Chapter 1: Chapter 1 – Enter Vincent

CHAPTER 1

“Move it Danny, I ain’t got all day.  Pops needs this done,” Vincent Sabatino commanded from the backseat of the black Cadillac Escalade in his black Armani suit he hated to wear.  He preferred to wear a comfortable pair of khaki pants or blue jeans. However, Vincent’s father, Mario, demanded him to wear suits while he performed jobs for him. The twenty-year-old represented the Sabatino family day in and day out. The most elite and feared Mafia family in the city.  With Vincent being the son of the don, he had to be flawless especially if he wanted to take over the family one day. The engine rumbled and caused the vehicle to shake as Danny stomped the gas pedal. The lamp posts and buildings downtown became a blur.

“Gotcha boss, we’ll be there shortly.”

Vincent nodded and anxiously tapped his fingers on the door. He unbuttoned his blazer and tossed it on the charcoal leather seat beside him.  He was hot-natured and his anxiety made him sweat.  He decided he would skip the blazer this time even though it would infuriate his father.  The thing would get in his way, anyway.  He found it difficult to beat a man up when he had it on. It was far too constricting.  Chances were good that he would get some blood splatter on him, anyway.  He had a closet full of white button-up shirts which could be replaced easily, but the blazer was extremely expensive and he didn’t want to ruin it.

Danny pulled to the curb and shut off the engine. Vincent looked at the passersby on the sidewalk and he put on his leather gloves with the fingers cut out at the knuckle.  This offered him a little protection if things got violent. He didn’t want to bruise his hand or cut the skin. He pulled the door handle and exited the car.  Vincent checked his hidden holster to make sure his trusty 9mm handgun was where it was supposed to be.  There was a hollow point in the chamber already in case things got really ugly.  Danny met him on the sidewalk and checked his weapon as well. Danny was a big guy that always went with Vincent on outings.  He stood 6 foot 6 inches and was 275 pounds of solid muscle.  He wore his black hair slicked back and into a ponytail.  He was a big Steven Seagal fan, and his hair looked almost identical to the washed-up action movie star.  

The sign on the building said Floyd’s Pawn in flashy red lettering. Vincent straightened his clothes and opened the door causing the bell hanging above it to jingle.  Danny followed behind and would only speak if he was spoken to.  Even then he would say very little.  Vincent was the man in charge.  Danny was his driver and his muscle in case he needed it and that was all.  Vincent stood 6 foot 1 inches tall and weighed about 180 pounds.  He took great pride in his body and spent plenty of time in the gym.  He wouldn’t win any bodybuilding competitions, but he would call himself shredded with a tiny percentage of body fat.  Vincent’s hair was much longer than his father liked and it wasn’t a sleek and sharp style.  It looked fairly unkempt, but that was the way it was supposed to look.  It was like those anime protagonists he watched from time to time when his father wasn’t around.  Vincent also loved tattoos which made his father furious.  Vincent was rebellious but not too rebellious.  His father was a powerful and feared man.  Vincent was his son, but he knew he could only push his old man’s buttons so much.

Floyd’s store was one of the more classy pawnshops in the city if that was even possible.  It was large and lined with all sorts of overpriced items.  Glass cases full of all kinds of jewelry and shelves full of electronics.  The room at the back was filled with all kinds of guns.  It looked like an arsenal you would find on an army base.  A pretty blonde girl stood at the cash register and gave Vincent a hesitant smile. She wore a low cut red dress that showed her massive cleavage to whoever came in the store.  It wasn’t attire that you would find a female employee wearing at most pawn shops.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I’m here to see Floyd.”

The girl cringed. “I’m sorry, he’s out.  Can I give him a message for you?”

“He knows what day it is.  I’m sure he’s here somewhere.  Don’t lie to me.  That makes me very upset.”

“Umm, umm, he’s not–” the girl’s voice trailed off as she was interrupted by the man of the hour, Floyd. Floyd was a short fellow and fairly chubby.  He was in denial of his weight because he wore clothing that was way too tight.

Vincent cocked an eyebrow at the girl and shook his head.  “Give us some privacy.  We have to talk.”

The girl nodded her head quickly.  “Yes, I’m sorry.”  She turned to walk toward the room where Floyd exited from.  The girl’s red dress barely covered her ass.  There were no panty lines, so she was obviously not wearing any.  Vincent knew she was told to tell me that Floyd wasn’t here.  He was a fucking coward.

“Hey, Vincent.  It’s good to see you.  Don’t mind her, she’s not the brightest girl.  I just needed some eye candy to run the register.  She keeps a steady stream of customers coming through the door,” Floyd replied with a crooked grin.

“I bet she does.  She’s a looker.  I bet she does more than work the floor out here.  Am I right?”

Floyd chuckled uncomfortably.  “She’s provided me with a few benefits.  I can’t complain.”

“Are these… forced benefits?  Let’s face it, Floyd.  She’s a bit out of your league.  You’ve let yourself go, and I’m betting that you weren’t much to look at earlier in life either.”

Vincent wasn’t the nicest guy on the block.  You couldn’t be nice all the time when you were the firstborn of a mafia boss.  However, he knew he was an honorable man.  He hated it when women were mistreated especially to the extent that this man was taking advantage.  

“She’s just a stripper with a heroin addiction.  She needed a job, so I gave her one with some conditions of course.  She knew what she was in for.  I’m not forcing her to do anything.”

Vincent gave a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes.  The young Italian looked back at Danny who shook his head in disdain then looked back at Floyd.  With a quick, fluid motion, Vincent grabbed the back of Floyd’s head and slammed him face first into the granite countertop.  The crack of the man’s nose churned Vincent’s stomach.  Vincent’s white shirt had some red dots from Floyd’s nose explosion.

Floyd screamed in agony covered his nose with his right hand.  Blood poured from both nostrils and dripped on the counter.  The man’s head hit so hard that there was a small crack in the granite. Floyd spit three teeth onto the counter and a mouthful of blood.

“Shit, I just thought I would break your nose.  Sorry about that,” Vincent chuckled.

“What the fuck did you do that for? Fuck, man!” the man shouted as he tried to push his deformed nose back into the right shape.  He screamed in agony as the bones moved. He gave up shortly after a couple of seconds of intense pain.  Snapping a nose back together wasn’t as easy as it appeared in the movies.

“Well, I was already irritated with you when I walked in the door.  Then I find out that you’re being a bigger piece of shit taking advantage of this girl you fat fuck. You’re going to call her back in here and apologize.  You got that?”

He nodded and turned to the door to the backroom.  “Tina! Come here!”

The blonde girl stuck her head around the corner of the door and nodded.  She walked toward Floyd slowly without eye contact. “Yes, sir?”

“You don’t have to call him sir anymore,” Vincent announced with a quick headshake.

Floyd opened his mouth, but struggled to get words out. “I’m sorry.  I won’t treat you poorly anymore. I promise. No more sexual favors.  Okay?”

As she continued to look at the floor tears flowed from her eyes.  “Okay, thank you.”

“Tina, look at me,” Vincent demanded softly.

She met his eyes but stayed silent.

Vincent pulled out a business card then grabbed a pen.  He jotted something and handed it to Tina.  She looked at it then back at Vincent.

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“You’ve worked your last day here.  Call that number.  My sister will find you a job at another business that my family has control over.  Do it.”

Vincent pulled out a money clip full of cash. He pulled out twenty one-hundred-dollar bills and slapped the stack on the counter in front of the girl. “Take that to get you by until your first paycheck. Now you get on out of here, we have business to settle.”

Tina’s facial expression transformed from sadness to hope.  “Thank you so much.  I don’t know what to say.”

“You’re welcome, please go.”

Tina nodded quickly and darted into the backroom and out the door to the shop.

“That was stupid.  She’s just going to buy a shitload of heroin,” Floyd chuckled then coughed.

“I think that girl is going to surprise us all.  If not, at least she doesn’t have to suck your little dick anymore,” Vincent growled and backhanded the man.  It knocked backwards Floyd into a stack of shelves full of ammo.  Half of the boxes fell to the floor and burst open causing bullets to roll everywhere on the floor.  It would be a pain getting the bullets sorted back into the correct box.

“Stop fucking hurting me!” Floyd yelled.

The bell over the door jingled and an old man in his sixties walked in.  He froze when he saw the bloody face of Floyd.

Danny broke his silence. “The shop is closed.  Come back tomorrow.”

The man nodded frantically and backed out of the door as quickly as he could.  He almost tripped over the door frame onto the sidewalk.  Danny made sure the door was shut and locked.

“Now, let’s get to the real reason I’m here.  You’re behind on your payments.”

“I told Giovanni last month when he came for the money that I was short.  Business has been slow, and he said he would give me time.”

“Giovanni is done.  I’m in charge of this area now.  You owe last month, this month, and you’re going to pay a $2,000 late fee.”

“What?  I can’t afford that. You’re crazy.”

“I’m what?” Vincent growled and clenched his gloved fists.

“Crazy!  A $2,000 late fee is preposterous.  I can give you what I owe, but I’m not paying that bullshit fee.”

“You will pay that fee one way or another.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You pay that money or you pay it with pain.”

“Pain? Pain?”

Vincent slammed his fist down on Floyd’s left hand that had been pressed on the counter.  He felt the bones break upon impact. “I hope you’re right-handed.”

“You’re a maniac, fuck!” Floyd screamed in agony.

“Now, let’s try this again.  Are you paying the late fee or do I continue?” Vincent asked.

“I told you I don’t have that kind of money.  I can’t pay that fee!”

Vincent looked at Danny and motioned his head toward Floyd’s broken hand.  The brute grabbed the wrist of the broken hand and pulled it toward Vincent.  Vincent shattered the glass of a nearby case and grabbed a fancy cigar cutter.  He inserted Floyd’s pinky finger and snapped it shut severing the finger at the knuckle.  Floyd wailed as bright red blood spurted from the stump.

“How about now?” Vincent asked as he placed the man’s ring finger into the cutter.

“No, no, I’ll pay the fee!  Stop! It’s in the safe. I’ll get it!”

Vincent motioned for Danny to follow him to the safe. “Keep your gun pointed at his head.  I don’t want him to get clever and pull a shotgun from somewhere.”

“You got it boss,” Danny replied as he pulled his huge revolver from his holster on the back of his pants and rushed behind the wobbly shop owner. The jerk would pass out soon from blood loss if he didn’t do something. Floyd had already lost a lot of blood from his nose and mouth.

“You’re going to need to put some pressure on that dumbass,” Vincent laughed as he began perusing the goods in the glass cases. “Goddammit, I got blood on my suspenders too.”

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