“What you want us to do, boss?” Dino asked, stepping up dressed in all black, his hair gelled back, and a toothpick hanging out of his mouth like always. He held his 43X 9MM sliver head Glock at the back of Big Tillio’s skull while Vinnie looked and leaned on the front door, stuffing his hands in the pockets.
“Italo, can you get my gun back from her before she scratches it?” I said.
“You always leave me to deal with the crazy ones,” he grumbled, causing the other two to snicker.
“It’s ‘cause you’re so good at it,” Vinnie told him.
“Stay back!” she screamed, waving back and forth.
“Relax, love, there’s no need to worry.” Italo’s accent was full-on now. Of the three of them, he was the only one who had learned English as a second language. He slowly crept to her.
Bang.
“God fucking damn it,” he yelled, jumping out of the way of the bullet before rushing her and grabbing on to her.
“Let go! Let me go! Let me….” Slowly her voice slurred as he applied pressure on her neck, and within a few seconds, she collapsed.
“So, they worked for you the whole time?” Big Tillio spat out pitifully.
“Surprise,” I said, waving my fingers.
“Then why the fuck did you bother even asking then?”
“Well, obviously, it was because I was hoping we’d work together like back in the old days. But you let me down,” I said, taking a step forward and standing directly in his face.
“You told her I was the one who poisoned her family?”
I tilted my head to the side. “Weren’t you?”
He gritted his teeth. “You were the one who pushed the button. You were the one that—”
“You asked for our help. We offered it, and you couldn’t follow through, so I did it fucking for you. Me. As a child, I had bigger motherfucking balls than you. But that doesn’t change the fact that you were responsible. That you broke her and kept her like a damn pet. I didn’t say anything then because I honestly didn’t give a fuck. I had a job, and I did it. You had one job, and you reneged on me.”
I slid my gloves onto my hands before holding one out. Dino handed me his gun, but I shook my head. So he reached around his back and pulled out a small machete, and I nodded, reaching for it.
“Wait!” Big Tillio yelled, seeing the blade and trying to back away, but Vinnie was already behind him, grabbing one of his arms as Dino grabbed the other. “No, wait! Calli, it wasn’t my fault your grandfather called and told me not to—”
“And why didn’t you explain that on the phone?”
“He said not to—Ah, fuck! My arm. My fucking arm!” He squealed like a pig as I brought the blade down on the soft bit between his forearm and bicep, right at the elbow. His blood gushed and sprayed all over their polyester rug.
“Do you think I give a single flying fuck about your goddamn twisted love story? Or your ugly bitch boy past? Or who the hell told you to do what? You spoke to me, not my goddamn grandfather, stupid fat motherfuck!” But I didn’t stop. Over and over again, I hacked away until I hit nothing but air and the damn arm was no longer attached to him.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped back, wiping off my face as they let him go. He slumped to his knees before me.
Inhaling again, I looked at the ceiling for a moment. “Sorry, I lost my cool there. I’m under a lot of pressure right now, and things aren’t going very well.”
Kneeling down in front of him, I used the end of the bloody knife to lift his chin. His round face was covered in blood and tears; it was so red he almost looked like a tomato.
“I get it. You were stuck in between a rock and a hard place. But now that I’ve taken an arm, maybe you’ll be able to wiggle yourself free and see where you are supposed to stand. If you still have problems understanding, I can take off more limbs. Because you are right, the Callahan family can’t kill you all, but I sure as hell can make every living day of the rest of your obese life a goddamn nightmare. There is nowhere on this earth you will be able to hide, and no fucking person will ever be able to save you. You know why I’m telling you this, Big Tillio?”
He didn’t reply, as he was breathing so hard, spit was coming out of his mouth.
“He might have a heart attack, boss?” Dino replied, kicking the now detached arm to the side.
“He’s not allowed to, who else is going to spread my message?” I said, slapping Big Tillio’s face a few times. “That’s right, big man. You are alive because you’re now my personal bitch. If I tell you I need an army, you will go door to fucking door for me. If I tell you to shit in a bowl, you get a bowl and shit. Because you work for who?” I tilted my head and lifted my fingers to ears, waiting.
“Y…you.”