The Megatropolis Maximum Security Prison housed some of the most notorious crooks in the entire city, but none so notorious than three gangsters named Nicky Calamari, Johnny Malone, and Gino Portobello. They were members of a criminal organization known as The Syndicate. It used to be run by a man named Antonio "Big Tony" Manikatti (but most everyone called him "Don Manikatti"). Don Manikatti had been killed in a car crash not too long ago, which put the Syndicate out of commission. All the members who were still at large were finally caught and taken to prison.
That particular evening, Gino was sitting on his cot, playing "Red River Valley" on a harmonica, and driving both Nicky and Johnny crazy with it.
"Gino, would you cut it out already?" Nicky asked.
"But they always play the harmonica in prison movies," Gino said.
"This ain't no movie, Gino," Johnny said. "I gotta get outta here before I go stir crazy!"
"Don't worry," Nicky said. "I've been working on busting out. Now here's the plan. You boys just leave everything to me. We're outta here at midnight."
At precisely midnight, when everyone else was asleep, Nicky, Johnny, and Gino made their move. Nicky took a hammer he had been hiding out from under his cot, and gently tapped a spot on the wall. Oddly enough, the wall began cracking, and crumbled.
"Let's book!" Nicky shouted, and the three gangsters dashed out of their cell as fast as they could. They managed to sneak out of the front gates undetected, and hitched a ride in the back of a nearby laundry truck. They hid among the clothes, sheets, and towels, and the doors were shut. Then the driver of the truck climbed in, and drove off, unaware he had three hitchhikers.
Three hours later, Nicky, Johnny, and Gino hopped out of the truck (after it had stopped at a red light), and ran off.
"Well, we did it," Gino said. "Now what do we do?"
"What else?" Nicky said, shrugging. "We take revenge on the person responsible for landing us in the slammer in the first place."
"You mean that Franky McAlister kid?" Gino asked.
"I don't know, Nick . . . . ." Johnny said, hesitantly. "That kid's pretty slick. And besides, don't you remember what we found out from Guido and Joey?"
"Yeah, the McAlister kid's Don Manikatti's grandson!" Gino shouted. "Anthony Manikatti. Little Tony. I don't think the don would like it if we offed his grandkid!"
"You're forgetting because of 'Little Tony,' Don Manikatti is pushing up daisies!" Nicky shouted. "That punk kid drove the car off the cliff in that killed Don Manikatti! Not to mention what he did to my car! I wanna give that brat exactly what he deserves!"
"But where are we gonna find that brat, Nicky?" Johnny asked.
"We'll just have to do some legwork," Nicky said. "Let's go."
And with that, the three gangsters were off on their search. They had to do it on foot, until daybreak. There wasn't a car lot open at this time, and they didn't necessarily want to hot wire and steal somebody else's car this soon after busting out of the slammer.
At about nine or so in the morning, Coiley was sitting in his hotel room, watching a rerun of I Love Lucy (they happened to be running the episode, "Job Switching," which was Coiley's favorite episode), when the program was interrupted.
"We interrupt this program for a special news bulletin!" the anchorman said.
"Awww," Coiley groaned. "And just when they were getting to the candy factory part, too!"
"Last night, there was a jailbreak at the maximum security prison in the city of Megatropolis," the anchorman said. "The three men who escaped have been identified as Nicky Calamari, Johnny Malone, and Gino Portobello, part of the criminal organization known as the Syndicate."
"The Syndicate?" Coiley repeated. "Holy mobster mash!"
"If you see these three fugitives, contact the authorities immediately," the anchorman said. "We now return to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress."
Immediately, Coiley turned off the TV, and ran out into the hallway. He banged on Fluey's door first.
"Fluey, open up!" he shouted. "It's important!"
"Coiley, I'm trying to sleep," Fluey grumbled, sounding a bit groggy. Coiley groaned. He knew Fluey was a late sleeper. He'd sleep until noon, if Coiley and Multi let him, but they never did.
"Come on, Fluey!" Coiley yelled, still banging on the door. "It's really important!"
"What's going on, Coiley?" Multi asked, as he and his dog, Skittles, exited their room.
"I'll tell you once Fluey lets us in," Coiley said.
Multi and Coiley then heard Fluey muttering, and the door finally opened.
"What's so important, Coiley?" he asked.
"I'll give you two words," Coiley said. "The Syndicate."
"The Syndicate?!" Fluey shouted, incredulously. "But . . . . . but I thought . . . . . since Tony Manikatti's dead, they locked up all the members! I mean, he is dead . . . . . . isn't he?!"
"Whoa, Fluey, hold it, before you give yourself a heart attack," Multi said. "You'd better explain this a little, Coiley."
"I was watching I Love Lucy, and a news flash interrupted the show," Coiley said. "Three of Manikatti's men escaped from the Megatropolis Maximum Security Prison last night."
"Oh boy . . . . ." Fluey groaned. "I know what's coming, too. I've seen every single gangster movie ever filmed. Cement shoes, here I come!"
"Aren't you overreacting a little, Fluey?" Multi asked.
"Overreacting?" Fluey repeated. "Multi, do you even know what I went through the last time tangling with the Syndicate?! When Manikatti hijacked the Impossi-Mobile, I was the one who swerved it, causing it to crash down that cliff on Dead Man's Curve!"
"He has a point, Multi," Coiley said. "They might hold Fluey responsible for that accident."
"Well, I just don't think they'd come after you, Fluey," Multi said. "I mean, you are Manikatti's grandson . . . . ."
"Don't remind me," Fluey said. That was the one discovery about his birth parents he wished he had never found out. His birth mother was Antonio Manikatti's daughter, and in an agreement she made with her father, her first born son would be given the name Anthony. And Fluey was ready to kill anyone who called him that (and he absolutely despised the nickname "Tony").
"I think we'd better be alert at all times," Coiley suggested.
"Right," Fluey and Multi agreed.
The boys decided not to worry about it for the time being. They had a gig that night, and they had to rehearse for it.
But, as luck would have it, Nicky, Johnny, and Gino, having rented a car from a place just outside of Megatropolis, had arrived at the hotel the Impossibles were playing, just in time for the concert. Nicky stopped the car when he saw a familiar looking orange-red vehicle in the parking lot.
"I think this is the place we should start looking," he said.
"How do ya figure that?" Gino asked.
"That's little Tony's car," Nicky said. "He and a couple of his pals were driving it when I first met him. I'd know it anywhere."
"Yeah, you can't really forget a weird lookin' car like that, can ya?" Gino asked.
"We'd better make sure of this," Johnny said.
The three men got out of their car, and walked into the hotel lounge. The place was so packed, the Impossibles didn't notice the mobsters in the audience.
"That's him, all right," Johnny said.
"You want we should make the grab now, Nick?" Gino asked.
"Nah," Nicky said. "Too many people around. We'll have to wait until tonight. Come on, let's split before they see us."
Johnny and Gino agreed, and they followed Nicky out of the hotel and to the car. Then they drove off to bide their time.
The Impossibles, after finishing up their concert, retreated to their rooms for the night. They had to get up bright and early for their next stop on the tour.
"Wow, what a night," Fluey said. "I'm wiped out."
"Welcome to the club," Coiley said. "But, in the long run, it was a great gig."
"Yeah, we packed 'em in like sardines again," Fluey said.
"I just hope it never gets too out of control," Multi commented. "Oh well. Goodnight, fellas."
"'Night, Multi," Fluey said, giving Skittles a scratch behind the ears, and then he retreated to his room. Coiley and Multi went into their rooms as well and turned in for the night.
It wasn't until one in the morning when Nicky, Johnny, and Gino returned to the hotel. They parked their car by the service entrance, and snuck in through there.
"So where do we start?" Johnny asked.
"We'll just have to check room by room," Nicky said. "Luckily, this is a small hotel. Only two floors."
Johnny and Gino nodded, and they scoured the first floor and checked every room by looking through the keyholes. When they couldn't find what they were looking for, they went to the second floor. After awhile, Nicky finally found the room he wanted. He quickly pulled out a skeleton key, and unlocked the door. The three men quietly walked into the room. They found Fluey sleeping soundly. Nicky smirked, and poured some kind of liquid onto his handkerchief.
"Wake up, little Tony," he said.
"Huh? What?" Fluey asked, waking up. Then he saw Nicky, Johnny, and Gino standing before him, and gasped.
"You!" he shouted. "How did you . . . . ."
Before he could go on, Nicky pressed his handkerchief over Fluey's nose and mouth. Fluey let out a scream, and tried to grab his transformer device, but Nicky held him back, until Fluey succumbed to the chloroform, and lost consciousness.
"Okay," Nicky said, hoisting the unconscious teenager over his shoulder. "You two grab his stuff. If his pals find his stuff here and not their pal, they'll get suspicious."
Gino and Johnny quickly gathered Fluey's things together, including his guitar, and transformer device. Then, they quietly snuck back down the stairs, and out the service entrance to their car. Nicky put Fluey in the backseat, and Johnny climbed in afterward. Nicky got into the driver's seat, and Gino was riding shotgun.
"Okay," Nicky said. "Come on. Let's split before somebody sees us!"
And with that, Nicky started up the car, and drove off.