Mothers Daze – Part 4

Carmine, Stan, and Sarah stood outside, in the remains of a parking lot nearly obscured by sand and scrub brush. An abandoned store stood shuttered on one side, a boarded-up two-storey house on the right. Carmine glanced up and saw the shadowy outline of a US Marshall in the uppermost, unboarded window of the house. “They’re getting bored,” he commented.

“Can’t blame ‘em. Our Soviet friends are over two hours late for this shindig.” Stan tapped the face of his watch and shrugged. “Maybe they got wind that it was a trap?”

“Perhaps.” Sarah sighed, drawing closer to her ex-husband. “In any case, it would appear the exchange isn’t happening.”

“So did they actually admit that they had Lenny?” asked Carmine.

“Not in so many words, but it was clear from their offer of something valuable to trade that they do.”

“That means he’s definitely alive, right?”

Stan squinted up into the bright sunlight. “Nothing’s definite, my boy.”

Carmine’s spirits sank. “You think that’s why they didn’t show? ‘Cause Lenny’s…?” He couldn’t bring himself to say it. The thought of his buddy being executed, leaving this world believing that he’d been betrayed by his wife and friend, was simply too much to contemplate. Carmine craved a drink more than he wanted to take another breath. He fought down the urge by biting his tongue until he drew blood.

“All right, that’s a rap!” One of the marshalls made a round-up motion with his arm. Looking around, Carmine saw agents with rifles and others with binoculars begin packing up their gear.

“Come on, guys, just a little longer,” Stan begged, but the marshall shook his head.

“Sorry, Agent Kosnowski, but that’s it. We were made or they were playing us. Either way, we’re done here.” He turned to Sarah. “Ma’am, you should go back to the safe house. Your place has been packed up and we’ll be moving you at oh-sixteen-hundred.”

“Moving? Wait, you’re taking her away?” Carmine took a step between Sarah and the marshall. “You can’t do that! If she’s not around, they won’t have any reason to deal!”

“Who is this guy?” The marshall jerked a thumb at Carmine. “Civilians don’t belong anywhere near this!”

“He’s not a civilian,” Stan interrupted before Carmine could protest. “He’s…um…my deputy.”

I am? He kind of liked the sound of that. For a moment, Carmine pictured himself in a Western, a silver star pinned to his shirt, standing side-by-side with Sheriff Stanley, a six-shooter on his hip.

“You can’t deputize anyone, Kosnowski, you’re IRS!” sneered the marshall.

“I’m as much a field agent as you are,” Stanley retorted. “This man is helping me in my investigation. He stays.”

“Fine. Stays, goes, it doesn’t much matter. Nothing’s happening here today. Ms. Jones, I’ll see you at….”

“Oh-sixteen hundred. Yes, I got that,” said Sarah, dryly.

The marshall’s people cleared out in record time. Stan, Sarah, and Carmine were escorted to the safe house and ushered inside. It was a small white ranch with shuttered windows, completely unobtrusive to anyone looking at it from the outside. One agent was posted at the front door, another in the back. Once they were locked inside, Carmine dropped down on the flowered sofa and said, “So, now what?”

“Now, nothing.” Stan sank into a leisure chair and rested his chin on his hand. “You heard Marshall Know-It-All. The operation’s a failure.”

“Lenny.” Sarah’s gray eyes filled with tears. She stood between them, her arms wrapped around herself. “My sweet little boy.”

Carmine grit his teeth and stared at the floor. Stan rose and put his arms around his wife, who hugged him tightly. “I always dreamt that I’d see you all again,” she said. “I’ve missed you so.”

“I know. So have we.”

“They’ll kill him,” Sarah whispered. “You know that. They probably already did.”

Stan held her tighter. Carmine glanced up and saw his blue eyes were glistening in the light of the single lamp. The expression on Lenny’s father’s face, combined with his mother’s sobbing, nearly broke Carmine’s heart. There has to be something else we can do! he wanted to shout. It can’t just be over, not like this!

***

Lenny stood behind the large tree in back of the little house, his fingers twitching against the butt of his gun. His mother, clad like him all in black, nodded to two of her guards. He watched as the men used impressive speed and stealth to come up on either side of the henchman guarding the back door of the house. The bad guy only had time to spot one of his mother’s guards in front of him and open his mouth before another came up behind him and slit his throat.

Lenny winced and a wave of nausea swept over him as he watched his mother’s men drag the corpse over behind some scraggly bushes. Then there was a sudden flash, and he was watching a movie somewhere, with the little greasy-haired guy sitting beside him, noisily munching popcorn. “That James Bond fella, he’s got the coolest gadgets,” the little guy was noting.

“Yeah, and that car? Think of all the dames we could get if we had those wheels!” It was his own voice, but sounded so strange to him.

“I could’ve been a secret agent,” the greasy fellow said. “I just, you know, didn’t know where to apply.”

“Yeah, you and my father!” It was him talking again. “He always used to go on about fightin’ the bad guys, makin’ the world a better place. Then he’d go wash the tuna stink off in the shower.”

Lenny blinked hard, and the images vanished again. Were they memories? They seemed real, as did the feelings of affection for the strange little greasy guy.

“Leonard!” his mother hissed, breaking his reverie. “Focus, son. It is time to go in.”

He nodded, snapping back to the job at hand. “Don’t worry, Mother. I’m all set.”

“Yuri says that there are three inside, two men and the woman, their superior. You will need to take them all out, Leonard, to ensure we are not pursued.”

“I will.”

“There must be no mistakes, no hesitation!” she went on, her blue eyes locking onto his. “Do you understand?”

“I get it!” he snapped. He pulled out his gun and cocked it. “You shouldn’t even be down here, Mother, you should’ve stayed where it was safe!”

She cocked her head to one side and gave him a warm smile. Or was it? Something in the expression seemed off to him. “Leonard. How could I let my little boy face such a dangerous task all alone, without me nearby to provide guidance?”

“Yeah, well. Just stay back here, out of the way, okay? Leave the rest to me and the other agents.”

She nodded and lowered her eyes. “Of course, darling. Whatever you say. Now, go!”

He flashed her a grin and hurried over to join the other guards. All four were at the back door now, the other two having finished removing the henchman protecting the front entrance. “All right, fellas,” Lenny said. “Let’s go in.” One of them glanced at the other and looked confused. “What, don’t you guys speak English?” Lenny snapped. He jabbed the barrel of his gun in the direction of the rear door. “Let’s. Go!”

Another guard, who was bent over the doorknob, stood up. Lenny saw a lock pick in his hand. The guard turned the knob and quietly opened the door, gesturing with mock politeness for Lenny to go in first. “Great, some G-men,” Lenny muttered. Pushing the door open, he quietly stepped inside.

As he stalked down the hallway, staying close to the wall, he heard a woman crying softly and a man murmuring something. Kinda weird, Lenny thought, an assassin boo-hooing before a job? Whatever, she was probably insane or in trouble for not having succeeded in executing his mother yet. Just the thought of finally being able to confront this bitch and her cohorts gave Lenny a rush. They were going to pay, all of them, for what they’d done to him, and what they wanted to do to his mother. His mother….

Lenny paused, pressed his back against the wall, and clamped one hand over his eyes. Another flash, even more vivid than the last, “You’re gonna be a mother!” It was his voice again, and he was talking to the woman with the green eyes. Her hands were pressed against her stomach and she was looking at him with such love that his breath caught in his throat.

“We’re gonna be a mommy and a daddy, Lenny!” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy, not since our wedding day!”

“Me neither.” He took her in his arms and swung her around. “You’re gonna be such a great mommy!”

Lenny squeezed his eyes shut and gave his head a brisk shake, but the vision simply shifted. He was looking at a bus, running after it and waving his arms, which were strangely small and thin. “Mommy! Mommy!” he cried. “Where you going? Don’t go, Mommy!”

Stop this! he commanded himself, heart pounding. You’ve got a job to do! You don’t have time for all this crap!

Forcing his eyes open, he waited until he could breathe regularly again. He could hear the people in the living room talking to each other, but didn’t bother to listen to what they were saying. Focusing, he took a step closer. At the same time, a tall man with sandy colored hair that was graying at the temples stepped into the hallway, right in front of him. “Lenny?” the man said, his oddly familiar blue eyes widening. “My God, is it…?”

Lenny jerked back his arm and swung, slamming the guy in the side of the head with the butt of his gun. The man closed his eyes and dropped to the floor without another word.

“Stanley? Is everything all right?” The woman – no, the assassin’s – voice. Damn, he’d lost the element of surprise! Pulling back the trigger, Lenny took a deep breath and jumped over the body on the floor, springing into the living room.

***

Carmine heard Stan’s voice in the hallway, sounding startled. Then he heard a thud. A quick glance at Sarah, drying her tears with a tissue, confirmed that she’d heard it, too. She called out to her husband, a split-second before someone dressed entirely in black leapt into the room, pointing a gun at them. Shit, what happened to the guards outside? Carmine jumped to his feet, fumbling for the gun in his pocket.

“Freeze, buddy! Don’t you move!”

Carmine froze, but not because of the order. He closed his eyes, gave his head a brisk shake, and opened them again. “Len? Lenny is that…you?”

Unmistakably it was, but he’d never seen Lenny like this. The expression on his face alone made Carmine’s blood run cold. The impressive silver gun in his hand, now aimed directly at his chest, didn’t exactly fit either. “You move, you die,” said Lenny, in a voice so icy and unfamiliar that it didn’t seem like it could have come from his mouth.

“Lenny, it’s me,” said Carmine, pulling his hand out of his pocket. “What are you doing? We’ve been worried….”

“Shut up and hold your hands up!” The gun in Lenny’s hands didn’t waver.

“Oh…okay. No problem.” Carmine held his hands up and took a step toward Sarah. “Lenny, what’s going on here? We thought you were kidnapped, or worse.”

“Your goons didn’t get a chance,” Lenny sneered, his voice still almost unrecognizable. He took a step toward Sarah. “You sons of bitches are gonna pay for what you did!”

“What the hell…you don’t mean…Laverne? This can’t be about what you think you saw.” Carmine’s heart was pounding in his ears. Maybe Lenny had snapped, but still, he couldn’t imagine the guy’d actually want to kill him. Lenny was one of the gentlest people he’d ever known. “Lenny, come on. We can talk about this.”

“Ain’t here for talking.” Lenny suddenly took aim at Sarah, who shrank back toward Carmine. “Didn’t expect to see me again, did you?” he snarled at her. “Thought you’d finished me off and could move onto my mother!”

Sarah held out a trembling hand. “Lenny, what are you talking about? Don’t…don’t you know who I am?”

“Yeah, I do. You’re a cold-blooded killer. Only this time, you’re on the other end of the gun. How’s that feel?” He raised the weapon and Carmine knew with sickening certainty that he was about to fire it.

“Lenny, no!” Carmine grabbed Sarah by the wrist and yanked her behind him. “What are you doing? She’s your mother!”

Lenny’s eyes suddenly widened. His features twisted in rage. “I know you!” he said.

Carmine nodded, making sure to stay between Lenny and his mother. “Yeah, that’s right,” he said encouragingly. “You do know her. Think, Lenny!”

His friend shook his head slowly. “No, not her.” Lenny’s eyes locked onto his. “You!”

The next thing Carmine heard was the gunshot, mingled with Sarah’s scream. It was also the last.

***

It was the guy from his dream, no mistaking him. The dark curly hair, the same associated sense of rage. Only now he was here and he was standing between Lenny and his target. Of course, now it made sense. He was one of them.

Lenny leveled the gun at the bastard’s chest and started to squeeze the trigger. Then something slammed against the backs of his knees, sending him crashing to the floor just as he squeezed off the shot. “No, son, don’t!”

A man’s voice. It was the guy he’d knocked out in the hallway, only now he was awake and on Lenny’s back, pinning his arms against the floor. Lenny tried to twist around and throw him off, but for an injured older man, the guy was strong. He felt his right arm being wrenched painfully behind his back and fought vainly to keep his hold on the gun. No, no, not now! I’m so close! Lenny wailed. But the gun was gone and he felt his heart sink. Mother, I’m sorry. I failed you. I failed us both.

Another damned inconvenient flash of memory. “I’ve failed at everything I’ve ever done in life.” He was in bed, the green-eyed woman holding him in her arms. “I want to give you so much, Laverne.”

“Sh, stop that.” She was caressing his cheek, kissing his lips again and again. “You’ve never failed me, not once, and you never will.”

Lenny heard the man on his back yelling at him, but the words seemed to be coming from far away. All he could see was a tall young man crouching in front of him, hearing him say, “Toss me the ball, son. That’s it, you can do it…oops. Well, that’s okay, Mamma didn’t like that vase much anyway.”

He screwed his eyes shut. The young man’s face, it was so like the face of the guy on his back. Who was he? And he’d called the green-eyed woman Laverne. Didn’t the other guy say that name, too?

“What’s going on?” Lenny whispered. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”

“Lenny? Lenny, what’s wrong with you?” The man on his back climbed off and rolled him over. Lenny blinked up at him and saw that there was a thin stream of blood running down the side of his head. He stared into the man’s dark blue eyes and something suddenly clicked.

“Poppa? Is that you?” he asked, reaching up with one, shaking hand to touch the man’s face.

“Yes, of course it’s me!” the guy…his father…replied. His eyes were filled with pain, not all of it physical. “Lenny, thank God you’re alive. But what were you doing?”

“Poppa…I found Mother. Mamma…I’m so confused.” He allowed his father to help him sit up. “She said the assassin was in here.”

“The what?” His father blinked at him.

“But what would you be doing with some Russian assassin?” He shook his head, struggling to clear his calamitous thoughts. “And Laverne…who is she? She’s important to me.”

“She’s your wife, Lenny. The mother of your child.” His father stroked his hair. “Don’t you remember?”

“No. I mean, yeah, I think. I’m starting to.” He stared at the gun in his father’s hand. “Laverne’s not here. Where…where are we, Poppa?”

His father took a deep breath. “Lenny, you’re in Zion, a town far south in California. Do you know how you got here?”

More images. They were tumbling all over each other now, crowding into his brain. “I was crossing the street. Then I was in this cabin. She said she was my mother.” Lenny drew his knees up to his chest, cradling his head in his hands. “I was going to see…the little dark haired lady. Shirley? Shirley yeah. I was so angry.” He fought to sort out the returning memories. “I saw Laverne, coming out of his apartment. What was she doing with him?”

His father looked puzzled, as though desperately trying to follow what Lenny was saying. “Him? Wait…Carmine. You saw Laverne coming out of Carmine’s apartment.”

Lenny tried to stand up. His father held out an arm and helped him to his feet. “She hurt me, Poppa. They both did…why? Why would they do that to me?”

“Lenny, you don’t understand. It was a mistake. You didn’t see what you thought….”

“Squiggy!” Lenny felt like he’d been slammed to the floor again. His back stiffened and he clutched his father’s arm. “That guy, with the grease and voice…he’s my best friend! And I have a baby, a little boy…” He struggled, then snapped his fingers. “Joey! Joey’s my son!”

His father glanced over Lenny’s shoulder at something, a worried look on his face. Then Poppa’s eyes refocused on his. “Go on, son. Keep going.”

“Poppa, I remember everything!” He couldn’t talk fast enough to keep up with the rush of returning memories. “I’m Lenny Kosnowski! I’m married to Laverne DeFazio and we have a son named Joey and we live at Laurel Vista! And that woman…I don’t know her.” His heart abruptly sank like a stone. “She said that she was my mother, but she couldn’t be. My mother…I remember what she looked like and I still have the pictures. It’s not her.”

He turned slowly, his eyes resting on the face of the woman kneeling nearby on the floor. “Oh, my God. It’s you!”

She pressed her full lips together and nodded, her gray eyes filled with tears. Then she turned back her attention to the man lying on the floor, the one with blood all over the front of his shirt.

“Lenny,” said his father cautiously, but he pulled away, taking a few shaky steps toward his mother. His eyes traced the length of her arms, focused briefly on her hands pressed against the shoulder of the guy on the floor. Unwillingly, he raised his gaze until he was looking into the face of his victim.

Lenny shook his head and backed up until he bumped into his father, who gripped his shoulders. “Oh, no,” he whispered, shaking his head to clear the image in front of him. “I killed him. I killed Carmine!”

***

There were voices, muffled and far away. He tried to focus on them, figure out what they were saying. The more he concentrated, though, the worse the pain became. He couldn’t pinpoint where it was, but the clearer the voices were, the more it seemed to spread, until it was all he was aware of.

“I killed Carmine!” he heard someone exclaim. That sounded like bad news, considering he was Carmine. “Poppa, my God, how could I do this?”

“He’s not dead,” a woman replied. Better news. “The bullet went clean through. See, it’s embedded in the wall there.”

“I shot him in the chest, Mom!” Uh-oh, bad again.

“You didn’t,” she responded firmly. “Your aim was off. You hit him near the left shoulder.”

Bullet. Shot. Shoulder. Things were starting to make sense. Carmine forced his eyes open, blinked until his vision cleared. There was Sarah, leaning over him. Behind her were Lenny and his father. The same Lenny who had just pointed a gun at him and shot him. “Wh…what’d you do…that for?” Carmine asked.

Lenny’s entire face crumpled. He pulled away from his father and lowered himself to the floor, wincing as though it were painful. He leaned over and said, “Carmine, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know it was you.”

“Who else would it be?” Carmine demanded, though his voice sounded less indignant and much weaker than he intended. He coughed and flinched at the stabbing pain across his chest and down his left arm. “Ow!”

“Just lie still,” said Sarah. She had a large wad of tissues in her hand and was pressing them firmly against his shoulder. “You’re going to be fine.”

He glared up at Lenny, who was watching his mother work in wide-eyed horror. “So?”

Lenny met his eyes. “So what, Carmine?”

“I’m waiting for an explanation.” He cleared his throat, but his voice wouldn’t get any stronger. “First you threaten your mother and then you shoot me! I can kind of understand why you might have done that, but your own mother?”

Lenny shook his head vigorously. “I didn’t mean to shoot you, I swear it. Not over…that, not for anything. Carmine, you know me, you know I’d never try and kill anybody, no matter what they did to me!”

He did know it, but still. “And yet, here I am.”

His friend looked deeply ashamed. “She told me that she…Momma…was an assassin. She made me feel so…so angry…I believed it was the only way.”

“She who?” Stanley was standing behind Lenny. “Son, where have you been?”

“With me.” Another woman’s voice, unfamiliar and with a distinct Slovak accent. Carmine peered around Sarah and saw a stocky woman dressed all in black, flanked by four large, scary-looking guys. “Leonard, I am sorry to interrupt, but you seemed to be taking a long time in here.”

Carmine watched Lenny’s expression change, from contrition to flint. He got to his feet and walked over toward the woman. One of her henchmen pointed a gun at Lenny and he stopped. “I’ve taken one down, Mother. The other guy, he managed to disarm me. Temporarily.” Lenny walked over to his father and yanked the gun out of his waistband. Stan stared at him, but didn’t interfere.

“Ah, me. Well, don’t blame yourself, my boy. I did have to rush your training, after all.” She was watching Lenny closely. “What were you telling them when I came in, darling? You sounded upset.”

“A game, Mother,” said Lenny smoothly, walking over to her. The four goons gave him the evil eye, but the woman waved them back. “They tried to make me think that bitch was my mother and that he,” Lenny jerked his head at Stan, “was my father. I played along, figuring it was only a matter of time until backup arrived.” He reached out and stroked the woman’s hair. “But you shouldn’t have come in yourself, Mother. You’re putting yourself in danger.”

The woman’s blue eyes glittered like lumps of ice. She smiled at Lenny and said, “Such a clever boy. Now, shall we finish the job?”

Lenny hesitated. Don’t stop now, Carmine thought. You’re doing great, Len! “I’ll take care of it, Mother. You should have your…guards take you back home, where you’ll be safe. I’ll come for you there when I’m finished.”

The woman stared at Lenny in silence. Then she said, “I’m afraid that won’t be possible, Leonard.”

Lenny didn’t waste another moment. His fingers clenched around the woman’s hair and he yanked her against his chest. Before her goons could move in, Lenny pointed his gun at her head and cocked the trigger. “Don’t do it!” he warned. “You guys, clear on out of here or I’ll blow her brains out!”

The men froze, but the woman exclaimed, “Nyet! Don’t listen to him! He isn’t capable of it!”

“Oh, no?” Lenny dragged her over, forcing her to look down. “See that guy? I did that, and I actually like him!” He spun her around until they were face to face. “Imagine what I’m willing to do to the lying assassin who almost got me to murder my own mother!”

Carmine saw her shoulders slump. She muttered something in what he assumed was Russian and her men slowly backed off down the hallway.

Stan immediately reached for the phone and quickly dialed a number. “Code seventeen, code seventeen! We have a breach! Send in backup and an ambulance!”

“I’ll be right back,” said Sarah kindly, patting Carmine’s cheek. “Hold this, tightly.” She put his right hand over the wad of tissues against his shoulder. Carmine nodded and watched her stride over to the woman Lenny was holding. “You people really never do give up, do you? All these years and you still want that damned data? Why? What good would it do Mother Russia now?”

The woman spat on the floor, glaring daggers at Sarah. “You think that matters anymore? Whatever materials you turned over are worthless now. Our technology, our arrangements with other countries, our plans are so far ahead of that it is ridiculous!” Her eye glittered. “No, you whore, you sly bitch, this is between you and I!”

Sarah looked genuinely taken aback. “A personal vendetta? Over what?”

“My father!” the woman hissed. “It was he who was assigned to retrieve the secrets your Polack father and his cronies stole. It was he who was in charge of cleaning them up for Stalin! And it was he who answered for the failure of his men to retrieve the final set of documents from you!” She lunged at Sarah, but Lenny held her arm firmly, yanking her back. “Because you slipped away, my father was executed and my family left in disgrace!”

“So you aren’t Russian agents?” asked Stan. “You’re doing all this on your own?”

“I am as well trained as any KGB,” she shot back. “I have served my country well over the years.” The woman looked up at Lenny, a sly look crossing her face. “I was the best assassin they ever employed.”

“Then why use me?” Lenny demanded. “Why involve me at all?”

“I did not know where your mother was. An informant told me your father was closing in and so I picked up his trail and followed him. When I realize Celia’s son was in California, I thought it likely that she’d been in touch with you. Women can be so sentimental about their boys. My men followed you one day and you went to a woman’s house…we thought perhaps it was your mother. When it turned out it wasn’t, we thought you were looking for her. We decided to obtain you and find out what, if anything, you knew of Celia’s location.”

“So you ran me down. I wasn’t gonna talk much if I was dead!” snapped Lenny.

“True. But I did not hit you that hard. I was very careful to do minimal damage. After all, I am a professional.”

“So then when you realized I didn’t remember nothing, you decided to…what? Make me your personal hitman?”

“Stanley, in his distress, was kind enough to spur his contacts to find your mother. In turn, my people were alerted, leading us down here. Once in the area, it was not difficult to find the right locals to bribe for information. After that, I didn’t need you to find your mother, Leonard – only to kill her. After all, why should I risk myself or my people, when you were so eager to assist?”

Lenny forced her back at arm’s length, his fingers digging into the woman’s shoulder. “You heartless monster!” he shouted. “You almost made me…!”

Before he could finish, the woman aimed an amazingly high kick into his elbow, sending the gun flying out of Lenny’s hand. Then she kicked him square in the stomach. Lenny doubled over, gasping, as she snatched the gun out of the air. As Stanley rushed forward, the female assassin pointed the gun at him and fired.

“No!” screamed Sarah, grabbing at the woman’s arm. But she was far too late. Carmine watched in horror as Stan pressed a hand against the middle of his chest, blood cascading through his fingers, his eyes wide and staring. Slowly, very slowly, he sank to the ground.

“Poppa!” wailed Lenny, dropping to his knees and crawling to his father’s side.

The assassin grabbed Sarah around the neck and dragged her back from her husband and son, pressing the gun against her temple. “I’m so sorry, Leonard,” the woman smirked. “But I am afraid I must make you an orphan now.”

***

Lenny cradled his father in his arms, struggling in vain to slow the flow of blood from the gaping wound in the middle of his chest. “Poppa, hold on, please!” he begged.

His father shook his head. “Your mother…” he whispered. “Help. Her.”

“Poppa….”

“Too late,” the wounded man whispered, his voice fading. “Love you. Son.”

“Poppa, no.” Tears stung his eyes. Lenny pulled his father closer. “It’ll be all right, you’ll be fine. The ambulance is already coming.” He could hear the siren wailing in the distance. “Poppa, please…please don’t….”

But it was too late and he knew it. His father’s blue eyes were staring out into nothing, his body limp and heavy in Lenny’s arms. His ragged breathing trailed off and ceased. He was cradling a corpse.

He sniffled and gently laid the body on the floor. With one trembling hand he reached out and closed his father’s eyes, then leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Goodbye, Poppa,” Lenny whispered.

“No. No, no, no!” cried his mother, his real mother; straining to escape the iron grip of the assassin. The black-clad woman flung her to the floor and before his mother could make a move, she aimed the gun at her head.

“Dostvedanya, Celia,” the assassin said. “And go to hell!”

Something flew across the room and hit the assassin in the side of the head. She cried out, the hand holding the gun twitching to one side.

Lenny didn’t wait to figure anything else out. He launched himself at the woman, landing on her back and flattening her against the floor. She grunted as she hit, but managed to keep her grip on the gun. “Momma, run!” cried Lenny. He saw his mother scramble quickly across the room.

Lenny clamped one hand on the assassin’s wrist, used the other to wrench the gun away from her. She screamed like an enraged wildcat and flung back her head, hitting him in the chin with near-stunning force. He half-fell off her and she slipped out from under him, landing in a crouch in front of his face, features twisted into a snarl.

He didn’t think. He simply raised the gun and fired.

The first bullet hit her in the shoulder, knocking her back onto her rear. Her mouth dropped open, as though shocked that he’d actually fired. She started to shift her weight and resume a crouch. That’s when the second bullet struck her in the stomach. She half-stood, letting out a weird cry like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. The third bullet nailed her between the eyes and she toppled over, arms outflung. Then she died.

Lenny fired the remaining two shots into her body, and kept squeezing the trigger against the empty chamber until someone put their hand over his and said, “Lenny, stop. It’s enough. It’s over.”

Only then did he let the gun drop from his suddenly nerveless hand to clatter against the floor. His mother’s arms were around his waist and she held him from behind, stroking his hair and whispering soothing things in his ear that had no meaning. Lenny looked across the room at Carmine, who was sitting half-propped against the sofa, one hand still pressing the wad of tissue against his shoulder wound. His friend’s dark eyes were wide and filled with sympathy. He glanced away, and his eyes fell upon his father’s body, still and silent on the floor. Then Lenny sank to his knees and he clung to his mother, tears flowing freely as he wept for everything – and everyone – he’d lost.

***

“Your husband’s still asleep, Mrs. Ragusa,” the nurse said, leading Shirley down the hospital corridor.

“But he’s all right, isn’t he? When they called, the doctor said he was doing well.” Her lower lip trembled.

The nurse patted her shoulder. “He’s going to be fine. The damage was minimal. Other than some stiffness, he should be as good as new in a day or two. He’s a very lucky young man.”

Shirley chuckled briefly. “Oh, yeah. That husband of mine, he’s Mr. Lucky.” She looked over at Laverne, who was walking a short distance behind her. “Vernie? Are you okay?”

Laverne gave her a reassuring smile that Shirley didn’t buy for a second. “Sure, sure. I’m just so relieved to be seeing Len, you know?”

“Then why do you look as if you’re going to a firing squad?”

Her friend sighed. “Because. This is the first time I’m seein’ him since…you know.”

“You think he still thinks that you and Carmine…?”

“I doubt Carmine’s had a chance to tell him anything else, what with all that went on down here.” She tugged a strand of hair. “Len sounded so distant on the phone. He hardly said ten words to me.”

“He’s upset,” reasoned Shirley. “Think about what the poor fellow’s gone through! He was hit by a car, abducted, and then somehow wound up in a shootout that killed his father. Oh, and his mother’s back, after a couple of decades. Wouldn’t you be a bit distracted, hm?”

Laverne nodded. “Yeah, of course, Shirl. I just hope he’ll let me help him through this. Especially now, when I’m finally feelin’ like myself again.”

“Those pills are really working for you, aren’t they?”

“Amazing. The therapy hasn’t hurt either.” She smiled. “My doctor says that my hormone levels are nearly normal. That means the postpartum is about over and I won’t need any meds pretty soon.”

“That’s really good news.” She paused with the nurse in front of the door to Carmine’s room. “Are you sure you’re okay? Seeing Lenny alone, I mean. I can go with you…?”

“Naw, are you kiddin’? You need to be with your hubby. The father of your child.” Laverne reached over and gave her a hug. “You know I’m completely thrilled for you, right?”

“Of course I do.” They held onto one another for a few moments, and then separated. “I’ll catch up with you later, back at the hotel, okay?”

“You bet. Thanks, Shirl.”

“For what?”

“For comin’ home.”

Shirley smiled and winked. “Silly. You know I can’t be without my best friend for very long.”

She watched as Laverne walked away in the direction of the hospital lounge. “I hope he’s ready to listen to her,” Shirley murmured.

“Excuse me?” asked the nurse.

“Nothing.” She turned and rested her hand on the doorknob. “Is it all right if I just sit with him? I don’t want him to wake up alone.”

“Not a problem.” The nurse smiled and walked away. Shirley pulled open the door and slipped inside to be with her husband, where she belonged.

***

“Your husband’s had a thorough exam. He’s very lucky that he received decent medical treatment after his accident, or those injuries could have caused lasting damage.”

Laverne nodded, only half-listening to the doctor. Her attention was almost totally focused on her husband, who sat silently on the examination table. His shirt hung open as though he’d forgotten to button it, revealing several nasty scrapes and bruises on his torso. But it was his face, his eyes that disturbed her the most. He looked…haunted.

“Thanks, doc,” said Laverne absently. She walked over to Lenny, fighting the urge to throw her arms around him. The doctor said something else about bed rest and left them alone.

“Hey, Laverne,” said Lenny, without any inflection in his voice.

“Len.” She didn’t know what to say first, how to begin. She inhaled deeply and let her breath out very slowly. Then she said, “You’re all right now.”

“I ain’t badly hurt no more, if that’s what you mean. Healed up just fine.”

“Good. That’s real good. Lenny, about what happened….”

“I didn’t mean to do it.”

She paused. “Do what?”

His eyes met hers briefly. “I shot Carmine.”

Dumbstruck, she just stared at him. Finally she said, “You? You shot him?” Her heart skipped a beat. “You were that angry?”

He sighed. “No, Laverne. I didn’t know it was him when I did it.”

“Wait. On the phone, you did say something about your memory being messed up for a while.”

“More than messed up. I didn’t have it, not at all. That’s why she was able to take advantage, use me to get to my real mother.”

Laverne blinked. “Maybe you oughta start at the beginning.”

***

When Carmine awoke about an hour later, he found his wife sitting beside him, holding his hand. She gave him a good five minutes to come around before prodding him to tell her exactly what had happened.

“He did what?” Shirley exclaimed. “Oh, my God, he’s insane! He needs to be locked up! He should…!”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” said Carmine quickly. “Calm down, Shirl, and let me explain.” He shifted into a more comfortable position in the hospital bed and launched into the whole story, or at least as much as he knew.

When he was finished, his wife said, “So Lenny really didn’t know it was you.”

“No. Come on, this is Lenny! He wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Carmine heard the hesitation in his own voice and knew his wife caught it, too.

“So you said you lobbed an ashtray at that Russian woman. In your condition?”

“She was gonna shoot Sarah…Celia…Len’s mother. And she’d already killed Stan.” Carmine frowned. “He saved my life, Shirl. If he hadn’t thrown off Len’s aim, that bullet would’ve gone straight through my ticker. He was a real hero, Shirl, and all he wanted was to reunite his family. It’s not fair he didn’t get to enjoy that. It’s not fair at all.”

She hugged him carefully and he rested his head against her shoulder for a moment or two before continuing. “Anyway, yeah, I spotted this big ashtray on the coffee table and I chucked it at that bitch with my good arm. Nailed her, too. Then Len jumped her and they struggled, and….”

Shirley pulled back a little, looking into his eyes. “Lenny had to shoot her, Carmine. My goodness, she’d killed his father and was about to shoot his mother, too. He had no choice.”

“I know. Oh, believe me, I know. I was there.” But he couldn’t shake the memory of Lenny standing over the woman, emptying the gun into her. The look on his face…it was like he was possessed. Repressing a shudder, Carmine said, “Anyway, at least Len’s mother is safe now. The government wants to move her to a new safe zone, but she’s refusing. Says she’s done running and wants to be near her son and his family.”

“That would be nice. Lenny could sure use a mother, God knows.”

“Yeah.” Carmine pressed a hand lightly against his wife’s abdomen. “How’s junior?”

“Just fine. Only making me throw up twice a day now.”

“Considerate little fellow.”

“Or lady.”

“That’d be fine, too. I make pretty girls.”

“Speaking of which, your daughter is very anxious to see you. We can pick her up from mother’s on the way home day after tomorrow.”

Carmine’s heart sank. “I have to stay in the hospital another day? Why? I’m okay! A little sore, but fine.”

Shirley stroked his cheek. “Sweetheart, it’s only one more day. You need to rest and a long drive isn’t the best thing for you right away. Besides, I’m here now. I’ll keep you company.” She kicked off her pumps and snuggled against his right side on the bed.

He started to reach for her with his left hand, but winced as his bandaged shoulder throbbed. “I guess as long as I’ve got you by my side, I can stand another day of hospital food. Or maybe you can smuggle me in a taco? They’re pretty good down here.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Carmine rested his cheek against the top of her head. He couldn’t help but feel guilty that his world was finally coming back together at the same time Lenny’s had been blown apart. He only hoped Laverne could reach him, and help him to remember the man he really was.

***

“So you and Carmine never slept together?”

“No. Not like that. It was two friends offering each other some comfort, that’s all. I swear, Len, I would never betray you, no matter how messed up I was.”

He knew it was true. One glance in her eyes told him. Besides, his father had started to say as much before…no, he couldn’t think about his father now. The pain was way too raw. “Okay.”

“Okay? That’s it?” She blinked at him. “You believe me?”

“Of course. Do you believe I didn’t shoot Carmine for revenge?”

“Absolutely. I know you, Len. You would never, ever hurt someone, much less somebody you actually cared about.”

But someone I didn’t? Fair game. Lenny tried to bury the thought. “Anyway, my memory’s all back now, my mother’s safe, and that woman’s guys were rounded up and taken away by the Feds. And now you’ve gotten stuff straightened out and aren’t havin’ any more trouble with Joey.”

“Right, that’s over, Len. I love our son; I love him completely. All that junk I was feelin’, it was just messed-up hormones.” She cleared her throat. “My Pop’s doin’ better, too. He’s starting to wake up for longer periods of time. The doctor’s upgraded his condition to serious.”

“Great. So everything’s fine now. All back to normal.”

She stared at him. “Len, about your father….”

“I can’t talk about him now.”

“But Len….”

“No.” He turned away from her. “No, Laverne, do you hear me? No!”

“Okay, okay.” She patted his arm. “Whenever you’re ready, though, I’ll be here.”

He just said, “Look, Laverne, could you give me a couple minutes? I gotta use the bathroom.”

“Sure.” She stood up and walked over to the door. “I’ll be right outside when you’re done. I got us a little hotel room just outside town.”

“That’s great. Be right there.” He stood up and turned away, walking quickly into the bathroom.

Grasping the handrail, he lowered himself to his knees, still stiff and sore from the accident. Then he leaned over the pot and threw up.

Once he was able to stand up again, Lenny rinsed his face off in the sink. He paused, staring at his reflection, startled by the face of the man looking back at him. For a moment, it looked about twenty years older, with laugh lines engraved around the eyes and mouth, a touch of silver at the temples. Then it faded, revealing only his own, thirtyish reflection. Oh, Poppa! You just came back. It’s not fair, it’s just not fair!

He’d told Laverne the truth. He honestly didn’t remember who Carmine was when he’d pointed a gun at him and shot to kill. But it didn’t change the fact that he remembered how he’d felt at that moment, the white-hot hatred he’d felt for the man, the urge to make him suffer for an unremembered sin. The thrill that had gone through him when he fired that gun was almost as intense as the one that followed soon after, when he’d pumped the woman he’d thought of as his mother for a week full of bullets. The relief, the release, the revenge…!

Lenny reached into his jacket pocket, fumbling around for a handkerchief to wipe his face. His fingers closed around a small bottle and he pulled it out of his pocket, staring at the label.

Valium. The doctor had prescribed it to counter the effects of the drugs they’d found in his system, the so-called ‘medication to avoid infection’ his pseudo-mother had foisted on him again and again. The drugs that had fed his rage and made him an obedient, if furious, weapon.

Lenny popped off the lid and swallowed one pill. Then he took another, washing them down with a couple handfuls of water. He replaced the cap and stared at himself in the mirror again, until he could make his expression look like that of a normal, happy man reunited with his loving wife.

Satisfied, he went to find Laverne.

--End--

To Part Three
To The First Rule