Romeo of the Streets (24 page)

“One second,” Lisa called and then sprinted down the hallway back to the kitchen. When she stuck her head around the door she was as pale and frightened as I felt myself.

“
Sandy
,” she hissed, “
get into the linen closet in my bedroom, ok
?”

I nodded my agreement and then darted on the tips of my toes to her bedroom, opening the closet and burying myself behind the towels and duvets and old clothes. It was warm and dark in there and I suddenly thought back to playing hide and seek with Lou and my Dad when I was a little girl, to that giddy, uneasy feeling I would have knowing my father was just outside, ready to catch me at any minute. But if I was found out now, my fate would be far worse than tickles from big, loving arms. I clutched the blankets close to my face.

“…Sorry guys, Lou’s not here,” I heard Lisa call out, “you’ll just have to look somewhere else.”

“Can’t we just come in for a moment?” Sal asked again and I thought: We? Hadn’t he said it was just himself earlier?

“Sorry,” Lisa repeated and I heard her walk back down the hallway.

“Well ok then,” Sal said, “Lou’s gonna be pretty mad at us, but have it your way.”

There was quiet for a moment or two and I crouched there, frozen, silent. Surely they hadn’t given up that easily?

Of course not. Seconds later, there was sickening crunch as the door burst off its hinges into the hallway and I heard them charge in, Lisa emitting a scream that was silenced moments later by the sound of a slap.

“Ok you little bitch, we know she’s in here somewhere—where the fuck is she!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Lisa screamed and for the first time a wave of burning anger replaced the intense terror and dread that had arrested me.

“We saw the message,” one of those other two creeps, Eyeball or Ferret, said. “We know she’s in here somewhere.”

“No!” Lisa protested, “She left already, she went to look for Romeo, I swear.”

“Maybe,” Sal said, “but then again why should we believe that?

“It’s the truth!”

“No,” Sal said, “it’s the truth when we know it’s the truth. Ferret make sure this bitch has no reason to lie to us. Cut her.”

“Get off me you bastards!” Lisa howled and before I knew what I was doing I had kicked out against the closet door, the rage now coursing through my veins. They could do whatever they wanted to me, but if they laid another hand on my friend then I’d kill them myself.

In a blaze of anger I stormed into the kitchen where I saw them crouched over Lisa on the ground, all three of them holding her down like the cowards they were. The one they called Ferret was holding a switch blade to her cheek and the way they all froze at once when I stepped into the room was like a baroque painting from some Old Italian master—a still-life of the violence and inequality that had lingered like a bad smell from the distant past.

“You assholes looking for me?” I said, “Well here I am. Do your worst.”

The Eyeball one was the first to take action, springing up like a snake uncoiling, and in an instant he was behind me, pinning my arms up against my back so tight and rough that I thought they would break into pieces. The Ferret one punched Lisa in the nose and I screamed with anger, struggling so hard against my captor that I almost broke free. But he knew what he was doing. The more I struggled, the more it hurt and I was sure that if I pushed it too far the bones really would snap. The lightning jolts of agony assured me of that.

Sal stood up and walked towards me. “
Romeo
,” he mocked, “
they know you’re a cop
… Yeah, we read your message you little rat bitch. Like father like daughter huh?”

“If you touch her, I’ll kill you all!” Lisa cried and I found myself laughing maniacally. That’s my girl, I thought, way to go…

But it was bad enough that they had me and Romeo, there was no need for Lisa to get hurt in this too. It was my mess to deal with so, in the coldest, most disinterested voice I could muster, I said: “Forget it Lisa, I can look after myself.”

“Your gal pal’s right,” Sal agreed, “you just forget about this and remember: if you call the cops then we’ll kill them both… and then we’ll kill Lou… and then finally we’ll come back for you too—and honey, it will be
anything
but quick and painless.”

Tears began to form on Lisa’s eyes but she held them back valiantly, despite the absolute helplessness of her situation.

“Lisa,” I said, “it’s fine. I’m sorry it came to this…”

She called out my name as they dragged me away.

Outside they forced me into the backseat of a car, the two younger ones sitting on either side of me and Sal at the wheel. As he started the car, Eyeball wrapped a gag around my mouth and I felt sick at the almost sensual touch of his cold fingertips. Then everything went black as they forced a hood over my head.

“You know,” Sal said, “I’m glad you did this to us Sandy. I’m glad you gave us this excuse.”

I didn’t struggle or try to protest. From here on out I was going to have to keep my wits, stay level-headed and reserve my strength for when it was really needed. If a chance at escape ever arrived—and that was a big IF—then I was going to have to jump on it the moment it appeared. For now, the alternative didn’t even bear thinking about.

“I always hated your old man,” Sal continued, “even back when everybody thought the sun shined out of his ass—I always hated him. That old mustache Pete son of bitch. Did you know that he ordered a beat-down on me for dealing drugs on my own patch? A beat-down and me a made guy! Said he wouldn’t stand for drugs, you believe that?”

“Unbelievable,” Eyeball said and I tried not to expend too much energy on processing the implications of what they were saying here. It didn’t make any sense and I would need every modicum of mental strength for later.

“All that money to be made and when I showed such promise and initiative my thanks was a punishment beating from some Harlow blacks—not even family guys. I never forgave him for that. And you know, everybody was surprised when he ran out—but I wasn’t. True colors at last, I said. That was when things really started happening for me. Another few years after that and they bumped me up. Would have done it sooner if the places had been available.”

“Just like now, right?” Eyeball chimed in.

“Right,” Sal agreed, “just like now. But you know Sandy, my only regret was that I never got my revenge on the old-timer—that I never got what I was entitled to—or at least that was until your little pissant brother showed up and started making noises on the scene.”

I stiffened at the mention of Lou. Just where was he in all of this anyway, I wondered? Where was Romeo?

“Now at last I could stage my revenge,” Sal continued, “and it would have happened sooner if Lou hadn’t proven himself to be such a big earner for us.”

“Yeah but didn’t you say that was all Romeo, boss?” Ferret interjected.

“How could it be Romeo and he an undercover cop you stupid bastard!” Sal spat and I actually felt Ferret crumple beside me beneath the force of his superior’s venom.

“As I was saying.” Sal said, “our little CCU operation, that was all set up to look like Lou’s scheme and as soon as we were ready to pull the plug then he would have been the one held accountable. Once the feds got wise they would have sent him down for good.”

Good, I thought, so this sicko’s own implacable greed had saved Lou from disaster? There was that at least.

“Of course, your little boyfriend the rat put an end to all that anyway when he let the feds know who was really in charge. Luckily though, that gave us
something else
to pin on Lou after all. In fact, why don’t we find out how he’s doing with that right now?”

I heard the dial tone of Sal’s car-phone speaker start to ring as Ferret and Eyeball snickered. Cold dread washed over me.

“Hello?” Lou’s voice answered and I tried to call out through my gag and hood—tried to warn him what they would do—but the silently-giggling Ferret and Eyeball subdued me easily.

“
Shush
,” Eyeball whispered in my ear, “
just listen
.”

“Hey Lou,” Sal said, “you take care of our friend the rat yet?”

There was a long, agonizing silence and then Lou said: “Yeah. He’s gone Sal. Didn’t last long at all.”

“NO!” I cried out as the hands of my captors clasped themselves over my mouth. No…

“So he’s dead then?” Sal said and I could hear the smile in the sick bastard’s voice. Whatever happened next, whatever they did to me—none of it mattered now. It was too late.

“Yeah,” Lou said, “he’s dead. Hey where are you guys? What about the other one?”

“Don’t worry about us, Lou,” Sal answered, “we’re on our way, we just have to stop by the nightclub to take care of a little personal business first is all. You sit tight.”

The line went dead and I collapsed forward, all the life and energy leaving my body. They had done it then, they had coaxed my brother into selling his soul and they had killed the love of my life in the process. I didn’t even put up a fight when the thugs propped me up again. There was nothing left to fight for.

“But you,” Sal said, “pretty little Sandra Guilianno—daddy’s pride and joy. Well you was just a civilian weren’t you? There was no excuse with you. At least not until you gave us one.”

I felt Eyeball’s breath against the hot and itchy cloth of the hood as he pressed his mouth up to my ear. “
Now we’re going to hurt you
,” he said.

“Yes,” Sal continued, “you’re the cherry on top. You’re the final piece in my masterful plan and you have nobody to blame for that but yourself.”

Ok, I thought, maybe there was one more thing to do before I gave up on life completely. If they really believed that I would let them have the last laugh with me then they were sorely mistaken. At that moment, I swore to myself that I would die before I let these animals live.

They pulled up in what was presumably an alleyway behind Sal’s nightclub (the Eden: even I knew about that place—it was the sleaziest bar on the Orange Grove) and when they dragged me from the car I let my body collapse lifelessly into their grip, limp and devoid of any emotion. I knew that the more they thought they’d already broken me, the easier it would be when I finally had my chance to fight back.

They brought me inside, up a number of staircases, and Sal gleefully promised that if I made a noise they’d gut me right there. Finally they shoved me down on a chair, hands still tied behind my back. When the hood came off the light stung my eyes, followed by the painful realization that the sight of those three leering psychopaths might be the last thing I would ever see. Feigning weakness now, I reminded myself, was my biggest strength. I had to make them think that I was powerless.

“Who…” I whispered, blinking slowly, my eyes deliberately staying out of focus. “Who are you?”

“She’s delirious,” Ferret chuckled and the other two joined in. “It’s a shame that won’t save her.”

“You’re god damn right it won’t,” Sal said, “I wanted a piece of that ass the first time I saw her in that shithole college cafeteria. Old Luigi may have been an ugly prick, but I guess his little girl got her looks from her mother’s side of the tree.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Ferret agreed. “I’m going to enjoy this one.”

I wanted to wretch. Over my dead body, I thought, coldly aware that as things stood it was a likely possibility.

“Screw it,” Sal said, “we’ll let her get her bearings for a moment—it’ll be more fun that way. A
salut
! To a good plan, finally coming together.”

The thugs left me on the chair and went to Sal’s desk as he produced a bottle of brandy and some glasses. Through slits, I looked around the room, eager to make note of every little detail for the struggle that would inevitably follow. We were in long, narrow room with dingy yellow walls and little more than a desk, a painting of a fruit tree at harvest, and a row of CCTV monitors. At the very end of the room, to my left, a window looked out onto a narrow alleyway and fire escape. As I peered through the dirty glass out into the darkness, my eyes widened as I witnessed the pale face appearing there. It was Romeo.

Quiet
, he mouthed, with eyes that were pained in their struggle to communicate more, and then as fast as he’d appeared he was gone—clambering quickly and silently, skillfully up to the next level of the fire escape above. To my right, with their backs to the window, the gangsters clinked their glasses together as they stood around Sal’s timeworn desk.

“To victory!” he called and the others barked their eager approval.

To victory, I agreed inside my mind, but only to ours.

He was alive. Romeo was
alive
.

Now, I felt even stronger, I was ready for anything they could throw at me, and I’m convinced that if I’d had to I could have fought them off alone at that stage. Nothing would hold me back from seeing him now. Thankfully though, as it happened I wouldn’t have to…

The phone on Sal’s desk bleated and, cursing, he snapped it up in his hand.

“Yeah?” he said. “Candy—what the hell do you want?”

He paused, holding the receiver out in front of him, covering the mouthpiece with his palm. “She says it’s Lou,” he hissed, “he wants to see me, says it’s an emergency.”

They were silent for a moment, shocked, and then Eyeball said: “He better not have left that FBI whore alive before leaving…”

“You’re right,” Sal muttered, “God damn it, I wasn’t done with her.” He bowed his head, rubbing his forehead intently as he scrutinized his thoughts. “Ok,” he said, “Ferret go down there and stall him—whatever you do don’t let him up here—take him back to the locker if you have to. If he sees us with his sister, who knows what he’ll do.”

With my eyelids still almost closed, I watched them at the corner of my vision. It was becoming hard not to smile, even though I knew I was still in serious danger. So it looked like Lou had come through in the end then. How could I have ever doubted him, I wondered? Like, ever?