Double Jeopardy

36

10:10 P.M.

THIS TIME KRAMER MET Donny in the corridor outside Mario’s office. He snuck up behind him, grabbed a suspender, then let it pop.

“Owww!” Donny cried.

Kramer grabbed Donny by the throat. “Whatcha been up to, Donny-boy?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all.” His eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his head. “You’re hurting me.”

“I know,” Kramer replied. “That’s why I got this shit-eatin’ grin.” He reached into his pocket with his free hand and removed a fistful of handwritten notes. “Look what I found.”

“Hey! Those are mine! What were you doing in my desk?”

“Looking for backstabbing crap like this!” He threw the notes on the floor. “You’ve pushed your ass into my affairs once too often, Donny-boy.”

Donny struggled futilely against Kramer’s grip. “You can’t hurt me. I’m family.”

“So?”

“So you’re nothing. You’re just a sick bastard Uncle Mario uses to clean up shit too dirty for any normal—”

He never finished the sentence. Kramer’s fist brought it to a premature conclusion. Donny fell to his knees, his hand pressed against his face, tears in his eyes.

“What is the meaning of this?”

It was Mario, standing just behind them.

“Just handlin’ a little discipline problem,” Kramer replied. “Nothin’ important.”

“He hurt me!” Donny cried, rubbing his jaw. “He’s just mad because—”

“Silence!” Mario bellowed. “I’ve had all the petty bickering I can bear. Mr. Kramer, if I ever decide to hire you to enforce discipline within the family, I will let you know.”

Kramer muttered something under his breath.

Mario bent down and retrieved the notes, glanced at them, then dropped them in a trash can. “Donny, surely you didn’t think I needed you to set me straight?”

“I just wanted to keep a record. So you’d know why Kramer keeps screwing up.”

Kramer’s eyes widened, enraged. “You candy-assed son of a—”

Mario cut Kramer off with a wave of his hand. “If you ever hope to become a lieutenant, Donny, you must learn to follow instructions and observe the chain of command.” He turned to face Kramer. “I must admit, however, that to a large extent I share Donny’s concerns. Mr. Kramer, you have a reputation for efficiency that knows no bounds. As a result, you have been trusted with matters of great delicacy.” His voice swelled in volume. “So why the hell can’t you take care of one third-rate crook and one fucking lawyer?”

Kramer stuttered uncertainly. Mario interrupted before he could complete a word. “I don’t care to hear your excuses.” He placed his hand roughly against Kramer’s chest, shoving him back. “One more chance, Mr. Kramer. That is all that remains to you. One more failure, and you will no longer have any association with this family. You will be invisible to us. Transparent. A ghost. Do you understand?”

Kramer didn’t answer. His teeth were clenched tightly together.

“I said, do you understand?”

Kramer nodded his head slowly. “I understand.”

“Perfect.” Mario extended his hand to help Donny up, who was still lying on the floor.

“Thanks, Uncle Mario. I told you what a screwup he was—”

“Donny, shut up. You’ve been no more successful than Mr. Kramer. Indeed, I have to wonder whether your forced association with Mr. Kramer is the reason for his atypical incompetence.”

“Uncle Mario!”

“I’m shipping you back to your mother, Donny. It pains me, but I must tell Monica you have no place in this family. Not as a lieutenant, not even as the lowliest foot soldier. Perhaps we can reconsider when you have matured, say, in thirty or forty years. But for now, I want no part of you. Goodbye.”

“But, Uncle Mario!”

It was no use. Mario was already down the hall and out of sight.

Donny stared at Kramer, who was standing stiff as a board, obviously seething. He’d never seen anyone talk to Kramer like Mario just did. Served the bastard right.

He decided to run back to his room before Kramer snapped out of it and started slugging again. He wasn’t going to pack, though. He couldn’t believe Mario would really ship him back home. This was a warning, that’s all. Shape up or ship out.

So he would shape up. He would prove to Uncle Mario that he could be a valuable asset to the organization. By accomplishing what Kramer could not.

He would kill Travis Byrne stone-cold dead. And not make a mess of it.