by Declan Burke
The village dead ahead on the top of the hill, looking snow-capped, mountains to the left dissolving into the shimmering interior.
'Now switch off,' Ray said.
Niko turned off the engine. Ray said, 'You're fucking with the wrong people, man. What'd you think, we'd just roll over? We look like Poland to you? Coming in here with a fucking army …' Ray touched the barrel of the gun to Niko's thigh, Niko shying away to fetch up hard against the driver's door. 'Ever heard of the Romans?' Ray said. 'The Venetians?'
'And now it's the Sicilians' turn. I get it, yeah.'
'Sicilians,' Ray said, 'right.' He thought about that. 'You carrying?' he said.
Niko nodded.
'Take it out slow,' Ray holding up a forefinger, 'using just that.'
Niko, a little green around the gills, did as he was told.
'Okay,' Ray said, 'we're going inside. One fucking peep and you won't see the cavalry arrive. Kapiche?'
Sleeps
Sleeps watched the Punto crawl through the port and disappear out along the shore road, then rang Rossi.
'Sleeps?'
'It's me, yeah.'
'Thank fuck. I'm lost.'
'Shit. Where are you?'
'The fuck would I know? I'm lost.'
'Keep heading down. Let gravity do the work.'
'I'm trying, man. It's the Bermuda Triangle up here, I just saw Barry fuckin Manilow driving the Titanic … What's happening down there?'
'Ray snatched Johnny's guy.'
'Jesus Willy Christ. Where's Johnny?'
'Over in the fish restaurant with Mel.'
'Any sign of our coke?'
'Johnny's coke. And no. But Ray says to sit tight, he'll ring later.'
'Ray's ringing us?'
'Yep.'
'You gave him my fuckin number?'
'Nope.' Sleeps sighed. 'He said he'd ring the phone-box.'
'What's he ringing for?'
'He wants to talk. Pro to pro.'
'About what?'
'He didn't say. But Rossi? He's tooled.'
'The Uzi?'
'Nope.'
'Fuckin Wyatt Earp this guy.'
'So we talk to him, right?'
Rossi mulling it over. 'Whaddya think, is he running a scam with Mel? On Johnny, like.'
'Let's just see,' Sleeps said,' what the guy has to say.'
'First off, we want Mel, the coke. That's non-negotiable.'
'Forget about the coke, Rossi.'
'You shitting me? That's twenty fucking grand's worth Johnny owes me.'
'Us,' Sleeps said, 'he owes us.' He said, 'It's twenty now?'
'Johnny's fucking us around, Sleeps. So I made what they call an executive decision, we're double-bubbling every four hours. And that's including, the guy doesn't get his fuckin skates on, while he's asleep.'
'Okay, but here's the thing. You said Ray'd know where Karen is.'
Static on the line while Rossi thought about that. 'So you're saying, two birds with one stone.'
'Go back to the Poseidon. I'll meet you there.'
'You think I didn't try?'
'Okay. Don't move, just sit down somewhere. I'll find you.'
'Make it fast. I'm getting looks up here from guys with wooden legs and three eyes. Fuckin Deliverance it is.'
Sleeps hung up and turned around to find Johnny Priest just standing there.
'Hey, Fuckface,' Johnny said.
A woman coming in behind Johnny, flipping a badge that glinted in the sun.
Sleeps felt his heart and stomach swap over.
Madge
Terry came back from the bathroom dry-washing his hands in anticipation as he ducked under the awning onto the terrace. He hung his jacket on the back of his chair and picked up the menu. 'See anything you like?' he said.
'Actually, I think I just saw a blonde Ray,' Madge said.
'Ray? Where?'
'Over there, past those yachts. Bundling a guy into a car.'
Terry, eyebrows halfway up his bald spot, peered through the throng of backpackers, port officials, the hawkers with their laminated signs. 'Bundling?'
'That's how it looked.'
'You're sure?'
'He was blonde, but his arm was in a plaster cast. And he still has the quiff.'
'Karen wasn't with him?'
'No. But that guy over there, in the phone-booth,' Madge pointed past the statue in the middle of the port, 'that's Sleeps.'
'Who's Sleeps?'
'Rossi's partner. He's the one treated me well up at the lake, after I fainted. Remember?'
Terry squinting into the glare of the noon sun. 'And that's Rossi, right? The guy about to floor Sleeps.'
'Him I've never seen before. But the girl beside him? That's Doyle, the cop I was telling you about, wanted to help with my alibi that day I shot Frank.'
'The Crazy Gang,' Terry said, 'all back together for one last reunion. What d'you think, should we send flowers?'
'Erm, excuse me?'
Madge looked up, shading her eyes. A large girl in a mustard sarong-and-pants combo was leaning forward from the next table along.
'Yes?' Madge said. 'Can we help you?'
'I couldn't help but overhear,' the girl said, 'you mentioning Rossi and Sleeps. You wouldn't happen to be friends of theirs, would you?'
Sleeps
'Where's who gone?' Sleeps said.
'Don't fuck with me, Biggie Smalls. Pull that Sicilian crap on me?' Johnny fuming. 'You don't even look Italian, man.'
'Who said I was?'
Johnny ducked in under the head-and-shoulders booth, crowding Sleeps, getting nose-to-nose. 'I won't ask again, Fat-Chops. Where'd they go?'
The stench of garlic caused Sleeps to rear back, but Johnny came on again. Sleeps couldn't resist. He faked another duck-back and then, as Johnny advanced, crashed his forehead into the unmissable target of the guy's Adam's apple.
Johnny croaked once and went down hard, gurgling gravel.
Sleeps glanced at the woman cop. She shrugged, flipped her badge closed.
'Thank Christ for that,' she said. ' I'm Doyle. Who the fuck're you?'
Doyle
'Which way did he go?' Johnny like a frog gakking up hairballs.
'Thataway,' Doyle said, waving vaguely in the direction of Africa. 'Johnny? I really think you should get that seen to.'
'How come you didn't grab him?'
'You were choking,' Doyle said, 'right there at my feet. It was chase him or take care of you. And Niko, he was explicit, my number one responsibility is you.'
Johnny, sullen, sipped a few drops of iced water, wincing as they slid down. 'So what do they want?'
'The guy said to wait, they'd be in touch. With,' Doyle freewheeled, 'their full list of, y'know, demands.'
'Fucking Sicilians,' Johnny croaked.
'They'll be in touch,' Doyle reassured him. 'So all we have to do is wait and --'
'That car was a rental,' Johnny said. 'I saw the sign in the back window, Kosmos Rentals. All we have to do now is find --'
'You think that's wise? I mean the guy said, wait 'til they --'
'XRY 379,' Johnny said. 'A navy Punto. They'll have the address, the details, of whoever rented it.'
'There's a rental place,' Doyle said, 'it's right there on the beach beside the health centre. So why don't we get you in there, just for a quick check-up. I'll scoot across to the rental place, see if they can --'
'Being brutally fucking honest,' Johnny said, getting up, 'right now I'm not really rating Niko's choice of back-up. So you got a lot to prove. And the best way to start is, do what you're fucking told.'
'Okay by me,' Doyle said. She reached across and grabbed Johnny's wrist, giving it a twisty little turn yanking him back down into the seat. Johnny, stunned, just gaped. 'My orders,' she said, 'coming from Niko, are to keep you out of harm's way. Incognito.'
'Yeah,' Johnny said, massaging his wrist, 'but I'm the one's telling Niko --'
'Being brutally fucking hones
t,' Doyle said, 'I'm not really rating Niko's choice of boss. So you got a lot to prove. And the best way to start is, shut the fuck up. And give me your phone.'
'My phone?'
'Triangulation,' Doyle said, describing a sloppy circle in the air with her forefinger. 'You start taking calls, they'll pin you down in seconds.'
'Who will?'
'The cops,' Doyle said. 'Niko didn't tell you?'
'Jesus, tell me what?'
'This sting they're running, undercover.'
'Fuck.' Johnny paled. 'Niko knows about this?'
'He does now.'
'That was the cops? Christ, I thought they were Sicilian.'
'They're still using that here?' Doyle, when you're in, you're in, was having a little fun with it. 'I'd have thought the Sicilian Feint was old hat by now.'
'You're saying, the cops are pretending to be Sicilians.'
'Sure. Unless it's the Reverse Sicilian Feint, when it's Sicilians pretending to be cops. It's rare, but it's a doozy.'
Johnny shaking his head, bewildered. 'So who told you?'
'This guy in the Orange, last night,' she riffed. 'Said if I was a friend of Niko's I should let him know the score, how there's been these guys sniffing around asking for you, he reckoned they were bacon. Said he was wondering why they were so blatant, just walking in off the street.'
It took a second for the penny to drop but it came down hard. 'Now wait a fucking minute,' Johnny said. 'He's saying I'm bacon? Those guys, I know them, they're doing me a favour for Chrissakes.' He sat back massaging his throat. 'Who told you this, Roger?'
'I didn't catch his name,' Doyle said. 'So these guys, you're vouching for them. I mean, you know them that well, they're cast-iron.'
Johnny thought about that. 'Shit,' he said. 'And I just set them up with some hot hardware.'
Doyle tut-tutted. 'That's what they call a schoolboy error, Johnny. Now give me your phone.'
Ray
Inside, in the room, Ray had Niko tear a sheet into strips then lie face-down on the bed, tie one of his wrists to the bed-post. Then he put a blanket over Niko's head and sat on that, got the other wrist secure. Checked the knots, then went out on the balcony and rang Pyle.
'I got him,' he said.
'Copafuckingcetic, man.'
'So what now?'
'There's an old Venetian castle the other side of the island, Paleokastro. I'll meet you up there at ten, it'll be good and dark. How's he looking?'
'Not so good. He thinks we're Sicilians.'
'Yeah?' A chuckle. 'How'd that happen?'
'I'm guessing Rossi.' Ray lit a cigarette. 'So, ten bells.'
'Watch the road, it's steep once you come off the main road, lots of s-bends. Come down slow. Flash your lights three times, then walk on up.'
'What happens if I only flash twice?'
'Why would you do that?'
'I'm the rebellious type. Put Karen on.'
'Right now she's out walking Anna, clearing her head.'
'Yeah? How'd those x-rays work out?'
'We haven't even been in yet, man. She was sleeping all morning.'
'Have her ring me when she gets back.'
'Will do.'
Ray hung up, then went through to the room and rang Mel.
'Ray?' The sound of utensils clinking on china in the background, a muted hum of conversation. 'Oh my God, Ray, you have no idea how glad I was to see you. I was just walking through the port when I was grabbed from behind, that horrible Niko. Then, when I wouldn't answer any of their --'
'Where's my passport, Mel?'
'Passport?'
'The money you can have. All I want is the passport.'
'But I don't have your passport.'
'No?'
'Why would I want your passport, Ray?'
'But you do have the money.'
Silence. Then, 'I have my money, if that's what you're --'
'It's not mine, Mel. If it was mine you could have it, and bon voyage. But it belongs to Karen,' Ray said, raising his voice, 'who I once saw feed a guy's foot to the wolf. So you see my predicament.'
'A hundred grand,' Niko shouted, his voice muffled from under the blanket. 'I can have it here tonight, in cash.'
'You can't put a price on fun, Niko,' Ray said. He said, 'Mel? You sit tight. Play ball and I'm guaranteeing you'll get whatever it is you want from Johnny. Fuck around and you'll be dealing with Karen. How's that sound?'
Melody
Mel came back to the table saying, 'Okay, Dad, thanks for calling. I'll see you soon.' Then hung up as she sat down. 'Sorry about that,' she simpered. 'He's always fussing. Where was I?'
'Johnny,' Madge said, 'had just spotted Ray getting Niko into the car.'
Mel nodding. 'I thought he'd explode. He was puce, his head swelling up.'
'This is when he goes running off,' Terry said.
'Telling me,' Mel said, 'to stay where I am, he'll be back in a minute.'
'Except then he spotted Sleeps,' Madge said.
'Not realising,' Mel said, 'your friend Doyle was watching Sleeps.'
'So,' Terry said, 'Ray has this Niko and Doyle has Johnny. And these guys, they're trying to nail Rossi with what they're calling a hot rod.'
'That's certainly the impression I got,' Mel said, who had left out one or two pieces of the jigsaw she didn't believe were immediately relevant.
'So where's Rossi in all this?' Madge said.
'That,' Mel had to admit, 'I don't know. Although Johnny said he was up at the Blue Orange bar earlier, telling Johnny's guy he wanted twenty grand. Doubling up what he's owed.'
'As if he knew all along,' Madge said, 'he was being double-crossed.'
'Crafty, this guy,' Terry said. 'Very, very crafty.'
Karen
From the porch, glancing down towards the sea as she locked her door, Karen could see stick-figures working at the blue beehives. Three, she thought, maybe four, shimmering in the afternoon heat. She strolled along the veranda towards Pyle's room, the courtyard deserted. Tapped on his door and heard, 'Christ, what is it now?'
She pushed on in. The room was the same shape as Karen's, a low desk where the second bed should have been. Pyle sitting at the desk where there was a radio transmitter with a large circular aerial on top. He swiveled when he heard the key turn, Karen locking the door.
'That's a big gun,' he drawled, taking off his headphones, 'for such a little lady.'
'Usually it's a Magnum .44,' Karen said, moving to the window to close the shutters.
'No shit.'
She crossed to the bathroom, poked her head in. 'Where's Anna?'
Pyle inclined his head. 'Out back. Why the rod?'
'You tell me.'
'Tell you what?'
'Where that cop came from. Why I was doped, locked up. Why there's some asshole with a gun bringing me lunch.'
Pyle held his hands up, palms out. 'It looks bad, I know, but it's for your own good. Seriously. Those guys that were here last night, the ones clonked you? We're expecting them back.'
'Pyle?' Karen waggled the .32. 'Trust me, you'll make a lot more sense with no holes in you.'
'Okay,' he said, getting up. 'Like I told --'
Karen cocked the hammer. 'Sit back down. Put your arms out like you're an airplane.' Pyle obeyed, a cheesy grin starting. 'Now go,' she said.
Pyle told her about the hostile takeover bid. Karen said, 'In that case, I'll be moving on. I got enough trouble.'
'If that's what you want. But Karen, these guys think you're with us now. They see you on your own …'
Karen looked at the .32, then back at Pyle. 'If all your crew are as good as the guy I left in the room, I'd be safer playing with snakes. Kneel.'
'Can I put my arms down?'
'No. Lie on the floor.'
Karen waited until he was spread-eagled, then patted him down. 'Alright,' she said, satisfied, 'I want Anna and the bike.'
Pyle got slowly to his feet. 'I should probably mention,' he said, 'how Ra
y's helping out.'
'Ray?'
'He's just snatched the guy that's causing us problems.'
'Ray's retired, Pyle.'
'He thinks he's helping you. To stay here, I mean. You and Anna.'
'So if I run off, you lose Ray.'
'With you gone there's no reason for him to stick around.'
Karen considered. 'So this guy Ray has, he's tied in with the cop bust my nose?'
Pyle, hearing her tone, said, 'Yeah, but Karen, all we want is to spook him. And the guy's already spooked, thinks we're Sicilians.'
Karen groaned. 'Rossi, right?'
'Word is,' Pyle said, 'he's half-Sicilian, half-Crazy Larry.'
'He's half rat, half sick rat. A one-man fucking plague. Only you won't be needing Rossi. I'll spook this guy plenty.'
'Don't go into it emotional,' Pyle urged. 'An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.'
'An eye for an eye,' Karen said, thinking back to the time Rossi'd sprung Anna's eye, using a rusty fork to do it, 'leaves everyone keeping an eye on each other.'
Rossi
'And she just let you walk away?'
Rossi, thank Christ, finally back at base, the Poseidon, out on the balcony now overlooking the port below. His back hunched against the village, roaching a fat chillum, still shaky after wandering the maze. Sleeps slumped across the white plastic table, chin propped on his forearms.
'This so I could tell you,' Sleeps said, 'to quote-unquote, rev up and fuck off.' He flapped pudgy fingers at a bug buzzing his right ear. 'Else she'll extradite you back home for capping Frank's knee and have put you away for, I think, third-degree manslaughter.'
Rossi nearly jammed the roach up under his fingernail. 'Frank cowped?'
'What she says.'
'It was Madge,' Rossi fumed, 'pulled the trigger. Wasn't even my rod, it was Ray's, the Glock.'
'I'm only telling you,' Sleeps said, 'what she told me.'
'So that's,' Rossi counting them off, 'Madge, okay, she's putting me in the frame. Then Mel runs off with the coke. And now this Doyle, she's on my case too?' Rossi shook his head sadly. 'Fuckin Janes, man, they're devious bitches.'
'You're forgetting Karen.'
