EYEHEARTZOMBIES

Only after his blood began to pool in the leather passenger seat did I realize just what I had done. I had gone against the bosses’ wishes. I had killed another mid-level boss, a semi-made man. And I had done it when I didn’t have to.

Killing the two goons was nothing important. They were threatening my life and I had every right to kill them for it. They weren’t anything in the grand scheme of things. Max was, though. He was involved in the Mob’s bookkeeping. He ran a casino. His death would be investigated to the highest degree.

And I had broken the rules. As a company man, that was the worst of the problems.

I went back into Max’s house after shutting the car off. I sat down on his sofa and called Ray.

“Yeah, kid, what’s going on?” Ray sounded relaxed. He was probably a couple of sheets to the wind and enjoying his evening.

“I, uh…I fucked up, Ray.”

All of the ease dropped out of his voice. “What do you mean you ‘fucked up’? What the fuck did you do?” He wasn’t yelling, but he was upset.

I told him the story. The kidnapping, the drive, the two goons. How I had escaped from the rope, killed the two thugs, then chased Max back here. How I had tried to get him to come out, to give himself up. How he had fought back and how I had ended his life with two to the head.

“You weren’t kidding, kid. You really did fuck up.” I could hear him sit down and sigh. “Look, I can’t really do much for you. I’ll go to the bosses, plead your case. But I know what they’re going to say. They’ll say you should have stayed out of it. They’ll probably get me for letting it get this bad. Damn it, why didn’t I see it before? I could have sent him somewhere else. Or you. You’ll work anywhere. I could have sent you on to San Diego or Mexico City.”

“Ray, Ray. Don’t worry about it. You couldn’t have seen it. None of us saw it until it was too late. I’ll take care of myself, don’t worry. I can get away. Do you think you can help me with cops and judges, though, if I don’t?” I hoped the fear didn’t seep into my voice. I’m sure it did, though.

He sighed again. “No, kid. I’m sorry, I don’t think I can. That’ll be up to the bosses. The only judges I have any pull with are right here in New York. You’re on your own.”

I thanked him for talking to me. I’m sure it was dangerous once he knew what had happened. I hung up the phone and paced around Max’s living room. I finally decided to head back to the Flamingo and get some stuff together. I could probably get a car off of Sonny, and if not, I had money saved up that I could get out tomorrow to buy a car with. I needed to get out of town as soon as I could, though.