“Yes. Hunting is where a man discovers his true nature.”
“And what did you discover when you killed Gino?”
“Always wear a raincoat when you use a shotgun at close range.”
“That’s funny, wear a raincoat huh? I’ll have to remember that.”
“I don’t think you will be around long enough to have to worry about remembering anything,” he said, his smile fading.
“Really, I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. You getting hungry, want to order a pizza?” I said, flashing him a shit eating grin. Cass’ eyes fluttered slowly closed. Blood had soaked through her makeshift bandage and was staining the sofa in an ever widening red blotch.
“I don’t know what game you think you are playing,” he said, “but I can assure you, you will not win. Your kind never do, so perhaps you would like to discuss a fallback plan? One where you don’t necessarily die, maybe even keep the girl if I get certain assurances.” He was treading water, looking for my chink.
“Here’s what I think, pal, I think you’re a dago pussy who kills defenseless animals and people your goons hold down.” His face went red, veins popping in his forehead. I let the.45 drop and hang at my side as I taunted him, “I think you’re a weak freak, a ball-less bastard who should have been stepped on at birth. You’re a spineless little…” Before I could finish he whipped the pistol off of Cass’ head swinging it toward my face. Arcing the.45 up we fired at the same moment. I could see flame spitting out of the barrel of his pistol, flying at me, then I felt a hot burn on my head that spun me backward.
“Moses,” Cass was whimpering as I pulled myself up, crawling to the sofa. My left eye was covered in a stream of free flowing blood. Sabatini was flopped back moaning. The slug had taken a chunk the size of a small apple out of his right shoulder and smeared his chest and face in blood and meat chunks. I ran my hand up my scalp looking for the hole, half expecting to find gray matter leaking out. What I had was a three inch gash, a lot of blood and a headache, but nothing that was going to kill me today. Fastening my trusty bandana around my head to staunch the flow, pirate Moses took a seat on the sofa next to Sabatini. I grabbed his chin forcing his face to look at me.
“Pay real close attention, you are hanging by a fucking thread here, and I’m the fucking thread. Got that you arrogant fuck?” I said, when he didn’t answer quick enough I slapped his face hard enough to knock out a loose filling. Slowly he nodded. “Who did her sister? And don’t even think about lying or I’ll make this slow.” His eyes focused on me.
“Johny B…” he gasped.
“The prep school boy I killed?”
“Yes…” he said.
“Leo? Was he in on it?”
“No, they sent him later.”
“Did you tell them to do her rough, maybe even have them take snaps to prove it?” He just looked at me, fear filling his rabbit eyes, he knew it was over. Slowly a new strength came into his face, as if he had known this day would come and now that it was here maybe it wasn’t that bad. Maybe fear of death is worse than death itself.
“Get it over with,” he said, closing his eyes, settling back into the sofa cushions.
“You think it’s over asshole? It’s just begun. Some hillbilly named Bubba’s gonna make you his wife, bitch,” I said. In the distance I could hear the wail of sirens. “Game’s over pal. I’m taking my pieces and going home.” I picked Cass up into my arms, she was weak and drifting, she nuzzled her face into my neck. I pushed the door open with my foot. Leo was standing guard. He looked into the room at Sabatini’s sunken form, shook his head like it was the outcome he expected. He stepped out of our way giving me a nod that told me he was no threat. From outside tires skidded to a stop and sirens screamed. There was a brief burst of gunfire then none at all.
“Let him walk,” Leo said to the panicked mobsters in the shattered living room. From the porch I could see a Lexus was on fire. The sky was pale blue as dawn broke soft and gentle over the violent scene. Three black Suburbans full of Feds in SWAT gear swarmed over the lawns and into the house. A baby faced officer pointed an assault rifle in my face demanding I get face down. I just kept walking, luckily Sanders arrived before I was shot.
“Jeffery Sabatini just admitted to the murder of Gino,” I said and handed him the digital recorder from my pocket.
He took the recorder and looked at Cass. “Will she make it?”
“She better.”
“Medivac is five minutes out. Your big guy was hit bad.” I turned away, holding Cass to me, her breathing was shallow against my neck. I looked down over the pond, its water mirror still. I didn’t feel flushed with victory, I felt small and helpless against a world that let its most amazing flowers get trampled. A world that ate the young and spit out the bones and left the children of the battle zone to stumble blindly on searching for answers. Answers that never came, or came too late.
Over the hills I could hear the familiar thump thump of a chopper. They set down flattening the grass around them. I ran with Cass to them, lifting her into the waiting arms of the paramedics. She didn’t want to let go of my neck, I had to pull her arms free. I wanted to kiss her goodbye but was pushed aside by a woman bent on saving her life. Two paramedics ran up with Gregor on a stretcher, his chest and left leg were tore up and bled wildly. He looked up as he passed and grinned. “Hell of a party boss, hell of a party,” he said and then closed his eyes. I stood, staring until the chopper was over the hill.
“You were the one who turned Cass onto Sabatini,” I said. Sanders looked past me and didn’t deny it. “Your computer pimp told you about her and you saw an opening.”
“I may have opened the door, but she walked through it willingly.” He still wasn’t meeting my eyes. “And an innocent girl died so you could make a collar. You sleeping well at night?”
“Like a baby. There are no innocents in this game, only differing degrees of guilty.”
“Bullshit, and you know it. So what now, are you going to keep your word and let us fade?”
“Your tape may be enough to get Sabatini to plea out, but if it goes to trail the D.A. will want you and Bette to testify.” His face was still and emotionless, just giving me the facts.
“That wasn’t the deal.”
“So sue me.”
“I don’t think so. Here’s how it’s going down, if any of my people hear from you again, the LA Times gets a package, the recording of you allowing a known felon to plant drugs and kill gangsters. I’ll give them the porno boy you let operate and tell them how you sold out a government witness you were sworn to protect.” I was guessing he had tipped Cass to Gino’s identity, hoping she would witness Gino’s death. Then to keep from being killed herself she would have to turn Sabatini in. Only she had outsmarted them all and run. The twitch developing in the corner of Sanders’ eye told me I had hit the mark. “The marshals aren’t going to be too happy that you screwed up the witness protection plan.”
“You’ll never make it stick.” He wasn’t sounding too sure.
“I don’t have to, the suspicion will be enough to derail any career plans you have.” I had his balls in the ringer. He could either kill me or let us walk clean. He shook his head slowly and walked past me, I followed him down to the house.
The party was over. Sabatini was being loaded into the back of an ambulance, his face covered by an oxygen mask and his hands cuffed. His eyes locked on me for a moment and seemed to say I’ll get you yet. I just shot him the smile of a man who just didn’t give a rat’s ass. The goons not being treated were sitting down in handcuffs.
Bob brought Leo over to Sanders, shoving him forward with a pistol in between his shoulder blades. Leo took it calmly as if it was only a speeding ticket he was facing.
“Says he needs to speak to you,” Bob said.
“He’s one of mine,” I told Sanders, “My inside man.” Sanders looked Leo over with undisguised disgust.