By
RoAch
Little Mice
�Come on you slimy, smelly, piece of filth.� Sonny said as the reeled in his fishing line with great force, fighting against the strength of the humongous fish. As it flopped onto the floor of the boat, Sonny stood, triumphant as a hunter killing his first prey.
It was August and the sun was just setting over the brim of Mt. Kilgore. He looked down at the fish, giving its last flips and flops as it died. The weather was getting ruff, and the tiny ship began to toss. So Sonny decided it was time to head home to his cabin upstream.
Once his boat was tied, he walked the trail to his cabin, remembering all the wonderful times he had in the woods in Staunton Island as a kid. Cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, and his always favorite, hide and go seek.
The light and space of the woods put the zap on his brain. He wasn�t the same person here as he was in Staunton Island. In Staunton he was �Sonny Listioni�, the infamous bootlegger and businessman. Nobody could con him, he was the best man around for any job.
As he reached his door he heard a rustle in the bush next to his cabin. Dismissing it as a rabbit or some other woodland creature, he inserted his key into the door. Within a millisecond he heard the shot that ended his life. As he lay on the floor bleeding from his wound, his life flashed before his eyes. He made an attempt to speak but only produce a gurgling sound that could barely be made out as �Cars of men�.
Money Now!
I was always a businessman; I�d do anything to get a quick buck. In Jr. High I used to forge notes for other kids just to get some lunch money. I never wanted to profit through muscle, I rather make a deal. That�s just the way I do things.
Timmy Fanta was charismatic, he had that charm to him. One day I was running late to school and had to forge one of my legendary notes. Timmy was also running late and asked me to forge one for him also.
�Hey man, could you write me one too?� Timmy said.
�Sure, but it�ll cost you some money,� I responded.
Timmy turned on his charm, �Dude, I don�t have any money, but I�ll make you a deal. You like food right?�
�Yeah�
�Well I work in the cafeteria for lunch, you come see me when you get your food, I�ll let you slide without payment.�
�What�s your name?� I said.
�Fanta, Timmy Fanta.�
�Alright Timmy, I�m gonna go see you, but if you don�t keep your word, you�ll see what happens.�
�Alright man,� Timmy said.
I wrote him the note and trotted off to class. I did go see Timmy that afternoon during lunch. I didn�t think he would keep his word, and I would have somebody rearrange his face. But to my surprise, he actually did let me slide with my lunch. So everyday when I headed into the cafeteria, he would let me slide without paying.
Eventually we became friends and moved on to high school. Together, we started the biggest underground gambling ring in Timmy�s basement. We were raking in at least $500 a week. Any time, day or night, Timmy would open his basement casino for anybody.
Humongous Rat
I went to college for a week, I decided that it was chump work and headed off to make another quick buck. I became a dealer and started selling Stem, the magical herb that was worth a fortune. I didn�t see Timmy for 5 years, he just disappeared in to thin air. In that time I met the love of my life, Jessica Noriega, A red headed, beautiful, graceful girl that was sitting at the bar all alone, just waiting for me to come talk to her. After 3 years of dating and living together, we finally got married. I tried to invite Timmy, but he was nowhere to be found.
We finally met up again when Timmy tried to buy some Stem off of me. I couldn�t believe my eyes, it was Timmy, Timmy Fanta, my partner in crime. When I asked him where he had been, he said,
�I went back home, to Jaurez, Mexico. I�ve started a business and I�m making pretty good dough. But I need a partner to watch my back. You want in?�
�Of course I want in,� I said. At the time, I didn�t even know the scheme, but I trusted him, It�s just the way I am. As a welcoming home gift, I bought him a $2,000 Rolex watch. I had extra loose cash, what else was I going to do with it?
He had something big planned, something that would make us famous. We started a business selling fake I.D.�s, driver licenses, passports, social security cards and basically anything that we could forge. We also sold Stem, but tried to keep that low key because a lot of guys were catching heat and getting busted. Timmy knew a guy that was a computer genius. This guy could make a drivers license look so real, that not even his girlfriend knew his real name. We imported the Stem from Timmy�s hometown, Juarez, Mexico. He flew the plane home, every weekend, and always returned with at least 100lbs of Stem packed tightly in plastic bags.
I was in charge of getting the business going and having it run smoothly. In order to do some proper accounting, we had to hire a bookkeeper. But they don�t� exactly offer positions at the unemployment office for this line of work. What am I suppose to do? Place an ad for an illegal bookkeeper? Not going to happen.
I ended up hiring this girl named Carmen Camilla Santa Josana. A hot Columbian girl that lived up in Hillside Vale. She was recommended highly by Timmy because of the fact that she used to keep the books for John Gotti. Anybody good enough for Gotti, had to be good enough for us.
So we had it down, the supplier, the salesman and the head honcho. But Timmy had something else in mind. He wanted more money than what we were already raking in.
Canteen Full of Rum
He finally presented the idea to me during drinks at the Tropicana Club.
�What if you never had to work for the rest of your life?� Timmy said.
�I�d call you a stinking liar,� I said.
Timmy finished his drink quick and told me the details of his plan. He wanted to rob Staunton Island Federal Bank. It would be the biggest heist of our lives. Only two other people in history had tried something this crazy, and they were both dead now. I immediately accepted the job, I had no other choice. As we left the club, I noticed that I didn�t have any cash on me. Timmy let me borrow a hundred dollar bill so that I could have some loose change. I put it in the back of my wallet for an emergency.
Timmy bribed the architect that built the bank for the plans and hired a demolition specialist named Bobby �Blow� Stomper and a driver named Stan Crimplon. Timmy and I would cut the alarm and Bobby would blow the safe. We had exactly three minutes to be in, take the money, and be out of there before the cops came. Then we would split the money four ways and have enough to live lavishly for the rest of our lives.
The night before the bank robbery, Jessica and I were having drinks at the Havana Club. I didn�t tell her about the robbery, it was just too much information to give someone like her.
�If you were to die Sonny, I don�t know what I would do� Jessica Said.
�Whoaa, what�s a matter here? I�m not going anywhere. Who said I was gonna die?� I said.
Jessica just looked at her plate and said, �No Sonny, it�s just in case, but don�t� worry, we�ll be together forever. I swear.�
Now at the time I didn�t know that this was complete horseshit. This girl was in it so deep, she made Bill Clinton look like an armature.
Fistful of Steel
So the morning of the heist, I dress in my best suite and head down to see my boy Timmy at his apartment in Condo Junction. We had breakfast, cruised the town in his Lexus I.S. 300, and saw a movie titled, �Cross Stone.� I went home at around 5:00pm to get ready for the night.
We met up a block from the bank, at an abandoned factory. Everything went smoothly, Timmy, Bobby, Stan and I were all on the same page. At exactly 1:00am everybody moved into their position and started the operation. Timmy and I cut the alarm exactly as planned, while Bobby wired up his explosives. As we all moved back behind a desk, Bobby lit the fuse and made a run for it.
Jesus, I couldn�t believe how loud the explosion was, I�m surprised the cops didn�t hear it all the way down at the station. We packed up the money and headed out the door. Bobby went out first, followed by Timmy, and I was the last one to leave. As soon as I turned the corner, I saw Timmy, holding a .9mm at my chest.
�Sorry man, I�m greedy and me and Jessica need this money more than you do. You were never a good business man anyway.� Timmy said.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
That�s the last time I ever saw his stinking, ungrateful face. If your wondering what happened, he shot me, not once, not twice, but three times. Luckily for me, I knew something didn�t feel right, so I decided to wear a bulletproof vest. Follow your gut instinct; you�ll never know what might happen.
I was knocked out for a good 2 minutes, once I heard the sirens I knew the cops were on their way. I had to get out of there or else I would end up in some jail calling my cellmate �Papi�. I stood up and peaked around the corner of the building to make sure Timmy wasn�t there. All I saw were tire tread marks on the ground. My mind raced, what would I do? I can�t go home. I can�t tell the cops. I can�t tell anybody. They think I�m dead. The gang left me here to die, those damn cold-hearted bastards. My only choice was to run, run and hide. I had to get out of Staunton and be somewhere secluded.
As I was running away from the bank, I saw a dirty 89 Oldsmobile parked in front of a store. What the hell I thought. I already robbed a bank, stealing a car couldn�t be so bad.
While racing down the highway to get out of Staunton, my mind ran over choices of where to hide. I finally settled on Blue Ridge Lake, a 50-mile drive out of the city and up and around Mt. Kilgore. My dad had a cabin up there and we used to go fishing when I was younger. I haven�t been there since his death last year. On the way up, I stopped at a gas station and picked up some temporary supplies. It was 5:00am and the news of the bank robbery would hit the airwaves soon. All I had was the $100 bill that Timmy gave me. Although it made me cringe to look at it, I used it.
Finally I reached my dads cabin and parked behind it. The sun was coming up over the ridge of Mt. Kilgore. I decided to watch the sunrise and just sat on the porch overlooking the lake. Even though I was full of hate for Timmy and Jessica, the sun made me want to stay here forever.
Death In the Reception Area
Jessica was having an affair with Timmy right behind my back, and I didn�t even know it. My own friend double-crossed me, that just proves that nobody can be trusted. Carmen was in on the bank deal also because she had access to all the explosives we needed. Those damn Columbians, I don�t� know how they do it, but they do it.
So they all got away with the robbery, but Carmen had other things planned for Jessica, Timmy, Bobby and Stan. Everybody thought they got off clean, but Carmen had that cat�s eye, she was watching everything. When the gang got back to the factory, Carmen was there waiting, along with her Columbian Cartel. Timmy, Bobby and Stan were shot dead while they were still in the car. Timmy died with a cigar still clenched in his teeth.
I didn�t know that Jessica was waiting for Timmy back at the factory. She was hiding out in one of the abandoned offices when she heard the shots and commotion. Being the nosey little stinker that she was, she went to investigate and in the process was killed herself. Serves her right to cheat on me. I remember when I was little and I played checkers with my dad. He caught me cheating one time and told me, �You cheat, you die.� Who would ever think it was true?
Go Fish
So here I am at Blue Ridge Lake trying to keep a low profile so I don�t die. Carmen knows that I�m alive because she checked her sources and found out that I didn�t die at the bank. I�ve kept my ear to the street and heard that she is looking for me. That girl leaves no stone unturned. Last I heard she was checking all the nearby towns surrounding Staunton. I better get rid of that Oldsmobile before somebody in town up here rats me out. I�ll go dump the car tomorrow, after I go fishing.