The Golden Goose of Los Angeles Extended Edition

by Travis Adams Irish

captive.

 

  “What’s wrong, Pezzloni?” Rory asks through labored breaths, his chest smudged with blood and covered in scratches. “Are you feeling guilty for letting the genie out of the bottle? Well too bad! You can’t live a life of chaos without consequences.” He states with fearless pride, dropping the stone to the pile beneath his sneakers. “You wanted to leave a stain on my soul? Well guess what, you did that when you sent the mutilated goose to my house!” Rory says with a gaze of betrayal as he steps briskly forward to join his captor at the driveway.

 

  Pezzloni stops to consider his proposition, peering deep into Rory’s eyes to see if he really does have a stain on his soul. He gazes off into the distance to think about everything that has transpired over the past twenty-four hours.

 

  “We’ve got company!” Anthony finally says as he raises his right hand and points at the front gate. “Shit!” He exclaims with deep frustration while removing his cell phone from his left pocket. “Yeah, Vincent… Who is that at the front gate? Is it Chandler..? Chandler and Teddy The Suit..? Okay… Goddammit! Give me a minute. Okay, bye…”

 

  Rory looks down at the front gate and sees two black limousines waiting to enter the property. His heart is immediately ignited with fresh fear as he realizes that the brother of a man he shot and killed only a few days ago is a mere one-hundred-and-fifty yards from his position.

 

  In his peripheral vision, Rory sees a flash of something, and consciously dismisses it as irrelevant, but his instincts urge him to look closer. He turns his head slightly to see a second German Shepherd barreling toward him across the grass. He has only enough time to step forward onto the cement between himself and Tina before the dog is upon him.

 

  To his relief, the dog slows down when realizing that it has been discovered, and begins to growl with hypnotic bloodlust as it comes to a full stop on the driveway. Rory opens his arms wide, flexing his muscles to prepare for another primal battle. At first he feels that intimidation might work, but the man-eater isn’t fazed by his posturing.

 

  Rory looks up to Pezzloni for help, staring at the pistol in his right hand, but the man is captivated by the limousines at the front gate, and the potential wrath that lies beyond. The dog begins to snarl and strut forward, sensing that it has the advantage. Rory closes his eyes in disbelief, shocked that Pezzloni’s Attention Deficit Disorder will be the end of him.

 

  A sound like thunder cracks through the morning sky, and Rory opens his eyes, wondering if Pezzloni has come to his defense. The snarling dog is standing just eight feet away from Rory with its head facing to the right, toward the sound. In a moment of terrifying power, the dog’s body flies ten feet down the driveway, leaving a wake of blood in mid-air, and a streak of viscera along the cement.

 

  Rory is perplexed for a moment by the God-like power of the sniper rifle that just took down the German Shepherd. He breathes out in relief, but continues to scan the area for more dogs.

 

  “Do you still need to leave a stain on my soul, or is that enough?” Rory asks, holding his arms outward at Pezzloni.

  “That’s enough,” Anthony agrees coolly, “ but if things go badly with Chandler, you’ll be wishing to God that you didn’t survive the morning.” Pezzloni turns on his heel and begins to march back to the house, giving orders into his cell phone. “Tell our guests that we’re clearing up a dog problem and will let them in shortly.” He then stops walking and hollers over his shoulder to Rory. “Bring the girl in the house. We’ll take care of her. If the next few hours play out the way I want, then I’ll take care of you too.”

 

  Rory hesitates for a moment, determining whether he can trust the words of his unstable captor. He looks down at the black limousines beyond the gate, wondering if there is something worse yet to come.

  XII. Hell on Earth

  Tina’s body weighs heavy on Rory’s shoulders as he carries her back to the Pezzloni Estate. He feels wasted for all of his efforts these past few months, like a commodity that has been drained for the profits of a faceless corporation. As he makes his way into the courtyard, the black limousines drive slowly past him, none of them bothering to stop and assist, or to ask questions. When the second car passes them by, Rory can see his reflection in the window and the shiny, black paint of the body. His reflection is a haunting reminder of how far he has descended these past few months.

  ‘I’m doing the wrong thing,’ he thinks to himself as he observes his bare upper body touting an innocent girl back to her would-be killers. Rory sighs with the heavier burden of knowing that Tina’s life is outside of his control – for now. After seeing the dog torn apart from such a great distance, he realizes that even getting past the dogs isn’t enough for a happy ending.

 

  The young man watches the black limousines as they circle the courtyard slowly, and come to a stop in front of the main door, allowing their passengers to exit with as little effort as possible. While observing these new guests, Rory feels a shiver of fear pulse down his back, watching them emerge from their cars like Greek Gods. Here is a group of strangers that sees a bloody young woman being carried atop a man’s shoulders, and none of them bother to pause and ask why. Further, as they get out of their limousines, none of the passengers look back at the young woman. It’s obvious to Rory that they don’t concern themselves with the pain of others. He decides that on some level this is human nature, but ignoring someone who needs gas money, versus a battered young woman, is altogether cold and ruthless.

 

  Rory decides to take the longer route at the backside of the house to the pool. Despite the silent protests from his strained leg muscles, he pushes himself forward to the poolside tables. He wants a moment to make sure that Tina is all right, and to get her cleaned up properly so that she can be comfortable.

 

  When he reaches the pool area, Rory realizes that he and Tina are not alone. Pezzloni and Dimitri are having a heated discussion near the sliding doors that lead to the basement showers.

 

  “No!” Pezzloni says with a muffled voice, trying to maintain secrecy. “The first thing Chandler will want is to see his fucking brother’s body, but that’s going to be a problem… because the body is half-eaten.” Anthony states quickly, shoving Dimitri slightly in the chest for his lack of follow through.

 

  “You’re the one who wanted to lock the lovebirds in the hub of the dog tunnels. Remember!?” Dimitri replies immediately, exhibiting about half the intensity of his employer. “If those two weren’t in the compound last night, the dogs would have finished off all of the remains.”

 

  “I can’t believe you would do this to me!” Pezzloni sounds off with building rage. “It was your idea to use the dogs… Now find a way to get rid of that body within the next five minutes, or we’ll be spending the next twenty years as party favors for a prison gang… or with our heads as paperweights in the New York office.”

 

  “Okay, Vince and I will find a way…” Dimitri says peacefully, regaining his composure. “What are you going to do?”

 

  “I’ll do what I can to get this target off my back.” Pezzloni announces cryptically. “Just follow my lead when things start to come together. Remember that we have two goals tonight: Chandler doesn’t see his brother’s body, and when he leaves here, we don’t get the blame for the murder.”

 

  “So who are you going to hang the murder on?” Dimitri asks in a whisper, glancing over his shoulder toward Rory.

 

  “We’ll figure that out in a little while.” Pezzloni says thoughtfully, also glancing back at Rory. “I’m gonna’ go inside and make things look friendly. When you come back here – be ready
to follow my lead. They probably won’t do anything despite the close family connection with Chandler, but let’s be ready. Get the dogs into their headgear and Dragon Skin… Then wait for my order.” The aging gangster states in a voice filled with stress, looking around cautiously for any signs of his new houseguests.

 

  At the side of the pool, Rory is kneeling next to Tina, helping her to get more comfortable. She is resting in a comfy, gray lounge chair, still holding her left side in severe discomfort. Her right arm has bite marks here and there, and there are lacerations all over her upper torso. Tina’s left arm is a mess, and although the forearm seems to be the only break, the deep bite wounds have left her at a high risk for infection.

 

  Rory stands up straight and walks briskly around the pool area, collecting fresh towels that have been left out by the cleaning staff. He wraps one towel around Tina’s left arm, and dips the other in the pool water so that he can wash the dried blood from her body.

 

  “Don’t use this on your open wounds.” Rory instructs as he hands Tina a damp towel. “This water is from the pool.”

 

  Rory watches Tina as she begins to clean her face, and decides that this is a good time to survey the area. As he raises his head, he notices that both Dimitri and Pezzloni have gone in opposite directions. Dimitri has set out for the compound at the rear of the property, while his employer disappeared into the large estate home.

 

  “What’s