Page 68 of Count Down

There’s a loud crash from the kitchen. It sounds like a waiter dropped a tray of dishes. The fat man and the man with the gun both look up at the noise. I consider running for it, or trying to wrestle the gun away, but I still don’t like the odds.

“Eto kto?!” the fat man yells. There’s no response.

“Idi postmotri!” The fat man yells at the man with the gun. The man with the gun goes toward the kitchen, with his gun raised.

The fat man turns to me and grabs me around the neck. He pulls me out of the chair with surprising strength. I feel the barrel of a gun pressed against my head.

“Shut up,” he whispers through gritted teeth. I can feel his chest heaving against my back.

I hear a soft “fwwpppt” and then the sound of someone falling.

“Grigor!” He yells. There is no response.

The fat man shuffles me backward a few steps. His breathing growing heavier in my ear. He presses the gun harder against my temple.

Then I hear slow footsteps.

Luca walks out from the kitchen. He’s holding a rifle, pointing it in our direction.

The fat man pulls me in front of him, shielding himself. He points the handgun back at Luca.

“You!” The fat man yells at Luca. “What are you doing here?”

“Let her go,” Luca says.

“This has nothing to do with you!” The fat man yells.

“Her father doesn’t care about her. Let her go and I’ll give you better than Nicoletti,” Luca replies.

The fat man chuckles. “What is better?”

“Let her go, and I’ll give you Mateo Barone.”

The fat man is speechless and confused. “You would give me your boss?”

“I’ve already broken ties with the Italians. If you let her go, I’ll help you overthrow the Barones.”

“You just killed my men!”

“You know those men are replaceable.” Luca explains calmly. “You also know that if you can defeat the Barones, this city is yours. Cormac Dolan was killed tonight. If you can get rid of Mateo Barone, this city is all yours.”

“You would do all this for some girl?” The fat man asks.

“Does it matter?” Luca says. “What do you say? Let her go and we have a deal.”

I can feel the fat man thinking. His breath is almost wheezing with excitement.

Luca stops pointing his gun at us. He can tell the offer is tempting enough to keep the fat man from shooting him. Luca slowly bends down, lowering the gun to the ground. “Just let her go,” he nods.

The fat man shoves me aside. I fall hard to the ground. He then walks toward Luca, gun still pointed at him. He kicks Luca’s gun away to the corner of the dining room.

I’m surprised once more. The fat man has completely turned his back to me. I crawl quietly to my feet. I run at the fat man and leap feet first toward him, driving my foot into the side of his knee.

I can feel his leg crumple under my kick as he screams out. Luca immediately tackles the man backward while twisting the gun out of his hand. It looks like the man’s hand breaks as Luca grabs it from him. Luca pins the man to the ground and brings the gun to the fat man’s chest.

Without hesitation, Luca fires several shots into his body.

The fat man is dead.

---