Wrestling the Kraken

Vito

Vito

Vito was in the kitchen where he could usually be found. There was plenty of help to run the restaurant or his side business- that he didn't have- but food was important. Growing up, the family sat down around the table at Ma's house. The family, meaning every cousin-second and third- uncle, aunt, great uncle or aunt. Over dinner is where they came together, regardless of what cousin Margie did with that boy from two blocks over, or if Uncle Stan left for jail for the ump-teenth time. Everyone came, they ate, they thanked the cook, then they started fighting... not before.

These days Ma was gone and everyone had an excuse. So there was the restaurant. It wasn't Ma's house and it wasn't as good as Ma's food, but she was there. Food, good food, could only be made with love. That's why he was in the kitchen. The others could follow a recipe, but to make it taste like home, you had to add love. That's what these clowns couldn't get.

"Hey Vito! There's a chick insisting on us delivering her a pie!" The prep cook called out from across the kitchen.

"We don't deliver!" Vito yelled back.

He was busy, taking a lasagna out of the oven. Cutting off a piece, he was getting ready to try it. The cook always tasted the dish first, especially when he was hungry. He blew on a large biteful, raising it up, the steam floating to his nose, the rosemary and garlic from the homemade sauce.

"She says to tell you her employer is demanding it!" The prep cook replied.

Vito paused with the fork mid-air, on its way into his mouth. He closed his eyes and sighed, putting the fork back down. The food would have to wait. This was important. He threw the towel over his shoulder that he used to grab the pan and headed to his office. It was more of a broom closet than an office, but it had a desk and a chair in it, so it was an office. "Thanks Leo, I'll take it in here."

Picking up the phone, he waited until Leo was clear from the other line. He shut the door with his free hand, and settled into his chair. "Yeah, I'm here." He listened carefully and rubbed the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes tight. "What time? Yeah, alright. I'll be there."

Hanging the phone up, he sat back in the chair, letting out a breath. He hated playing the submissive role, but for the moment it was necessary. Rising up out of the chair, he grabbed his keys. It was better to head to these types of meetings early.

Stepping out of the office, he turned to his son, Vinny. "Hey, I'm heading out. You're in charge. You know what to do, eh?"

"I got it pop." Vinny called back.

Vito waved and left the restaurant. He drove to the public basketball court and parked. There was a game already in progress. He made his way over to the bleachers and waited, looking over his shoulder at a guy he had waiting across the street. Insurance. She never said come alone. Checking his watch, he was still a few minutes early. He watched the game, clapping and cheering for the team with shirts on. The team without shirts was in the lead. There were a few teens he knew and one of them just scored a point. "Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about! Way to go Mikey."

"I didn't know you liked the sport?" A woman said, sitting next to him. "I guess I chose a good meeting spot then."

"I've known Mikey since he was a pup. Kid's got talent." Vito said, staring out at the court. "But you didn't call me out here to talk about basketball."

"No, I didn't. I need to know what happened with the delivery, because if that body was your way of telling me something--"

"What body?"

"I thought nothing happened around here without you knowing about it?" She sighed. "There was a body found at the theater this morning, set up to look like the Rose Murders, only it's not is it?"

"Now hold on a minute, I've done nothing besides what you said. You told me to grab someone not directly tied to me and have them deliver some packages. I did that. Nothing else, well..."

Vito rubbed the bridge of his nose, remembering. This was going to sound bad. "There was this guy who owed my bookie some money, a lot of money, so in order to settle the debt we had his daughter deliver the packages. We've done this before a while back with him and her. She's a real good kid, good grades, nose clean, all that. Anyway, to make sure she didn't disappoint, we said we were going to handle her father, you know what I'm saying, If she didn't call to check in every so often. She checked in both times, confirming the second package was delivered."

"So the body then?" The woman asked.

"Had nothing to do with it. She was supposed to be on her way back to see her father, but never showed up. Figured she was upset or something. Anyway, we didn't see her after that."

"And the father? You mentioned holding him."

"The father? We cleared his debt like we told him. He skipped town yesterday morning, headed for Vegas. Guy gets a clean bill and he's at it again."

The woman looked at him.

"I swear, look, we've got a good thing going here. You took care of my competition. I can't thank you enough for that. Around here you don't go ungrateful about stuff like that."

"Seems pretty convenient. Almost like you decided to take matters into your own hands. For this to work, my employer is looking for absolute dependability. Can we depend on you?"

"What can I do to show you I'm in this. Tell me whatever it is. It's done." The groveling was eating away at Vito, but he needed her to trust him.

"There's another job coming up. A big one. The kind of work I told you about when we first met. Do you think you can handle it?"

"You got it. Hey, no problem."

"Good." The woman said, standing up. Before leaving, she turned back to Vito. "One more thing. By now you know what you've gotten yourself into. Why stay in?"

"Why?" He thought about his answer for a moment. Then he looked up and said, "I respect what you did. When you first came up to me, that took balls, kid. You had my back, before I even knew who you were. I've got yours too."

"Double the pay on this job, if it's done right."

"That's not necessary-- "

"It's what you're getting. I'll be in touch with the details. Take care Vito."

"Okay, you bet." He said, his mind still trying to take it all in. Who killed Margot?

The woman walked off the court and headed down the sidewalk. Vito stood and turned around, giving a nod to his guy across the street. Catching the nod, his guy turned to follow her.

Looking into the door mirror of a car parked on the curb, she saw the man following at a distance. They always tried, she thought.

Up ahead, the bus was getting ready to leave the stop. She hopped on, taking a seat in the back, watching the man trying to catch up. He was too late. The bus took off and Bridgett turned around. Always have multiple escape routes planned ahead. This she learned in year two.

♦

His guy came back, shaking his head. Vito spat on the ground off to the side.

"Nevermind about that. She'll be back anyhow. See what you can find out about Margot and her father. Something's up there and I need to know what it is, you got it?"

"Sure thing." He said and took off.

Vito stood on the sidewalk, looking out at his city. He turned around to see the teens playing on the court. Everything he did was to give them a chance. If his plan failed, where would they end up?

Margot was a good kid. She was going places. He had only used her, because he knew she could get the job done no problem. It was supposed to be a quick and easy job. A pang of regret surfaced too fast and he needed to walk it off.