming. Go with the trial – you’ve got a chance. We can fix this. We’ll make up a story.”
“Yeah? And you’re gonna stick with it? To protect me?”
“I will – I swear I will.”
“That don’t seem likely. Besides, I already got a story.”
Reese charged as best he could. It was a sad effort, hopping on a broken leg. Even so, he made it half way to Gagliardi before the big man fired. The slug struck Reese in the chest. He gave a lurch and fell to the ground where he lay gasping for air.
Gagliardi looked down at the agent for a moment.
“Hell of an effort there,” he said. “You’re a ballsy guy.” And he put a bullet in Reese’s head.
Gagliardi squatted, pressed the nine millimeter into the dead man’s hand and fired it out the open door. Then he rearranged the bodies and moved the pipe that was used to break Reese’s leg.
“That oughtta do.” He said, looking over the bruises on the dead agent’s face. The sirens where almost there.
* * *
The newscaster read from the teleprompter on the six o’clock news.
“Federal prosecutors dropped all charges against Richard Gagliardi today, including drug trafficking, kidnapping and murder when a grand jury failed to find sufficient evidence. In his statement, Gagliardi claimed that an FBI agent used kidnapping, extortion and murder to obtain a forced a confession. The New Jersey businessman said the rogue federal agent threatened him and murdered his associate at a local sandpit. Witnesses corroborated the kidnapping of Gagliardi’s daughter. Gagliardi, himself, escaped only by overpowering the agent and shooting him with his own gun. Forensics from the scene were inconclusive. Gagliardi says he morns the loss of his associate and looks forward to spending more time with his wife and daughter.”
About Pedophile
Bundle of joy, granted, but the sound of a child crying is the most gripping, grating, interruptive sound available to the human ear. God meant it to be that way; how else would the baby get fed at one in the morning?
It was that sound in a department store that lit a fire under this story. It came from several aisles away and my imagination filled in the holes with wild explanations. The idea that two strangers might come to odds over it didn’t seem farfetched. The two gentlemen in this story had some inherent animosity that made a happy ending unlikely. Sorry about the misleading title but ‘Pedophile’ was the first thing that Gagliardi thought too. Who am I to disagree?
A note from the author
If you didn’t like the story, feel free to send me an email at [email protected] and tell me where the holes are. It’s always good to get advice. Thanks for being a reader.
Rath