by Sal Bianchi
I almost flinched as his finger twitched against the trigger, and Colletta screamed. Then, suddenly, my ears were assaulted by a painfully loud bang, and the gun was no longer in front of me. I blinked, and for just an instant, I wondered if I was about to drop dead, despite not feeling any pain. Then the moment passed, and I realized that Sergio was kneeling on the ground in front of me, cradling a bleeding hand to his chest while he groaned in pain. The gun he’d been holding to my head just a moment before was lying a few feet away on the ground, stained with his own blood.
“Can’t any of you go more than a day without getting into a fight?” A low, painfully nostalgic voice called from the back of the bar. Every muscle in my body went tense as I heard that voice, but I forced myself to look up toward the person who’d just spoken.
Alessandro was standing halfway up the stairs, his gun dangling lazily in his left hand. I realized with a start that my brother had just shot Sergio’s gun out of his hand from across the room. It had only been inches from my head, but he’d still managed to make the shot perfectly.
“Nick,” he called flatly. “Come see me in my office.”
He didn’t say anything else before turning and sauntering back up the stairs. I frowned, a little annoyed at the way he’d just ordered me around, and walked away without offering me a chance to respond. I had come here to talk to him, though, and it was probably a good idea to get off the main floor as soon as possible, anyway.
I sighed and pushed my way through the crowd and toward the stairs. Most of the men parted as I approached, backing away and staring in disgust as though I were a leper or something. I brushed off their reactions and braced myself as I headed up the stairs for my long overdue reunion with my brother.
30
Nick
Alessandro’s office was different from I remembered it being. When I’d left, everything had still been the same as how our father had left it. As I took a look around, it was clear that he’d redecorated to his own tastes. The old-fashioned couches and the long, heavy wooden desk were all gone, replaced with more modern and sleek furniture. It matched my brother’s aesthetic, but it really didn’t match with the rest of the bar.
My brother looked different, too. His face was thinner, and his expression was more stern than I remembered it being. There were bags under his eyes, too, as though he hadn’t slept well in a while. I felt a pang of guilt as I remembered what Franco had said about how I was making life difficult for my brother. He’d slicked his blond hair to the side the way our father used to. I didn’t like it.
We’d been sitting in silence in his office for a few minutes now, each waiting for the other to break the uncomfortable silence.
“It’s not like you to get drunk to the point of starting fights,” he finally sighed before leaning back in his office chair.
“What?” I furrowed my brows in confusion. “I’m not drunk. What are you talking about?”
“Oh, excuse me,” he replied calmly. “I just assumed that you must be since I can’t understand why else you would show up here in the middle of the night to pick a fight.”
“Yeah, that’s nice,” I retorted. “First time you see your brother in three years, and your first response is to tell me off? I wasn’t even the one who started that fight.”
“Oh, no?” Alessandro raised an eyebrow at me as he poured himself a glass of scotch. “So you didn’t beat Domenico half to death a few nights ago?”
I pursed my lips together at his question. It wasn’t surprising that news of what had happened had gotten back to Alessandro, but I still didn’t like him throwing it in my face like that.
“I didn’t start that fight either,” I scoffed. “That moron came up to me and started throwing punches completely unprovoked. Did you think I was just going to lie down and take a beating?”
“I suppose not,” he replied before taking a sip of his drink. “Then again, if you hadn’t been parading around with a fed--”
“I didn’t come here to listen to you scold me,” I snapped impatiently.
“What did you come here for, then?” he asked me coldly.
I frowned. I was honestly a little disappointed. It wasn’t like I’d expected some touching, heart-wrenching reunion, but I hadn’t expected him to be so aggressive either. At the same time, I’d come here in a rampage after being confronted by Franco, so I guess it would have been hypocritical of me to expect any different.
“Does the mafia have anything to do with the murder of Senator Alexis Rothschild?” I asked point-blank, watching carefully for my brother’s reaction. Unfortunately, he was good at hiding his emotions, and I couldn’t discern any physical reaction from him at all.
“I really wish you’d stop playing detective and come back home,” he replied, completely ignoring my question. “You’re still welcome back here, you know.”
“Again with the ‘playing,’” I grumbled. “I’m not playing at anything. I went to school for four years for this job. I’m not coming back. Should I take your refusal to answer my question as a confession of guilt?”
Alessandro sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes before speaking again.
“I’m not trying to insult you,” he replied, his voice more gentle than it had been since I’d gotten here. “But you have to understand, even as the boss, there’s a limit to how much I can do to protect you. I’m able to keep the Family pacified by telling them you won’t touch cases that are directly connected to us, but I won’t be able to look the other way if you start fighting against us.”
“Is that a threat?” I scoffed.
“Nicolo,” he snapped as he clenched his fist on top of the desk. “It’s a plea. Stop doing this before I’m forced to take action.”
“Right,” I grumbled bitterly. “Of course. I shouldn’t be surprised that you’d choose the mafia’s interests over me. After all, you chose the mafia over Mom, right? Why should your brother be any different?”
I couldn’t keep the venom and pain out of my voice as I spat the words at him. Our mother was a taboo subject and bringing her up had exactly the effect I’d expected. Alessandro’s eyes went wide with shock, and for the first time in the evening, he seemed at a loss for words.
“That isn’t fair,” he finally replied through clenched teeth. “You know that isn’t true, and you know everything I’ve done has been for your benefit.”
“You’re such a liar,” I sneered in disbelief. “Either that or you’re delusional. If you gave a crap about Mom, you wouldn’t be sitting there right now. And if you gave a crap about me, you wouldn’t be sending Franco to keep tabs on me.”
“Franco?” Alessandro blinked in confusion. “What are you talking about? What did Franco do?”
I froze at his stunned response. Franco had claimed he was taking a risk in coming to warn me to stop investigating, but I’d honestly thought he’d been bluffing. I sent him a mental apology as I realized I’d just ratted him out to the boss.
“Whatever.” I shrugged. “I got what I came here for. Now I know without a doubt that the Family does have something to do with it. I’ll take my leave.”
“Nick!” Alessandro yelled as I stood up and turned to leave his office. I didn’t turn around, but a moment later, I felt a tight grip around my forearm.
“Let go,” I growled as I turned to look at my brother.
“Tell me you’re going to quit this case,” he replied.
I twisted my arm out of his grasp roughly before responding.
“I don’t need you to protect me,” I hissed. “I’m not going to stop investigating. I don’t care how it affects the Family.”
I turned and stalked away before he could get another word in. Blood was rushing through my ears again as I quickly descended the stairs, and I wanted nothing more than to get back outside and feel that cool breeze again.
The bar had returned to normal by now, and most of the men seemed too engrossed in their own business to even notice me as I passed by. I was nearly at the do
or when a large, calloused hand reached out to shove me on the shoulder, nearly knocking me off balance in my haste to get outside.
“Did you have a nice chat with the boss?” Giovanni slurred as he wobbled unsteadily on his feet. He’d clearly had a few more since I’d gone upstairs to speak with Alessandro.
“Get out of my way.” I shoved him back. I wasn’t in any mood to deal with him right now.
He quickly moved to block my path again.
“What are you gonna do about it?” He jeered as he shoved me hard in the chest. Even drunk, he was several hundred pounds of muscle, and the blow knocked me a few feet backward.
He laughed, and a sense of rage so intense that I couldn’t think suddenly overcame me. Before I realized what I was doing, my hand flew to the switchblade I always kept in my pocket. I pulled it out and stabbed Giovanni twice in the stomach with quick, practiced movements. I hadn’t done that in a very long time, but at that moment, it was as if no time had passed since I’d last plunged a knife into someone’s body.
Giovanni crumpled onto the floor with a short grunt and a thud. One of the men standing nearby looked up in confusion, unaware of what had just happened. I’d moved so quickly that no one had seen the knife, not even Giovanni.
I stepped quickly past his body and toward the main entrance as more people began to get up and wander over to him. I could hear some of them talking and yelling behind me, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I walked on autopilot all the way back to my car. I felt oddly calm as I turned the ignition and set out, the lights of the bar fading into the darkness behind me.
The drive back to my office took longer, as I wasn’t speeding in and out of traffic anymore. Once I was back, I headed back inside and double-checked to make sure all the doors were locked before heading back into my bedroom. As I sat down heavily on my bed, I made a mental note to increase the security at both my home and my office. Franco had no trouble getting in, and after what I’d just done, I’d no doubt be in greater danger of being clipped in my sleep.
“Maybe I should find somewhere else to live,” I muttered to myself as I fell over onto my bed without bothering to change out of my work clothes. I hadn't been planning on shanking anyone when I headed down to the bar tonight, but there was no changing what had happened now.
I sat up straight as I suddenly recalled how I’d plunged my knife into Giovanni’s stomach without a second thought. Heck, I couldn’t remember even giving it a first thought. My body had just moved on its own.
My mind was telling me that I should feel guilty about having stabbed a man, but I didn't. Honestly, it had felt good, natural even. Frankly, Giovanni had been asking for it. For three years, everyone had been telling me that I was a mafioso and needed to start acting like one. Well, they were about to get their wish.
31
Nick
I’d never felt this hungry before. Sometimes, when I was craving a snack, I’d go up to my mom or Colletta and claim that I was “starving.” I’d never understood just how wrong I’d been then.
Real starvation didn’t just feel like a hollow stomach. It hurt. It sent alternating pangs of sharp and dull pain throughout my stomach until the idea of eating grass or dirt tempted me, just so I’d have something inside my stomach to stave off the pain for a little longer.
Of course, Alessandro always did his best to make sure I ate as much as possible. Anytime we’d come across a bit of food, he’d offer it to me first. He’d also wait until I felt satisfied before taking any of it for himself. I knew, too, that he often went hungry so that I’d be able to eat a little bit more. I tried as much as I could to share with him, but I was so young then that sometimes my selfish desire to feel full outweighed my desire to be a good brother. Alessandro never resented me for it, though.
It had been a few days since either of us had anything to eat, though. We’d already depleted the little money we’d brought with us when we ran away from home, and we hadn’t even made it out of Florida yet. Looking back, it was almost cute that a pair of twelve- and five-year-olds had ever thought they’d be able to survive on their own with nothing but a backpack full of snacks and a couple of hundred-dollar bills.
“Okay, do you remember what to do?” Alessandro asked me as we strolled casually through the aisles of a superstore somewhere on the outskirts of northern Florida. I nodded nervously, my hands already trembling at the thought of taking something and walking away without paying for it. Up until now, Alessandro had been the one to steal everything we needed. This time, though, he’d reasoned that it might be better for me to do it. If we got caught, we could pretend I didn’t know any better since I was younger.
We’d been caught a few times before, but we’d managed to evade capture every time. Honestly, I’d never been afraid before. I trusted my brother and felt safe with him in charge. In fact, I actually had a lot of fun doing the things we did. It was like we were playing one giant game of cops and robbers. However, now that I was the one taking the lead, I couldn’t stop trembling in fear.
“I just grab a bunch quietly,” I mumbled as I went over the instructions he’d given me. “Don’t run. Just walk straight out the door. If someone catches me, I’ll start crying.”
“Right.” Alessandro smiled down at me. “And I’ll come and pretend to get mad at you and say that you didn’t know any better. Where do we meet up if we get separated?”
“Um,” I hummed as I tried to remember where he’d told me to go in case something went wrong. “The trees outside, on the other side of the parking lot.”
“Yup.” Alessandro smiled at me. “If something goes wrong, run there as fast as you can and hide until I come to find you, okay?”
“Okay.” I swallowed nervously.
Alessandro took my hand and led me toward the front registers. Once we were close, he let go of my hand and walked away by himself toward the bakery section by the entrance. I immediately felt completely exposed, as though all the people in the store were watching me and knew what I was about to do.
The registers on the right end of the check-out area were self-serve, and right now, there weren’t any other people around. Alessandro had chosen this store specifically because he’d read that they tended not to apprehend shoplifters for liability reasons, but I still felt unsettled by the idea of taking things that didn’t belong to me. I was hungry, though, and I knew that Alessandro must be even hungrier. He was bigger than I was, but he still gave me his share of the food a lot of the time.
With that in mind, I summoned up my courage and stepped toward the shelves lined along the sides of the register. I grabbed two fistfuls at random, barely even noticing what I was taking before shoving the candy into the pockets of my coat. The moment the deed was done, all the tension drained out of my body, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I was so thrilled that I’d managed to succeed in my mission that I completely forgot Alessandro’s instructions to stay calm and bolted for the front entrance.
“Hold on just a minute,” a gruff voice called behind me as someone took hold of my arm. I snapped around to face the man who’d just caught hold of me. His voice was familiar, and his face was too, but I couldn’t make it out. It was just a blur in my eyes.
“Nick, there you are,” Alessandro sighed in relief as he came to stand behind me. “You shouldn’t have wandered off like that.”
He was playing the part of the clueless and concerned older brother really well. He’d told me to cry if I got caught since that would make people take pity on me, but I was completely frozen.
“Nice try, boys,” the man sighed. He was young. He didn’t have any wrinkles like our father did. He looked like he was probably about the same age as the newest soldati in the Family. “I heard you talking back in the aisle. Come on. We need to go call your parents.”
My blood ran cold at those words. He couldn’t call our parents. One of them was dead, and the other was the entire reason we were here, shoplifting candy bars from a superstore instead of back
at home and safe in our beds.
“You don’t have to do that, officer,” Alessandro replied frantically. That’s right, I remembered now. The man who’d taken us into custody that day had been a police officer. “We were just playing a game.”
“Listen, boys,” the officer sighed sympathetically. “I’m not going to drag you into the station for swiping a couple of candy bars, but I can’t let two kids be wandering around alone in the middle of the night. Why don’t you come with me, and we’ll call your parents to come to pick you up?”
I looked at Alessandro for guidance, just as I had always done. The frantic look on his face was gone, and he was staring at the officer with stoic clarity.
“Nick.” He addressed me calmly without taking his eyes off the officer. “Do you remember where I told you to meet me?”
I stared at him in confusion. Was this his way of telling me that something had officially gone wrong and I needed to go hide in the trees? I nodded in affirmation, but I couldn’t get my legs to move.
The officer frowned as he realized we were planning something, but before he could react, Alessandro moved. He lunged forward with savage brutality and kicked the officer hard in the thigh. He yelled in pain and surprise as his leg gave out, and he fell to his knees. Alessandro was quick to react and struck the officer in the side of the head with a roundhouse kick.
“Nick, go!” he yelled as he turned away from the officer to run toward the door. I followed obediently, but the officer recovered quickly and dove forward to catch Alessandro around the waist. I froze and turned to watch as my brother struggled to break out of the officer’s hold. As skilled as he was in martial arts, he was still a skinny twelve-year-old fighting against a fully grown man.
“Nick, run!” he screamed as he beat his fists furiously against the officer’s arms. I couldn’t move, though. We’d gone over the plan dozens of times, but I couldn’t bring myself to run away and leave my brother alone. I stood in place completely frozen and watched the struggle until the officer’s partner became aware of the commotion and came to help.
