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 little 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.