Chapter 4
Side work
Getting in behind the steering wheel he drove over to Fillmore Street and made a right onto Beach Street. In the middle of the second block he saw a large red and green sign with “Tony’s” written in large letters on it. Mike pulled his car to the curb, and walked into the restaurant. A waiter walked over and asked if he would like to be seated.
“No, I just need to talk to Tony.” Mike said.
“I’ll be right back.” Said the waiter and turned and hurried to the bar. In a few minutes Mike saw the waiter waving him over to the bartender.
“What da ya want kid? I’m busy, I’ve gotta business to run here.” snarled the large man tending bar.
Handing him the card Mike said, “Mister Bassi told me to come over here and see you.”
He gave Mike an apprising look over and said, “Lucien told me he was sending someone but I figured he’d send his regular guy not a kid. What’s your name kid?” Before Mike could respond, he shrugged and said, “Never mind I don’t need to know. If Lucien sent you I guess you’re OK. See that guy at the end of the bar? He’s strong arming me for my health permits. I want him killed.”
Looking down at the guy Mike asked, “Do you want him to have an accident or just killed?”
“I want him shot. Oh yeah, tell him it’s from Tony.” He said with an evil smile.
“Don’t shoot him in this neighborhood.” Tony added hastily.
Three hours later Mike followed the mark down the street in the Mission District seeing the guy park and enter a restaurant. Mike pulled his car into a space several shops up the street. Mike walked to the rear of his car and opened the trunk. He grabbed a tote bag, closed the trunk, and walked back toward the restaurant. As he walked, he stepped into a narrow alley way, opened the tote and extracted a Celtics windbreaker and a Red Socks baseball cap. He stuffed the bag behind a trash can and returned to the sidewalk. As he walked past the restaurant Mike saw the guy talking to an older gentleman inside the restaurant. He pulled the cap lower partially concealing his face and continued down the sidewalk. Half a block later he turned and started back toward his car. Twenty feet in front of him the Health Inspector stepped out of the restaurant turned and started to his car which Mike was just passing.
When they met, instead of continuing past, Mike stepped in front of him and pulled a pistol from his waist band and said, “This is from Tony.” Then he shoved the .38 pistol into the guy’s stomach and pulled the trigger. He angled the gun upward and fired the second round into the guy’s chest and as the man slipped to the ground, he fired two rounds into his face. Mike then pushed him away from himself and put the gun back into his waistband.
Mike stepped over the body and continued in the direction he had been traveling. He stepped into the alley and as he passed the trash can, he retrieved his tote, opened it and shoved the jacket and cap inside and returned to the sidewalk. He didn’t glance back to the body on the street behind him and he didn’t see the crowd that had started to gather around the body.
He walked purposely to his car, tossed the tote into the back seat and then slid behind the steering wheel. He started his car and drove to Tony’s.
When Mike walked into Tony’s this time he strode directly to the bar. When Tony walked over and asked what he would have, Mike nodded to him and said, “Its done.” then without further words he turned and walked out.
Over the next six months Mike killed eight people for Tony. There was a councilman and an alderman but most were local hoodlums or street toughs. Some were shot, a few died from hit and run accidents and one drown in his apartment’s swimming pool.
Vinny and he were still working out of Lucien’s building basement doing collections. Primarily, based on his jobs from Tony, Mike had quite a nest egg built up. At first he had stored most of his money in a safety deposit box in the bank. On Vinny’s advice, he bought a small bar in order to wash his hit money. Both Vinny and he were doing quite well.
The week when he got his pay envelope with his weeks pay Mike found a note to go see Lucien on the following Friday. On Friday, Mike went to Mr. Bassi’s office and was met warmly by Lucien Bassi. Shaking his hand Lucien told Mike that Tony was very happy with his work and that he would have more work for him.
Then Mr. Bassi said, “Come with me.” They walked down the hallway and stood in front of an office door. Michael Mason, District Sales Manager, North East Los Angeles District was printed on it. “This is your new job and office” Lucien said. “You report here Monday morning at nine o’clock. You are no longer doing collections. Oh yea, remember to bring something to read and a radio if you want, just keep the volume down.
That night Mike told Vinny about his new job.
Vinny was beaming, “I know” he said. “I am the new VP of Sales for Bassi Steel.”
They had intended to go out tonight for a couple beers but now they decided to celebrate and get shit faced.
”My treat, I’ve got some extra money from my side jobs.” Mike laughed and told him.
“Cool. How have your side jobs been going, any problems? ” Vinny ask.
“So far they have been easy as pie, easy money.” replied Mike.
Things continued to be very profitable for Mike and his jobs went off without a hitch for the next two years. In those two years Mikes hits were performed on more high profile targets; a State Senator, a judge, and even a Congressman. Mikes pay had increased as well depending on the victim.
Then one day Mike got a note in his pay envelope asking him to stop by and see Tony the following Wednesday.
Wednesday, when he went to the restaurant to see Tony, he told Mike that they needed a high profile guy eliminated. This time the target was a local businessman and hoodlum that was trying to horn in on the syndicate’s book making territory.
“Do it publicly and it should be messy but try not to take any civilians out. We need to make an example of this clown. Without bringing the politicians down on us.” said Tony as he slid a large envelope over to him.
Mike picked up the envelope.
“Make sure the job is completed before next Thursday. As usual everything you’ll need to identify him and locate him is in the envelope” said Tony.
Mike nodded his head, picked up the envelope and left the bar and returned to his car. Back at his apartment he shook the contents of the envelope onto his kitchen table. He found an 8 x 10 photo with a clear shot of a very fat guy labeled Big Bob Morris. There was a typed page with all of the pertinent information: home addresses, work address, hang outs, vehicle color, make, and model. It also listed information on the number of body guards, and daily work schedules. Big Bob was very organized and followed the same routine week in and week out.
The following Monday Mike started to observe Big Bob’s activities. He watched him leave home and drive to his office just as outlined on the profile sheet he had been given by Tony.
Mike was sitting down the street in his car when again like clockwork Big Bob came out with his body guards to drive to lunch. Mike watched the body guard’s behavior closely. They were both standing around the car looking bored. When Big Bob exited the building one of them would open his car door and enter behind Big Bob. Then the second body guard would get in the drivers seat and they drove away.
Mike followed them to lunch then back to the office. He parked waiting for the end of the day and the drive home.
That night Mike picked out a long brown wig, scruffy wide brimmed hat and a light weight brown fringed buckskin jacket. Next, he selected a sawed down Winchester M12 pump action shotgun. Just wanting to get the job done Mike decided he was confident the profile sheet was accurate.
Not being the type to put things off, the next day, Mike in his disguise was sitting on a planter box eating a sandwich when the bodyguards and Big Bob exited the building for lunch. Just as the first bodyguard reached for the door, Mike pulled the shotgun from the planter box and cut him down. Then he
turned, pumped in a new round and took out bodyguard number two.
Big Bob stood there with his mouth open and was fumbling for his gun in his shoulder holster. Mike fired three rounds into him. The last shot had taken most of Big Bobs head off. Mike turned and started walking away.
As he walked back to where he had been sitting on the planter box he broke down the shot gun and dropped it into his tote bag. Then he tossed in his half eaten lunch and picked the tote bag up and walked swiftly away.
A block away he continue walking as he removed his hat, wig, and fringed jacket and stuffed them into the tote as well. Another block and he was at his car, where he opened the car door and tossed the bag into the rear seat. He got behind the wheel and drove away. He turned left at the first cross street and drove home. He parked his car in the garage and put the tote bag in the trunk.
Mike walked to the street and hopped into his second car and drove toward his office. He stopped at a gas station on the way and reached into the back seat and grabbed a white shirt from where it hang on a hook beside the rear seat. He slipped on the shirt, put the pre-tied neck tie over his head and got back behind the steering wheel. He drove to Tony’s and as he walked toward the front door, he straightened his clothes, tightened his tie and entered the restaurant.
Chapter 5
Moving on