Page 64 of Kingpin
“Do I know that?” he chimes in. “As far as I can remember, you saw Alannah right after we left the sit down with Abram. It was on the same day.”
“Oh come on, Tommy. I sent you to go see Alex before I went on my first date with Alannah. Remember that? You know that’s the truth, so don’t let whatever Frankie’s saying get in your head. You know me, Tommy. I’ve always been all about The Family, and my relationship with Alannah has never affected that, and it won’t. I’ve known her since I was eleven, and I know I can trust her. So, there’s no need for all this drama. No matter how you look at it, Abram’s dead, and if we want to make a move to acquire Lumiere Place, we still can. This is a fucking win for us, so that’s all I’m focused on, and when you get back on your feet, it’s gonna be business as usual with us.”
Tommy knows me and I know him, so I can tell from the look on his face that he knows I’m telling the truth. The situation with Abram would’ve happened whether Alannah was in St. Louis or not. Her presence here only made things harder once Abram saw he could use her against me.
Tommy starts to nod his head, and his face finally starts to go back to the smile he had when I came in earlier.
“You’re right about that,” he says, still nodding. “You told me to set up the Alex thing before you went out with her. That’s true, but I’m telling you Dominic, Frankie wasn’t too happy about whatever conversation the two of you had the night I got shot.”
“I know, but you hadjust got shot. Tension and emotions were high that night, and shit got a little heated. I tried to apologize to him, but he wasn’t trying to hear it. In all honestly, he should be happy. He was on my ass about Abram still being alive, and I killed him that same night, so he should be good.”
“Well, he didn’t seem too good, according to Joe and Charlie. You might’ve pissed him off, so maybe it’s a good idea for you to go see him and fix it. You know Frankie’s got that temper, and the last thing I wanna see is you getting clipped over some dumb shit that worked itself out anyway.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” I admit. “I should probably do it before he thinks I’m plotting against him or some shit, and definitely before they up him to boss officially.”
“Oh, speaking of the boss,” Tommy says, changing the subject. “Did you hear about Leo?”
“Nah, what about him?”
“He’s out on bail.”
“Oh yeah? When did this happen?”
“Yesterday, while you were snuggled up with your girl. It probably won’t be for long because they’re gonna go to trial real soon, but he’s out for now. He’s not supposed to have any communication with any known criminals, but you know Leo.”
“Yes, I do,” I say behind a chuckle.
“So, there’s a chance the decision about . . .” Tommy starts, but he’s cut off by the sound of someone entering the room behind me.
I turn around to see Big Sal Bagano and John Salvatore walking into the room. They both look pissed off in their black suits, and when they come in, they don’t say anything to Tommy at all. They just look at me like my presence here offends them.
“Hey there,” I say to them both. “Why the long faces, fellas?
Sal and John both glare at me in a way that would kill me if it were possible.
“What the fuck, guys. You ain’t got nothing to say?” Tommy asks from his bed.
“We need you to come with us, Dominic,” Sal says in response.
“What? Why would I need to go with you? I just got here.” I can feel my body starting to heat up by the second as my nerves kick in.
“You’ve been sent for,” Sal explains, and I feel my lungs freeze. I can barely breathe as the words repeat in my head.
I’ve been sent for.
In Our Thing, being sent for means somebody above you wants to see you, right now. So, you drop whatever it is you’re doing, and you take a ride with whoever was sent to come get you. In Our Thing, that ride could very well end up being your last ride. A lot of guys have pissed off the boss, or their captain, and got sent for so they could be killed immediately. All it would take is the okay from The Commission if the guy being killed is a made guy. So, if you piss off the acting boss, and he asks The Commission if it’s okay to clip you, and they give the go ahead . . . need I say more?
I turn around to look at Tommy, and I can see the fear in his eyes. He knows I made Frankie mad, and we all know you don’t want to make Frankie mad. But is Frankie willing to go this far over a woman he doesn’t even really know? Frankie never met Alannah all those years ago, so the only thing he knows about her is that I used to talk about her all the time when I was a kid. So, why would he be willing to clip me just because she’s back and we’re trying to be together again? It can’t be that fucking serious. Right?
“You know you gotta come with us, Dominic,” Big Sal persists.
“Wow. After all these years we’ve known each other,” I say to Sal, but he’s unmoving. He just looks at me with a “it’s just business” look on his face. “Alright, well at least let me go say bye to Alannah.”
“We can’t do that,” John Salvatore speaks up.
“You just gotta come with us, Dominic, and we gotta go now,” Sal says.
I look at Tommy one last time before pushing myself out of the chair. I take a deep breath and blow it out, then I walk out of the room.
Big Sal and John walk behind me, making sure I don’t try to run as they escort me out of the hospital. We walk across the street where Sal’s car is waiting, and they make me sit up front for the ride, with John sitting behind me. None of us speak a word as Sal cruises down the highway towards the heart of the city. I can tell we’re headed for The Lodge, but what I don’t know is whether I’ll live to see the outside of it once they take me in. I don’t know if this is my last car ride, or if I’ll ever see Alannah again. If this means what I think it means, there’s a chance Alannah may never know what happened to me. They may never find my body at all, and she’ll be haunted for the rest of her life, wondering why I disappeared.
This is the life we live in Our Thing. Piss off the wrong guy, you get clipped. It’s something I’ve learned to accept, even though it’s fucked up. But that’s not the worst part of it. The worst part is knowing my life will end before I ever got the chance to live it with her.
