CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The south gate was in the far back corner of the property and Charles and company had to run around the massive, castle-like structure before they could even see what all the commotion was about.

But when they turned that corner and could see grounds security in a heated gun battle with an outside force that was actually inside the perimeter, they began firing as they were running toward the action. And Teddy, who was the fastest of them all, took off ahead of the pack as he was firing too. Charles could see four of his men already down, as they continued to fire on the attackers. But when Mick noticed that all the other guards from other gates were running toward the action, too, he knew that was a problem. “What the fuck are they doing?” he asked as Sal and Nikki saw it too. “They can launch a sneak attack if everybody’s running in one direction.”

And that was exactly what happened as gunfire erupted from the northeast corner of the property that forced Sal and Nikki to run in that direction.

Mick grabbed Charles’ radio and got on it. “Everybody hold your positions! Go back to your perimeter and hold your positions! Nobody leaves their posts!”

And Mick and Charles and Teddy continued to battle the intruders until they had taken out four of the five men. The fifth one made a run for the exit, but Teddy was on that and ran out of the gate and shot him down just as he was turning to shoot down Teddy.

“See if any are still alive,” Charles ordered his remaining grounds security assigned to the south gate, and they began doing as they were ordered. Charles and his brother and nephew wanted to check pulses too, as was their way, but they had no time. They ran as fast as they could to the northeast gate to help Sal and Nikki as the gunfire seemed to be intensifying on that end.

When they got up front and Teddy saw Nikki in the heat of battle with Sal, his heart began hammering and he ran so fast he left his father and uncle in the dust. And as he approached the battle, he could see one of the grounds security guards take his gun and aimed it directly at Nikki’s head.

“Nikki!” Teddy screamed out with a bloodcurdling scream that caused Nikki to hit the ground as the gunman fired and as Teddy leaped toward the gunman firing both of his guns at Nikki’s would-be assassin. He fired shot after shot after shot after shot and the turncoat security guard fell from the numerous bullets that Teddy fired into him. Teddy fell to the ground just short of where Nikki was downed. And he crawled over to her as his heart was barely beating. As his soul cried out. As his every being knew this was no place for his wife to be!

Mick’s heart was hammering, too, as he ran over to Nikki. But Charles was ordering all of his remaining guards on that gate to drop their weapons and get on the ground. “Your hands where I can see them!” he ordered, and they did as he ordered. This was a tough spot he was in because he didn’t know who was friend of foe after seeing one of his own turn on Nikki. He kept a jaundiced eye on all of his remaining guards.

Mick crouched down beside Teddy as they both made it over to Nikki. One heart barely beating, the other one beating too fast. But when they saw Nikki turn over and lift up on her elbows, and when she said she was okay and that the assassin’s bullet had missed her, both men let out audible sighs of relief. Mick dropped his head in relief. Teddy pulled her into his arms.

But then Mick saw Sal and two other guards running out of the gate to chase down the remaining intruders and he ran after them. Because he didn’t know if those two guards were friends or foes either and would try to take out Sal.

But when he saw Sal and the two guards shooting at the car that was speeding away, and one of them was able to put a bullet into the driver, he felt more at ease. Especially when the driver’s incapacitation caused the car to spiral out of control, lose traction, and flip onto its roof. It was spinning like a top until it came to a complete stop. And then they raced toward the vehicle.

But before they made it up to the car, one of the passengers managed to get out of the wreckage and began running away. The two guards and Sal took off after the runner and one of the guards was able to jump on his back and knock him down. Mick hurried up to the downed gunman just as Sal was turning him over. Teddy and Nikki ran up to the downed gunman too.

“Who sent you here?” Sal asked him. “And what do you want?”

They all crouched down around him, although Mick remained standing and was looking around should there be any further attacks launched.

“It was supposed to be a hit-and-run.”

“Who ordered it?” Sal wanted the source. These men were just doing what they were told. Who sent them was what he needed to know.

But the gunman was in his own world. “He’s not gonna like it.”

Mick looked at the gunman when he said those words. “Who’s not gonna like it?” Nikki asked. She and Sal were closest to the downed man. “Who are you talking about?”

But the man was shaking his head as tears welled up in his eyes. “He’s not gonna like it.”

“Tell us who,” said Nikki. “Who’s not gonna like it?”

He looked at Nikki. “You’re pretty. I never went for thick girls, but I can go for you. You’re pretty.”

“What the fuck?” said Sal. “Who hired your ass? Tell us or I’ll put a cap in it right now!”

The man looked at Sal as if he was looking at his executioner. “It’ll be the best thing you can do for me. We failed. He said we couldn’t fail or he’ll . . . He said we couldn’t fail. We just couldn’t. But we failed. He’s not gonna like it.” Then he quickly lifted up his head, his eyes wide open as if something had suddenly appeared. And when they all turned to see what he was looking at, the downed man grabbed the gun out of Nikki’s hand so fast that he had put it to his own temple and fired before anybody could react. The blood gushed out and his head rolled sideways: His eyes still wide open.

“Damn!” said Sal. “He’d rather kill himself than say who hired his ass?” He looked at Mick. “That’s some ballsy shit right there.”

Mick knew it too. What on earth did they have on their hands? But then Teddy noticed something even more profound. “Pop look,” he said.

Sal ordered the two guards to go make sure that nobody in that wrecked car had a pulse as he, Mick and Nikki, who embarrassingly grabbed her gun back just after the intruder shot and killed himself, looked closer. Teddy held up the dead man’s fingers. None of the ten had fingernails. “Check the others,” Mick ordered and Teddy and Nikki, who understood what that meant, hurried to the wrecked car.

Mick turned the dead man’s hands over and over again, looking at the palms to the back of the hand, and back at those nail-less fingers. Then he removed the dead man’s shoes and socks. And there it was again: all ten toes devoid of toenails. Then he looked underneath the feet and on top of the feet too. And he let out an audible sigh.

Sal frowned. “What does it mean?”

Mick stared for a moment and then he stood up. “It means we got trouble,” he said. Then he looked back at Teddy and Nikki.

“The same over here, Pop,” Teddy yelled out after they had checked the dead men in the wrecked car. “No nails on hands or feet,” he added.

Mick hurried over to the wrecked car, with Sal hurrying with him. And he checked the hands all over and the feet all over too. No nails on any of those gunmen. The look on his face was nothing they’d ever seen on Mick.

Then Mick looked around at the vastness of the area. Probably the best place for them to be, given what they were facing, but not if it wasn’t handled right. “How would you say security is around this place, Sal?”

“On a scale from one to ten? I’d give it a two.”

Mick nodded. “So would I.”

“Big Daddy rarely have to deal with the kind of security we have to deal with on a daily basis,” said Teddy, in defense of his uncle. “He probably thought it was more than sufficient.”

But Sal was staring at Mick. “What are you thinking, Uncle Mick?”

“We’ve got to bring in our own security, with Robby Yale in charge, and we’ve got to safe house the ones here now because one of those motherfuckers has already proven to be corrupted.”

“I agree,” said Sal, nodding his head.

Mick looked at Teddy. Teddy nodded too. “I agree, “he said.

“And we’ve got to bring the family in.”

None of them expected to hear that one. “The family? Which ones?”

“All of them.”

“But why, Pop? You think Nails is worth that kind of roundup?”

But Mick didn’t answer his question. “We’re dealing with a very dangerous man,” Mick said.

“What makes him so dangerous?” asked Sal.

“Because he has a grudge that’s justified.”

Sal had never ever heard Mick refer to an enemy as justified in his hatred. Who is this person, this Nails , he wondered. “Who does he have a grudge against?” he asked. “You?”

Mick exhaled. That was the problem he truly didn’t want to face. “All of us,” he said.