dark. We get the money and we get out.
“I can’t believe it!”
“It depends if the bus station is being watched. If it isn’t, then we go.”
“And Johnny, if they think we’re in Havana…” She paused to look at him. “Then no one will come knocking on our door.”
“That’s it, baby.” He pulled her close to him. “No one will come knocking on our door.”
As Sammy came out of the elevator; heading for Massino’s office, Andy appeared. He stared at Sammy’s grey, sweating face.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Sammy ducked his head in a servile bow.
“Just going to ask the boss if there was anything else for me to do. It’s my night off, but I just wanted to ask him.”
Andy was sure Massino wouldn’t be able to control himself if he saw Sammy. Andy had tapped Sammy’s telephone and the conversation between Sammy and Johnny was on tape and Massino has listened to it.
“It’s okay,” he said. “You push off. Mr. Joe’s busy right now.”
Sammy nodded and got back into the elevator. Andy crossed to Massino’s office, entered and closed the door.
Massino was at his desk. Leaning against the walls were Toni, Ernie, Lu Berilli and Benno. On Massino’s desk lay a .22 target rifle equipped with powerful telescopic sight and a silencer.
“Sammy’s going home,” Andy said and went to the window. “Toni, get the rifle and come here.”
Puzzled, Toni looked at Massino who nodded. Toni picked up the rifle and followed Andy to the open window. Andy pulled up a straight-backed chair.
“Sit down. Look across the street. Look at the entrance to the bus station.”
Toni did as he was told.
“Now look through the telescopic sight,” Andy went on. “Focus on anyone.”
Looking through the powerful sight, Toni was startled. A taxi driver, lolling against his cab and enjoying the sunshine came into focus and Toni felt he could reach out and touch his head.
“Man!” he muttered. “Some sight!”
“Keep watching. You’ll see Sammy in a moment. I want you to get him in focus.”
Massino shoved back his chair and joined them at the window. They watched Sammy cross the street and pause to look around: His movements were furtive.
“Got him?”
“Sure. I can see the sweat on his mug,” Toni said.
They watched Sammy edge into the bus station and disappear. They waited. After a few minutes, Sammy came out, again looked furtively around and then walked away.
“Could you have killed him?” Andy asked as Toni lowered the rifle.
“With this beauty? Sure! A kid of six could have knocked him off.”
Andy looked at Massino.
“Maybe I’d better handle this, Mr. Joe. Maybe it would be better if you were out of town.”
Massino thought, then nodded.
“Yeah.”
Looking at the other men, Andy said, “So let’s get this operation set up. Sooner or later, Bianda will show.” He turned to Toni. “You and me are going to sit at this window until he shows. When he does, you blow his head off.”
Toni drew in a sigh of relief. He had been scared he might have to face Johnny in a gun fight, but now he knew he had only to sit at the window with a target rifle, he felt he could afford a grin.
“That’ll be a pleasure,” he said.
“You others stay out of sight downstairs. When Toni hits this bastard, you chase across the street, grab the two bags and come back here. It’s got to be done fast. I’ve fixed it the cops will be out of the way, but not for long, so work fast.” He turned to Massino, “You like it, Mr. Joe?”
“Yeah. You’re using your head. So okay, I’ll take a week off in Miami.” He stared at Andy. “When I get back, I expect the money in the safe and those three straightened out.”
“That’s my planning, Mr. Joe.”
“When you have the money, I want Sammy taken care of,” Massino said to Benno. “Take Ernie with you and smear that sonofabitch across a wall. I mean that. Smash him to bits! Take a can of gas with you. When you’ve finished smearing him, set him on fire.”
Benno grinned.
“Okay, boss.”
Massino turned to Toni.
“There’s the whore. You’re the only one who’s seen her. Take care of her. She’ll run, but keep after her. Make her suffer. You don’t work for me until you’ve found and fixed her, but you’ll get paid.”
Toni nodded.
“That’ll be another pleasure.”
When Massino had left the office, Andy said, “Okay, we can relax. Sammy gets a call from Bianda in another hour. In an hour’s time, Bianda could try for the money. We have to get this organized. Bianda may be cagey. He might wait a week… so, okay, we wait a week, but any minute of that week, he could show… so we wait.”
Waiting meant nothing to these men. They spent a third of their lives waiting.
Andy tapped Toni on his shoulder.
“When he shows, you have to nail him. Fluff this one and you get the treatment.”
Toni patted the target rifle. “A kid of six…”
The big, airy room with its double bed, its two armchairs and its T.V. set seemed to have shrunk. The traffic sounds coming through the open window seemed to have increased. Tension hung in the room like a black canopy.
In bra and panties, Freda lay on the bed, her arm across her eyes. Johnny sat by the telephone, his eyes on his strap watch.
“Can’t you call him now?” Freda asked, lifting her arm to look at Johnny. “For God’s sake! We’ve been waiting hours!”
“I warned you, baby,” Johnny said gently, “this is a waiting game.” Sweat was trickling down his face. “It’s only five to five.”
“I’ll go crazy if we have to wait much longer. All my goddamn life, I’ve had to wait for something!”
“Who hasn’t?” Johnny wiped his face with his handkerchief.
“Everyone is waiting for something. Take it easy, baby. Think of the boat, the sea, the sun and you and me. Think of that.”
Her arm went back across her eyes.
“Sorry, Johnny. I’m on edge.”
On edge? Johnny suppressed a sigh. He looked at her, lying there, so desirable and to him, beautiful. On edge? He felt now the chill of fear. In spite of his warnings, she didn’t seem to realize what kind of jungle they were heading for.
They waited, listening to the traffic, hearing a police whistle and in the distance, an ambulance siren. The tension in the room built up. The minute hand of Johnny’s watch crawled on. Could a minute last so long?
“Johnny!” Freda sat up. “Please call him now.”
“Okay, baby.”
He picked up the receiver and dialled Sammy’s number.
Listening to the burr-burr-burr on the line, he thought of the moment when he unlocked the locker and pulled the two heavy bags out and he closed his eyes. All that money!.
Then Sammy’s voice came on the line.
“Who’s that?”
“Sammy? Johnny. You checked the bus station?”
“I checked it, Mr. Johnny. There’s no one there.”
