Page 31 of Long Live the King
“Ifucked up. I fucked up!”
“Hold on, calm down. What are you talking about?”
“Did you not hear what I just said? I fucked up!”
“Yes, I heard what you said, but now you have to calm down and tell me what happened. I’m not gonna be able to guess it just because you’re screaming it at me.”
“I made a big fucking mistake, and I’m probably gonna die because of it. I didn’t mean to, I swear I didn’t.”
“Geez, would you man up and tell me what the hell you’re talking about so we can figure it out. That’s why you’re here, right? So we can figure it out? Well, stop crying over it and explain it.”
“Alright, alright. I went to take care of the delivery situation, just like we talked about. I ran the truck off the road, and the car that was behind it followed.”
“Did you cover your face?”
“Yes I covered my face.”
“Okay, so they didn’t see you.”
“Just let me fucking explain! I ran the truck off the road and went to approach it on the passenger side, because I knew that’s where the money would be, but as soon as I got out, the guy from the car started shooting at me. I had to duck down and hide behind the car I rented, which I can’t take back now because it has fucking bullet holes in it. So, I had no choice but to shoot back. I fired a few shots at the car, and I figured I hit him because he stopped shooting, so I approached the truck with my gun drawn, thinking the driver wouldn’t put up a fight, but I was wrong. As soon as I opened the door, Raphy shot me. Look.”
“Shit. Your shoulder. Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”
“Really, the hospital? I couldn’t risk that! I’m not stupid!”
“Okay, okay. Calm down. What else happened?”
“So once I gathered myself, I knew I had to get the money, so I went to get back in and Raphy shot at me again, so on instinct, I fired some shots back. I figured he’d duck for cover long enough for me reach in and grab the suitcase with the money in it. But when I reached for the money, I saw he was dead. I hit him right in the heart. I wasn’t even aiming when I shot, I was just trying to scare the asshole. I fucking killed a made guy.”
“Alright, look, this isn’t a big deal unless someone finds out it was you.”
“I know. That’s the other part.”
“What? What are you talking about?
“When I saw that I’d killed Raphy, I freaked out. I fucking panicked because I knew Raphy, and I didn’t mean for that to happen. So, I kind of lost it and I took off the mask I was wearing.”
“You did what? Why the hell would you do that?”
“I just killed a friend of mine, okay? I don’t need you fucking judging me. I took off the mask and stood there looking at him in fucking disbelief. Then, I heard another gunshot and a bullet went whizzing by my ear and into the door beside me. When I turned around, Dan was standing at the back of the truck. He was bleeding from his neck, but there he was, looking at me in disgust. He saw my face. I had no choice after that. I aimed and pulled the trigger before he could get off another shot, hitting him in the chest. Then I grabbed the money off the seat and tossed it in my car, but before I could go, I knew I had to make sure Dan was dead, even though I knew it would haunt me forever. So, I went back over to him and put four more in his chest for good measure.”
“Geez. I’m sorry you had to do that, but you had to. If you didn’t kill him after he saw you, you know what would’ve happened. You probably wouldn’t even be here right now. So, you had to do it.”
“You don’t understand. I put four in his chest, but Dan didn’t die. He was wearing a vest.”
“What?”
“He’s still alive. In the ICU at Mercy.”
“What? Dammit! How could you be so stupid?”
“Hey! Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to? I’m not a fucking psychic, okay? I don’t have x-ray vision to look through people’s clothes, so I didn’t know he was wearing a vest.”
“Why didn’t you shoot him in the head?”
“Because I know him, that’s why! I wanted his mother to be able to have an open casket funeral, not to mention, I wasn’t supposed to kill anyone anyway. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
“Well now you have to do something about it, because if he comes to, he’s gonna rat you out, and all hell is gonna break loose.”
“What the fuck am I supposed to do? He’s in Mercy hospital, and he’s constantly surrounded by people. I can’t do shit. I’m fucked. They’re gonna find out it was me, and they’re gonna cut my balls off for this. Dominic is gonna let them torture me for stabbing him in the back like this. This is just as bad as being a rat. I’m a fucking dead man if I don’t do something.”
“Oh just calm down already. Yeah, you messed up, but as long as Dan is in the ICU and unconscious, you’re fine.”
“He ain’t gonna be in ICU forever. I don’t have time to wait around. I gotta figure out how to snuff him out before he wakes up and ruins everything.”
“Don’t do anything stupid. I know you’re gonna do what you want, but I’d advise you to take your time with this. You can’t run up in the ICU and start shooting. As far as our plan for Dominic is concerned, we’re still good. No one knows you took the truck before, and no one knows you took the money today. So, there’s no need to panic. You can relax. You hear me, Tommy? You’re fine. We just need to figure out the next move.”
