"You sure you wanna go with him?" Enzo asked me for the tenth time. "Yes, I already told you I do. We need an Italian presence there. The Russians already view us as weak and incompetent" I walked past him and grabbed my gun. I was still checking the cartridge when he put his hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, don't you think you already solved that with the Marlo thing. I know you're feeling the pressure man. I know Dom's shifted a lot of the responsibility on you, but it's not Just you. I'm still in on this even if I did get a promotion" my cousin reminded me.
"Yeah? Then how come I'm the only one setting things straight?" I asked him. There was an edge to my voice that usually isn't there and it surprised us both.
"For fucks sake, man. Don't pop off an attitude with me. I'm tryna help you" Enzo's infamous attitude struck up in response to my own. I shoved the cartridge back into my gun once I saw that it was full and ready to go. I grabbed the uniform the delivery men usually wear and started putting it on.
"Besides...Andrei can't stop the truck all by himself. He'll need back up. He'll be the one going inside though. They won't spot me" I told him, ignoring the rest of it.
"My pops is worried about you" Enzo mumbled. I did a double take. "For fuckin what?"
Do they think I'm inept or something? Since when am I the weak link? I'm not. Nothing to worry about. It was agitating me the way they were acting for how yesterday went. So I beat and hung a man. They've done just as bad.
"You know how pops is. He's just looking out for ya, is all....There's something else I wanted to talk to you about, but I don't really know how to bring it up...or if it's even the right time to" Enzo was beating around the bush.
I know this guy like the back of my hand. I stopped in place and let him talk. Might as well get it over with so he stops tip toeing around me. Enzo took the white papers he rolled his weed in from behind his ear. He looked at it and tucked it back behind his ear again.
"Lexi" was all he said. But I could see it in his expression. He knows. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.
"How'd that happen?" Enzo asked me. I rubbed my brow and crossed my arms. I told him everything. "Fuck man...your secrets safe with me, but that's what its gotta stay as...a secret. The Petrov's would not take kindly to that, man" he told me what I already know.
He cursed under his breath again. "You aren't, like, upset about it, are you? You said it was just a casual fuck. Did that change?" He asked me. I stalled. I don't even know how to answer that question. "It was...well, it's just...awkward. Uncomfortable" I said.
Enzo nodded. "So it's over between you two then? I mean I know she's just my wife in name only, but it'd get a bit complicated, ya know? It'd be a bit strange" he surprised me by saying. "And not just cuz of me obviously. For your safety...and hers" he added quickly when he saw my expression.
Then I did something I never do. I lied to my cousin.
"Yeah, it ended the day we realized she was the Russian bride we'd all been waiting for. We just didn't know...beforehand. We obviously didn't introduce ourselves as mob affiliates" I was feeling defensive.
I get that she's gonna be his wife, but does he think she's gonna start sleeping with him or catching feelings for him or something? I'm sure he's gonna be out there fucking other girls, so why should he care if I still got something going on with her?
I shook my head. I need to be clear minded tonight. I can't risk distractions.
I holstered my gun and checked the time so I could signify that this conversation was over. I really didn't want to get into it much more than that. Enzo was stuck on it though. He chewed the inside of his cheek and kept saying, "What are the fucking chances."
At the perfect moment my phone chimed. I took it outta my pocket and checked the screen. "Elio sent me the exact location" I showed my cousin. What's gonna happen is that me and Andrei are gonna be waiting on an underpopulated road. We'll pull out across the road and pretend the car is dead. Since it'll block the driver's path we'll wave him down for help to roll the car outta his way with a push. Then we'll jump the guy.
We've got the rigged keg inside the trunk of the car, and I won't lie and say I don't feel pretty damn uncomfortable being that close to an explosive.
I'll be sure to drive slow, though Dom's military guy said it doesn't work like that. It's not sensitive to touch. Just the detonator we'll trigger once we're far enough not to get blasted ourselves.
I don't know this bombmaker from a hole in a wall. How do I know if he knows what he's really doing making homemade explosives? Dom and Elio vouched for the guy, but so what? Dom doesn't like me or Andrei. A mishap would be his perfect excuse to get rid of us with it looking like an accident beyond their control.
I guess that's just paranoia talking, but you stand by a bomb and tell me you aren't pretty goddamn paranoid and uncomfortable.
-
Andrei and I set things up exactly how I said we would. We have a van cut across the road. Since it was later at night we didn't have to deal with anyone in this part of the truck's route. By our recon we've done in the past we know the deliveries are usually done after the bowling alley closes and the patrons are outta there.
They restock and go home. Then the Irish affiliates take to the back rooms and have their meetings. We know this because we know the moves of our enemies. Any good mob would.
We were in button up, denim colored, short sleeved uniforms with a white patch that said our fake names. That's what this fella wears under the company he works for. I'm wearing a greasy trucker hat to cover my hair and shade my eyes.
The Irish know me, it's just a precaution. Andrei will be the man dealing with the deliveries.
The two of us were leaning against the front of the car with the hood popped up. When a large truck started rolling down the road I tapped Andrei and straightened up. I started waving my arm to signal the truck to slow down. Its big tires rolled to a stop and the trucker rolled down his window.
"Need a jump?" He hollered down to us. It was an 18 wheeler so he probably has several deliveries to make tonight. No way that's all for the Irish at the alley.
"I think we might" I hollered up to the trucker. He grabbed the brim of his cap and nodded to us, then he leant under his seat and pulled out some cables. I watched him jump down and take a quick look at the distance between his truck and ours to see if the cables would reach.
"I might have to pull her up a bit" he waved between the gap.
I glanced at Andrei and Andrei glanced at me. When the trucker turned back for the still opened door to the driver's side I swiftly walked up behind him and palmed the side of his head. I smashed it right into the truck and knocked him clean out.
"Alright help me carry him to the back of our van" I grabbed one side of him and Andrei grabbed the other. We dragged him to the back and zip tied his wrists and ankles, then backed the van off the road.
I could see Andrei was doing something behind me as I laid the man in a more comfortable position. We've got no qualms with the delivery man. We'll let him go hopefully before he even wakes up and he'll think he was just mugged for his wallet or something easy.
Sure enough Andrei was doing something behind me. I saw him scribbling on a sticky note. Before I could shut the back of the van door he stuck the note against the inside and swiped his hand over it a few times to be sure it stuck. It read: 'Gone fishing. Be back in 20'
I looked between the note and the crazy Russian and all I could do was shake my head. "You're a little tapped huh?" I patted my temple to motion that he's insane. The bastard winked and blew me a kiss. I just walked to the passenger side of the truck. There is no sensible way to respond to that.
"Have you ever driven a truck of this size?" I asked him as he hoisted himself up and got behind the wheel. He gave me the so-so gesture of his hand. "The fuck does that mean?" I scoffed. He just pulled the truck outta park and started down the road.
-
Andrei backed the truck up at the back of the bowling alley and honked to signify he was here. Didn't take long for the back door to swing open, and I saw a guy prop it with a brick. I'd left the windows down so I could listen out for any trouble but I stayed inside the car.
"Where's Mckinnon?" I heard the man asking. "Last minute swap. The clown had bad Mexican food and couldn't get off the shitter" Andrei hid his Russian accent perfectly and cackled like he and 'Mckinnon' were old pals. I heard the other guy chuckle along.
They opened the back doors and lowered the ramp. Then the two of them went inside and started carrying stuff out. A woman stepped out and joined them and my stomach flipped. Who is that? An employee I guess, but I have an issue with murdering women and children. It's just my principle. I'll wait for the employees to clear. I have to. Innocents don't need to die.
I was watching from the large side mirror. I could see their movements as things continued on.
"That all?" I heard Andrei ask the guy once a good portion of the truck was unloaded. "No sir, all of it" the guy told him. That's a lot of fucking frozen chicken fingers and booze. Something's not right.
Andrei didn't stumble or fret when the man said so. He just continued carting shit inside. The keg came next. Shiny metal. Heavy.
When Andrei came back out I saw him look straight at the mirror he knew I was watching in. He did this quick hand movement and I wasn't sure if that was a signal or what, but I suddenly had a bad feeling.
Andrei's impulsive if I've learned anything in this short time knowing him. He's gonna go off script. I saw the bowling alley man walk up the ramp, and could hear the echoing footsteps inside the back of the now mostly empty truck.
Then came a tumble. I grabbed for the handle of the door but hesitated. Don't blow your cover Rizzo. Maybe they just mishandled one of the boxes. There was a long pause. Shit. I gripped the handle tighter...should I go out there?
Then came the long low whistle. That's definitely a signal. I jumped outta the truck and hurried to the back.
I wasn't even a quarter way up the ramp, but I could already see the employee slumped over. "What'd you do?" I whispered, shuffling towards the back of the long bed. "Take a looky here" Andrei kicked over a box. "Sanitizer wipes?" I tipped my head in confusion.
Andrei bent down and grabbed a pack. Using a knife he already had waiting in his hand, he cut the rectangle sanitizer wipes packet, and tightly packed powder could be seen inside. With his knife he flicked, and white powder fell all over the knocked out employee.
"Cocaine?" I rushed forward and took a closer look. Those sons of bitches. They've got their hand in the drug trade right under our noses. This is news. Big news. We just accidentally stumbled into an operation.
"Lose the guy, keep a box of these with us. We should get the fuck outta here" I grabbed for the slumped man so we could slide him out.
"Can't risk sunshine alerting the others to our presence" Andrei said. It didn't register what he meant until we were already at the propped open back door. He peeked in quickly, and we could definitely hear voices in the distance, but nobody was in the port with us.
Andrei opened the broom closet, tucked something into the slumped man's side, and dropped him into the closet. Shutting it. It was a quick Pew Pew.
I watched him tuck his gun away and I saw the silencer. He just killed an innocent man. I grit my teeth, but we hadda get the hell outta there. We removed the brick and let the back door shut like all was normal. Then we took off.
-
Back at the van we were no longer willing to let this Mckinnon fella go. He knows something about the cocaine and we want answers. We wiped our prints off the wheel and handles and discarded the truck. Then we circled back in our van to the bowling alley.
"I'm not sure what time the employees are off, but by recon I think it's-" I didn't get to finish my sentence. Andrei held a hand up.
We were parked halfway down the block facing opposite the building. Through the side mirrors we watched to see if there was any movement. There was the consistent mumbled shouting behind my ears because the trucker was awake now and fighting his restraints.
"Games changed. Employees don't leave. You don't think they're in on the operation. Plus that woman had eyes on me. No witnesses. They all go boom" Andrei told me. I furrowed my brows and clenched my jaw.
"It's not really your call, is it? You're not running the show here" I snapped at him. He chuckled and shook his head.
"You Americans are so soft. In the Bratva we don't leave loose ends because of our morals about killing what? Innocents? Women?" He called me out. "Both" I grit.
"Come on, I was starting to like you, Anthony Rizzo. Don't be a pussy now" he tisked me, which really pissed me off. I was gonna go off on him, but he slapped my chest with the back of his hand when he saw a car pull into the parking lot and three men got out.
I couldn't see for sure, but I tried zooming in with my camera and taking pictures so we could identify our new guests. The three men walked to the front door of the bowling alley and were let in by somebody unseen. As soon as the door shut Andrei grabbed for the detonator before I could.
"Andrei, wait-" I was too late. I heard the obvious click of the button. He was quick to cover his ears so I followed suit. 5, 4, 3, 2- BOOM. Suddenly my face lit up in the side mirror by the bright flash of the blast. Pieces of the building flew out, and large flames expanded with the blast, then returned to the confines of the now burning building.
Car alarms were going off and you could hear the actual flames as they spread violently over everything. Andrei released his ears and turned on the truck. He saluted the demolished bowling alley and eased off the break.
Rings of black smoke started to form and hover in the sky. I watched the raging orange and yellowish red flames grow smaller as we went further. Sirens wailed in the distance. Then we were gone.