by John White

Created on: November 04, 2010

10/12/06

6:01 PM

 Lupa Alfero had two possible answers to my question. He chose the wrong one. I didn’t hesitate. I’ve been in this business too long to know that any hesitation meant death. I pulled the Glock and leveled it chest high, but Keri screamed before I could get a shot off. And then—I broke my own rule. I hesitated. I instinctively looked at Keri, heard the report of a gun, and felt my legs collapse.

10:32 AM

 “You sure Souter’s gonna show up at six?” Sig asked, “We only have one shot with the ambulance and I’m not taking a hijack rap if you can’t guarantee he’ll be there.”

Siegfried Klum had the body of a prizefighter attached to a little boy’s face. His muscular body and 6 foot 4 inch height helped create an arrest record that spanned fifteen of his thirty years.

“I said it, didn’t I,” Keri replied. “Souter said he’d pick me up at five and that he had some business with Lupa at six. Mendicino set him up for us. We’ll be there at six.”

“What’s that pig Mendicino want?” Lupa asked Keri. Lupa was short and dark skinned, even darker than usual for a Cuban. His rap sheet didn’t exist until he forced a single mother and her kid off one of the boats from Mariel to Miami. Keri didn’t like the swarthy hoodlum. She answered sharply, annoyed by his interruption.

“Mendicino knows about the half-million. He wants ten percent, and that’s cheap, considering it was his money Souter was skimming off. We’re going to pay it, Lupa. You’ll still get your $150,000, so chill out.”

“You chill out, sister. Me and Sig are the ones that get the trouble if you mess up. Don’t mess up, Chiquita, or I’ll mess you up.”

Keri ignored him and pointed at Sig. “You be there with that ambulance, Sig. It’s has to be timed just right, or Souter might get a shot off.”

“I say we just beat the information out of him. I can do it quick,” Lupa said.

“No,” Keri said. “He wants that money for his wife and kid. He’ll let you kill him before he tells you anything. I’ve been his girl long enough to know that.”

3:15 PM

 I like Salvatore Mendicino, even though I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if he knew I was stealing from him. I make a good living working for the fat Italian. He needed somebody smart, good with

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>