The Edge of Darkness, an anthology

White Meat

Once upon a time in the far off kingdom of Staten Island across the bridge from the opposing kingdom of Brooklyn, lived three brothers who had been very, very, bad.

Sal, Vinny, and Bobby Maiale worked for some very dangerous men from Brooklyn. The kind of men that you obey without question and never steal from. The only types of people who ever stole from them were either suicidal or moronic. The Maiale brothers were morons.

One sunny day, the brothers were delivering twenty kilos of cocaine to a storefront in Coney Island. Sal wondered out loud if a few kilos would be missed if they took a little from each of the packages and replaced it with baby laxatives. His two brothers thought it was an excellent idea and a great way to make some extra money. It only took them an hour to perform the task. They dropped off their diluted shipment. It only took three hours for their theft to be discovered.

Mike Torino was the brothers' employer. He was furious when he heard of their betrayal. He was discussing the matter with his second in command, Jimmy 'Little Fingers' Parone.

"They gotta pay for this Jimmy, they gotta pay big, they need to be a lesson, something scary."

"Sure boss," Jimmy replied, "the scariest hitter we got is Flynn, but he creeps me out, hell, he creeps everyone out."

Charley 'the Wolf' Flynn, was the most feared hit man in New York. He had dispatched over 40 victims, but he did more than simply kill them. He cut off their fingers and ate them, like Buffalo wings, with hot sauce. Everyone was terrified of him. Whenever someone worked up the nerve to ask him why he did that, his only reply was that he preferred white meat.

"Give him the job, all three by Monday. Tell him bon apetit," Torino said, smiling.

When the three brothers learned that 'I prefer white meat' Flynn was after them they quivered in terror. They decided that their best course of action was to separate and hide until things calmed down.

Sal, who was a born again Buddhist and practitioner of hot yoga, fled to his hemp yurt in the woods.

Vinny, who considered himself an outdoorsman and nature enthusiast, fled to his log cabin on the lake.

Bobby who was a survivalist and afraid of his own shadow, fled to the above ground bomb shelter next to his house.

It did not take the Wolf long to discover the whereabouts of the three siblings. He visited Sal first. He approached the door and called out, "Let me in, Sal. Let me in!"

"Not a chance, not a chance, Flynn!" Sal replied.

"Then I'll shoot and I'll  shoot and I'll blow you away!" The killer called out, firing his weapon through the thin walls of the yurt and hitting Sal square in the forehead. It was fortunate Sal died quickly and did not see the Wolf cut off his fingers and place them in his pocket for later preparation and consumption.

Next, the killer headed to the cabin on the lake. He approached the door and called out,
"Let me in, Vinnie. Let me in!"

"Not a chance, not a chance, Flynn!" Vinnie replied.

"Then I'll shoot and I'll shoot and I'll blow you away!" The Wolf called out, as he fired through the door, striking Vinnie twice in the head. Again the killer retrieved the digits for his up-coming meal.

Finally the killer headed to Bobby's house. He walked up to the thick brick windowless bomb shelter and called out.
"Let me in, Bobby. Let me in!"

"Not a chance, not a chance, Flynn! Bobby replied over the intercom.

"Then I'll shoot and I'll shoot and I'll blow you away! He fired into the steel door. It had no effect.

Flynn walked around the circumference of the shelter and could find no other entrance or window. He sat down to consider his options. There must be a air vent, he thought. He climbed on top of the shelter and to his relief and joy, he saw the large shaft that protruded from the roof . It was covered, but the cover could be easily removed. The shaft was wide enough for a man to squeeze in.

Inside the shelter, Bobby Maiale was scared. He could hear footsteps on his roof and he knew that the Wolf would not give up until the job was done. He sat and concentrated, trying to anticipate the killer's next step. Looking around his shelter, his eyes paused on the fireplace. It was obvious to him now, the killer was trying to get in through the chimney. Bobby quickly went over and started a blazing fire on the hearth.

The particular timing of Bobby's action was especially unfortunate for the Wolf. He had had no problem removing the cover to the shaft and climbing in. The problem was that the shaft was slightly smaller than it appeared and he found himself stuck halfway down the chimney as Bobby lit the blaze in the fireplace.

When the room began to fill with smoke, Bobby assumed that Flynn had clogged the chimney to drive him out of the shelter. It was not until he heard the Wolf's cries of distress from the fireplace that he realized what had happened. He ran outside, coughing loudly.

By the time Bobby exited the bomb shelter, the Wolf was taking his last breaths, still lodged in the chimney and unable to breath. His last thoughts were of the fingers in his pocket, oddly sorry that they would be wasted.

With both his brothers dead and the contract on his life still in effect, Bobby decided to leave the kingdom of Staten Island. He decided to head to Arizona and resolved to no longer be a greedy pig in the hope that he would live happily ever after.