Chapter V
"Shit! It's the fucking Triads!" the Mafioso guy next to me yelled.
He was telling the truth. Triad Fish Vans lined the garage, blocking every entry into it. Chinese gangsters were standing in front of the vans holding baseball bats and pistols. How the hell did they know we were coming here?
As soon as they saw us they opened fire. The ones with the bats charged at us. I did the only thing I could do; I ran over them. There was an occasional 'thump...thump" as their bodies were mutilated beneath the car. I continued to plow through our assailants as multiple onslaughts of bullets rained upon us.
A bullet flew through the windshield and ripped through the flesh of the guy next to me. He grabbed his arm in pain and agony. His hand was soon soaked with blood. I had been concentrating too much on his arm and forgot that I was driving. We slammed into the Triad Fish Vans head first. The airbag blew out and shot my head back. I fumbled for my pistol and when I found it, shot the airbag. It deflated, leaving me with a sore neck.
I begin to back up but before I could, a gun was put against my temple.
"Don't move! Give me your guns!" the Triad holding the gun said.
"Fuck you."
I slammed the door into him and he fell to the ground. I reversed out of there. More bullets were fired in our direction. The guy behind me stuck his shotgun out the window and fired at the gangsters. He managed to hit a few, and they dropped like flies. The rest scurried for cover behind the vans. I took off speeding down the road toward Joey's. I didn't know where else to go.
On the way there, a cop caught sight of our smoking car flying down the street. He flipped on his sirens and did a u-turn. He was in close pursuit behind us, his sirens screaming like a room full of unsatisfied infants. One of the Mafioso guys behind me began to shoot wildly at the police car. The sirens began to grow farther and father away until I couldn't hear them anymore.
By now we were in Trenton. I pulled up to Joey's Garage and we all exited the car. The two unharmed guys assisted their triplet into the garage.
"What the fuck happened! This was supposed to be a quick and easy job! What the fuck went wrong!" Joey was in an outrage.
"We were fuckin' ambushed, boss."
"Yeah," the other guy chimed in, "Triads were all over the goddamned place."
"Did you guys get the fucking money?!"
"Yeah," we all chorused.
I felt frustrated. I was putting my fucking life on the line out there and nobody seemed to give a shit. One of the triplets handed Joey the bags of money. Joey inspected the inside of the bag doubtfully.
I turned and began to leave; I didn't need to stay around anymore.
"Where the hell are you goin'?" Joey asked.
"Look, I did all I had to do. I drove them to the bank and back."
"You led us into a fucking ambush!"
"Yeah, how do we know it wasn't you who set us up?"
I was getting pissed now. "Think about shit head. Why the fuck would I lead us into an ambush when I could be killed too."
All their expressions turned from anger to quizzical.
"He's right," Joey said. He pulled some of the cash out of the bag and gave it to me. "You did all right. You did get them outta there after all. Tell you what. I need one last job and it's not a big one so don't sweat it. There's this guy named Toni Cipriani, he's a really good friend of my father. Pick him up from his restaurant and drive him to the Wong's Laundromat down in Chinatown."
When I got out of the garage I made a decision I wasn't going to work for Joey Leone anymore. I was tired of his sorry attitude. He didn't give a shit about me; therefore, I wouldn't five a shit about him. Maybe I could work for Toni Cipriani. Joey said he was his father's best friend, and Joey's father was the fucking don of the Mafia. Toni must be pretty high in the business. Yeah, I would definitely have to get some work from him.
I thought about this as I walked a couple of blocks, my Stallion that I had left at Joey's had been stolen. The Mafia Sentinel was trashed. Therefore I had no means of transportation except for my trusty feet. Besides, I needed to stay fit with exercise.
It was a long walk to Mamma Cipriani's Restaurant. It was in St. Marks, a good ways away from Trenton. By the time I finally got there I was panting and need of water. I walked up the stairs reluctantly. I was greeted by a man of average height. His face seemed rough and his hair was a black mass combed back.
"Ah, the infamous Vincent. I've heard a lot of good things about you, my friend."
He had his arm around my shoulder which made me a little uncomfortable, but I figured it was necessary to kiss his ass a bit if I was going to get any jobs from him. And what the hell did he mean when he said "infamous". I was still scum at this point. Or had my reputation on the streets really grown. I wondered for a sec if that was a good thing or not. Sure it was good, but what if the police knew about me, I couldn't afford to get busted now. I've come too far.
"-so what do you say?" he asked smiling.
"Wh...huh?" I hadn't been paying attention to a word he had said.
"Would you like to work for me or not?"
"Uh...yeah. I mean yes. Yes I would."
"Good, cause I need a ride to the Laundromat down in Chinatown. Some of these rats haven't been paying their protection money, you see? So we're gonna go down there and make sure they do."
After getting a drink of water, I followed him to a green Kuruma parked down by the stairs. He threw me the keys and we both got in the car; I was in the driver's seat. As we pulled out of the lot he began to give me directions.
"Make a right here."
"I know where I'm going." I said it as coolly as I could not to anger him but still get my point across.
"Oh...uh...okay." He flipped on the radio and turned it to Double Cleff. I winced at the sound of the horrible music. Who the hell listens to opera? Ah, it fucking sucks! I did my best to keep my mind off the terrible music and tried to concentrate on the road.
It seemed to take forever to get there, and the torture grew ever worse.
"Stay here and keep the engine running. This ain't no social call."
As soon as he got out of the car I switched off the radio. Ahhhh. How good it felt without the screaming of fat ladies.
I looked at the clock on the radio: he'd been I there for five minutes. I could here him began to yell, and someone yelling back. Then gunshots rang out. I opened my door to go assist him, but he ran out of the Laundromat and jumped into the car.
"It's a Triad ambush! Get us out of here kid!"
I slammed my door shut and sped off as fast as the car could go. I drove us back to the restaurant. When we got there, he exited the Kuruma and slammed the door shut. Kneeling down so his face was visible through the window he said,
"The Triads think they can mess with me, the Triads, with ME! Drop by later and we'll give them something to launder, their own bloodstained clothes!"
The day was getting late, the dusty brown horizon turning a contaminated orange. Dark clouds threatened the velvet sky. It was going to rain soon, I was sure of it. I was done for the day, I wanted to go home and sleep. I yawned and tried to keep my eyes open.
The closer I got to my hideout, the heavier my eyelids seem to get. Making it to my hideout awake, I managed to stumble to the door. I opened it and walked in. I collapsed on the bed and fell asleep immediately.
Author's Notes: Do you guys think I should change the rating to R? Also, be patient for chapter 6, I wrote it all, but didn't like it, so I'm re-writing the whole thing. Don't worry though, I'll try not to take forever.
"Shit! It's the fucking Triads!" the Mafioso guy next to me yelled.
He was telling the truth. Triad Fish Vans lined the garage, blocking every entry into it. Chinese gangsters were standing in front of the vans holding baseball bats and pistols. How the hell did they know we were coming here?
As soon as they saw us they opened fire. The ones with the bats charged at us. I did the only thing I could do; I ran over them. There was an occasional 'thump...thump" as their bodies were mutilated beneath the car. I continued to plow through our assailants as multiple onslaughts of bullets rained upon us.
A bullet flew through the windshield and ripped through the flesh of the guy next to me. He grabbed his arm in pain and agony. His hand was soon soaked with blood. I had been concentrating too much on his arm and forgot that I was driving. We slammed into the Triad Fish Vans head first. The airbag blew out and shot my head back. I fumbled for my pistol and when I found it, shot the airbag. It deflated, leaving me with a sore neck.
I begin to back up but before I could, a gun was put against my temple.
"Don't move! Give me your guns!" the Triad holding the gun said.
"Fuck you."
I slammed the door into him and he fell to the ground. I reversed out of there. More bullets were fired in our direction. The guy behind me stuck his shotgun out the window and fired at the gangsters. He managed to hit a few, and they dropped like flies. The rest scurried for cover behind the vans. I took off speeding down the road toward Joey's. I didn't know where else to go.
On the way there, a cop caught sight of our smoking car flying down the street. He flipped on his sirens and did a u-turn. He was in close pursuit behind us, his sirens screaming like a room full of unsatisfied infants. One of the Mafioso guys behind me began to shoot wildly at the police car. The sirens began to grow farther and father away until I couldn't hear them anymore.
By now we were in Trenton. I pulled up to Joey's Garage and we all exited the car. The two unharmed guys assisted their triplet into the garage.
"What the fuck happened! This was supposed to be a quick and easy job! What the fuck went wrong!" Joey was in an outrage.
"We were fuckin' ambushed, boss."
"Yeah," the other guy chimed in, "Triads were all over the goddamned place."
"Did you guys get the fucking money?!"
"Yeah," we all chorused.
I felt frustrated. I was putting my fucking life on the line out there and nobody seemed to give a shit. One of the triplets handed Joey the bags of money. Joey inspected the inside of the bag doubtfully.
I turned and began to leave; I didn't need to stay around anymore.
"Where the hell are you goin'?" Joey asked.
"Look, I did all I had to do. I drove them to the bank and back."
"You led us into a fucking ambush!"
"Yeah, how do we know it wasn't you who set us up?"
I was getting pissed now. "Think about shit head. Why the fuck would I lead us into an ambush when I could be killed too."
All their expressions turned from anger to quizzical.
"He's right," Joey said. He pulled some of the cash out of the bag and gave it to me. "You did all right. You did get them outta there after all. Tell you what. I need one last job and it's not a big one so don't sweat it. There's this guy named Toni Cipriani, he's a really good friend of my father. Pick him up from his restaurant and drive him to the Wong's Laundromat down in Chinatown."
When I got out of the garage I made a decision I wasn't going to work for Joey Leone anymore. I was tired of his sorry attitude. He didn't give a shit about me; therefore, I wouldn't five a shit about him. Maybe I could work for Toni Cipriani. Joey said he was his father's best friend, and Joey's father was the fucking don of the Mafia. Toni must be pretty high in the business. Yeah, I would definitely have to get some work from him.
I thought about this as I walked a couple of blocks, my Stallion that I had left at Joey's had been stolen. The Mafia Sentinel was trashed. Therefore I had no means of transportation except for my trusty feet. Besides, I needed to stay fit with exercise.
It was a long walk to Mamma Cipriani's Restaurant. It was in St. Marks, a good ways away from Trenton. By the time I finally got there I was panting and need of water. I walked up the stairs reluctantly. I was greeted by a man of average height. His face seemed rough and his hair was a black mass combed back.
"Ah, the infamous Vincent. I've heard a lot of good things about you, my friend."
He had his arm around my shoulder which made me a little uncomfortable, but I figured it was necessary to kiss his ass a bit if I was going to get any jobs from him. And what the hell did he mean when he said "infamous". I was still scum at this point. Or had my reputation on the streets really grown. I wondered for a sec if that was a good thing or not. Sure it was good, but what if the police knew about me, I couldn't afford to get busted now. I've come too far.
"-so what do you say?" he asked smiling.
"Wh...huh?" I hadn't been paying attention to a word he had said.
"Would you like to work for me or not?"
"Uh...yeah. I mean yes. Yes I would."
"Good, cause I need a ride to the Laundromat down in Chinatown. Some of these rats haven't been paying their protection money, you see? So we're gonna go down there and make sure they do."
After getting a drink of water, I followed him to a green Kuruma parked down by the stairs. He threw me the keys and we both got in the car; I was in the driver's seat. As we pulled out of the lot he began to give me directions.
"Make a right here."
"I know where I'm going." I said it as coolly as I could not to anger him but still get my point across.
"Oh...uh...okay." He flipped on the radio and turned it to Double Cleff. I winced at the sound of the horrible music. Who the hell listens to opera? Ah, it fucking sucks! I did my best to keep my mind off the terrible music and tried to concentrate on the road.
It seemed to take forever to get there, and the torture grew ever worse.
"Stay here and keep the engine running. This ain't no social call."
As soon as he got out of the car I switched off the radio. Ahhhh. How good it felt without the screaming of fat ladies.
I looked at the clock on the radio: he'd been I there for five minutes. I could here him began to yell, and someone yelling back. Then gunshots rang out. I opened my door to go assist him, but he ran out of the Laundromat and jumped into the car.
"It's a Triad ambush! Get us out of here kid!"
I slammed my door shut and sped off as fast as the car could go. I drove us back to the restaurant. When we got there, he exited the Kuruma and slammed the door shut. Kneeling down so his face was visible through the window he said,
"The Triads think they can mess with me, the Triads, with ME! Drop by later and we'll give them something to launder, their own bloodstained clothes!"
The day was getting late, the dusty brown horizon turning a contaminated orange. Dark clouds threatened the velvet sky. It was going to rain soon, I was sure of it. I was done for the day, I wanted to go home and sleep. I yawned and tried to keep my eyes open.
The closer I got to my hideout, the heavier my eyelids seem to get. Making it to my hideout awake, I managed to stumble to the door. I opened it and walked in. I collapsed on the bed and fell asleep immediately.
Author's Notes: Do you guys think I should change the rating to R? Also, be patient for chapter 6, I wrote it all, but didn't like it, so I'm re-writing the whole thing. Don't worry though, I'll try not to take forever.