by S. W. Frank
Nico told him, “Son, I hurt people to protect my family.”
The kid didn’t want to hear any explanation and replied, “I just want to go home dad. I want mom.”
Darren had always looked up to his father. Nico could do no wrong in the boy’s eyes, until now. He was a disappointment to his son and this hurt Nico more than any bullet could because he loved his sons. Aaron on the other-hand thought his dad was the coolest and baddest sonovabitch on the planet. Those were his exact words and Nico wondered what in the world he’d done. Ariana was going to kill him when she found out about Aaron and a gun.
Alfonzo watched Nico with his boys. He lay slumped in the seat after an hour of shut-eye, glad things turned out the way they did. Nico’s boy was safe and they were going home. The dude Sergio was given two hundred g’s and sent on his way. The messed-up part of this entire ordeal was Dellegio and the innocent workers who were killed. Being in close proximity to men like him was a deadly hazard. Unfortunately, they had to torch Dellegio’s place. They even torched the cars in the parking lot. The smoke billowed so high, it blackened an already nocturnal sky.
Everywhere they drew blood a fire burned. Bodies lie in their wake. He snuck a glance at Lou who was sleeping without a care in the world, a mafia enforcer to the bone. Alfonzo’s mouth twisted in derision, he’d become these men hadn’t he? The leader of killers and those with hearts like him and Nico were the one’s suffering the most. Maybe, he and Nico weren’t much different after-all. No, he hadn’t been raised by a brutal man but the streets were just as harsh on the soul. He thought about his life, riding along the highway to hell. He kicked back in resignation and settled in. He closed his eyes to catch some more z’s; grateful he met an angel named Selange who was willing to ride shotgun on the fiery journey.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Selange gathered all the baby necessities, milk, diapers and wipes to put in the sub-basement. She had to go through Sal’s room and enter through the concealed door in his closet loaded with the items. She worked in quiet as everyone slept. Her last trip below was for the weapons locked in a floor safe. She stuffed the backpack with guns and magazine clips until it was filled to capacity then hurried up the narrow stairs hidden between the walls of the house back into Sal’s room.
She felt like an arms dealer Santa as she placed weapons in strategic places throughout the house, making sure her mind went through every possibility if the house was infiltrated, but praying to a higher power Sophie was wrong. God, she hoped the woman was being paranoid.
Selange chose a lightweight double barrel gun. Nicky said these were good for lots of rounds and with double stopping power. “Never choose a gun you can’t handle. Always know your weapons girl and none of that pansy shit when shooting. Aim at hearts and heads and forget about being nice. A bastard with a gun coming after you girl, you better kill the sonovabitch first!”
She’d changed into jeans and a comfortable shirt, steel-toe boots and put her hair in a tight ponytail that she shortened by clipping it up. “Cover or pull your hair tight. A man can get his fingers in it and trap you easy. Don’t let anybody get that close.”
Selange rolled down the leg of her pants to cover the daggers attached to her ankles, “If anybody gets that close Boss Lady, make sure you got a knife or something sharp. To the throat, girl, dig it in the heart. Like I said no pansy shit. Killers kill. Stop them from killing you.”
Selange took a deep breath. Stood erect then slipped from the house to take a quick look around. She put a cell in the safe room and the one she carried had Alfonzo on voice activation. In the night she could see the guards patrolling. They were alert as they walked the perimeter. The guard’s booth was heavily manned and the dim light showed them moving, not immobile like men asleep. She continued walking across the lawn toward the guest house and like clockwork, Crazy Nicky appeared. Those cameras were working and he was on his game.
“What are you doing Boss Lady, it’s freakin’ too late for a stroll?”
“Checking security. There’s been trouble in Italy and I want to make sure everybody’s on their p’s and q’s.”
“Got that covered,” he said falling in step with the woman. “You don’t need to worry. I’m keeping my eyes open.”
“Everybody sleeps at some time Nicky. I have a house full of women and children. I just needed to see for myself.”
“No problem. I understand.”
Selange stopped. Through the nocturnal noises of insects she heard a wooing sound. It was faint at first, then in seconds escalated to a loud whooshing near the opposite side of the house. She stood there, immobile and her fears climbed like ants from her brain to her feet. This was Alfonzo’s nightmares, and hers. The Giacanti massacre revisited in their dreams but his were worse. He at times in the blackness had night sweats and would clutch her so tight; until he was satisfied she was real.
She breathed.
Alfonzo’s voice came to her, in the moment of her darkest hour she heard him telling her to breathe. She dug into her soul and unlike the fears that paralyzed her many years ago she grew angry that someone dared sneak into her home. They would not become the massacre which plagued Alfonzo in his dreams. She was prepared to battle for her children and save them if she had to do it alone.
Nicky pushed her toward the house, “Go inside!”
The shove jump-started her brain and like a well-oiled mechanism it clicked into action. Her legs carried her within yards of the open patio doors when the rapid firing of a weapon came from the helicopter cutting down men where they stood. She made it through the bulletproof glass as projectiles flew into the earth bringing up grass. She hit the panic button on the alarm panel and heard the emergency horn fill the house as lights flashed on every floor. She peered through the tinted glass and saw men in dark fatigues scurrying down ropes. Nicky hit one and the man struck the ground but the other shadow was moving straight for the gate and she screamed, “Oh God noooooo!”
Outside the gate she saw headlights turn on and counted them. Four vehicles could hold many men and then she heard it. The sound of a bazooka shatter the security booth and chaos reigned.
****
Alfonzo awoke with a start. Slapping at his pockets like a crack fiend until he located the device sending out a shrill alarm. Nico and Lou bolted upright they knew too what the alarm meant. Alfonzo was out of his seat and at the pilot’s cabin. “How long before we land Troy?”
“We’re descending now Mr. Diaz.”
“I need you to get me down on this ground and the emergency-shoot out ASAP. There’s a pair of boys I’m leaving in your care and eighty million dollars Troy. If you don’t hear from me, Lou or Nico within the next three hours after we land, get this plane back in the air with boys. They have grandparents in New York, they’ll tell you. Take twenty mil and give them the rest.”
“Yes sir.”
Alfonzo gripped the side panel as the plane began to descend, “I’m thanking you in advance for your service Troy. Vaya con Dios!”
“Y tú, tambien. Go get your seat, we’re going in.”
Alfonzo closed the door back and hurried to his chair and strapped in. As they decreased altitude he gripped his cell and called home. He shut his eyes waiting for a familiar voice and by the grace of God, Selange answered. “Babe, I’m coming. Hablar conmigo amor.”
Her voice was filled with anguish and it took herculean restraint not to jump from the plane to get to her side as she said, “Honey, our family is safe. You know where they’ll be. It’s okay. I love you.”
His eyes remained closed. She was lying. It was the tremble and the sounds of gunfire close by that steeled his heart. He responded in a whisper, “You’re not with them. It will not be okay amor, if you’re not there. Don’t hurt me again. You promised, remember?”
“Alfonzo,” more gunshots and loud booms were heard and his heart did not move. It failed to beat. He was dying until her sweet voice, the same one which drew him to her years ago returne
d, but she was not calling for help. No, she was saying good-bye and telling him there would be no massacre of her children. The Giacanti blood-bath would not visit their home. His angel, his heart was trying to save him now. “I have to go…I’ll never regret a moment with you. I’m only sorry I took a detour from the love of my life but I’m so glad you forgave me. I love you.”
“Selange…babe…shit…” She’d hung up. His chest was tight. The fucking plane was only now hitting the tarmac. He was in a race and he was losing. The noises he overheard were too close to her and he prayed. Oh Padre de Cristo, he prayed for mercy for his merciless soul because it turned black as death.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The shells ricocheted off the bullet proof doors. At the foot of the stair Sal called to her and she hurried over to the boy, gripping his arms and trying to sound as calm as possible. She did not want to frighten him. “Sal, remember our drill practice?”
He nodded sleepily, “Um-hum.”
“This is a drill. This time you have to take everybody to our hiding place and wait for dad to tell you it’s safe to come out.”
“You’re not coming?” He asked. His nose wrinkled and he scratched it.
Selange looked up to see Anita and Maria at the top of the stairs their eyes wide in fear and shock. She raised her voice so they could hear, “Anita, this is our drill. Sal is going with you. He’s the leader. Take the children and follow Sal now. Vé rapido!”
Anita called to the boy, “Vamos Salvatore!”
Maria hurried to collect her grandchildren. When Sal was at the top of the stairs he looked down at his mother. “Mom be careful. There are bad guys outside.”
“Yes, sweetie, this is why we practiced.” She admitted to the smart child. “Take your game and sit quietly. The bad guys will leave soon, okay?”
“Okay.”
Selange could hear Anita and Maria’s panicked words in Spanish. They were moving fast with the children and Maria’s last words to her as she rushed back to the stairs clutching one of the babies was, “Vamos hija. Do not stand there, come with your children.”
“Maria, I love you like a mother. Take care of them. I can’t go. The men have seen me. They’ll tear down the house to find me. Alfonzo is coming. Please, I’m begging you go now…go.”
The woman’s eyes were solemn, “I love you hija. When it gets too dangerous to wait, you come. Promise.”
Selange smiled bravely, “Sí, Maria.”
Then she noticed Ariana there for the first time. She had focused all of her attention on her children and hadn’t noticed the woman until they were gone. She pushed off the wall. She was fully clothed in Selange’s pants and sneakers. She sat at the top of the staircase, “I didn’t bring any fight gear. Sorry I had to raid your room to find some. So, where’s my gun?”
“Ariana, this isn’t your fight.”
“You’re wrong. I’m in here and I’ll be damned if I sit in hiding with babies while you’re out here alone. I can hear the guys now. Saint Selange saved everybody.” She grinned, despite the loud gunshots that seemed to go on forever outside. Only fifteen minutes had elapsed, yet it felt like an eternity.
****
While Alfonzo was on the phone with Selange, Lou called one of the crew guarding Alfonzo’s secondary residence. He gave him instruction to gather the guys, load the Hummers with as much artillery they could get in there and meet them at the airport ASAP. Well, the vehicles were outside in the parking lot revved and ready. Lou and Nico grabbed their cases from the overhead compartment of the jet and Lou was out the plane on Alfonzo’s heels.
Nico took a second to say bye to his son’s. Aaron wanted to come, of course. The crazy fucking kid!
Darren when he realized this might be the last time he saw his dad retracted everything he said and told his father he loved him and he is a good dad. The best!
Nico smiled wryly, “I don’t know about the best, but I all I can say is I tried. Love you boys, always will. Gotta’ go get your mom.”
They were in the lead vehicle barreling down the highway with their briefcase open. Lou and Nico were stone as they assembled a pair of high powered assault rifles. Alfonzo was expressionless. On his lap he clutched an AK47 and in his waist his double barrel high powered pistol. He was silent. Death did not require words. He had none. He stared straight ahead, oblivious to the tropical trees folding into one another or the buildings disappearing along the way. His breaths were controlled and calm despite the hyper-activity in his brain. In this hour the man he restrained from the world emerged. It was the side of him where right-wrong failed to exist. In this hour, he had no morality or religion. He was primed and ready to unleash such hell on every man he came across, not even the devil could restrain his hand.
The road lines slipped beneath the large Hummer, the white lines nothing more than the counting down to what was coming. A man so filled with rage. The impotence of it once unleashed would scour the earth.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The gunshots lessened and the women glanced at each other. Selange wondered whether the guards were able to hold the intruders back or if they fled. Then she remembered Sophie’s words about silence before the roar and she pushed off the counter and gestured to Ariana to take cover near a sturdy wall. She had expected an attack at the doors but it was the sound of footsteps overhead that sent her dashing to the concealed section near the staircase with her finger on the trigger as booted feet began running downstairs.
‘Make sure you get a visual and you don’t shoot an ally or God forbid Alfonzo,’ Crazy Nicky’s advice resounded in her head. She looked and the man turned in her direction and she fired straight into his head. Then more boots and she scrambled to the counter to use as cover and picked off a man before he reached the last stair. It’s Ariana’s weapon that took down the third sending him toppling over his friend. There were no more footsteps but Selange had a weird sensation there was more to come. The thought came and with it a bullet knocking her over and the gun flying out of her hand. The stinging she felt before, goddamn this was ten times worse, but she fought through the pain and grabbed for her gun. She saw Ariana appear and a loud popping sound that rattled her ears, then the floor shook from the impact of a body. Ariana was now crouched with her and asking, “Are you okay?”
Selange nodded. Blood was dripping from her arm, and there was a burning, but she could still flex it, which was good. Ariana ripped her shirt and tied it over the wound and winked, “I think you’re good now.”
“Thanks.”
They heard male voices coming from outside the patio door. Selange frowned. She was leaning against the base of the counter and looking dead at a man with such determination in his eyes, it brought a cold chill. “Ariana, time for you to move.”
The moment she said it, the door was torn from its hinges and in unison the women shot a barrage of bullets striking all four of the men then they ran like hell, hurdling over the fallen bodies and up the stairs. Ariana made it to the top, Selange was on her heel and turned to see a knife barreling at her head and ducked grabbing Ariana down in time for the blade to whiz past.
“Women, put the guns down and we won’t hurt you!”
They scampered up to the hall and out of view. Selange looked down. The blood from her arm was dripping faster, leaving a trail. Ariana gestured for her to come on. She’d run out of ammo. Selange whispered, “You go, hurry.”
Ariana gave her a, ‘what the fuck look’ and Selange’s eyes went to her injury and the blood forming a puddle near her feet and Ariana understood. “No, oh no. You don’t become a martyr today.”
“I’ll count to ten. Drop your guns and I swear I won’t hurt you. We just want to talk to Alfonzo’s wife. One of you is Selange, right?”
There was laughter and Selange answered to stall, “If you wanted to talk why come shooting?” She quickly turned to Ariana and whispered, “Go through Sal’s closet. Give me your gun. Hurry, it’s not a debate counselor.” Then she snatche
d the gun from Ariana’s hand and shoved her on before the men got wise. Reluctantly, Ariana tip-toed away then disappeared inside Sal’s bedroom.
Selange breathed a sigh of relief then tossed down the gun, “No gun. You have it.”
“Now come down where I can see you.”
“I can’t I’m shot.”
Suddenly, from the guest bedroom a man emerged and lunged at her. Her reflex saved her ass and she moved so quick he collided with the wall. She had the gun up and he kicked it out her hand and she flew against the wall, cursing herself for not seeing the kick coming. Then she focused and went on the defensive. She struck back with a two fisted kidney jab, ducked to pull a dagger from her ankle and came up hard with it right between his motherfucking legs.
He groaned so loud the men downstairs went silent. She snatched the gun from his waist and shot him point blank in the face and he toppled down the stairs on top of the other bodies. She heard the men mumbling as she backed to the door of the guest room and quickly peered in. Sure enough, an open window and what appeared to be a ladder. She tip-toed into the room and pushed the ladder away and locked the window.
In the wastebasket she removed the Uzi she’d hidden there and snuck back to the doorway to listen for movement. They were coming, the sneaky bastards. The man below was talking to detract from the sounds of their big ass feet.
Selange swung her arm out the door and lay down a succession of gunfire which sent some scurrying for cover and others falling on the stairs or face down to the floor riddled with bullets. She didn’t know how many were out there or how long she could hold them off. She was losing blood and her arm was getting weak. “Come on Alfonzo, honey, hurry, I’m trying to hold on.”
