2 — Overtime
September 30, 1938
"You cheatin'?"
Burton Hale sighed and looked up from his cards.
"Have I ever, in the entire time we've known each other, cheated at cards?"
"Unno," Carmine muttered.
"You know very well I don't cheat. I'm not stupid, after all."
"Yeah, but still..."
"You," Burton settled, "simply can't stand that there's more than one person who regularly beats you at rummy."
That dig was enough to set Carmine off. With a dull grumble, he tossed his cards down and shoved up out of his chair.
"The problem with you," he growled, "is you can't just... You can't give a fella a break."
Burton chose to ignore the flare of temper — Carmine always calmed down quickly enough — and set about gathering the cards. As Carmine paced back from the other side of the room, Burton began to shuffle.
"Want to start again?" he asked.
"Nah. I gotta see if the boys are done yet. You go get the car started, huh?"
Tucking the deck into his pocket, Burton stood and left the office. As he made the quick walk along the corridor and down the back stairs, he hummed to himself. The sound wasn't enough to drown out the anguished shrieks and meaty thuds resounding from the main floor, but it was a distraction, at least.
The car was where they had left it, naturally, and he slid into the driver's seat, fumbling a little to start the vehicle, then bracing himself firmly with hands on the wheel.
Really, he liked his job — his actual job — and he loved Carmine, but sometimes, being so embroiled with the Tamburos was more trouble than it was worth.
A quick rap on the window drew Burton's attention, and he turned to see Carmine's brother Desto peering at him.
"They're bringin' him out," the boy said.
"Right. I... Uh, I have the car running."
Desto smirked and shook his head.
"I can see that."
Then the boy scampered away from the car. Burton tracked him in the mirror, but looked away as Carmine and the other two brothers emerged from the rear exit of the plant.
The bundle they were jointly toting looked awfully like deadweight.
Dom scrambled into the rear seat of the car first, pulling the bundle in to settle it at his feet. Desto piled in beside him, and then Nato. As per usual, Carmine moved to sit in the front passenger's seat. He slammed the door firmly as he settled in, then slapped a hand on the dashboard.
"Let's go."
Burton started to drive, only half paying attention to where he was actually heading. From the back, Nato was rattling off a continuous stream of directions in his usual precise manner.
Now and then, the bundle groaned.
Nato called for a stop when they were half a block or so from St. Cosmas, then got out of the car and, with help from Desto, shifted the bundle out onto the sidewalk. Once the brothers were back in the car, Burton immediately started driving. No hesitation. No way.
Perhaps, he thought, if he kept driving forever, he would eventually find his way out of this whole mess.
Posted Oct 2, 2019, 6:48 AM UTC · edited