the Made Men

CHAPTER 18

Though things ended badly in Milan, the Tour of Italy must go on. The boys moved on to Florence and hoped for a less confrontational time. Though they knew the sins from before would soon follow, it was nice to pretend while they could. Florence had enough culture, art, and monuments to right their wrongs. The trio walked across the Ponte Vecchio bridge eating crepes or ice cream or whatever they could get their hands on.

"Heard from Irv?" asked Leo.

"I mean...yeah." Ronnie scratched the back of his head.

"And?" Leo questioned.

Ronnie looked at Caleb and then back at Leo. "Well, the kid you shot in Milan...Mr. Ravioli. Name is Tracy DiJorno." He briefly paused. "His father is some big-time drug dealer. They wanted to put a price out for you and--"

Caleb interrupted. "--But it's been taken care of."

Leo looked at one then the other. "By whom?"

Caleb looked at Ronnie and then at Leo. "Fazi."

"Oh, ragazzo." Leo sighed. "I'll never hear the end of it."

Ronnie defended. "You did what had to be done. Fazi can't fault you for that."

Leo rolled his eyes. "It's already bad enough the Family doesn't want me as Boss."

"No one thinks that." Ronnie looked at Caleb. "You're just taking a fresh approach."

"Yeah, besides. This isn't something you perfect overnight. You gotta," Caleb continued. "Grow into it."

After a moment of silence, Ronnie said, "Almost forgot the best part...Judy Bruno is the new Right Hand."

Caleb smiled. "What a babe."

Leo licked her lips. "The things I'd do to her."

"So we can all agree that we're leaving all that gangster shit of the tour behind?" Caleb took in the view. "I mean, look at this place. It's heaven on earth. No chaos, not here."

"Listen to this Pillsbury doughboy." Ronnie laughed. "Can't live with them. Can't live without them."

They all laughed in unison.

Later that day, Leo, Ronnie, and Caleb visited Lorenzo Poncho Roberto, a foreign exchange student they met years prior while he was in college in Boston. Lorenzo looked exactly the same as when they met--bushy eyebrows and curly hair. Upon arrival what they thought Lorenzo exaggerated for years was exactly as he claimed it to be. His family lived in a gated mansion that looked like a fortress. Lorenzo described it as not so much Buckingham Palace but something more like The White House.

As he watched the gate open, Lorenzo said, "Ciao," as he greeted them. There were hugs, fist bumps, and handshakes all around.

"Nice pad," said Caleb as he looked at the detail of the house.

"Thank you. My parents designed the entire layout." Lorenzo placed his hands behind his back. "I'll have to tell them you stopped by. Both are out of town. Vacation, Martha's vineyard."

"You mean they left you here? All alone? By yourself?" Ronnie smirked. "Whatever should we do?"

They all laughed.

While giving them somewhat of a brief tour, Lorenzo laughed. "Gentleman, how has the boot treated you?"

They all answered at the same time.

"--A real treat."

"--Eventful."

"--A trip we'll never forget."

"Why? What have you heard?" Ronnie questioned.

Lorenzo chuckled. "I've heard things."

Then Caleb asked. "The fact that you wanted to leave this place and come to America still blows my mind."

"It's just the way it is." Lorenzo shrugged. "Nonetheless, I'm ecstatic that you thought of me."

As they walked outside, passing a koi fish pond that overlooked acres of land, Lorenzo then showed them the six-car garage where four cars sat intact. From left to right there was a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and a Pagani. All sports cars and all Italian made.

"Jesus Christ." Ronnie looked at himself in the reflection of the Ferrari. That's how clean it was.

"I'm in love," said Caleb with his mouth open.

Leo was in heaven. "You ever taken one of these bad boys out?"

"Are you kidding?" Lorenzo chuckled. "My father collects them. Never driven."

"Never?" Ronnie looked at Leo.

"You're kidding?" Caleb admired each one individually. "These are Italian classics. They deserve more than to be confined like prisoners."

"He has them washed and fueled every week." Lorenzo continued. "Like art to him."

"You don't say?" Leo smiled as he looked at Ronnie and then Caleb. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Then he noticed the key rack next to the garage door.

"Sorry guys. No can do. I can't let you do this." Lorenzo folded his arms.

Leo answered. "What? We spin the block a few times. No harm done. It'll be fun."

Lorenzo shook his head. "Guys, this is a very bad idea."

Ronnie rubbed Lorenzo's shoulders. "Oh, c'mon. Nothing bad will happen."

Lorenzo looked terrified. "My father will kill me if he finds out."

"So make sure he doesn't find out." At the key rack, Leo kept the Pagani key for himself and then threw the Ferrari key to Ronnie. Then he threw the Lamborghini key fob to Caleb. And the Maserati fob to Lorenzo.

Caleb smiled. "C'mon don't tell me you've never been a little bit curious?"

A spin around the block turned into street racing downtown. Though Leo thought the friendly drive would be a cat-and-mouse sightseeing tour. He saw the Piazza Del Duomo and the Piazza Della Signoria in the rearview mirror. Street racing quickly turned into a competition and there could only be one winner. It's as if they were characters out of a video game.

The adrenaline was a rush of energy they had never experienced. It was that feeling of nothing felt when skydiving. Driving expensive cars without a care in the world. Not afraid of consequences. Now, the trio had influenced a lone wolf and were speeding through narrow brick roads with hopes of claiming victory and bragging rights.

All in all, the aftermath of the story could be a tale to be told for years to come. But all it took was going over one hundred miles per hour and one wrong wheel turn. That one blink of an eye caused Lorenzo to take his eyes off the road. And the Maserati flipped and crashed with him in it.