Devil Town

Molatov Party

Paulie held open the door and carefully walked in with me and Sam in tow. I looked at the man sitting at the head of the table. He was stout for sure with a cigar hanging out his mouth. His hair had lots of gray streaks in it even though he didn't look too old. He eyed me as I stood next to Paulie on the gentleman's left-hand side. Sam maneuvered his way straight across the table from me taking a glance my way, then focusing on the boss. The Don then gave us all a good look then motioned us to sit.

Frank walked in as we sat down, moving to stand directly behind the boss. That's when Don Salieri finally spoke to me.

"What do they call you, son?"

"Thomas, Thomas Angelo, sir," I responded. The Don gave me a nod and then continued.

"Frank told me you ran into some trouble." My anger at the situation began to seep into my voice as I explained my situation.

"Yes sir. My cab got smashed up pretty good." That's when Paulie chimed in.

"Morello's thugs went after him, on account of Tommy helping us-" The Don put his hand out, motioning Paulie to stop talking. Paulie then sat back in his seat.

"This, uh, taxi, that your livelihood?" The Don less of a question and more asking for confirmation. I nodded yes to answer, and then he continued. "I feel a sense of responsibility here. So I am going to set you up with a small loan," He glances and Me then Sam, and back to me, "Enough to get that cab of yours fixed up." I think about it for a quick second, then make my life-changing decision.

"I appreciate that, sir, but I'm not looking for a handout." A look of shock crosses his face as he processes what I said.

"Then what are we doing here!" The Don exclaims, looking from Paulie to Sam.

"I just want a shot at the bastards who wrecked my cab," I tell The Don. He chuckles in response, looking down at the table, a look of pleasure fills his face.

"You hear that, Frank! The kid wants my permission to get into a fight," The Don says turning to Frank, then chuckles some more.

In an unamused tone, Frank responds, "Yes, I heard." An awkward science fills the room and I glance at Paulie, who looks like he's sweating bullets, then Sam who was looking at The Don,  then makes eye contact with me. I looked away towards Frank's unreadable expression starting to get nervous, and lastly, The Don, who was staring at me the whole time.

"Okay, Tommy Angelo. All of Morello's gorillas hang out at a bar he owns. Paulie, you know the place." Motioning towards Paulie, he nods.

"Sure do, boss." He replies leaning forward, seeming more excited than me.

"Good, you can ride along with Tommy," The Don sounds more serious than he was mere seconds ago. The Don then describes where Paulie and I need to go, park, how to do it, and who I need to go talk to. I thank The Don then Paulie and I move to stand. I catch Sam looking up at me with borderline concern on his face. Me and Paulie are making our way towards the door as The Don stops me before we walk out.

"Tommy, when you get back, we'll talk about what is next for you," He tells me then turns away allowing us to walk out. Paulie then opens the door for me and we walk out into the pool room.

Paulie stops us right outside the door and levels with me, "No one else knows you here, so be careful--Okay?" I can hear the concern in his voice but I don't find it necessary, we're all adults here. I give him an understanding nod, nonetheless, and he walks off while I try to have a small look around the place.

A man asks him if the boss is done and Paulie responds with the snarky comment, "Nah, you got more time to sit on your ass, Carlos." I think Paulie's funny and his crooked smile makes me think he must have a lady friend, but now I'm starting to feel out of place. The man sighs in response to Paulie and I take a look at a letter on the table in the far corner. It says something along the lines of The Don attending a wedding. I didn't get time to finish reading before some other guy asked me what I was doing with a small threat of watching me. Meanwhile, Carlos is also asking Paulie about me and complaining about how bored he is. This all felt a little too fast and if I had to introduce myself to every gang member here I might go crazy.