Hard Choices, Pt 7.

When Gino pulled up to his warehouse from meeting with an old business partner, he immediately knew something was wrong.

There was a heavy, dank feeling in the air that was not due to the fog outside.

He got out of his car slowly, and on full alert he began making his way inside, his hand moving behind his back to the .38 he had holstered there.

Purposefully leaving the warehouse door open for the option of a quick escape, he entered his living area, casting furtive glances all around the growing shadows of evening.

Just as he began to relax his trigger finger, the door slammed shut behind him.

He spun around and saw none other than Salvatore Mangione, De Vicci’s second in command, backed by about five of his goons.

“Well, well, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Gino took a few steps back, already mentally planning his escape route.

“I hear you’ve been… poking around in places you don’t belong. When I heard it, I said, ‘No, of course not. Not my man Gino. He knows the consequences of such things.’ but they kept pushing, so I decided to come down and check things out myself.”

He advanced on Gino, closing the distance between them, his 6’5” frame towering over Gino’s 5’11” one.

As he spoke, his Brooklyn accent, tinged with the unabating aroma of garlic, assaulted Gino’s senses.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Sal. You know me. I’ve always been loyal, and I always will be.”

Sal’s five guys moved to encircle the two men, each with their hands clasped in front of them in an imposing gesture.

Gino glanced warily around, quickly realizing all avenues of escape were blocked.

“You sure about that, Gino? Because you know very well that I don’t like to be lied to. And lying to me, is like lying to the boss. What’s said to me is said to the boss. You know this.”

He put on a sickly sweet smile.

“This conversation would feel a lot more comfortable without that pistol on your back.”

At a nod from Sal, the goon standing directly behind Gino roughly relieved him of his weapon.

“Check the rest of his pockets while you’re at it.”

“Yes boss.”

Gino felt harsh hands going through all of his pockets, which deprived him of his wallet and cell phone as well.

He groaned inwardly. It was by pure chance that he’d had his phone on him at all. Only one person was in possession of its number, and he hoped beyond hope that he wouldn’t get found out.

Though raised in church, Gino had never been much of a praying man. Well… he sure was praying now.

“Nice piece.” Sal said approvingly as he admired Gino’s pistol, which had been handed to him per his command. “When’d you get it?”

“I’ve had it.”

Sal smiled again.

“Then I guess you won’t mind if it goes home with me.”

Gino ran his tongue over his teeth and remained silent.

Sal’s expression turned serious.

“It’s time for the truth. Have you been nosing in places you don’t belong? Or can I go tell the messenger that he was wrong, just I said he was?”

Gino straightened confidently under Sal’s unwavering stare.

“I know where my loyalties lie, Sal. And they’ve never wandered.”

After a long moment, Sal nodded.

“Alright, Gino. I believe you. But you believe me when I say-”

Ding!

Gino closed his eyes and sighed. That stupid phone. Why hadn’t he kept it on silent?

He cursed inwardly.

Sal’s expression hardened with suspicion.

“Check his phone. I wanna know what that text said.”

“Yes boss.” The goon who was still holding Gino’s phone did as he was told.

“It’s from somebody named ‘DR’. Could that be like a doctor?”

If the situation wasn’t so dire, Gino would have laughed. That correlation had never yet occurred to him.

“Give me that.” Sal growled.

The goon complied and Sal’s face lit up with fury as he read the text out loud.

“We found something. Something big. Couldn’t have done it without you. He’s going away for sure now. Call me.”

With a strength that surprised them all, Sal crushed the small cell phone in his hand as if it was nothing more than a tin can.

Before Gino even saw it coming, he felt exploding pain in his gut, originating from the location of Sal’s fist in his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him.

“I told you, Gino. I don’t like being lied to. You’re gonna regret that. Now tell me. Who is the doctor? And who are you getting dirt on for him?”

Gino looked into Sal’s eyes, and saw murder glinting in those black depths.

He remained silent. Partly because he still hadn’t gotten his breath back, but mostly because he would die before he gave up his friend.

Which, He considered cynically, is likely exactly what’s about to happen.

He grinned, the action momentarily surprising Sal.

Let them do their worst.

Gino knew whose side he was on.

And he was glad of it.

The last thing he was aware of was Sal’s ugly sneer as darkness overtook him.

***

About twenty minutes had passed since Dan texted Gino. I was as thrilled as he was about our find.

Well, his find. But I helped!

He couldn’t have found it if I wasn’t talking with Shirley.

I grinned, quite pleased with myself about the fact that I was part of all this.

“Something funny?” Dan queried with a grin.

“No. I’m just happy. This could be the clincher. This could put Bowing away for good.”

“Not ‘could be’, my dear… ‘will be’ is the term you’re looking for.”

I grinned even wider, if that was possible.

“Want me to check if Gino’s responded yet?” I was too excited to wait. I wanted to know.

He grinned again.

“I was about three seconds away from asking you to do exactly that.”

With a small giggle, I opened up his phone, to which he’d already told me the passcode.

My expression fell a bit when I saw that there hadn’t been a response.

“It shows a read receipt, but… No response.”

He frowned, all their previous good humor gone with the wind.

“Are you sure? That’s… not like him. Try giving him a call.”

I do so.

“It says ‘The number you have dialed is not a working number. Please dial again.’.”

Dan’s face reflected the worry I felt.

“Try again.” He said.

“I already am. Same thing.”

Dan started driving a bit faster, zooming through back alleys and side roads I didn’t even know existed.

“What are you doing?”

“Shortcuts. Something is definitely wrong, Maddie.”

Before long, we were pulling into the warehouse drive like a car possessed. We saw nothing immediately out of the ordinary. Gino’s car parked out front. The warehouse standing tall and desolate, as always.

But then we saw it. The door was left wide open. It was 45 degrees outside, Gino never would have done that on purpose.

Grabbing his 9 mm from the glove box, he paused.

“You know how to use one of these?” He asked me, dead serious.

“Only since I was seven.” I would have smiled, were we not so concerned.

“Good.” He reached into the back seat, retrieving another one. He handed it to me. “The mag is full, and it’s automatic. Just chamber the first round and you’re good to go.”

I nodded, deciding to chamber it now. I can clear it later if I need. Better safe than sorry.

He smiled grimly, impressed.

“Ready?”

I nod.

Dan led the way to the warehouse door, and I followed closely behind.

The sight that met us once we entered was just about the saddest one I could have imagined.

“Gino!” Dan to kneel beside his fallen friend, fear and concern warring in his features.

“Is he breathing?” I asked, scanning the room for any leftover intruders.

“Yes, thank God, he is!”

I quickly dialed 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

After explaining the situation to the woman on the other end of the line, she said there was a bus already on the way. Just sit tight, and try to plug any profusely bleeding wounds.

Which ones? I thought wryly.

As I approached them, I finally fully took in Gino’s state.

He was lying in a pool of blood, his face swollen almost beyond recognition. Dan had undone his shirt to assess how bad the wounds were, and what we saw wasn’t promising.

The bruising made me quite certain Gino had at least a few broken ribs, and his shoulder looked dislocated.

He was in a bad way. And we both knew it.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, we heard the sirens drawing near.

Dan’s face was pale and stricken with a myriad of emotions. Fear, worry, concern, shock… And was that guilt I saw in his eyes?

That’s when I noticed the crushed phone lying next to Gino. Realization dawned like the floodlights on an outdoor ice rink at night. It was the text. Whoever did this to him had seen the text.

I felt sick.

As the paramedics loaded Gino into the back of the ambulance, I drew near to Dan, hooking my arm through his as we watched them.

He squeezed my hand as if it meant the difference between life and death.

“Come on Dan. Let’s get in the car and follow them. I’ll drive if you like.”

He nodded dumbly and allowed me to lead him to the car.

It frightened me. This was a man who had seen things I could only imagine. Likely things that were a far sight worse than this.

And this had shaken him so badly he could barely move, let alone speak.

I slid into the driver's seat, and we followed the ambulance to the hospital.

***

“Mr. Genoa has taken quite a beating, miss, but I do believe he will pull through. There was some internal bleeding, but we took care of it. He has four fractured ribs, and a slight concussion, but… all things considered, he is a lucky man. Nothing serious was damaged, and given time and rest, he should be fit as a fiddle.”

The doctor’s words sent a flood of relief through me, even if Dan’s expression still didn’t change.

“Thank you, Doctor. When can we see him?”

His worn face cracked with a small smile.

“You may go to his room now, if you like. He’s just been settled into it. He’s not awake yet, but you can at least be with him.”

Before I could stop myself, I stood from my chair, right there in the waiting room, and gave the man a hug.

***

As Maddie and Dan made their way to Gino’s room, Dan still felt it difficult to be grateful.

And when he took in his friend’s battered state, lying in that hospital bed… His emotions finally bubbled over.

He knelt on the floor by the bed and began to sob. A very unmanly kind of sobbing.

Shocked, Maddie knelt beside him, with a comforting hand on his back and waited for him to get it all out.

He was thankful for her.

When all his tears were spent, and he had finally calmed down a bit…

He realized something.

Maddie was his friend.

To him, she was no longer simply Joshie’s little sister. She was his colleague. His friend. His partner.

And that… was a gift he’d never expected out of all this. A gift he knew he didn’t deserve. But one he appreciated all the more for it.

Despite everything, he felt a grin spreading across his face.