The Golden Goose of Los Angeles Extended Edition

by Travis Adams Irish

happening?” Tina asks slowly, trying to make sense of their surroundings in her state of shock. “Are we still here? Why didn’t we make it out the front gate?”

 

  “Because Herb’s brother Chandler has arrived… and I… killed Herb a few days ago.” Rory admits with an expression haunted by guilt. “He came at me in the middle of the night, and started pistol whipping me… and threatening my girlfriend…” A sudden revelation reverberates through Rory’s spine, and he finally understands why the man had been trying to hurt him.

 

  “How did he know your girlfriend?” Tina asks in a dry voice, drifting in and out of consciousness.

 

  “He didn’t.” Rory says with severe discomfort, realizing that this is the last place on earth he should be at the moment. “Anthony set me up… He wanted me to kill Herb so that Chandler would blame…”

 

  Pezzloni returns to pool area from within the house, appearing paranoid and stoic. He steps over to the bar near the far end of the pool, squatting down behind the serving area where there are clean glasses and drink garnishments.

 

  Rory bolts upright and steps quickly over to the bar, bending around the serving area to talk with his captor.

 

  “What the hell are you doing!?” Rory demands impatiently, trying to make sense of his involvement in Herb’s murder.

 

  “We, Rory.” Pezzloni says feverishly as he drains one container of liquid into another. “We are stepping into a shit-storm together, and I need you to be ready.” The aging gangster states without breaking focus on his secret project behind the bar.

 

  “I need to know what my involvement is here with Chandler’s brother.” Rory begins; feeling betrayed that Pezzloni is not giving an explanation of anything.

 

  “Look, Rory, there’s something happening here that is extremely vital to our survival today…” Pezzloni states with trepidation. “I don’t have a lot of time, but the one thing I need to make sure you don’t do-“

 

  “Anthony! How are you?” A deep male voice calls out from just outside the sliding doors of the basement showers.

 

  “Doin’ okay, Chandler.” Pezzloni responds with a friendly voice despite his frustrated demeanor that is concealed by the bar. “I’ll be right there.”

 

  Rory turns to see Chandler standing near the gazebo with a group of six security guards in black tactical gear. He is further alarmed when he notices that more men are coming down from the upstairs portion of the home, some of them carrying submachine guns.

 

  Chandler is clad in an outfit that emanates devilish charm. His black suit is crafted from a tailor-made Italian material with gray and white pinstripes. He is wearing a yellow vest beneath the jacket, and a white tie with a black silhouette of the figure Zeus from Greek mythology embroidered on the front. His hair is neatly styled in wavy layers, allowing it to conform generously to his narrow head, and he bears a goatee that has been neatly groomed. Although his olive skin and black hair are similar to his brother Herb, he is the polar opposite in almost every other way. Chandler is fit, clean, unyielding, and ready to do business at the snap of his fingers.

 

  “I’d like to talk with my brother.” Chandler demands as Pezzloni approaches from the pool.

 

  Anthony receives this command as a calculated risk, and waits until he is within a few inches of Chandler to answer.

 

  “Good to see you, Teddy!” Pezzloni says abruptly, smiling at the older gentleman who is seated at the edge of his gazebo.

 

  Teddy The Suit nods with an obligatory grin and holds up his right hand with the palm facing Anthony. The elderly mobster is dressed in his familiar canary yellow suit and a black tie, enjoying a cool orange juice as he observes from behind the safety of Chandler’s guards.

 

  “I WANT TO SPEAK TO MY FUCKING BROTHER!” Chandler shouts with a rage that seems to explode up from his toes as he steps up into Pezzloni’s face.

 

  “YOUR BROTHER IS DEAD!” Anthony admits with a bit of hostility. “I confirmed it myself!”

 

  “I know that my brother is dead, Pezzloni.” Chandler fires back with a dignity that exacerbates vengeance. “All nine of these armed men… know that my brother is dead. He died under your roof, and in your care… But make no mistake, you mutt, when I say that I want to talk with my brother…the fact that he is alive or dead - doesn’t matter. So, I’ll tell you one more time… I want to speak to my brother.” He finishes this last sentence with a piercing stare, as though trying to eviscerate his colleague with his eyes.

 

  “Your brother was killed in the upstairs hallway of my house.” Pezzloni announces without remorse or hesitation. “He attacked a man on my staff who was going through drug withdrawals, and was shot in self-defense.”

 

  “Self-defense?” Chandler asks with a wide smile, nodding quickly to Teddy at his left as he begins to laugh. “There is no such thing as self-defense against the brother of a boss… If my brother was giving one of your men a beating… or worse… then they deserved it!” The flustered gangster states with reckless ambition.

 

  “Your brother… was a fat, scruffy loser.” Pezzloni states without a hint of shame. “He cost us over twenty-million in profits with his stupidity and laziness… We’re earning six percent better profits without him. So self-defense or not… I’m sorry for your loss, but this is better for business.”

 

  “Do you think that running the mules was his only job, Pezzloni?” Chandler asks, casting a dark glare in Anthony’s direction. “Herb was down here to keep an eye on you. His main function was to act as my eyes and ears, and now thanks to one of your men, I am deaf and blind in California.”

 

  “I killed your brother.” Rory says in an awkward fashion, taking a step forward to enter the conversation.

 

  “Are you Rory?” Chandler inquires, raising his eyebrows as he sizes up his new enemy.

 

  “That’s The Goose.” Teddy hollers from his table, watching the events unfold like a twelve-year-old child, with both hands beneath his chin.

 

  “You killed my brother in self-defense?” Chandler asks with suspicious eyes.

 

  “Yeah, he whipped me with a pistol and threatened to kill my girlfriend.” Rory reports in a shaky voice, trying to maintain his composure as beads of sweat form at the back of his neck.

 

  “Why was my brother whipping you with his pistol?” Chandler asks with a solid stare, turning slightly to face Pezzloni. “What would send my brother into that bad of a rage?” He wonders aloud, turning his back to the two men. “No matter… You’ve done your crime, Rory, and now you’re going to make payments… I’ve taken the liberty of collecting a deposit from you…”

 

  Chandler steps over to one of his senior security enforcers, and Rory notices that the man is holding a black backpack with the straps slung over his forearm. The middle-aged security guard twists his head, displaying a rich Jewish heritage amidst the calming reflections of the swimming pool. He has a graying beard and thick, weathered skin. The man reaches into the backpack and retrieves an iPad®, which Chandler procures from him with eccentric finesse.

 

  The gangster then silently carries the iPad® over to where Rory is standing, and holds it out to him.

 

  Rory slowly takes the digital tablet with his left hand, noticing that his arms are shaking, and his knees are feeling weak. The screen of the iPad® has a video queued up, and there is a large play button at its center.

 

  “Kelly Preston, thir
ty-two-years-old, single, attractive, and former girlfriend of Rory Chambers…” Chandler states with a smile as he turns to face Rory again. “This is the woman that you killed my brother to protect, right? He was threatening to hurt your beloved Kelly..? Someone who is now engaged to a douchebag news anchor, and clearly wants nothing to do with you. This woman… is the reason my brother died, right?” He asks with a sinister gaze as he inspects the scratches and blood on Rory’s torso. “Well, go ahead and hit play…”

 

  The iPad® screen has become something wicked in Rory’s hands. There is a truth behind the play button that he can’t bear to witness at the moment, but he surmises that there is no other choice, and reluctantly takes his medicine.

 

  When Rory presses the play button, he immediately hears the sound of his former girlfriend crying in terror. Two men have her bound to a chair with her right arm outstretched on a solid, walnut table. One of the men holds her down in the chair while the other uses a long plank of heavy pinewood to bludgeon her arm. The tablet shakes in Rory’s hands as he hears her scream, each painful cry scraping his insides, and leaving almost nothing behind. Although the clip is short, it ends with her broken arm being displayed for the camera, and the two thugs smiling triumphantly. Rory tips the screen away from his face as the reality becomes too bitter, and a flood of tears stream forth from his sorrow-filled eyes.

  “So you killed my brother for threatening to hurt Kelly?” Chandler says proudly, clasping his hands behind his back. “Well, I did hurt Kelly, so what are you going to do to me..? Like I said, that’s just a down payment; we’re also going to break one of your mother’s legs. If her hip gets broken in the process… it’s all