Joey Longo: A Gangster’s Tale
By
J. N. Wdowski
Chapter One – Night Clubbing
Club music pounded loudly as many young attractive couples on the dance floor ground with the music. Twenty-eight-year-old Joey and Tommy were sitting at a booth with two young women in low-cut sexy tight-fitting dresses. The girls were drinking pink champagne; Tommy was nursing a bottle of ale. Joey with his back to the wall was positioned to have a clear view of the front and rear entrances. He was stirring cream into his cup of coffee as he listened to Tommy’s flirtatious banter with the two giggling girls.
Across the dance floor, a twenty-five-year-old male dressed in a red silk shirt, which was open to reveal his chest hair and gold chains approached their table. “Theresa! Come here!” he shouted at the girl in the red dress.
“I am not going with you, Juan. Go away.” The girl insisted.
“You better heel, bitch.” Juan responded.
Tommy spoke up, “Take a hike, she is enjoying her time with us.”
Juan narrowed his eyes at Tommy “I wasn’t talking to you. If you don’t want to get hurt, I recommend you shut your fuck’en trap.”
“That was rude.” Joey finally spoke up as he stirred his coffee.
Juan directed his glare at Joey, his face frowned with rage, “You can also shut the fuck up” seeing what Joey was drinking he snickered, “Drinking tea? You some kind of faggot?”
“Coffee, I am having coffee.” Joey calmly replied, taking a sip and not looking at Juan.
“Whatever, mind your own business, if you don’t want me to smack you down.” Juan’s face turned hard as stone as he assessed Joey. He turned his attention back to Theresa, slapping her on the back of her head, “I said move!”
“Ow.” The girl put her hand over her head where he had slapped her.
Joey finally stood and forcefully moved towards Juan.
Juan scowled at Joey, clenching both his fists; he readied himself to strike him.
Looking down at him, Joey asked “Is that your tough guy face?”
“What?” Juan was confused by the question.
“Do you want to see my tough guy face?” Joey’s eyes narrowed and stared at Juan as his face muscles tightened. He moved closer to Juan, who instinctively stepped back.
Flustered Juan pointed an accusing finger at Joey, “You’ll regret this, asshole!” he threatened Joey before turning tail and leaving the night club.
Joey turned to the women and relaxed his face; he sat back down to have his coffee.
“That’s Juan Tortes; he is in the Rulers.” The more attractive twenty-one-year-old in the sparkling purple dress nervously warned him.
“Good for him.” Joey replied.
“He served time.” The one in red added, holding the stem of her pink champagne glass tightly in both her hands.
“So? Any idiot can get arrested and serve time.” Joey looked at her as if they were not that bright. “Not getting caught is more impressive. Besides you didn’t seem afraid of him.”
“I’m Rodrigo’s cousin. He would not dare to really hurt me.”
“Rodrigo?” Tommy asked.
“My cousin is the leader of the Rulers.” She answered.
“He rules the Rulers. Interesting.” Joey responded.
“He knows not to seriously harm me, but you, you're no one.” She explained.
“He tucked his tail and ran away fast enough.” Joey was not fazed by her warnings.
“Who are you?” the prettier girl in purple asked.
“As your friend said,,, no one important.” Joey took a sip of his coffee.
The girls both looked to Tommy for an answer.
Tommy took a swig of his bottle of ale before answering, “Joey is the best of friends and the worst of enemies.”
“Am I?” Joey questioningly raised one of his eyebrows as he looked at his old friend.
“Yes. Yes, you are. And I am glad you think of me as a friend.” Tommy honestly replied.
Moments later Juan returned with three tough looking bruisers in tow. They shoved clubbers aside making a bee line to Joey’s table. The two bouncers, seeing what were about to happen, approached to intercept the four men. “We do not want any problems.” The bigger bouncer warned them.
“Then step aside and you won’t have any problems.” Juan snarled at the man knowing they outnumbered the bouncers. The men behind him backed him up.
The two bouncers nervously looked at each other and began to step back; Juan used his arms to brush them aside and part them away from his path to Joey’s table.
“You’re back, with friends.” Joey commented. “Can I buy you a drink?”
“Not so brave now, are you?” Juan snapped at him. “This isn’t a social call, faggot. Stand up and walk away now. You and your friend, or else!”
Joey focused his eyes on Juan, “Or else what?”
“Or, my friends and I are going to break you into two.” Juan smirked.
“In two? Interesting. But I have no interest in leaving the ladies.” He answered.
“Then get up and fight.” Juan challenged him.
“I have no interest in fighting you either.” Joey calmly replied.
“Coward.”
“You came back to face me with three friends, and I am the coward?” Joey pointed out the illogic in his statement.
“You’re a real smartass, aren’t you.” Juan tried to anger Joey. “I’ll fight you alone.”
Joey looked up at him, cracking a slight smile. “Will you now? Ok, but let’s at least take it outside.”
Juan nodded in agreement, “Sure. I understand you don’t want them to watch me mop the floor with you. We can take it outside.”
Joey looked at the night clubbers, the music had already stopped playing, and all eyes were already upon them. “I think we will still have an audience, I just don’t want to cause any property damage.”
As Joey stood to follow them outside, Juan screamed “Get him!”
Joey without hesitation punched Juan on the side of his left knee as hard as he could. Juan buckled and went down immediately. Holding his knee he moaned in pain.
One of the other three men then shouted, “Get him!”
Joey responded by striking him the same way with the same amount of force. He too instantly went down, also clutching his knee in agony. The two remaining tough guys looked at each other, neither one willing to say, “Get him.” Instead, they began to slowly back away from Joey, until they felt safe enough to turn their backs on him and flee the club.
The two security guards happily approached grabbing Juan and his friend by their necks helping them limp out of the club.
“Told you.” Tommy said to the girls, who both seemed stunned and not sure what they had just witnessed. The night club gave a round of applause for Joey as he returned to his seat to finish his coffee.
“You’re nobody?” The girl in purple asked him.
“Yup, nobody.” Joey picked up his coffee cup to drink it.
Theresa leaned in towards Joey. Tommy could feel he was losing her attention. Something that has happened too often, whenever a girl he likes meets Joey.
“I should introduce you to my cousin, Rodrigo.” offered Theresa.
“Why?” Joey looked at her over the rim of the coffee cup he was drinking.
“He could use someone like you.” She smiled, “You could make tons with the Rulers.”
Putting down his coffee he looked at her smiling, beaming, face. The music and pulsing lights of the dance floor started up behind her as the clubbers returned to their sensual dances. “Not interested in being ruled or being a ruler.” He answered her.
Her girlfriend was surprised by his answer, “What are you interested in?”
Joey looked at her, “Right now, I am only interested in you.”
The girl smiled, “Are you now?”
Theresa sat back disappointed; she turned her attention back to Tommy, who was pleased that Joey was not going to take another one away from him.
“Where are you from?” She asked him.
“Originally I am from Pelham Bay.”
“Pelham Bay?”
“It’s in the Bronx, New York City.” He answered.
“You don’t have a Bronx accent.” She noticed. “Actually, you don’t seem to have any accent at all.”
“If I said idear would that make you feel that I am really from the Bronx.” He asked her “Or should I give a Bronx cheer?”
“No, I like the way you talk. It’s clear and sounds good to the ear.” She smiled and inched a bit closer to him. “Do you sing?”
She made him laugh “Do I sing? No. I love music too much. If I sang you would run away from me, covering your ears and screaming. I do not sing. I would never want to have you run away from me.”
She slid her peekoo across the booth seat to get even closer to him, “I find that hard to believe, I bet you have a singing voice that would melt a girl’s heart.”
“I am a lot of things, but I am not a liar. If you heard me sing, it would more likely melt your ear drums, not your heart.” He explained to her.
She placed one of her hands on his upper thigh, inching it towards his crotch. “I bet I could make you sing like a love bird.”
“I never kiss on the first date.” He took her hand from his thigh lifting it to his mouth and kissing it. “I would not want you to think that I am so easy that you would not respect me in the morning.” He smiled at her.
“No worries, I promise I will respect you in the morning.” She answered “Oh, and by the way my name is Anita.”
“Nice to meet you, Anita. I look forward to getting to you know you better.” He responded.
“You are really different than other men.” She softly looked into his hazel eyes.
“That, I have been called before.” He acknowledged.
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