Driving Lisa
Las Vegas, 1991
It had been a month since mob boss Nick Piersanti's old driver, Tonno, got killed. He was having no luck finding a new driver. Every person he had interviewed didn't match up to his standards.
"I'm telling you, Gino, I don't know what I'm going to do," Nick said. "That shipment of cocaine is due tomorrow and we need someone to deliver it from here to Baskersfield."
"Why don't you let me take your package there?" Gino suggested
"Please, Gino, you get lost driving up the block," Nick said. "I need someone very competent to deliver it."
Just then, the doors opened. In came a stalwart of a man. He was tall and in his late 20s with bright red hair and a beard just as red, pale freckled skin, and light green eyes. He was an imposing sight.
"Holy Christ!" Nick exclaimed, "did you just get out of the pen or something?
"No," said the man. He had a very deep voice with a hint of a drawl. "I just came home from serving time in Iraq."
"An Army guy huh?" Nick said. "That's good, a man serving his country. But how can we help you?"
"I'm here to see about the position you're offering as a driver." the man said.
Nick and Gino laughed.
"No offense," said Nick, "but you don't look Italian to us, pal."
"My ethnicity shouldn't play a factor in my abilities," the man said.
"Okay, I'm listening," Nick said. "What is it that you can do?"
The man looked Nick dead in the eye. His face was emotioneless. Nick found him unnerving.
"Just know that I always get the job done." he said. "Always."
Nick and Gino looked at each other.
"Okay," Nick said finally. "We've got 100 keys of cocaine coming in tomorrow. We need you to deliver it from here to Bakersfield, California. If you don't screw things up, if you get things done like you say, then you got yourself a slot in your family."
"You won't regret it," the man said.
"I hope not." Nick said. "Now we're going to need to know your name if we're going to employ you."
"You know in the Army, we're identified by our surnames," the man said. "The name's Calaway."
"Okay, Calaway," Nick said. "We'll see you tomorrow."
"Before I depart," Calaway said, "I was wondering if I could get an advance. You see, I'm homeless right now. I'm basically sleeping in my car. I need a place to stay."
"Normally, I don't do that," Nick said. "But you, since you're a soldier, I'm willing to help you out."
He reached in his pockets, pulled out a thick wad of new one hundred dollars bills and gave Calaway four thousand dollars.
"There you go, pal," Nick said. "That should set you up for now. You'll get more when you come back from Bakersfield. Gino, take him to the Desert Inn on the strip. Let him settle down there for the time being."
Gino got up and beckoned Calaway to come with him. Calaway muttered a thanks to Nick and walked away with Gino...