by Bryan Murray
As he began, his jaw started to drop in amazement. It read:-
“Didn’t you know that swimming in Hawaii can be hazardous for your health, you scumbag? So, here is some advice. I suggest you terminate all your North American activities immediately before the American Anti-Organized Crime Task Force does it for you. The President already knows it was your late, stupid brother who tried to kill him, so draw your own conclusions. And finally, if I even sense for one second that you or your moronic soldiers are thinking of coming after my partner and I, or the occupants of the White House, please be sure to have all your affairs in order, because within a week, I WILL find you and kill you and as you now know, heart attacks are the silent killer. Remember your brother!”
Signed
“An Interested Observer.”
P.S. Brace yourself for just a small sample of what will happen if you ever try and cross our paths again. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
Giuseppe read the note again before screwing it up and tossing it on the fire pit on the balcony where it quickly shrivelled and disappeared. There was sudden alarm in his eyes as he snatched up the phone to the front gate.
A voice answered, it was Guido. “Yes, Padron?”
“Who left this damned note, Guido?” Giuseppe screamed.
“It was a young kid on a bike, Padron.”
“Did he say who gave it to him?”
“He said a man in the street.”
Giuseppe was furious. “Damn that Harrigan!” he snarled at Guido. “Double the guards on the gate and on the helipad, NOW!”
“Yes, Padron.” Guido went off the line.
If nothing else, Giuseppe was a realist. He realized that discretion was the better part of valor and that vendetta was not always the answer to every problem. He was doing the mental arithmetic of what his operation would be like without the huge contribution from North America and although it would make a major dent in his profits, he also realized that if the rest of his operation survived, he would at least still be alive and he could still make a living for the rest of the family. This man Harrigan was in a league way above his own soldiers and having realized that he got into and out of the villa undetected to kill his brother, was all the motivation Giuseppe needed to back off. His mind was finally made up and he then picked up the phone, sat on the side of the bed and started some serious downsizing in motion!
* * *
As the young Carlito was freewheeling on his bicycle all the way back down the road into the beach area below, a big smile on his face and a pile of Euros in his pocket that the man in the street gave him, he passed a clearing at the side of the road, but he didn’t notice the car parked there.
As soon as Giancarlo realized that the boy had got away safely after delivering the note, he got out of the car and walked casually across the road to look across at the villa on the towering cliffs, silhouetted majestically against an incredible golden sunset.
He smiled and reached in his pocket and pulled out the red detonation cartridge.
“This one’s for you, Jake!” he whispered as he pressed the top button.
* * *
Up at the villa, as Giuseppe was still on the phone in his bedroom, there was a sudden blinding explosion down on the helipad as the chopper and all the fuel on board went up in a spectacular blaze. In the guard shack, the three men inside came out screaming, covered in flames and they staggered towards the steps to the villa.
In total shock, Giuseppe rushed onto the balcony to see what had happened as a second explosion lit the night sky and the wall of the huge pool was blown out and the entire contents of the pool started to gush out like a tsunami, down towards the shattered helipad, sweeping the burning, screaming mobsters off the steps and over the side of the cliff.
Horror on his face, Giuseppe rushed back inside the villa and his actions unknowingly saved his life as a third explosion, took out the front of the balcony outside his room and as he fell back on the bed from the impact, he was showered with shards of glass as the picture window shattered into thousands of pieces and furniture came tumbling across the bed where Giuseppe had been flung.
There was immediate pandemonium inside the villa as Giuseppe’s soldiers came rushing to his room and struggled to help him out of the debris. He was covered in blood and there were still slivers of glass embedded in his face. As he lay there in shock, waiting for medical assistance, there was a beaten look in his eyes.
* * *
Across the gap from the blazing villa, on the side of the road back into the city below, Giancarlo tossed the detonator cartridge over the edge of the cliffs where it shattered as it fell down the steep drop. He then sauntered back across to the clearing, climbed casually into his car and drove on into the night.
* * *
On the spectacular observation deck at the crater rim of the Haleakala Volcano on the Island of Maui, Jake and Sarah were enjoying the breathtaking view when Jake’s cell phone rang and he answered it.
It was Giancarlo on the line. “It’s done, my friend!” he announced.
Jake was smiling. “Excellent, well done, Giancarlo! Maybe now we can relax a little. Thanks for the update, Happy New Year!”
“The same to you and Sarah, bye.” he went off the line.
Sarah looked across at Jake. “How did it go?” she asked.
He smiled. “Looks like the New Year started with a bang!”
“Let’s hope they got the message!” she squeezed his arm affectionately.
* * *
It was Thursday night and in the Boy’s dorm room at the University, both Jeff and Andrew, both big NFL fans, were watching the Thursday night game between the Washington Redskins and their arch rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. There was less than thirty seconds to go in the game, the Cowboys were leading by one point and the Redskins were about to attempt what could be the winning field goal to score the three points to win the game.
As the field goal kicker came onto the field, the Commentator was winding up the TV audience and the Boys were riveted to the screen.
“This is it,” the Commentator began. “It’s Showtime!” he announced excitedly.
Suddenly, the expression on Jeff’s face changed and he got up and walked almost mechanically into the kitchen area of the dorm as Andrew continued to watch the game. Seconds later, Jeff returned with two sodas in his hands.
Andrew looked at him. “C’mon, Jeff, you’re gonna miss the kick. What’s the matter with you?”
Jeff now had a normal look on his face. “I dunno,” he replied. “For some reason I suddenly felt like a soda!”
