Author's Note: One more chapter to go after this one...Does Flack get his man? Or does Sassone get away for the sequel? And of course, the ultimate question...does he get the girl?
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CHAPTER TWELVE
I feel like I'll never get to the boat. It's pullin' away faster than I can swim. Messer is a little ahead of me. He reaches for the ladder, misses the first time, but catches it the second. He throws an elbow over one rung. "Flack! Hey, c'mon, man, hurry!" He holds out a hand to me.
Aw, hell, I hate water. I pick up the pace. I gotta quit smokin'. Just when I think I'll never make it, Messer's hand grasps mine and pulls me forward onto the ladder. "You okay?" he asks me.
"I'm a little wet," I reply, catchin' my breath. "Let's go." Messer starts up the ladder, stopping just below the main deck. He pokes a head up. "All clear." He slides over the side, and I follow. It's not a graceful landin', I flop to the deck like a trout. Messer helps me up. "Come on, old man."
"I'll throw you back over," I threaten as I follow. "Go find the girls, I'm gonna go get Sassone."
"You sure you don't want backup?" Messer asks.
I nod. "I'll be okay. Go get the girl."
Messer nods. "Yeah, all right." He looks around, tryin' to decide where to start. Meanwhile, I look up at the pilothouse. I know that's where Sassone is at. Lord of his castle. It occurs to me belatedly that my gun was in my coat, and that's all the way back at the docks. Stel would kill me if she only knew...
I make my way across the deck, trying to stay down and keep hidden as best I can.
"How in the hell..." I hear a familiar voice behind me. It belongs to Sassone's boy Mala. I stand and turn around. Mala's got a gun pointed at me. "How did you get outta there?" he demands.
"Fire escape," I reply lamely. "You gonna put that down?"
"I oughta shoot ya where ya stand," Mala says.
I shrug. "True, but-" I lunge forward, catching him off guard, knocking the gun from his hand. It scatters across the deck. I bend his arm back and then bend it behind him. Then with one quick shove, I toss him over the side. I hear a splash. I look around to see if anyone heard the fight, but I don't see anyone. I wonder if Messer's found the girls yet. I hate to think what Pratt and Mala had time to do with them, and I send up a fast prayer to whoever that they're okay. As an afterthought, I toss up one for me and Messer, and Adam Ross.
The image of Ross's cold face enters my thoughts, and a renewed hatred of Sassone fills me. I know Taylor said do it right, but I can't promise anything at this point. Ross was just a kid. And Sassone shot him in cold blood, for no other reason I can tell than to piss me off.
I hear yellin' and shoutin' from the back of the boat. It's muffled, but I can tell there's a fight goin' down. I see two people come out of the pilothouse. Dobson is one. The other is Pratt. They take off for the cargo hold. Assuming Sassone can't skipper a boat, that leaves two for me.
And I can handle that. I go to pick up Mala's gun, and then I head over to the stairs and start climbing them. I can hear Sassone inside. My blood boils at the sound of his voice. I kick open the door.
Sassone and a guy I don't recognize jump and look back. Sassone looks surprised to see me. I relish the thought. "Oh, sorry," I say. "Shoulda knocked first." I grin at Sassone. "What's the matter, Sonny? Look like you've seen a ghost."
"I don't care how you got off that boat, Flack," Sassone growls. "But I guarantee you're not getting' off this one."
"Big talk, Sassone, considerin' your boys are at the other end of this tug and you're the only one here."
He goes to object, then realizes that his wheelman has taken off and is nowhere to be found. I level Mala's gun at him. "This is gonna end here tonight. For Messer and Monroe, for Ross...and for my father."
"Flack!" Sassone snaps his fingers as if he's remembered something. "That's why your name sounded so familiar. Your Donald Flack's kid." He shakes his head. "Hell, that man chased me around New York for years. Even before Prohibition. He could tell I was a bad egg from the start, Don Flack." He puts one hand on the wheel, easily guiding the boat. "I remember the night he came down to the docks. When I saw him, I wanted to shoot the two idiots who'd mucked it up. I mean, braggin' about my business in public, what kinda employee is that?" He shakes his head.
Part of me wants to shoot him. But part of me can't help but listen.
"He confronted me. Threatened to turn my ass in. I let him have his two minutes," Sassone says. "An' then I put two holes in him and tossed him in the East River." He turns around and looks at me. "And that's exactly what I'm gonna do to you." Without warning, he throws the wheel of the boat into a fast spin, sending the boat into a sharp turn, throwing me off my feet. I manage to stand back up, run forward, and put the boat into an all stop. Beneath me, there's a shudder as the engines stop. Then I turn. Sassone, the coward he is, has taken off for the main deck. Cursing under my breath, I grab Mala's gun again and dart out of the pilothouse.
"Hey, you sonofabitch, where do you think you're goin'?" That voice belongs to Danny Messer and I see him throw a punch that knocks Sassone backwards. Behind him, Stella and Lindsay are there, holdin' on to each other. I'm happy they both look like they're in one piece.
Messer is all over Sassone now, kicking and punching. I can see the fury in his eyes. As much as I would like to see him go down like that, I step forward and pull Messer backwards. "Hey, take it easy," I tell him. I haul Sassone up by the collar. His nose is bleeding and he'll have a matching black eye like Messer. "A beatin' like that is too good for him. No, he's gonna rot in jail." I toss him back to the deck. "Messer, can you get this boat turned around?"
"Flack!" Stella screams. Fire and pain rip through my chest. I hear two shots, but they're just vague echoes. My vision is starting to swim. I can make out Stella's face in front of mine. I think I'm on my back, but I'm not sure how I got there. My last thought is I'm sorry Pop, I think I screwed up again...