“Hey, Sal, what’s up?” Robby asked as soon as he checked out who was inside of the car. “You wanted to see me?”
“Get in,” Sal said, and pressed the window back up.
Reno pressed down the window and got out of the sportscar, and Robby got in behind the wheel. Reno rested his arms on the pressed-down window to listen in. Robby looked at his boss. “What’s going on?” he asked Sal.
“You know Vinnie Vazzano,” Sal said.
Robby smiled. “Of course I know him! He works for us. He’s your underboss.”
“Why would he want everybody to believe you’re double-crossing me?”
Robby was elated that it wasn’t about him, but surprised by what it was about. “Who says he wants everybody believing that shit? Last I heard, Fast Eddie and Baltimore tried to claim I was behind something, but I never heard Machine claiming it, too.”
“Just answer my question,” Sal said. “Is there any reason Vinnie would have any grudge against you?”
“Ah, Boss, you know how it goes. The fellars, especially the older ones, don’t like how fast I rose up the ranks in your organization. It’s jealousy, plain and simple.”
But Sal was shaking his head. “There’s more to it than that. There has to be.” Sal turned to Robby. “Think about it. This is serious.”
Robby saw the anguish in his boss’s eyes. He loved Sal, he really did, and would do anything for him. “There’s that other thing,” he said, “but that’s some old shit.”
“What’s old shit?” Sal asked, and Reno looked at Robby, too.
“Remember when I went to prison?” Robby asked.
Sal nodded. “Yeah. So?”
“There was a fight. A vicious fight. I was jumped by two guys. I beat one up pretty badly and the other one hit his head on the side of a chair and died. But because he came at me, and all the cameras showed him coming at me, no charges were pressed against me. They said I had a right to defend myself, even in prison.”
“Get to the point,” Sal said.
“The guy I iced was Vinnie Vazzano’s cousin.”
Reno looked at Sal.
“But he said it wasn’t my fault,” Robby said. “He didn’t hold that shit against me, I’m certain of it.”
Reno and Sal looked at each other. “It’s possible,” Reno said. “It’s something, anyway.”
“How well do you know Vinnie?” Sal asked Robby.
Robby shook his head. “Not that well,” he said. “I mean I knew of him for a long time. Machine Gun Vazzano? Who didn’t? Wise guys know wise guys, know what I’m saying?”
Sal looked at Reno, as Sal thought about how nobody seemed to know Easy Max Capone, except Vinnie. “Exactly what I’m saying,” Sal said. Then he exhaled. “Alright, Robby, I’ll check with you later.”
“You don’t need me for anything?” Robby asked.
“Take the day off,” Sal said. “I’ve been overworking you. You deserve it.”
Robby smiled. “Thanks, Boss.” But he was curious as hell why Tommy Gabrini wasn’t with them. Those Gabrinis, whenever shit was going down, usually ran together. “I guess you’ve been overworking Dapper Tom,” he said jocularly, “and that’s why he’s not here, hun?”
But Reno didn’t find it jocular at all. He frowned and looked at Robby. “What the fuck you care where Dapper Tom is? What’s that your business?”
“I was just saying,” Robby said.
“Don’t say,” Reno said. “Mind your own business. And get out of the fucking car.”
Robby had to suppress his rage. If he were to have a go at Reno Gabrini, he knew he’d be dead. “Yes, sir,” he said, and got out of the car. Reno got back in behind the wheel. “See you around, Sal,” Robby said.
Sal gave him a nod, and Reno sped off.
Sal looked at him. “You don’t handle my people, Reno,” he said. “They aren’t your casino workers.”
“Then you need to handle them,” Reno said. “Seems like he was handling you.”
Sal couldn’t believe it. “Because he asked a question?”
“He don’t ask us questions! That’s not how it’s done.”
Sal frowned. “Who died and made you Miss Etiquette?”
Reno laughed. “The same motherfucker who made me the most powerful man in Vegas.”
“Here we go!” Sal said. “One obscure magazine gives you that title and you believe it. Just drive! I’ve got enough going on. I’m not dealing with you and your delusions of grandeur today.”
Reno glanced at Sal as he drove. “That’s remarkable,” he said.
Sal looked at him. “What’s remarkable?”
“That you actually know what delusions are,” Reno said, and laughed.
But Sal had one better. “I’ll bet you don’t know what grandeur means. That’s why you didn’t say it.”
“Get the fuck outta here,” Reno said. “Of course I know what it means.”
“What does it mean, Reno?”
“It means that thing there.”
Sal smiled. “What thing there?”
“That thing! It’s like when they grant you something and you endure something. That’s what it means.”
Sal nodded. “You’re stupid, Reno. When they were passing out brains, they forgot to include you.”
“Yeah, but when they were passing out dicks?” Reno grinned and nodded his head. “They made up for any oversights.”
Sal shook his head, and then couldn’t help but smile, too.
But as they drove further, and got closer to their destination, and as he thought about that two-timing Vinnie Vazzano, his smile was gone.
Vinnie Vazzano was upstairs, over the delicatessen, shooting pool with a few of his men. Sal owned the whole shebang. But it was their cover business. They took gun orders out of that delicatessen and the waiters and waitresses bought the orders up to Vinnie. And they were big orders only. But Vinnie was looking to retire young, so he could live a little. But the money Sal was giving him wasn’t going to cut it. He wanted to retire like a king, not like a fucking prince. He needed fast, king-sized money. But he knew his decision could cost him his life. What he didn’t know, as he sank another ball in another pocket, was just how soon he was going to have to pay.
“Hey, Boss,” one of his men said. “Check this out.” He was looking out of the window.
Vinnie put more chalk on the tip of his pool stick and made his way over to the window.
“Isn’t that Sal’s ride?” his man asked.
When Vinnie saw Sal’s Bugatti pull up across the street, his heart sank through his shoe.
“What’s he doing here?” Vinnie’s man asked.
But Vinnie was in full panic mode. He knew Sal. He knew Sal never, not ever came to his turf unless there was a problem. And Vinnie knew he was the problem. “How the hell should I know why Boss comes or goes?” Vinnie tossed the pool stick on the pool table and headed for the exit. “I’ll be back,” he said.
But instead of going down the front steps to greet Sal, Vinnie hurried down the back steps to make a run for it.
He flew open the downstairs door, ran across the porch and down more steps, until he hit the ground running. He ran through one alley, and then another alley. He ran because he knew his scheme had been exposed. He couldn’t figure out how. He didn’t know of any operations going on. But he knew Sal. Something was up.
His car was parked three blocks away, by design should shit go down, and he was making a valiant effort to get in his car and hit the road. He already knew where he was going. He’d been paid half of the money up front. He’d have to rely on the good will of his employer to get the rest.
But as soon as he ran through yet another alley nearly three blocks away, and was finally feeling as if he had enough of a lead to actually get away, his hopes were dashed. The Bugatti that once sat in front of the delicatessen, sped in front of the alley he just ran through and came within inches of hitting him and taking him away from this earth.
Sal jump
ed out of the passenger side just as Vinnie changed course and ran back into the alley. But it was no match. Sal was fast and agile. He caught Vinnie easily and flung him against the alley wall. “You two-timing motherfucker!” he yelled as he kept slamming Vinnie, over and over, against the wall.
Reno got out of the car, slid over the hood even though he knew it would cause Sal great consternation had he seen him, and hurried into the alley. He had to make sure Sal didn’t take Vinnie out, too, before he told them the whole story. Reno was getting tired of this shit too. They needed to know.
Reno pulled Sal away from Vinnie Vazzano. He knew Sal was more hurt than angry at his underboss. But this was business. Reno took over. “You were the only one who knew who Easy Max Capone was,” he said. “Why is that, Vinnie?”
But Sal already knew why. He’d already figured that much out himself. “Because,” Sal said, still trying to catch his breath.
Reno looked at him. “Because why?” he asked.
“Vinnie was the only one who knew who Easy Max was because Vinnie is Easy Max.”
Reno was shocked. He stared at Sal. It was true. Sometimes he did have a brain!
“There is no Easy Max Capone,” Sal said. “Am I right, Vinnie?”
Vinnie was breathing so hard he could hardly stand up. He was not a man in good shape. “You pay me thousands,” he said. “I was paid millions to do what I did. One mill up front. One after it’s done. You think I’m turning that down because of fucking loyalty? Where’s your loyalty to me? I should be a millionaire in your organization!”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Sal asked. “Your ass just got here! You were stealing old ladies’ pocketbooks and picking old men’s pockets when I took you under my wings. And you’re telling me I’m not loyal to you?” Sal was angrier than hurt now. “Fuck you!” he yelled, lifting up on his toes. “Fuck you!”
“Why would you claim that this asshole you invented, this Easy Max Capone, was our sister’s son?” Reno asked. “Why use that angle? What the fuck was that about?”
“Plausibility,” Vinnie said. “What the fuck else? You look at the sound of the birds in the trees, I pick your pocket. That’s how the shit works. That’s what I’m used to. I didn’t want you looking at Fast Eddie, or me. But that fucking Bonaduce family ran their mouths. Then Baltimore ran his. And it was all trying to fall apart. But I still never dreamed you’d connect those dots to me.”
Then Vinnie, outdone, slid down to the ground and just sat there.
“Why Robby?” Reno asked. “What’s his part in your scheme?”
“He was the bird in the trees while I pick the pockets. Nobody knew I had any part in any of that shit. Horseface Hines’s name was dropped by Baltimore because Baltimore was told to drop his name. Easy Max Capone is actually me. You’re right about that, Sal. I created him. I handled all business by phone, and paid by direct deposit into bank accounts. And I told Baltimore what to say. And he said it because Easy paid him and paid him well. He talked on the phone with him, which was actually me, a lot. I told him Fran Gabrini had fucked a black dude and they had me. And I was gunning for any Gabrini I could gun down. And I also wanted territory. And Phil “Baltimore” Ace gladly gave it up. For a great price. He wanted to retire like a king, too. That’s why he said Easy was the man who took your territory, Sal. Because, as far as he knew, Easy took it.” Then Vinnie smiled. “I took it.”
Reno and Sal continued to stare at Vinnie. They could sense he had more to say. And he did. “I continued that charade, that Easy Max persona, for Fast Eddie also. I needed him to hire somebody to try and take you out. Somebody who didn’t have the sense to understand what they were undertaking. Old Man Bonaduce was the perfect foil. Fast hired him for Easy Max. And for not that much money, Harry Bonaduce got his sons and his brother to try and run a hit on the Gabrinis. That was how stupid that fucker was. We all saw how that turned out. All of his boys dead. His brother dead. And he’s dead.” He looked at Sal. “You don’t fuck with the Gabrini crime family.”
Sal couldn’t believe he said that. He wanted to kill him on the spot. But he needed more intel. “Why Robby?” he asked. “I still don’t get it. Why did Baltimore, at first, claim Robby Yale was behind that land grab? Why did the Bonaduces and Fast Eddie, at first, claim it was Robby? Why Robby? And don’t tell me about that pickpocket shit. It went deeper than that.”
Vinnie looked at Sal. He was impressed with his ability to reason. “People are always underestimating you,” he said. “You don’t look so smart, so they figure you aren’t smart. They figure you’re all brawn. I fell into that trap too.”
Then he paused. “Robby killed my cousin,” he said. “I swore to his wife that one day I’d get my revenge. The timing was perfect. And, there again, he would serve as yet another bird in the tree while I picked those pockets. Easy Max told Baltimore and Fast Eddie to claim Robby Yale did it if they ever got caught. Fast Eddie told Old Man Bonaduce to do the same. And they did.”
He looked at Sal again. “But you didn’t fall for that, either.”
Then finally, before Sal pulled out his gun and pulled the trigger repeatedly, pumping bullet after bullet into Vinnie Vazzano’s two-timing ass, he asked the pertinent question.
“Who paid you to do all of this?” he asked, and waited with bated breath for the response.
Later that same day, on the steps of the courthouse, two SUVs pulled up. The first SUV contained the Gabrinis: Sal and Gemma, Reno, and Tommy Gabrini. The second SUV contained three special agents of the FBI.
As the agents got out and made their way to the top of the steps, District Attorney Jasper Lowe was holding his weekly press conference. And it was all about his upcoming campaign. “I’m running for reelection as your D.A.,” he said, “because my work has only just begun. There are many reforms I’m attempting to enact, and only I can bring them to pass.”
Jasper noticed the agents, but they were in front of the courthouse. He assumed they were heading inside. But they weren’t. They shoved their way through the reporters standing in front of the podium, and up to Jasper Lowe. “Mr. Lowe,” the special agent in charge said, “we need you to come with us.”
Jasper was floored. There was no way! It was too elaborate! Every detail was ironed out, even to where every dime was paid through offshore accounts only. His many offshore accounts. But then he looked beyond the agents, and saw the Gabrinis standing by their SUV, as if they had a hand in attempting to bring him down, and he couldn’t bear it. This was being carried on live TV. His wife, his children, his friends would see him being led away in handcuffs! A great man like him!
“It’s all her fault,” he said out loud, and the reporters began looking around. “She chose to run against me. And now all those other people who’s running against me think they can win, too. She started it. Gemma Jones-Gabrini started all of this when she should have known I’d do anything to keep my job! It made me rich. It made me famous. I’m not giving that up for her to just walk in and take!”
The reporters now had a target, and were looking from Gemma to Jasper, the two people expected to be the frontrunners in the upcoming race.
“She’s the only one who stood a chance against me,” Jasper Lowe continued. “Everybody else were just also-rans. They knew they didn’t stand a chance. But Gemma knew she had what it takes to beat me. Now it’s all her fault. I would never have done any of it if she would have decided to leave well enough alone! It’s her fault!”
And Jasper Lowe, district attorney for Clark County, pulled out a gun. Everybody started screaming and running for cover and Sal jumped on top of Gemma and covered her. The agents moved to un-holster their own weapons, while Reno and Tommy moved to pull out theirs. But Jasper did it for them. He put the gun to his head, and fired.
That one shot silenced everybody. The only sound heard thereafter was the sound of Jasper’s body falling against the podium, knocking it over, and then landing, face down, on the top of the courthouse steps.
<
br /> Sal looked at Gemma. “You okay?” he asked her.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m okay.”
And the throng of reporters, with their microphones at the ready, and their cameramen beside them, came running down the steps, running away from Jasper Lowe and toward Gemma Jones-Gabrini, to get the very first comments from their newly minted frontrunner.
EPILOGUE
“Gin, motherfuckers!” Sal said jovially as he threw down his winning card.
“What are you acting like you just won the lottery for?” Reno complained. “It’s just a card game. Damn!”
“And you’re just a loser,” Sal said gleefully as he raked in his cards. “Damn that!”
Tommy shook his head and sipped more wine. They were in Sal’s backyard, at the card table, and everybody were laid back. Everybody except Sal and Reno. “Can’t you guys just play a card game without it becoming a pissing contest just once?” Tommy asked them.
“No,” Gemma said with a chuckle, shaking her head.
“Not when Reno and Sal are playing,” Trina agreed. Gemma and Trina were playing too. Tommy, because he planned to leave Vegas within the hour, was watching. All of them were smiling as Sal and Reno went back and forth.
“I expected you to be heading back to Seattle by now,” Gemma said to Tommy.
“I expected to be out of here last night,” Tommy said with a smile. “But we still had the matter of Yvonne Welker to resolve.”
Gemma looked at him. “How did you guys resolve it?”
“It was a tough call, but we let her live. She got to go back to New Mexico to her children. But she’s been warned.” Then he exhaled. “I should be taking off any minute. My pilot is waiting for the all-clear now.”
“You can’t wait to get back, can you?” Trina asked.
“I’m ready, yes,” Tommy said. “I miss my family.”
“I’ll bet you do,” Gemma said. “I spoke with Grace this morning and I could tell she’ll be so happy to see your handsome mug again.”
Sal Gabrini: Love And War Page 16
