He said he’d be home at 10.30. My brother Frankie was always a bad influence on Joe. He’s not my real brother but no one ever came closer. Ask anyone; Jersey is a tough place to grow up. I raised Joe the best I could. I always wanted a better life for him. He could have been a great musician if he wanted anything other than ‘to be like Frankie’. Joe has been coming home with blood on his cuffs since he turned 13 and I’ve forgotten who he really is…
I woke up face down in the snow, dirt flaking from my clothes as I pushed myself up. I couldn’t have been out long, it was -4; I glanced at my watch [12.43am] and staggered to my feet. Uncle Frankie was supposed to be our lookout but there was no sign of him. Joey and Al were still down. I brushed myself off and took a smoke from my inside pocket. Hand shaking, cut lip, pain all over, it took me three snaps to light the damn thing in the wind. Just then, Joey came to.
“What happened?” He said as he tried to stand, stumbling, with one hand on the ground and the other keeping pressure on the fresh wound on his neck.
I didn’t answer, because I didn’t know, and that was that. Answers came later but the fog hadn’t lifted, the truck was long gone, and Al was still down, still.
Joey was a huge, tall guy - one of the best. He had the hands of a giant. I mean, we had to cut the trigger guard from his gun so he could shoot the damn thing. He was fat, too. Suits didn’t fit him but no one told him that.
Al wasn’t waking up. We had to move – him and us - the cold was closing in. Joey threw Al over his enormous shoulder with one movement, forgetting about the gaping hole pouring soup from his neck.
We knew the area; we’d boosted trucks here so often even the drivers knew the drill. The closest payphone was nine miles away. We were on the edge of the Pines, trees towering, shoes soaking and only two more smokes to last the trip. We made the yards to the car hidden in the forest and Joey put Al on the back seat. We had to hurry; The Boss needed his update 20 minutes ago.
People cross the street when they see Joey coming, but you’d run a fucking mile if you saw The Boss.
