Where the Bad Ones Go, page 26
“How do you know this?”
“Because we found one of those weasels walking around. In exchange for us not plucking out his eyeballs, he told us Rossi’s heading outta town today to visit some family.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah, holy shit is right. We know what car he’s gonna be in. We know what time he’s leaving. We know where he’s leaving from. We got it all.”
“And you’re sure this ain’t a setup?”
“It ain’t. That Gambino prick we found is still with us, and he’s gonna stay with us until I see for myself that what he said is all true.”
“This is big.”
“You’re fucking right it’s big. Rossi hasn’t been seen out in over two months. Who the hell knows when we’ll get a chance like this again.”
“So how are we doing this?”
“Leo found Rossi’s car in the parking garage over at the Plaza last night. That’s where he’s staying. I had him strap a good chunk of remote explosives underneath the prick’s car. Frankie’s headed over there to the Plaza right now with Leo. The valet should be pulling up in Rossi’s car soon. Once he’s in the car and drives off, Frankie and Leo will wait for the right moment and trigger the car bomb. Nice and easy.”
“Why not just pull up on him and shoot him?”
“He’s gonna have at least four or five cars beside him at all times. Those guys will shoot Frankie and Leo before they can even get close to him. This is the way to go.”
After what he’d said the night before, I was surprised that Frankie agreed to do this. Probably the last time he’d kill someone on Johnny Boy’s behalf. He likely didn’t have a choice. As soon as Frankie rejected one of Johnny Boy’s orders, a hundred alarms would be set off. To give Johnny Boy the runaround, Frankie and Andrea had to be ready to leave right away, and they just weren’t yet.
“So what about us?”
“You’re with me. We head over to the safe house and stay by the phone. Frankie’s gonna call me as soon as it’s done. Then you and the others will circle the area and take down any retaliation before it can reach us. They’ll be so pissed, they won’t think about playing it safe. And that’s our moment to strike. We gotta hit ’em hard while their heads ain’t screwed on.”
Johnny Boy was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. This was the gift he’d been waiting for—a chance to hit the Gambino family’s boss and disrupt their entire operation. He knew the rest of the family wouldn’t know what to do without Vincenzo Rossi. If he was gone, Johnny Boy could take out the rest with ease. It was the key to winning the war he believed was necessary. A win would only make his ego bigger. Pride had consumed him. Thoughts and ideas only mattered if they came from his mouth. Took days to even get a sit-down with him. These weren’t the casual, laid-back sit downs Johnny Boy was once known for. Unless it was Frankie, Leo, or me, one of the strict mandates for sit-downs with Johnny Boy was kissing his pinkie ring before any words were spoken. Supposedly his way of confirming loyalty, but I was sure it was his ego that benefited the most.
Johnny Boy sped over to the safe house, and we quietly sat by the phone. He was too nervous to say anything. I was certain that all he had on his mind was the thought of Rossi going up in flames. For victory to be real for Johnny Boy, it would have to go down exactly as planned. The phone finally rang, and he answered before the first ring even finished.
Frankie was on the line. He was so loud, I could hear his voice through the phone. “Yeah, we got a problem here.”
“What’s that? What’s the problem?”
“Rossi ain’t alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“In the car. He ain’t alone.”
“Who’s with him?”
Frankie hesitated.
“Frankie, who the fuck is with him?”
“His wife and some little kid. I think it’s his grandson.”
Johnny Boy wanted to smash the phone into pieces. “Motherfucking fuck!”
“What do you want us to do?”
“Where the fuck is he now?”
“He’s still up the street. There’s traffic ahead. No one’s moving, but he won’t be there much longer.”
“All right, listen to me . . .”
Frankie waited for his instructions.
“Do it. Just get it done.”
“What?”
“Whoever’s in the car, just do it.”
“Johnny Boy, it’s a little boy and his grandmother.”
“I fucking know who it is, and I told you to fucking do it!”
“Do you hear yourself right now? You really wanna stoop that fucking low?”
“Too fucking bad! Prick thought bringing his wife and grandson as a shield was a smart idea? That’s on him. He should know better.”
“I . . . I just can’t. There’s no way. That’s fucking insane.”
“You do what I fucking tell you to do!”
“Of all the fucking people in this world who’d be willing to kill a little boy, never thought it’d be you. Not after all the speeches about principles. Not after what you went through yourself.”
“What did you just say?”
Frankie became silent.
“Frankie, you fucking listen to me right now. This is way too important for us to pass on. We need this. Just get it over with. You understand?”
“Fuck you.” Frankie hung up the phone.
“Motherfucker. Come on, let’s get over there right now. Lorenzo, get over here!”
Lorenzo ran across the room. “Yeah, Johnny Boy?”
“You stay by the phone no matter what. If Leo calls, tell him nothing’s changed. It’s still on. Understand?”
Lorenzo nodded.
“All right, Anthony. Come on, we gotta get over there right fucking now.”
We hopped in Johnny Boy’s car and he stomped on the gas. He didn’t stop for a single red light the entire way there. He even drove along the sidewalk to get past the traffic. Good thing I thought to wear my seat belt for the first time in years. Johnny Boy was beyond furious. He kept punching the steering wheel like it was Frankie’s face. I hadn’t seen him truly angry at Frankie before then. The list of things I thought I’d never see but did was only getting longer with each shitty day.
22
ONCE WE REACHED Madison Avenue near the Plaza, Johnny Boy drove along the street in search of any mayhem. If there weren’t any speeding ambulances, fire truck sirens, or screaming pedestrians, a bomb likely hadn’t gone off. Nothing indicated that Vincenzo Rossi had been killed as planned. Johnny Boy’s loud frustration became quiet rage on the slower drive back to the safe house. He couldn’t speed like he had to the Plaza. Looked like he was using the time stuck in traffic to think carefully about his next actions. I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing for Frankie.
At the safe house, the first thing we saw was Leo lying on the floor. He had an ice pack on his bruised and swollen face. Blood that had poured from his nose was dried up and all over his suit jacket. Leo sprang up from the ground and approached Johnny Boy. “That fucking cocksucker is dead! He’s fucking dead!”
Johnny Boy looked genuinely upset by Leo’s appearance. “Tell me what happened.”
“Frankie, that fucking piece of shit, went crazy and started hitting me. Rossi got away.”
Johnny Boy looked like he wanted to close his eyes and smash his own head against the wall. “What happened, Leo?”
“We’re waiting for Rossi to leave the Plaza in his car, but all of a sudden some old broad and a little boy get in the car with him. Right away Frankie tells me it’s off and I say, ‘You can’t make that call. That’s up to Johnny Boy.’ So while we’re stuck in traffic, Frankie runs over to a pay phone and calls you apparently. He then tells me, ‘Johnny Boy said it’s off.’ I’m thinking there’s no way you’d call this thing off. I tell him I’m gonna call you so I can hear it from you myself. Before I can get outta the car, Frankie grabs my arm and stares at me. I know right there and then that he lied. Traffic starts moving and Frankie starts driving. I’m about to detonate the thing because Rossi’s in a decent spot. Before I can press the button, Frankie starts throwing punches at me. He keeps going until I’m out cold. I wake up a few minutes later, and both the detonator and Frankie are gone.”
The kids, including Lorenzo, who were listening close by looked shocked that Frankie had betrayed the family. It was like their hero had been announced dead.
“You don’t know where he is now?”
Leo looked at me. “Ask this fucking one. I’m sure he knows where that piece of shit is hiding.”
I grabbed Leo by the throat.
Johnny Boy quickly separated us. “Enough! We need to find where he is.”
I looked at Johnny Boy with concern.
“I just wanna talk to him, Anthony. That’s all.”
“I don’t know where he is, Johnny Boy.”
“And that’s fine. I believe you, but we gotta find him.”
“What’re you gonna do?”
“I already told you, I just wanna talk to him. Frankie’s clearly . . . confused. We need to help him.”
Leo didn’t like the sound of that. “Confused? Fuck him! That cocksucker just cost us this war! I’ll kill him myself!”
Johnny Boy gave Leo a serious look. “I’ll handle it—how I see fit.”
Leo looked down.
Johnny Boy brought me into a room where we could talk privately. “You know I love Frankie, right?”
“Of course, Johnny Boy.”
“And you know I’d do anything to help him?”
“Sure.”
“Well, he needs my help right now. The boy’s just lost, but I’ll help him find his way back. I’ll do all I can to make him see what it is we’re doing here. He ain’t himself.”
“You’re right.”
“But I need your help, Anthony. He’s probably packing up right now and getting ready to hit the road with that girl. I’m sure he’s scared and confused. Doesn’t know what to think. Probably assumes I’m after him. We gotta help Frankie before he throws his entire life away with that damn broad. She put all that righteous bullshit in his head. I don’t blame him for today—I blame her. He ain’t himself, but we can bring him back. I won’t let any of my sons trip over themselves. I’m here to catch all of you when ya fall, and to make sure you’re all at your best.”
“Well, what if he needs this? Maybe getting away from this thing and starting over is what’s best for him.”
“It’s not, Anthony. It’s not. It’s cowardly, and I raised you all better than that. Help me bring back the days when Frankie thought like we do, when you two were closer than ever before. Don’t you miss that? When everything was simpler? If we can find Frankie, I can talk some sense into him, set him straight. The old days don’t gotta be just memories.”
It sounded amazing. Maybe Johnny Boy really could convince Frankie to rethink leaving and find himself again. I wouldn’t have to be alone in this thing any longer. There might’ve been a war going on, but at least the three of us would be close again.
“Promise me you won’t kill him.”
“Anthony, what do you think I—”
“Promise me, Johnny Boy. Promise me you won’t kill him.”
“I promise. I only want what’s best for my boys.”
“All right. I think I can maybe get him to see just you and me. Leo stays here.”
“That’s fine, but I don’t need you there.”
“What?”
“This is a talk I gotta have just with him. You or anyone else being there would be a distraction. If I’m really gonna reach him, I need him to see he’s my main focus . . . and he is. He’s the first kid I brought into this thing. My first son, even before Christian was born.”
I hadn’t heard Johnny Boy say his name since the funeral.
“All right, Johnny Boy. I’ll make a call and see what I can make happen. No promises, though.”
Frankie and I had a system. A code to signal each other when we couldn’t answer the phone due to police wiretaps. It was for emergencies only. No one else knew about it. I’d call him three separate times. The first call would ring three times, the second would ring two times, and the third would ring once. The sole purpose of it was so we could meet somewhere safe whenever all hell broke loose. Cops wouldn’t have a clue where we’d meet; we arranged that beforehand. We’d only used it a couple times in the past decade or so.
I made the calls. Unfortunately, I didn’t know for sure if he’d heard the signal or not. I assumed he and Andrea were packing up as fast as they could. She wouldn’t have answered the phone during such chaos. But they might’ve already left the house. If he had heard it, I was confident he’d show up for me. Frankie had never let me down.
“All right, I gave it a shot. If the message reached him, he’ll be here.” I pulled out a piece of paper with the address written on it. Johnny Boy waited for me to give it to him. I still wasn’t convinced. “All right, last thing . . . give me your gun.”
Johnny Boy looked like he couldn’t believe I had the nerve to request his gun in the middle of a war, but I needed to feel confident Frankie wasn’t in any danger. “All right.” He handed it over.
I gave him the address. “You’ll call me when it’s over?”
“Of course.”
Johnny Boy left and, for the second time that day, I waited closely by the phone. Lorenzo tried to talk to me, but I couldn’t focus on anything else. The clock seemed like it wasn’t even moving. It only moved after I dozed off and panicked that I maybe missed the call. Hours and hours went by without the phone ringing once. I started to wonder if I’d made a mistake. When my nerves got the best of me and I was about to drive over to the meeting, the phone finally rang.
“Hello?”
“Yeah.”
“How it go?”
“Fine. Tried my best, but I couldn’t convince him. He just left with her. Who knows where they went, but it’s out of our hands.”
A part of me was glad Frankie had left after all. No matter how amazing a return to the past might’ve felt, I just wanted to see him happy again. “Well, I guess that’s that, then.”
“Yeah, guess so. I’ll see ya tomorrow, Anthony.”
“Johnny Boy.”
“Yeah?”
“You all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
The weight of the world fell from my shoulders. Leo wouldn’t be happy that Frankie got away without even a slap on the wrist, but I didn’t give a shit. What was best for Frankie was all that really mattered. Frankie could finally live the simple life he and Andrea wanted. The kind where you woke up together and went to bed together. Took turns folding the tall pile of laundry. Turned on the coffee machine when the other person forgot. Didn’t use up all the hot water during a shower because you wanted to save some for them. Asked each other about their day—even though the answer was always the same—because it was a good excuse to hear their voice. I was starting to like the sound of that simple life.
What Frankie gave Andrea is exactly what Nancy wanted from me. I left the safe house that evening and picked her up at the dress shop. There wasn’t a single argument at dinner. We couldn’t stop smiling. At the Velvet Trumpet, we shared stories we’d been dying to tell each other during our time apart. The food eventually became cold because we forgot we were supposed to be eating dinner. Felt like we were kids again, without a care in the world. We just appreciated what we had now and nothing else. After dessert and espresso, we went back to my apartment and hung out for a while. A risky move with war going on, but we felt too positive to let something bring us down. I hadn’t been there in ages and hoped the place wasn’t a mess. There were a few dirty dishes and some wrinkled pants on the floor, but it wasn’t terrible. We laid together on the couch and closely listened to the sound of each other’s heartbeat. It was soothing. We eventually fell asleep, but after a couple hours, we received an unexpected wake-up call.
There was loud banging on my front door. Whoever was knocking clearly wasn’t leaving until I opened up. It had to be one of the Gambinos. I grabbed my gun and hid Nancy in the bathroom with the door locked. Our chances of survival depended on how many of them were out there. I took a deep breath and opened the door.
It wasn’t the Gambinos. It was Andrea, and she was in agony. “Where the hell is he? What did you do to him, Anthony?”
“What? Andrea, what’re you talking about? Where’s Frankie?”
“Don’t lie to me! I know you know where he is!” She started sobbing, tears streaming down her face.
“Andrea, what’re you talking about?”
“What did you and that evil old man do to him?” Andrea came inside and paced back and forth, and Nancy appeared from the bathroom. “He told me he was gonna see you and he’d be back in no more than thirty minutes. Our bags were packed! We were ready to go! He just never came back . . .” Nancy tried to console her, but Andrea wasn’t having it. “Do you know what he did to my fiancé? Do you? I’m sure you do!”
“Andrea, I don’t know about what you’re talking about. Anthony and I were just out to dinner. Please, just calm down.”
Her crying became louder. “He killed my fiancé!”
Nancy looked at me in horror.
“No, no, no, never. Frankie is fine, all right? I know that for a fact.”
My heart shattered into a million pieces. I started to feel dizzy.
“You and that sad old man killed my fiancé! My Frankie!” She started screaming and swinging at me. I covered myself while Nancy tried to pull her away. “Don’t you touch me!” She stopped swinging, and Nancy backed away from her. Andrea faced me with all her tears. “I know you know something, and I promise, you and that sick old man won’t get away with this. God knows what you’ve done, but you’ll burn in the depths of hell for this, Anthony!”
“I don’t have anything to do with this. I didn’t want this to happen. I promise you. I’d never hurt Frankie. I love that man with all my heart. He’s my friend . . . my brother.”
