Part 1 (2/2)
”I swear, Mr. Castrucci, I would never betray you,” Johnny protested as tears ran down his b.l.o.o.d.y cheeks.
Sonny leaned against the wall and laced his arms across his chest. He tried to remember how many times he had seen grown men cry and beg for their lives. Too many times to count, he thought as he watched Big Tony pace back and forth in front of Johnny.
Big Tony stopped and leaned forward. He brought his face within an inch of Johnny's. ”Don't lie to me, you little c.o.c.ksucker!” he yelled in Italian, all niceties gone.
With a move quicker than Sonny thought possible, Big Tony slammed his fist into Johnny's mouth. The impact sent blood spewing against the wall.
Johnny coughed and spit his front tooth out. His head dropped against his chest, his eyes closing as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He wished he could do it all over again. He thought about that night four weeks ago and remembered how he felt standing in the warehouse with Eugene. He had been on edge. He shouldn't have done it. If only he could take it all back.
Big Tony's voice snapped him from his thoughts. ”What do we do with rats? Huh, Johnny, what do we do?” he calmly asked. It was a question that Johnny undeniably knew the answer too.
Sonny, unable to control himself, doubled over with laughter. He pointed at Johnny's crotch. ”The little s.h.i.+thead p.i.s.sed his pants.” He continued to laugh as the dark spot spread rapidly across the front of Johnny's jeans.
”I need to know what else you told them, Johnny.”
Johnny shook his head vehemently back and forth. ”I swear, I didn't tell aem anything.”
Big Tony ran his fingers through his hair. He looked at Johnny. It was crucial that he know just how much damage had been done. He smiled. ”That's not what I heard, Johnny. I heard you had plenty to say. I want the f.u.c.king truth. If you tell me everything, I'll think about giving you a pa.s.s. I'm not promising anything, but I just might be inclined to cut you a break, but that solely depends on how truthful you are.” He watched Johnny's facial expression begin to change. He almost had him.
”Please, Mr. Castrucci, please!” he begged. ”I only told about the s.h.i.+pment at Danco. That's all, I swear!”
Big Tony looked at Johnny with dark, cold, and unfeeling eyes. He took a couple steps back, turned and nodded to Sonny before turning back to Johnny. ”Thank you, Johnny,” he said casually.
Sonny pushed away from the wall and walked over to Johnny.
Johnny sobbed loudly as he watched Sonny reach inside his jacket pocket, remove a semiautomatic, and then slowly screw on a silencer.
Very calmly and without any emotion whatsoever, Sonny pulled the trigger. The gun made a swoosh sound as the bullet-along with pieces of Johnny's brain-exploded out the side of his head. With the same calmness, Sonny pulled a knife from his pocket and clicked the blade in place. He pried Johnny's mouth open and pulled out his tongue. With a flick of his wrist, he sliced it off. He pulled Johnny's s.h.i.+rt pocket open and dropped it in.
Chapter 3.
A knock on the door caused FBI a.s.sistant Deputy Director Kyle Edwards to look up from the stack of papers on his desk.
”Come in,” he said and closed the cover on the top file.
Ron Astor pushed the door open. ”I'm sorry to bother you, but I have the doc.u.ments you asked for.”
”No bother at all. Please have a seat,” Edwards said, motioning toward the chair. He took the folder from Ron's hand and laid it down on the desk.
”How are you doing, Ron?”
”Some days are better than others.”
”How's Lynn?”
Ron shook his head. ”Not too good. Six months, maybe a year at the most.”
”I'm so sorry, Ron. If there's anything I can do, just let me know,” Edwards said with sincerity.
”Thank you. I appreciate it more than you know.”
Edwards looked at him thoughtfully. ”Are you sure that you want to be included in this? Because if not-”
Ron held his hand up to stop him. ”Really, Kyle, I'm fine and yes, I'm sure. Right now, this job is the only thing helping me keep my sanity.”
Edwards nodded and opened the folder. ”Okay, Ron. I won't ask again, but I do have one other question I'd like your opinion on.”
”Sure.”
”What do you think about Agent Sorento? Do you think I made the right decision?”
”I think she's the perfect candidate for this a.s.signment,” Ron answered without hesitation.
”Good. I was hoping you'd say that, because I think she is, too.” Edwards glanced down at the papers in the folder. ”Is there anything in here I should be worried about?”
Ron shook his head. ”Not really. I did an extensive check on their bank accounts, credit ratings, past job reviews, just like you asked, and anything else I could find. They're all clean. The only thing worth noting is Artie's wife, Alice. She's an alcoholic, which I'm sure you already know.”
Edwards nodded. ”Yeah, I've heard the rumors.” He leaned back in the chair and laced his hands behind his head. ”Do you think it's enough to sc.r.a.p him?”
Ron shook his head. ”Maybe Artie needs his job as much I do right now.”
”All right, but keep an eye on his situation and let me know if you change your mind about him.”
”I will.”
”Okay, how about our other matter?”
”I finally received the corresponding data tied to the informants and let me tell you, we have tons. It won't be an easy task.”
Edwards ma.s.saged the sides of his temples with his index fingers. ”What's your plan of action?” he asked.
”I've written a new program to search for a common link between the men.”
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