4. Stealers Wheel - Stuck In The Middle With You

I saw Paulie stand next to a dark blue van further down the block and quickened my pace, intent to get us both out of the light drizzle.

The days becoming increasingly shorter and more and more uncomfortable, I was somewhat glad to find myself sitting in the middle seat of a cozily warm van instead of drudging all the way to Desmond's Dojo.

Giving an honest and friendly wave to Bobby sitting behind the wheel, we waited for Paulie to hop in and close the door behind him.

"Alright," He clapped his hands once, excitement clear in his voice. "Remember, both of you, this stays between us."

"First, some basic stuff, you wanna know why I didn't pop those gangbangers right there in the middle of the street?"

He asked conversationally, and I couldn't help but imagine him as a chill substitute teacher right at this moment, the start that Bobby gave beside me however reminded me rather quickly just what kind of subject we were dealing with.

Obviously, having seen Bobby's reaction, too, Pauli turned to him and decided to nip whatever reservations Bobby might have in the bud.

"Listen," he said, now serious, "you should have seen him."

He gave me a playful boxing punch against my chin.

"He's a tough little cookie, and sooner or later he has to learn it anyway. So, let us make sure he learns it the right way before he gets into any kind of trouble." He passionately explained his reasoning, his hand now resting on my shoulder.

Bobby just gave a small, defeated shrug and sighed. "All right, old man." He sounded not entirely convinced but was apparently willing to go along with it for now.

Checking the mirror, Bobby calmed merged into the traffic while I waited for Paulie to gather his thoughts.

I honestly hadn't known how to feel about this, about everything to be frank, and thus had been immensely grateful for the monotonous work at the restaurant today. It had given me the much-needed time to reflect.

I knew killing Leonardo, I refused to call him father, hasn't been a murder, but whenever I received a postcard from 'my mother' I was more than glad that I did it. Reading about her genuine happiness between the lines convinced me time and time again, that, yes, I would gladly sully my own hands if it meant a parent wouldn't have to weep over their innocent child, a sibling wouldn't have to mourn their brother or sister, and a child wouldn't have to see their parent waste away.

Yes, I had decided, I was going to be part of something abhorrent, but someday I was going to be in a position where I could steer things. Where I could change directions to be more aligned with my own concerns.

Panessa, I knew we weren't big and we would never be, but I was going to make us big enough to make a difference.

"Alright, let's get back on track," Paulie said and ripped me out of my stupor. "You already know about Peppe's little territory down here in Old Gotham. In the west we have the Chinks, in the east we have the Odessa Mob, and north we have Diamond District with all the fat cats. And that's precisely the reason why I didn't pop those fucks right in the open." He explained patiently while keeping an eye out for our targets. I did the same on the other side of the road so Bobby could concentrate on driving.

"Up in East End, where Tomasso and the rest of the Five Families call the shots, if done right I could have easily gotten away with it, but here, things are bit more…," he paused, searching for the right word, while I was hanging on every one of them. This was my introduction to the world of Gotham's organized crime.

"Tense? …Fragile? You get what I'm sayin', right?" He asked and I nodded.

"We don't want to rock the boat too much and invite trouble. If push comes to shove The Five Families stick together when it comes to outsiders." He reassured me.

"But there's always a price to pay and Tomasso is already busy enough to establish us more firmly."

"So…," he twisted a bit to get a better look into an alley but eventually carried on when he didn't see anything. "Don't go around willy-nilly shanking folks," I couldn't help but smile when I saw Bobby shake his head at Paulie's crass language in the corner of my eyes.

"Even Uptown you will need permission to off certain people." He warned offhandedly, but I knew the seriousness of the warning. You step out of line, don't respect the proper procedures, and suddenly, unbeknownst to you, certain people hold a meeting where they decide your fate.

I heard Paulie heave a quiet sigh of annoyance and watched as he checked the time.

"No luck today, Bobby, let's head back."

'We got to install microwave ovens

Custom kitchen deliveries

We got to move these refrigerators

We got to move these color TVs'

I quietly bobbed my head to the radio, while keeping an eye on the sidewalks. I really needed to look into collecting some music. The way some 'oldies' had me feeling was indescribable. I knew these songs, and yet somehow, they were hitting me so much more.

1988, I wracked my brain, was it already CD or still vinyl?

Suddenly, my eyes widened. There, under the stairs of an elevated subway station, perfectly illuminated by the setting sun, there were the three reasons why we were out here, doing the rounds.

I calmed down as well as I could, so I didn't startle Bobby at the wheel.

"There!" My excitement was still clearly evident, and I pointed them out when I had Paulie's attention.

"That's them, alright." Paulie agreed. "Bobby, pull over right here, and we will talk things through."

Parked, some 50 feet away, we had our eyes trained on our targets across the street.

"Remember what I told you about these parts?" Paulie asked me.

"To keep things quiet." I answered reasonably confident.

"Exactly." He said and my eyes widened when he opened the glove box and pulled out a gun along with a suppressor. Expertly putting the suppressor on he turned to me.

"Early lesson, that's a suppressor, makes a gun quieter. Not quiet, just not as loud, still a world of difference, but prepare yourself for the noise." He advised and I nodded faintly, my eyes still glued to the gun in his gloved hand.

"Now, Bobby and I know what to do, but for your sake, I'm gonna talk all the steps through." He said, already focused on the job, but took a second to look at me.

"You ready?" He asked and I sat straighter, this was it, there would be no going back, I would commit myself completely to this life. I held his gaze, there were going to be consequences down the line, all or nothing.

"I'm ready." I finally said clearly and couldn't help but watch Paulie's face split into a satisfied grin.

"Alright," Voice now all business. "Bobby will drive past them and turn further down the street. When we are level with them, I will hop out of the car and shoot them in one go." He began to explain.

"It's just three people huddled together, one person doing the shooting is enough. It will be three quick shots to incapacitate them. In the meantime, Bobby will keep the van running but come out to my side. And I want you to hop out after me and push open the side door as hard and as fast as you can." He paused and leaned back. I heard Bobby shift behind me, but I kept my eyes on Paulie. Was he challenging me?

"I can do that." I stated, just to make things clear.

"Alright," He gave a small nod, seemingly to himself, apparently believing me, and carried on with the explanation. "While you open the door, I will aim and shoot all three a second time to avoid surprises later. Door open, gangbangers dead, Bobby and I will quickly fling them into the van and you will immediately close the door when we are done and jump right back on your seat. Remember what I told you about the gun and the noise." He finished with a warning.

'Easy, easy, chicks for free (I want my MTV)

Easy, easy money for nothin' (I want my, I want my)

Chicks for free (I want my MTV)

That ain't workin'

Not even 3 minutes later, Bobby pulled away again, and the van was now a good 500 pounds heavier.

Gotham River was rushing along the quay some five feet away while we stood near the hood of our van, the only light coming from the interior of the van. Headlights apparently would have been too obvious regarding our presence down here.

"That up there is Crown Point Bridge." Paulie pointed directly up, much livelier again now that our passengers were disposed of.

Finger swinging forward, he continued. "And that's Tricorner Island over there."

"Now we could have driven to the Dixon Docks near Brown Bridge, but" He paused, finger slightly raised again, making sure I was going to recognize his wisdom. "chances are high, that the currents might just dump the bodies along Tricorner Island's western shore, and we don't want that."

"Here, however," he walked towards the side door of the van, still in teacher mode, and reached inside. "there's still a tiny chance the bodies might end up at Blackgate Island, but" He came back, holding a small backpack and a gave a shrug, that screamed 'eh, whatever'. "in all honesty, it's vanishingly small."

"If you want to be sure or you have someone high-profile you should do it right, anyway." He kept talking as he opened the backpack, and handed Bobby and me a shot glass each, ignoring our surprise. "Concrete shoes if you have the time and an audience, but some rocks stuffed inside his pants and top do the job, too."

By now he held a shot glass himself and a bottle of Grappa in his other hand.

'Oh boy.' I thought with some apprehension as he wordlessly filled our glasses to the brim.

"Salute!"

"You want to learn how to shoot?" I couldn't keep my wheezing coughs from turning to laughter as I saw Bobby take the whole bottle, showing us quite clearly what he thought of Paulie's offer.