The driveway is long and winding, snaking its way through several neatly kept rows of towering palm trees which sway gently in the afternoon breeze. The small, royal blue Mercedes SLK roadster passes through, its engine humming softly as it travels the clean, beige concrete driveway. The two-seater coupe is guided by Felony Fontana who wraps her right hand around the black leather steering wheel while draping her left over the side of the door, her fingers drumming along the side. To her right sits Rochelle ‘Rock’ Rose, her beefy tag team partner and more who gazes quietly out from the car, taking in the landscape of the massive gated property. She notes a pair of men clad in non-descript black suits patrolling the lush green grounds armed with what appears to her to be automatic assault rifles. Glancing into the rear view mirror she spies a trio of Doberman Pinschers leashed to another man wearing a similar black suit, also carrying a weapon.
The car rounds a curve and the rows of palm trees give way to open greens which lead to a large concrete fountain. The fountain is actually a statue of a woman decked out in an ancient Greek style toga holding a large bowl and pouring its contents into the fountain. Curving around the fountain and snaking past two rows of brightly colored flowers running parallel to the sidewalk which separates them, the driveway gives way to a cul de sac. Felony brings her car to a slow and backs it into a space between a pair of black Mercedes S550 models; two of at least seven or eight expensive luxury sedans. Both women unfasten their seatbelts and step from the car and onto the sidewalk. Rock Rose stretches her limbs, freeing them from the cramping brought forth of a long ride and turns to see where the sidewalk leads.
It stands out like a great white landmark, reminiscent of the Grand Trianon of Versailles. Constructed in a basic ‘H’ shape featuring brick with white terracotta tiles with a glazed arcade of arched windows and paired ionic pilasters, which increase to columns across the central loggia. A second story with a balustrade roofline conceals a setback third story containing numerous small rooms.
The women slowly walk towards the palatial home forking to the right side of the “H” and the aligned doorway. Pair of small lion statues stands guard over the ornamented double doors leading to the interior. While Rose stands in awe of the structure Felony fumbles about her purse for a set of keys which she quickly inserts into the door and flings them open. Thrusting her small bag over her shoulder the blonde steps inside with Rock Rose in tow and onto soft colored marble flooring which leads them past a pair of handsome monumental fireplaces with projecting over mantels. The subdued lighting of the hall gives way to a red carpet which guides them to the brightly illuminated entrance hall courtesy of several French Baroque style windows. In the center stands a staircase, also draped with red carpeting which climbs up a single flight before splitting into two, spiraling on either side up to the next level.
“Holy crap”, Rose mutters. “You grew up here?”
“Mmhmm,” Felony mumbles in reply. “This is my Uncle Guido’s house”.
A woman appears from the side hallway, wearing a simple black dress with nylons and matching shoes she peers at the duo entering the grand hall. Her dark brown hair cascades down her tanned cheek lines, revealing a tiny sample of wrinkles around the corner of her mouth, accentuated by a small tuft of gray hair. She adjusts her glasses and approaches them but stops short upon recognizing one of them.
“Felony..?” she gasps.
Felony and Rosie turn around to face the woman behind them and Felony’s eyes brighten into shimmering pools as she makes out the face.
“Maggie!” she cries rushing into the older woman’s arms and jumping up into an embrace.
“Oh my God, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you!” she says excitedly hugging the shorter blonde tightly. “Your Uncle Guido talks about you all the time”. Finally she pulls away from the embrace and holds Felony at arm’s length, inspecting her appearance. “My..,” she gasps. “You’ve grown into such a lovely young woman”. Her glare briefly sways onto Rock Rose for a moment before quickly diverting back to Felony.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Felony says noticing the questioning of her eyes. “Maggie, this is my partner Rosie, Rosie this is our housekeeper Maggie”.
“Nice to meet you Rosie”, Maggie says extending her hand.
“Likewise,” Rosie answers taking it into her own.
“Maggie has been with us since before I was even born,” the blonde offers. “She practically raised me”.
“Hey I’d like to think I helped with it”, the voice is thunderous, echoing off of the walls and prompting all three women to spin on their heels and into the chest of an Incredible Hulk of a man. Standing a firm 6’5” and weighing in excess of three hundred pounds his solid physique strains against the confines of the black suit as he towers above Felony and Maggie and even an inch taller than Rosie while looking down at them from behind a pair a dark sun glasses. He removes the shades and smiles.
“Tony!” Felony exclaims, jumping into his arms and squeezing the muscular man around his beefy neck while giving him a kiss on the cheek.
He chuckles and spins her around playfully for a moment before setting her back down. He rests his hand on her shoulder and turns his attention to Rock Rose, who also locks her gaze onto him. Although the man is slightly larger than her, Rosie appears unconcerned as she approaches him, his steely gaze locking onto his as she steps up to him. Now face to face the hulking pair continues their impromptu stare down; alpha males sizing one another up. Not a word is spoken for several subtly tense moments until Felony finally breaks the silence,
“Tony is Uncle Guido’s best friend and Consigliore, they went to school together”. She turns to gesture to Rock Rose who still hasn’t taken her eyes off of him. “Tony, this is my partner Rosie”.
“Nice to meet you,” Tony says extending his hand.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Rose responds with a sinister gleam in her eyes.
The two titans lock hands, both glaring intently into the eyes of the other while channeling their strength into their respective grips. Rose pumps his hand tightly pulling Tony into her and Tony responds in kind, doing the same.
“Why don’t you two go upstairs and see your Uncle Guido,” Tony suggests, his gaze unwavering from Rock Rose.
“Yeah,” Rose adds. “That’s a good idea; give me and Tony a moment to get better acquainted”.
“Works for me,” Felony replies with a soft chuckle as she and Maggie turn to climb the stairs behind them.
The two women trot up the stairs and slowly disappear into the cavernous belly of the marble behemoth while Big Tony and Rock Rose continue with their ‘greetings’.
“Who do you think will give up first?” Maggie asks, her voice trailing off as they wind up the spiral stair casing.
“No idea, “Felony answers. “But Rosie is pretty damned strong. I imagine whoever comes upstairs wringing their hand out will be the loser”.
“Oh, I almost forgot to ask, how was your trip?”
“Ugh, don’t ask”.
“I asked you not to tell me that!” a voice exclaims; belonging to Despayre. Having donned his ridiculously powerful glasses which give his brown eyes the appearance of being three times their normal size he glances down at the cream colored teddy bear held gently in his arms. Also sporting a pair of glasses, ‘Dr. Angel’ simply stares back through beady, black glass orbs. “Don’t tell me this place is impenetrable, we have to get inside no matter what so that I can get my two dollars”.
The pair walks along the sidewalk beside the 12 foot high concrete wall, Mr. Self-Help reaching out and running his fingers along it as they pass. They pause to look up into the cheerful, blue sky and then further down the sidewalk where they notice a man in a black suit standing post outside of a steel double gated entrance. Despayre stops in his tracks, his bug-like eyes widening even further following a wry grin slithering across his face.
“I have an idea,” he announces with a snap of his fingers. “Just follow my lead and let me do the talking”.
The pair resumes their stride down the sidewalk as Mr. Self-Help reaches into the right breast pocket of his well-worn blue pinstripe suit to retrieve his bubble pipe. He ‘packs’ the pipe with a bubble mixture and approaches the guard at the gate who eyes the ‘distinguished’ gentlemen with a bemused nod.
“Pardon me old chap,” Mr. Self-Help says donning a rarely practiced English accent. He pauses for a quick puff on the pipe, watching in amusement as a series of bubbles float before his face. “I have an appointment to meet a friend here; she goes by the name of Sir Lord Rochelle Rose the 14th, a servant of the Queen’s court”.
“You’re on the wrong side of town,” the guard replies dropping the rifle to his side. “The British Embassy is about 10 miles that way”. He gestures with a jutted thumb in the direction Mr. Self-Help and Dr. Angel had been traveling down the sidewalk before stopping for a spot of gab.
“Very well, I’ll be on my way then”, he says offering a tip of his imaginary top hat before heading off down the sidewalk with his associate, “Cheerio old bean”.
“Old Bean?”
After a few moments as the concrete wall gives way to an ornamented iron fence and passing just out of site of the guard Despayre turns to his associate, holding the bear up close.
“I knew I should have brought my monocle,” he laments. “This is your fault any way, if you hadn’t insisted on interrupting me I would have..,” he pauses as if listening to the bear. “What do you mean find another way in?” he demands. “You said it yourself that this place is impenetrable!”
Suddenly he hurls the bear over the wrought iron fence and watches in astonishment as it lands on the other side, on the property to which they seek to access. He approaches the fence, nuzzling his face in between a pair of bars which he grips tightly while staring at Angel.
“How did you do that?” he asks in amazement. “I don’t remember you being in the Olympics”.
‘Listening’ to his colleague, Mr. Self-Help turns his gaze upward and notices a sturdy, overhanging tree limb. Although over the top of his head it is not out of reach and he casts a quick glance to Angel before leaping upwards to grab hold of it and pull himself up.
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Climbing onto the branch Despayre steadies himself while carefully inching along towards the body of the large elm tree to which it is attached. Angel looks on indifferently as Mr. Self-Help stands up slowly. He pauses, staggers for a moment and then makes a short leap, wrapping his arms tightly around the base of the tree. Looking down he grins triumphantly,
“You owe me a Coke”, he says.
He now carefully begins his descent to the ground where his friend stands by waiting. His grip is sure handed as he makes his way down, one step at a time until noticing that he is mere inches above the well-kept lawn he releases and drops down. Unfortunately his footing is not quite as sure as his grip and a misstep causes him to tumble and land on his behind. Gathering his sense he casts an annoyed glance to Angel before clamoring to his feet.
“That’s not funny”, he says. Following a brief adjustment of his over-sized glasses he scans the territory onto which he and Angel are now trespassing. The lawn sprawls across the vast complex with its bright green, freshly mowed grass. A group of sprinklers water a section off to the right near the fence while a small flock of birds chirp from the trees spread sporadically about. Breathing deeply he takes in the scent of the manicured lawn and looks on further across, towards the gleaming white mansion and the fountain standing before it, flanked by two rows of colorful flowers. “Wow..,” he gasps. “This place is amazing; I bet the guy who owns it must have a really good job”.
“I swear I’m lucky if I can make two deals a month without being indicted”, the surly voice growls with a heavy lisp. “Ok, listen, who is the judge on this case..,” the man on the phone, a heavy set older man dressed dapperly in a black Armani suit bearing gold, gun-shaped cuff links, a red silk tie with a gold clip pauses awaiting an answer on the other end. He runs his fingers through a dark, neatly trimmed beard and then leans back in his high-back brown leather executive’s chair and continues, “Vanderschott? Good, good,” he says. “Let’s bring him over for dinner; election season is just around the corner. What’s his favorite dish..? Veal, alright, be sure to put veal on the menu and let’s invite some money as well, fill the Judge’s coffers for him”. He pauses for a moment, swinging his chair to face the front of the neatly polished desk before him and glances at Tony and his housekeeper Maggie standing in front of him, both of whom are wearing a wry grin. He notes an extremely large and muscular blonde woman standing just behind Big Tony and to the left vigorously wringing her right hand out. He nods to the trio and goes on with his discussion. “Now, as for that new hotshot Junior DA,” he says. “I’m going to ask Tony to send a couple of the boys over to teach him how to play ball”. Another pause ensues as he fields a question from the other end. “About that, let’s re-badge a few trucks and divert the mess to the southern Apex fill site, follow them with half a dozen loads of busted concrete to dump over top. It’ll be years before they figure out what we dumped”. Finally he hangs up the phone and then clasps his hands atop of the desk, gently rapping a large, diamond encrusted gold banded ring against the wood.
“What are you two grinning about?” he asks, his face slipping into a smirk of its own.
“We found the most adorable little kitten on the lawn..,” Tony offers.
“And we were wondering if we could keep her”, Maggie finishes.
“Hunh, I never pictured either of you for being the types to adopt stray animals,” he frowns. “Besides, I don’t see any kitten, where is it?”
Tony steps aside to reveal Felony who has remained hidden behind him during the course of the telephone conversation. Bearing a bright smile she charges across the office, and then leaps over the desk landing in his lap. Wrapping her arms around him she squeezes him tightly.
“Uncle Guido!” she cries, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“Felony!”
He wraps his arms around the slender blonde, holding her tightly while returning the kiss. With a big grin Guido Fontana looks and Tony and Maggie and says, “Yes you can keep her”. He pinches his niece on the cheek, “You’re looking great Fel,” he says. “You still do that wrestling thing?”
“Yup,” Felony answers with an eager bobbing of her head. “In fact I’m one half of the SCW Bombshell tag team champions!”
“Hot damn! My girl’s a champion!” he cackles; looking up he gestures to Rosie who is standing by Big Tony and silently staring at him. “Is this your partner? When I first saw her I thought Tony had hired new muscle”.
“She’s not strong enough” the big man quips, drawing an angry glare from Rock Rose.
“Yes,” Felony replies rising to her feet. “Uncle Guido this is Rosie, Rosie this is my Uncle Guido, the head of the family”.
“Nice to meet you Mr. Fontana,” Rosie says respectfully while approaching him for the obligatory handshake. “Felony talks about you all the time”.
“Nonsense,” Guido scoffs while taking Rose’s hand into his own. “You’re among friends here, everybody calls me Guido”. He turns to Felony with a chuckle, “So what were you doing out in the yard?”
“Guards, quick, we gotta hide!” holding Angel tightly Despayre ducks behind a large row of bushes separating the parking area from the main lawn. On pins and needles the partners in crime wait with baited breath as a pair of armed guards patrol to their left. Watching the men’s eyes they note that they appear to be focused on the left wing of the house and the entrance beneath the awning. They pause for a moment exchanging brief chit chat about the televised basketball game the previous night and then continue making their rounds. Letting loose a sigh of relief, Mr. Self-Help and Dr. Angel continue their casing of the estate.
Craning their necks over top of the shrubbery to ensure that the coast is clear they dart through the parking area and approach the fountain. Frist looking up at the stone woman cradling the bowl and then down into the pool underneath, gazing upon their reflections. Despayre, with his oddball eyeglasses giving his eyes a demon-like appearance, his plastic bubble pipe and the blue pinstripe suit several sizes too large and bearing car tire marks. Angel on the other hand looks like.., well, a teddy bear.
“Ha-ha”, Despy laughs. “You look like a dork!”
Reaching into the pool Mr. Self-Help helps himself to a large handful of quarters, dimes and nickels before rising back to his feet to continue with his excursion towards the house. The dynamic duo rounds about left wing of the mansion while keeping a wary eye out for more armed guards. They tread gingerly along the side of the home, keeping a low profile which is aided by a long row of neatly trimmed shrubbery. Rounding about the rear corner of the mansion the pair notices an older Chinese man gently pruning a bush with a pair of shears. They duck down and Despayre leans closer to Angel as if being whispered by the bear.
“What kind of idea?” he asks beneath his tongue. Listening intently as the bear ‘explains’ the plan he suddenly draws back with a gasp, “That’s the dumbest idea you’ve ever had!” he says while Angel attempts to argue. “Don’t argue with me.., no, I don’t have a better idea but.., are you sure about this?”
Rising with a sigh of capitulation Despayre approaches the man clutching Angel tightly. He acknowledges their presence with a faint nod of his head, his attention still firmly fixated on the bush.
“Pardon me, good sir,” Mr. Self-Help begins, once more donning his less than stellar British accent. “We appear to be in a bit of a boggle here and would request your assistance”.
“I am not sure how much help I can be,” the man says in broken English, finally turning to face them. “I am merely the groundskeeper. What kind of help do you need?”
“My associate here..,” he begins while holding out Angel. “Dr. Angel requests to be taken to one of your residents, Felony Fontana at once”.
The man takes the bear into his hands and looks it over carefully.
“This is Felony’s bear?” he asks. “She’s inside visiting her Uncle; I will take it to her. Please, wait here”. The groundskeeper abruptly turns his back to Despayre and disappears into the house via a discreet servant’s entrance leaving Mr. Self-Help to his thoughts.
“Oh God Angel.., I hope you know what you’re doing”.
“It’s a rough business, people get hurt all the time”, Guido Fontana says. “That’s why I don’t want to go”.
The group has since retreated from Guido’s office and into a nearby family room. Maggie has excused herself to prepare lunch while Felony and her Uncle sit in the center of a long U-shaped, six-piece black leather sectional with Rosie and Big Tony seated across from them on the other side trading ‘hairy eyeballs’.
“Oh Come on Uncle Guido!” Felony pleads. “It’s our first title defense, a return match against the former champs and it’s on the Ivory Coast!”
“I don’t care if it’s being held in my own back yard,” Guido says firmly. “I’m too protective of you, and the minute I see one of those broads lay a finger on my Felony I’m liable to send Tony and his crew out to set everything straight”.
“You don’t have anything to worry about anything Guido,” Rose says. “I took care of them last time and I’ll take care of them again. I’ll show little Tony how it’s done”.
“Like you did on the foyer?” Tony asks with a wry grin.
“Pipe down Tony,” Guido admonishes him. “Next thing you know you two will be doing push-ups at ten paces. Listen Felony, I have every confidence in you to handle your business against these girls Mercedes Vargas and Traci Patterson, but you know my temper, if either of those girls so much as smacks you on the butt I’ll incite a damned turf war, and the last thing SCW needs is a bunch of Mobsters reenacting the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre”.
“I still remember how to pout,” Felony says twisting her mouth into a practiced frown.
“Oh I love that face!” Guido laughs obnoxiously. “But I’m afraid it doesn’t work on me anymore, you’re not five years old still”. He reaches out to pinch her on the cheek. “Besides, I have business to take care of here”.
“But..,”
“Felony we don’t need his help,” Rose says sternly. I can handle those two just fine by myself”, she finishes her sentence by flexing her right bicep in front of Tony’s face.
“I don’t want his help!” Felony says curtly. “I just want him to watch”.
“Look, if you want to do an interview or go to an autograph signing I’d be glad to tag along but I can’t watch anyone touch you or my boys will be earning their pay”.
“Will you at least watch the DVD when it comes out?”
“No, not unless Rosie handles all of the action while you sit on the ring apron being my pretty little niece”, Guido responds firmly.
“Hey, I can do that Fel, give you and your Uncle some time to catch up”, Rose offers.
“Like hell!” Felony barks. “I’m half of this tag team and I’m going to be in that ring too”.
Under normal circumstances Rock Rose would lash out at her partner for coming back at her in such a way, along with just about anything else but this is anything but. Guido Fontana is a man of obvious power, wealth and influence and, judging by the omnipresent guards armed with fully automatic AK-47 assault rifles not one to risk upsetting. She casts a glare of annoyance to her blonde partner but quickly drops it before it is recognized by someone other than the Princess of the Fontana crime syndicate.
“Rosie, “Felony begins softly. “I don’t care what you or anyone else says I am going to prove that I deserve to be half of the tag team champions as much as you are. And if you were to be hit on the head by a falling napkin or whatever rendering you unable to compete I will wrestle Mercedes and Traci all by myself. I wasn’t at my best the first time around and you know it. I have something to prove this Sunday and by God I am going to prove it”.
“There’s no way anything is going to take out this specimen,” Rose says while rising to her feet and flexing both of her biceps. “Do you really think Traci and Mercedes have any kind of a shot against cannons like these?”
“I don’t know..,” Big Tony says with a snicker. “That left bicep is looking a little soft”.
“Alright little man, that’s it!” Rose thunders. “You and me, arm wrestling, let’s go!”
Tony eagerly rises up, his face bearing a tell-tale smirk of satisfaction as he steps to stare Rose in the eye. He appears ready to speak but is suddenly cut off by Guido..,
“Take it down stairs you two; I want to talk to Felony”.
The pair watches as the two behemoths exit through the door and disappear into the hallway and resume their talk. Guido listens as Felony recounts her first meeting with Rock Rose at an arm wrestling event and goes on to explain how their relationship grew from their up to their chance meeting with a man who would soon become their manager Gene Banton. She tells him of the training she went through and explains why she chose such a rough and tumble profession in the first place, telling him how the ability to be able to handle her-self in such an environment would work wonders for her own self confidence. She shares memories with him of places she has traveled to and removes her cell phone from her pocket to show him pictures. Guido takes the phone into his beefy hand and thumbs through a collection of photos and pausing at a photograph of Felony wearing pink Bunny ears while clutching a small teddy bear as a knock on the door interrupts their talk.
Looking up they recognize the old groundskeeper Gordon, who bows as he is gestured in by Guido.
“My apologies Mr. Fontana,” he begins. “I was approached by someone in the back who handed me this teddy bear saying that it belonged to Felony and that he would like to return it to her”. He approaches Felony and hands her the bear, which she holds up to her face for a closer look. She furrows her brow noting the impeccably cared for cream colored fur as the image of Mr. Self-help pops into her mind, his brightly smiling face accentuated by the over-sized glasses and bubble pipe as he assists Dr. Angel in preforming an exorcism on her. Delving deeper into her thoughts she recalls pulling a note from Rosie’s pants while doing laundry, a note scrawled in crayon, an I.O.U. for $2.00 for ‘services rendered’. The images continue to pour into her mind, piece by piece and latching onto one another until finally taking shape.
“Gordon, tell me, does this guy have on a pair of glasses that give him bug eyes, a plastic bubble pipe and did he speak with a really funny accent?” Felony asks while gently stroking the bear’s fur.
Gordon nods in affirmation of her description, bringing a wicked, ear to ear grin to Felony’s face. She turns in her seat with a bounce to face her Uncle Guido.
“Uncle Guido..,” she asks wryly. “Would you and Gordon like to help me play a little prank on Rosie?”
“Man, that is no joke”, Rose says while leaning against the table. Seated across from each other, she and Tony, having finished their arm wrestling now share a beer. “Do you circuit train or go low and heavy?” she asks.
“I used to circuit train when I was in my 20s,” Tony says softly, pausing to take a swig from the can of Coors Light. "It’s good for cutting, but after a while I just wanted to focus on strength and have more time for my work so I decided to drop down to three sets with the heaviest weight I could handle at eight, ten and 12 reps. I go to failure on the last set and jump to the next. By the time I’m done – usually in about an hour – I can hardly move at all for a good ten to 15 minutes. You know, Guido built a very nice gym in this house, you should check it out with me some time”.
“Now that sounds like a plan!” Rose enthuses sticking her hand out to Tony for a fist bump. “I’ll bet I can push you real good”.
“Ha – ha I don’t doubt it after seeing how you can arm wrestle like that”.
“Before I met Felony I used to arm wrestle competitively,” Rose offers. “She was the one who got me into wrestling”.
“No shit?” Tony muses. “I helped Guido raise her but I never suspected she would choose such a profession”. He chuckles briefly while tipping his can back. “Although she did run a protection racket in the first grade, so maybe she does have it in her”.
“She ran a protection racket?” Rose exclaims. “Come on man, no way”.
“Seriously, she came home from school one day with a black eye and told us that one of the bigger girls beat her up and took her lunch money. Guido, being the overly protective sort that he is decided to send me to school with her as her chaperone. So I go to school and put the fear of God into these kids and they start leaving her alone. Felony asks Guido if I can keep going with her or maybe some of the boys could. He says yes and the next thing I see is Felony coming home from school with pockets full of cash. I ask her where she’s getting all of this money and she tells me that it’s insurance from the other kids”.
The two stop to share a hearty laugh, the images of a five year old Felony shaking down other students for protection money proves to be comical indeed. They tap the bottoms of their beer cans in a toast and tip them up taking another swig. They do not notice the groundskeeper Gordon busting into the small, private dining room until he approaches the table. His eyes are wide and the old man’s face is masked with concern.
“Gordon what’s wrong?” Tony asks, setting his beer down.
“Mr. Fontana wants to see both of you in his office right away”, he says breathlessly. “I’m not sure what it is but he seems very upset!”
Without another word the pair slides back their chairs and bolt to their feet, following Gordon out of the room and towards the office of ‘Don’ Guido.
They burst into the room to find Guido leaning against the front edge of his desk, his arms folded stoically across his chest. He is flanked by Mr. Self Help, who also leans against the desk, his hands busying themselves with a Chinese finger puzzle and Dr. Angel who is seated with Felony in the leather high-back executive’s chair to their left. Guido steps forward, the steely gaze of his cold blue eyes locked firmly onto a bemused Rock Rose. Taking Tony by the arm he gently nudges him in the ribs while leaning up to whisper into his ear and then retakes his station beside Mr. Self Help.
“Rosie, it has come to my attention..,” Guido begins with a slow drawl, accentuated by his lisp. “That you owe my associates here..,” he gestures to Angel and then to Mr. Self Help, “a rather large sum of money. This is not something I can take lying down; money, especially a king’s ransom like what you owe, is very important to us. My first inclination would be to have you fitted for a new pair of shoes, but Felony likes you for some reason, so I’m gonna give you a chance to make things right. If you can come up with the money right now we will let you live. If you fail to come up with the cash then you’re going to have a sleepover with the worms”.
“Mr. Guido.., sir..,” Rose stammers taking a step back towards the door only to have her progress halted by a pair of armed guards. “I – I meant to give him the money honestly! I’m just having trouble getting it all together! Felony, tell your Uncle I’m good for it!”
“I tried Rosie”, she says sullenly. “But if there’s one thing more important to him than me, it’s money. I can’t do anything!”
“Mr. Fontana, wait..,” Rosie continues while thrusting her hands out in mock capitulation. “You gotta give me more time! It’s not easy coming up with so much money on the drop of a hat. I just need more time..,” she pleads.
“You have two minutes,” Guido states flatly.
“How the hell do you expect me to come up with two entire dollars in two minutes? That’s 200 cents! Have you ever stacked 200 pennies up? It’s absurd. Mr. Fontana I’m begging you, just give me a little more time and I swear I’ll..,”
“You have 60 seconds,” Guido interrupts.
“I – I.., have it at home but it’s in my sock! If you’ll just let me go back home I’ll get the sock and count it out for you and..,”
“You have 30 seconds left,” Guido advises her as his voice is accompanied by the clacking of cold steel by the guards behind her.
Desperately looking for a way to make an escape Rose does not appear to notice the two crisp one dollar bills lying at her feet having been surreptitiously deposited there by Felony. The doorway is blocked by the guards, the window by Tony and there are no air ducts to crawl through, assuming she would fit. Rock Rose appears to have resigned herself to her fate, drawing a helpless sigh when Felony Rises from the chair she shared with Dr. Angel. Handing the bear back to Despayre she approaches her partner and kneels down by her feet.
“What’s this?” she asks, picking up the money.
“Oh my God that’s two dollars!” Rose cries snatching the bills from Felony’s hand and promptly thrusting them into Mr. Self-Help’s face. “Here it is I got your money! Here’s your two dollars take it!”
Taking the money into his hand Mr. Self Help licks his fingers and counts it out, both bills. Satisfied he folds them and slides them into his pocket turning to Guido with a smile..,
“Our business is concluded”, he says. “My associate and I thank you for your cooperation and we bid you good day!”
“It was my pleasure Mr. Help,” Guido says, shaking his hand. “Tony please escort our guest out, and tell my driver to take him anywhere he wants to go”.
With a nod Tony follows Mr. Self Help and Angel out of the office and into the hall. Holding the bear at eye level Mr. Self Help comments,
“First you get a degree in exorcism from night school and now you’re an associate of the mafia. When we get home you and I need to have a long talk”.
Back in the office a visibly relieved Rock Rose takes a seat next to Felony. She drapes her muscular arm over the blonde’s slender shoulder and leans over to whisper into her ear,
“I owe you big Felony, whatever you want, just say it”.
“I want more ring time this Sunday against Traci and Mercedes,” Felony answers, winking an eye at her Uncle.
