Bruno rounded the corner and raced away. The sirens diminished as Bruno and Gunz roared through the night.
Bruno looked puzzled. “I think we lost them.”
The two men glanced at each other and blew out the breath they’d been holding then focused their eyes back on the road.
“We can’t go back home, not yet,” Gunz said.
Bruno nodded. “I’ll call one of the guys, see if they can pick her up tonight.”
Gunz agreed. Having arranged a pickup spot, the two men pulled into a watering hole a few miles south and parked out the back. They then swiftly pulled off their balaclavas.
They moved quickly inside and towards their regular table. The bar itself was as dismal as downtown, but it was a place to have a drink where no one knew them. The bar was empty, quiet. The two men often drank in the taverns outside of town, drinking beer and occasionally scotch. Gathered around their table, they raised their glasses to a job well done.
They left the vehicle in the parking lot out back with the keys in it. They’d earn $400-500 from their parking lot loot tonight.
Bruno took out his lighter and lit up a smoke. It was a waiting game, and for the first time, nobody showed to collect the car. Instead, Bruno received a call from the bosses….there wouldn’t be any pick up this evening. Apparently, there were too many cops on the street tonight, but they didn’t explain why. So, the brothers would have to keep the vehicle safe until morning.
When the two men finished their drinks, they called it a night and left.
Back on the road, Bruno headed for their home in central Sicily. He loved Corleone. Warm, picturesque and peaceful, it had a rich natural beauty. A city unpretentious and homely. A stronghold for the mafia, it was known for its dangerous city residents, but it would always be home to Bruno. The family lived in a mansion, but inside the home, the family was pretty normal.
A few minutes into their drive, a police car shot past them like a formula one racer just as fast as Bruno could register what it was. An ambulance followed seconds after.
The last stretch of road before they came to their home was pitch dark, but there were flashing lights up ahead. As they neared home, sirens screamed back at them.
Both men stared in wide-eyed shock as police units and medics raced to the scene.
“What they doing?” Gunz wondered aloud, lifting his head out the passenger window, trying to see over the crowd.
“What’s going on?” Bruno asked. Pulling up on the curb, he killed the engine and rummaged in the glove compartment looking for a flashlight.
There was an ambulance and a world of other people out there.People, local residents were gathered in the street. Shadows were everywhere.
The two men rushed out of the car and ran across the street, then through the shrubbery in their front yard with officers while hearing the click of the media cameras.
They emerged at the front door. “No. Hell NO.” Bruno roared in a deep, savage voice. He ran closer, shoving men and women aside.
“Fuck,” Gunz grunted. “Whoever did this, let’s go find them! I’m gonna find them!” He declared.
Bruno held his brother back. “Oh, they’ll get what’s coming to them.” His breath caught, and he silenced himself. Betraying emotion was off the table. That would show weakness and he wouldn’t let that happen again. The world never saw Bruno De Luca’s anger, but it was there.
The horror of the situation was only just dawning on him as he saw his mother. She stood in shock and horror, lights whirling, having a full out meltdown. When he called her name, her eyes followed his voice and she rushed over to him. Throwing his big arm around his mother’s shoulders, he kissed her hairline. It hurt like a son of a bitch to see his mother like this. Bruno tried to ignore it by tightening his arms around her.
“Why?” she muttered into his chest.
Bruno listened quietly as his mother told him what had gone down that night. As she spoke, his eyes settled on a gurney carrying a big, black body bag being transported into the back of an ambulance and his heart froze in his chest. An image that would burn itself forever in his memory. A reminder of how quickly things could change.
Chapter Two
Just like that…
One week later…
Disheveled and unshaven, Bruno and his brother looked up as two plates of breakfast were plonked down in front of them by a young woman on the De Luca family staff.
Gunz picked up his fork with just enough of a sigh to show he felt as wistful about things as Bruno. Their father was gone. He’d been taken away in an ambulance that night, but there was nothing more anyone could do for him. But Bruno would never forget the face of the monster who took his father away. A great life was taken from the world by none other than the man old dad called his best friend. The media said it was suicide, but that was bullshit. Their father was a deeply religious man. A strict Catholic, he’d never have done a thing like that. The murder was so cruel, it shook the whole family. What kind of person would execute his best friend? It was treachery.
The work of evil.
