Roulettes (823 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: The_Malleys
Rating: 1.65 on 24 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Axolotl .97 (View user info) at 2006-05-04 11:00:38 EDT
Dick James walked into the empty casino and checked his watch. It was one o'clock, Saturday morning, the meeting time. Dickie walked into the high-ceilinged room; the moon and stars were shining through the wide windows onto the deserted betting floor and roulettes.
"Why hello there, Dickie Jim!" called out a fruity, jubilant voice by the margarita bar in the center of the room. Dickie slowly made his way over to the bar, where his contact was waiting.
Antonio Delgado was a tall, bearded black man in a tailored navy suit. His face resembled Kanye West, and he had all of his ego.
"Glad to see you, you son of a bitch," Antonio said, flashing his gleaming white teeth. "You look tired. Can I pour you a martini?"
"You sound very awake, Antonio," Dickie said in some irritation, stepping up to the bar. "It's technically the morning, but, yeah...I'll have a Bulmers. Lay off the meth, will you?"
"Bulmers, Bulmers," Antonio repeated, reaching under the bar to grab a bottle. "We have it draught, if that's cool. No meth jokes, either, Dickie, that's not funny."
"Yeah," Dickie said distractedly.
"You look worried," Delgado said, grin still wide across his face. He handed Dickie the bottle of Bulmers, and set his hands under the counter. "Are you having a Laci Petersen Christmas?"
"Let's just get this done with, I gotta get back to North Jersey before Christmas morning, and the snow on the road's gonna be a bitch," Dickie said. "Haven't been able to get back all week, my wife is angry at me."
"What a terrible thing," Delgado said sardonically, strumming his fingers on the bar. "Stuck in Atlantic City for a whole week! Nothing but the roulettes and whores to keep you company!"
"It's not been fun!" Dickie muttered, sipping down his drink. "Iggy Ciceri has been hounding me every step. I've been afraid to step out of my hotel room. I just wanted to do this quickly as possible, just to get it over with."
"Ah, he's that big dude, with a red face?" Delgado said, his hands reaching up to distractedly twirl a wine glass hanging from a rack. "He was up here at the Regal Casino, last night, trying to get me to sign over some papers to the Dimiglio Family."
"Shit...What did you say?" Dickie said breathlessly. "I gotta get this casino! It's my mission from Jackie himself! I might as well go back carrying my own head than empty-handed!"
"Would I have called you here if I didn't want to sign over the contracts to you?" Delgado asked, his grin fading. "Fuck the Dimiglios. Especially that dirty ape Ciceri. C'mon, Dickie, I love you. I'm your friend. I'll gladly sign over the casino's papers to Jackie."
"Thank you," Dickie said, relieved. His hands rested on the bartop, his thinning, lank hair hanging over his face. "But what did Iggy say to you?"
Delgado smiled again, and in a quick, whirring motion flipped a switchblade from under the bar, and thrust it through Dickie's hand, pinning his arm to the bar. As Dickie painfully pulled back in shock, Delgado said, "Why don't you ask him yourself?"
Iggy Ciceri jabbed his knife upward into the base of Dickie's skull, piercing right through the brainstem before he could make a sound. Bleeding from the nose, Dickie slowly sank to the ground, his face banging against the bar as he went down.
"Merry Christmas, you filthy animal," Iggy said, plucking the knife from the back of Dickie's head with a sickening pop. "I didn't know how long you were going to keep me hiding back there. Dirty ape?"
Ignoring Ciceri, Delgado pulled the knife out of the bar, freeing Dickie's cold hand. His nose crinkled in disgust, he wiped a rag over the bar, clearing up the blood. "You have the money?" Delgado asked.
Iggy Ciceri handed Delgado a brown manila envelope, and Delgado pulled a roll of papers from his suit jacket. They exchanged, and Delgado bowed.
"A pleasure doing business with you, my friend."
* * *
CHRISTMAS 1927, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
Thomas Malley was familiar with the damage a Tommy gun could do to a human body. He had served in the Royal Irish Rifles during the Great War, but the sight of his caporegime, Mickey Flaherty, shot to near death in the back of a seedy city bar, hurt him more than seeing any dead German in the trenches.
"Mickey," Tom said, lowering himself down to his crew leader. "Who did this to you?" The killers had escaped out the back, just as Malley and the Don, Kevin Finnerty, had entered through the front of the bar.
"Salvatore...Vincenzo...bootleggers..." Flaherty muttered, the innumerable holes in his body preventing him from continuing.
"Bastards," Finnerty said, shaking his head and leaning against a stool. The bartender was lying beneath the bar, unconscious, but safe. "Malley, it looks like you're promoted."
* * *
John Malley looked out at his daughter Alexis playing in the snow outside in his backyard, and paused loading the laundry for a moment. He sat back against the cabinets and watched Alexis and their black lab run through the broad, snowy yard.
Alexis was throwing snowballs at Dennis, a massive black dog that had been mistaken for a small pony; the dog was leaping up and catching the snow in his mouth. They were both so happy...from up above the stairs echoed the strains of AC/DC's Back in Black, played on Nick's electric guitar. His wife was filling out thank-you cards from Christmas upstairs.
It had been almost two weeks since he had discovered that Paulie was an FBI informant, and Malley still hadn't told anyone. He considered going to talk to Paulie and asking him to quit it for New Year's, but Malley knew once you were in with the FBI, it was for life.
Worse than that, Dickie James had disappeared mysteriously. Antonio Delgado, the Regal Casino operator, had signed over his shares to the Dimiglio family, and Dickie was presumed dead. The loss of the foothold in Atlantic City had hurt Jackie deeply, and he was short a good man.
Malley sighed and continued loading in his family's clothes. It had been a good Christmas, and now the year was almost over. 2005 would be beginning at midnight, between the next day and Saturday. He pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his son's jeans; he was always so careless with his money. Just to be sure, Malley checked his other pocket.
John Malley pulled out a small plastic baggy, filled with a dry, grassy substance. He stared at the crinkled leaves, and cursed quietly, dropping his arm to his side in defeat.
He couldn't get mad...he got up, and walked through the kitchen and dining room, where his wife sat writing out cards. It would worry her if he told her what he had found; it bothered her enough that he killed people occasionally in his job.
Malley walked up the stairs, and steeling himself, knocked on his son's door.
"Come in."
Malley opened the door and stepped into the relatively tidy residence of Nick, his son. Nick was sitting on his bed, slowly strumming the opening notes of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Malley took a deep breath, and held up the bag. His son seemed to sink into the bed.
"You're always careless with things in your pockets," John Malley said, his voice even. "Who gave this to you?"
Nick nervously held the guitar in front of him, like a shield against his father's anger. Very quietly, he answered, "A guy at school. Football player. At a party, I..."
Malley sighed and leaned against the doorpost. "This goes beyond grounding. I don't know what to say...haven't I raised you properly? What did you think your mother would say?"
"Have you told mom yet?"
"No. I'd like to keep her heart-attack free," Malley replied. "You disappoint me. Drugs...this isn't like you. I know you're going to call me a hypocrite, but what I do, which sometimes involves hurting people, is not the same as this. You could lose your soul."
"I wouldn't call you a hypocrite," Nick said, biting his lips. His voice was high, expecting his father's rage to break at any moment. "Are you mad?"
"I want you to stop this," Malley said. "Now. No more buying things from football players. Stay away from this kid. You have six more months of school, and then you're all finished. Don't ruin it now. Stay away."
"I promise, dad, I just...I have no excuse," Nick said, nodding and looking down.
"I'll give you another chance," Malley said, his voice growing even calmer. "For New Years. Make a new start of it."
"Thanks," Nick said, relieved.
"Don't make me regret this. Do this again and I'll tell mom. I'm not mad...I just want you to stop."
"Thanks, dad."
John Malley nodded wordlessly and walked out of the room, slumping down the stairs. He caught a glimpse of himself in the hallway mirror, and could have sworn he had grown some grey hairs.
In the kitchen, Malley threw the marijuana into the bottom of the garbage bin, pushing it past Chinese takeout containers and gift wrap and burying it deep in the center. As he stood up, stretching his back, he could still see his daughter playing outside, constructing a towering snowman.
The phone rang in the kitchen next room, and Malley leaped up to answer it.
* * *
"I'm sorry to report this," Jackie said in some regret, as he sat back in his chair in the conference room of Brecher's Auto Shop. "But Dickie James has disappeared from Atlantic City, presumed dead."
"We've lost the casinos?" John Malley asked. Pat Coyle was sitting hunched over in his seat; Dickie had been his cousin. Paulie and Mike Brecher were standing at the door, respectfully still.
"Our friends in the Dimiglio family is now in the casino business," Jackie said, a note of bitterness in his voice. "We're out, and we're short a good financial backer. Not only that, Agent Ross has been sticking his nose about our accounting practices."
"It's hard," Paulie said, shuffling his feet. "I suppose we can get a steady fund from our legitimate businesses...Brecher's Body Shop, Malley's Pub...I'd rather not have old Dickie pushing up daisies, but you gotta go with the flow."
"We're been doing all right at the restaurant," Coyle said distractedly. He began biting his fingernails, grinding his teeth together. "Insider trading as well—I don't know how well our stocks will be represented now that Dickie's gone..."
"Your brother can still do his construction and government bids," Paulie said to John; John nodded, and stood up.
"This is a big problem," John Malley said, standing by Brecher at the doorway. "The FBI is investigating us, and we're being forced back by the Dimiglios. Don Galantro has been attacking our projects and investments at every turn."
"Do you think shooting his nephew might have had anything to do with things?" Paulie asked innocently. "I'm not saying anything, I'm just thinking aloud."
"Then think to your own goddamn self, Paulie," Malley growled, his voice coming out more irritated than he had intended.
"Malley, things will work out," Jackie said, motioning with his hands to calm down. He crinkled his flecked mustache and said, "Brecher, keep Jim out of our business for a while. He needs to take a short trip away, just until we can get back on our feet and stall this encroachment."
"Yes, sir," Michael said, nodding obediently, his hands folded behind his back.
"Don't worry, boys," Jackie said, smiling and looking up with his clear blue eyes. "Everything all works out in the end, you'll see."
Episode 1: The Malleys http://www.ubersite.com/m/87184
Episode 2: To Risk Your Arm http://www.ubersite.com/m/87242
Episode 3: Innocent Until Proven Guilty http://www.ubersite.com/m/87289
User Reviews
Submitted by BobLobla (user info) at 2006-06-22 14:36:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wicked man, great story. On to the next one.
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-05-11 08:13:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2006-05-05 11:41:18 (#)
Ranking: 2
Just got around to this and it's great as usual. Keep it up, and keep them coming.
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Thanks, mate
Submitted by Ballare (user info) at 2006-05-11 04:13:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2006-05-05 11:41:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Just got around to this and it's great as usual. Keep it up, and keep them coming.
Submitted by DCWoody (user info) at 2006-05-05 09:02:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Nononono, I was trying to get people to realsie that it is possible for them to be absolutely certain of something and still be wrong, at the time I was arguing with americans a lot and I found the majority of them were absolutely unwilling to concede a point even if it was supremely obvious that they were wrong.
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-05-05 08:42:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
So...the point of the post was to show how much smarter you were than everyone else.
Submitted by DCWoody (user info) at 2006-05-05 08:21:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Yeah everone argues those, but going by the actual definitions of planet and revolver I'm right.
*rests in shade of enourmous head*
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-05-05 08:16:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by DCWoody (user info) at 2006-05-05 08:09:07 (#)
Ranking: 1
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Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-02-28 09:55:11 (#)
Ranking: 2
1. How many moons does the earth have?
One
2. How many states in the USA?
Fifty, with some dependencies
3. How many planets in the solar system?
Ten, so far
4. What colour is the planet mars?
Rust
5. Who in the bible cut off Samsons hair?
The Philistines
6. Who invented the revolver?
Probably Colt
7. Who invented the telephone?
Alexander Graham Bell
8. Who coined the term survival of the fittest?
Not Darwin...some other mate before him
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Just saw this on an ancient post of mine.
After some discussion when I posted the answers it turns out that I was wrong about some things, notably the number of moons.
1.The Earth has one moon, however there are four other natural satelites which some people claim are moons, expecially Cruithnie which is most commonly reffered to as 'the second moon'. Going by the scientific definition of a moon they are wrong and there is only one.
2. 45 States, some commonwealths and stuff make up the rest, just a technicality I suppose.
3. Almost everybody would say 9. Scientists and people who are really into space and stuff would say 10 as there was another body discovered about 5 years ago. Going by the scientific definition and criteria of planets there are 8. Pluto fails all of the criteria on which planets are judged.
4. Brown. After the idea of a 'red planet' gathered interest when photos were taken during dust storms NASA started manipulating pictures to make it appear red. It is brown.
5. There are many different versions but Delilah's handmaiden is the 'proper version', as in the original/most commonly accepted version.
6. James Puckle 1718. This was strongly disputed by some because it wasn't a hand held six shooter, but thats like saying Merccuci didn't invent the telephone because it wasn't a mobile (cell for americans).
7. Some old Italian man named Merccuci, Bell worked in a patent office and stole the idea when it came through. Merccuci sued him, but Bells phone found riches enabled him to slow down the trial to the extent that Merccuci died of old age and the case collapsed.
8. Herbert Spencer.
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Which five states don't exist? They're still territories I suppose. By tradition, nine planets, but there's ten I think. I knew it wasn't Delilah. I knew about the Puckle-Gun, but it was more of an early machine gun than a revolver; a revolver is understood generally to be a handheld 6 to 8 chambered gun in modern definition. I couldn't think of Spencer's name.
Submitted by DCWoody (user info) at 2006-05-05 08:09:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
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Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-02-28 09:55:11 (#)
Ranking: 2
1. How many moons does the earth have?
One
2. How many states in the USA?
Fifty, with some dependencies
3. How many planets in the solar system?
Ten, so far
4. What colour is the planet mars?
Rust
5. Who in the bible cut off Samsons hair?
The Philistines
6. Who invented the revolver?
Probably Colt
7. Who invented the telephone?
Alexander Graham Bell
8. Who coined the term survival of the fittest?
Not Darwin...some other mate before him
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just saw this on an ancient post of mine.
After some discussion when I posted the answers it turns out that I was wrong about some things, notably the number of moons.
1.The Earth has one moon, however there are four other natural satelites which some people claim are moons, expecially Cruithnie which is most commonly reffered to as 'the second moon'. Going by the scientific definition of a moon they are wrong and there is only one.
2. 45 States, some commonwealths and stuff make up the rest, just a technicality I suppose.
3. Almost everybody would say 9. Scientists and people who are really into space and stuff would say 10 as there was another body discovered about 5 years ago. Going by the scientific definition and criteria of planets there are 8. Pluto fails all of the criteria on which planets are judged.
4. Brown. After the idea of a 'red planet' gathered interest when photos were taken during dust storms NASA started manipulating pictures to make it appear red. It is brown.
5. There are many different versions but Delilah's handmaiden is the 'proper version', as in the original/most commonly accepted version.
6. James Puckle 1718. This was strongly disputed by some because it wasn't a hand held six shooter, but thats like saying Merccuci didn't invent the telephone because it wasn't a mobile (cell for americans).
7. Some old Italian man named Merccuci, Bell worked in a patent office and stole the idea when it came through. Merccuci sued him, but Bells phone found riches enabled him to slow down the trial to the extent that Merccuci died of old age and the case collapsed.
8. Herbert Spencer.
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-05-04 22:35:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
weeps for ghola
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-05-04 21:49:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i can't believe i read this.
i need to study.ae
aetnioa
Afmnoaera'
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-05-04 21:26:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-05-04 19:42:45 (#)
Ranking: 2
yeah, I meant number 1 - I just saw number 2 the other day
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I saw them last week I think, they were on marathon on AMC. They completely edited the whole movie though. There was no nudity/sexuality, and they cut out large parts of Sonny's death scene, the killings at the end of the movie, Michael shooting McCluskey and Sollozzo in the restaurant...it seemed unrealistic.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-05-04 19:42:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
yeah, I meant number 1 - I just saw number 2 the other day
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-05-04 16:49:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-05-04 15:43:52 (#)
Ranking: 1
Delgado smiled again, and in a quick, whirring motion flipped a switchblade from under the bar, and thrust it through Dickie's hand, pinning his arm to the bar. As Dickie painfully pulled back in shock, Delgado said, "Why don't you ask him yourself?"
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Hey, you stole that from Godfather II.
And, what is with the 'Axolotl .97' naming convention?
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Homage to Godfather I. Sollozzo stabs Luca Brasi in the hand, and Silvio garrottes him. I changed the strangling to a Road to Perdition knife in the brain stem.
JonnyX .96
Axolotl .97
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-05-04 16:48:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-05-04 16:01:06 (#)
Ranking: 2
ok so i didn't read this. but hey it's by you and it has to be good right? i couldn't get past the dick james thing cuz all i could think of was it's dick jimmy, he's one big penis, and then i laughed.
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Dick Dick Dick Dick Dick Dick Dick Dick Penis.
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-05-04 16:01:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
ok so i didn't read this. but hey it's by you and it has to be good right? i couldn't get past the dick james thing cuz all i could think of was it's dick jimmy, he's one big penis, and then i laughed.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-05-04 15:43:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Delgado smiled again, and in a quick, whirring motion flipped a switchblade from under the bar, and thrust it through Dickie's hand, pinning his arm to the bar. As Dickie painfully pulled back in shock, Delgado said, "Why don't you ask him yourself?"
-----
Hey, you stole that from Godfather II.
And, what is with the 'Axolotl .97' naming convention?
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-05-04 13:50:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Not as Bosh as my last story.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-05-04 12:28:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice.
Submitted by professorfuckface (user info) at 2006-05-04 12:11:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
stories are gay
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-05-04 11:54:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2006-05-04 11:51:27 (#)
Ranking: 2
Think this was the best one yet.
by far.
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The thing was the first three were very dry, humorless. I changed them around, but I'm not going to resubmit them, I'm just making the rest of them with better dialogue, and more character focus. Thanks, Tim.
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2006-05-04 11:51:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Think this was the best one yet.
by far.
Submitted by hour_man (user info) at 2006-05-04 11:28:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
meh. no offence :)
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-05-04 11:06:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
gO BEARS WOO