Chapter Twenty-One
Snake
Toby’s last night on earth comes up fast.
It’s dark. Almost midnight. Toby lives in a shitty apartment complex in Park Mesa Heights. It’s Friday night. The place is quiet, almost dead. Most of the residents here are probably out barhopping, but not Toby. He’s in his apartment, all alone.
Jess waits in the car while Salvatore, Bruno, and I walk up the stairs to Toby’s apartment. We’re dressed in all black, and keep absolutely quiet. Some tough LA streets gangs own territory around here, and we don’t want to start anything up. The goal is to get in and get out, all while keeping a low profile.
I should be focusing on how to quickly and efficiently carry out these orders, with as little problem as possible. Usually, I’d be going over different scenarios in my head, preparing myself for anything that could happen.
I’m not focused at all. Unlike past hits, I know the guy we’re killing. And I know Jess really doesn’t want me to kill him.
You’re a fucking soldier, I think, squeezing my hands into fists. Act like it.
Salvatore points at door on the third floor. I nod, confirming that this is one. Sal knocks on the door, three quick, piercing knocks, then steps to the side. We wait for awhile. I hear footsteps walking up to the door. The door doesn’t open. I know Toby’s looking at us through the peephole, probably scared shitless.
“We know you’re in there, Toby” I say. “Open up, or I’ll have Bruno open it for you.”
Bruno walks up to the door, putting his eye right up to the peephole. There’s a scuffle, probably Toby shuffling backwards.
“Just a second,” says a squeaky voice.
But the door doesn’t open. I figured Toby would try something stupid. He’s probably grabbing his phone to call the police. I give Bruno the signal.
Bruno smashes his elbow in the door, right at the lock. It’s a clean, fierce hit that doesn’t make much noise, and packs a lot of power. He hits it a couple more times, and the bolt pops out of the lock, allowing the door to swing open easily. We show ourselves inside.
A video game blares from the television, something with crashing cars and lots of guns. Toby’s at the back of the room, clutching his cellphone. He’s wearing a t-shirt and boxer shorts.
“Toby, Toby, Toby,” I say, waltzing inside. “We just wanted to talk. But you had to do things the hard way.”
Bruno walks up to him, and snatches the phone out of his hand. A single nine has been dialed.
“What do you want?” Toby asks. “I told Jess I wasn’t working for you anymore. I won’t say anything. I promise.”
“Well, shit,” Salvatore says. “That clears things up. Looks like we can go home, boys.” Salvatore grins, and we all start to laugh. Toby joins in. He looks a little relieved. Sal raises his hand, and we all go quiet. “Except for one problem. How do we know you won’t talk? Huh? We don’t. You’re a rat. Rats don’t change.”
“I swear, I swear on my life,” Toby says.
“Let’s take a drive, Toby,” I say, snapping my fingers.
Bruno clamps his gigantic hand down on Toby’s shoulder. It looks like Toby will crumble under the weight.
“Where are we going?” Toby asks.
I turn around to walk out. “You’ll see.”
Bruno keeps his hand on Toby, dragging him along as we make our way down the stairs. Jess is waiting in the driver’s seat. When she sees us, she starts up the engine and pops the trunk.
“No,” Toby says. He tries to run away, but Bruno is quick to grab him.
“Don’t fight it,” Bruno says, pushing him into the trunk. “It’ll only make things harder for you.” Bruno shoves his hand down, then quickly closes the trunk.
For the entire drive out to the desert, Toby doesn’t shut the fuck up. He kicks his legs and punches the roof, yelling at the top of his lungs. He pleads for his life and curses Jess between bouts of sobbing. I regret not tying him up, but I wanted things to be quick. And I thought he’d be smart enough not fight.
Everyone’s quiet, like they usually are on these rides. It’s strange having Jess here. I keep watching her, wondering what she’s thinking. Does she think I’m a brutal animal? Is she disgusted by me? Or has she finally resigned herself to the violence of this world?
Her eyes are cold and focused on the road ahead. She leans forward slightly, her lips tightly pursed. She’s been unpredictable in the past, so I start to worry.
When we get to the spot, I tell her stop. Salvatore and Bruno extract Toby from the trunk. They hold him while I tie his arms behind his back with rope, and shove a cloth bag over his head. Sal and Bruno escort him forward while Jess and I follow behind.
“You okay?” I mouth to Jess.
She blinks up at me, nodding quickly, then looks back at the ground. I can tell she’s trying not to look at Toby. What the fuck was I thinking, brining her out here? She’s never seen anything like this. It’s going to leave a scar.
“On your knees,” Salvatore says, pushing Toby to the ground.
I grab my gun, then glance at Jess. Her eyes are on Toby, her mouth open. Her breath is shallow and quick.
“You can turn away,” I whisper to her.
Without looking at me, she shakes her head. I walk up to Toby, raising my gun. He’s howling with sobs, and begging for his life, just like they all do. I point the gun at his head, and slide my finger onto the trigger.
“Wait,” Jess yells, desperately. I hear her shuffling feet as she runs up to me. She flings her arms around my waist. “Don’t do this.”
“What the fuck is this?” Salvatore asks. “Jess, get out of the way.”
I turn to Jess. “It’s too late now. We can’t let him go. Go back to the car if you need to.”
“Snake, please,” Jess begs. There are tears in her eyes. “Don’t.”
Salvatore watches us coldly for a few moments, then approaches me. “Are you faltering, soldier?”
“We could send him away,” Jess says. “Tell Monty he’s dead.”
I look between the two of them, not knowing what to say. Salvatore glares at me, making my blood run cold.
“You’re going to defy orders?” Salvatore says. “Lie to your capo? To my father?” He grasps the barrel of my gun, pointing it back at Toby. “Do it. Put that scum down.”
“Don’t do it, Snake,” Jess pleads, tugging at my coat.
Salvatore gets right in my face and speaks calmly. “Have you forgotten who you swore an oath to? Who took you in off the street? If you don’t kill him, I will. And don’t be surprised if we don’t trust you again.”
If the Mariano’s stop trusting me, it’ll be me on my knees instead of Toby, and probably Jess too. I grab Jess’ shoulders, pulling her out of the way, and squeeze the trigger. The blast forces Toby forward, and his head hits the dry dirt. Everything goes quiet.
I force myself to look at Jess. She’s staring at the body, her face ghostly pale. Suddenly, it turns a shade of green. She runs a few yards away, doubles over, and vomits.
Salvatore gives me a hearty pat on the back, but a terrifying look. I’ve pissed him off. That’s not good.
I drive us back into the city. Jess sits in the front seat, her eyes closed. I can’t tell if she’s sleeping or not. I drop Bruno off at his place first, and then Sal. When Sal gets out of the car, he asks to speak with me in private. Jess doesn’t look at me when I leave her. She doesn’t even move.
I expect Salvatore to lay into me for hesitating back there. He doesn’t. What he says isn’t much better. We stand on the porch of his house, talking in the shadows.
“Anthony got some intel about my father’s tequila,” Sal says, lighting a cigarette. “There was a waiter there that night with ties to the Lombardi’s. Matt Walker. I think you know him.”
I rub the back of my neck. Not Matt. He can’t be the fall guy.
“Yeah, I knew him back in the day.”
“He was a plant,” Salvatore says, pointing the cigarette at me. “He was sent to kill my father. Anyway, I think we should bring him in, ask him a few questions.”
“I don’t know, Sal,” I say with a sigh. “How can we be sure it’s him? What evidence do we have?”
Sal cocks his head, squinting at me. “Since when are you concerned with evidence, soldier? I know this is an old buddy of yours, but he betrayed your family. Like I said, we’ll just ask him a few questions.”
“I know what that means,” I say. Most guys who get questioned by the Mariano’s end up with a few broken fingers, and more than a few bruises.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Sal says, patting my back. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. Me, you, Anthony, and Bruno.” He turns towards the door, them pauses. “And do me a favor. Leave your piece of pussy at home where she belongs.”