Go Hold Your Wife, and Cuddle Your Children
Chapter 4:Not My Day
Today was another day for Alessio Amato. He woke up in the brightly shining September day of 1947 getting ready to go to the 22nd block as it was called, to supervise the restaurant of the four men that he was still in charge of. He protects the restaurant that he had the initiation talk with Don Leo. Alessio and the four men had a bookmaking business in the back. He was lucky for he had one of the few rackets in the city under the Catania family that had no trouble. Al lived on the estate that Leonardo owned. He lived in the neighborhood of other soldiers and Caporegime’s. They all lived across the road from the Mansion of Leonardo. Leo had such a huge profit after the war that he built 5 houses nearly the size of his for his top men. All he asks in return is a small rent. It was 6:30 in the morning and Al wasn’t a morning guy, he walked out to his shiny 1946 Ford Page. He did up his tie and was ready for another day of work. He still kept in touch with friends and occasionally bartended at bars, but he was too busy to do much else. Al did what he usually did, he would drive into town and get coffee for his men and then go off to work.
As Al walked in, he was greeted by the restaurant owner Tommy, Al and Tommy had got to know each other after Al was introduced into the family, they would occasionally gone out for a drink at night, and Tom had introduced Alessio to his family. Tommy was a good man, loyal to his wife and family and never getting into bad trouble, even though he had an illegal business in the back. Al had learned from other family members that Tommy’s father had been good friends with Don Leo when he first arrived here in America. When Tommy grew up, he had the chance to open a restaurant, He was short of money though and he was supporting his father. Don Leo came to Tommy and told him that he could take whatever money he needed but he would slowly have to pay it back. In excitement Tom had accepted and offered Don Leo to open a racket in the back, Leonardo refused telling Tommy that he didn’t want to see anything happen to Tommy, yet Tommy still insisted making a deal that the Don could open a racket and he is to only pay half of the money back. The Don found this reasonable and promised Tom that he would make sure nothing would ever happen to him, that he was safe, and that his father would never know of this. So Tom opened the restaurant and became both sprawling in money and respected by the family for being willing to open the racket.
Al thought much of Tommy, he was happy that he was assigned to keep Tom safe, he knew that he wouldn’t let anything happen to the short pudgy man with a smile on his face.
Al walked into the backroom greeted by Jon and Frankie. Luigi had been in the out in the neighborhood watching for other families and Vinnie had been on the second floor of the restaurant watching over things on the inside and outside.
“Hey, how’s the wife and kids?” Al asked Jon and Frank.
“Great, great kids don’t want to go to school.” Jon replied.
“Yeah, my kid tried to play sick.” Frank said.
They all laughed. The four men had admired Al for asking about the family like a caring man, they would go home to their family knowing that Al was either alone or out drinking, the men had invited Al to dinner but he would refuse telling them to ‘go home, cuddle your kids and wife, there more important then anything in the world, even the
Don’.
Al sat down at his backroom desk a couple feet from his mens desks.
“How much did we roll in this week?” Al asked Jon
“$28,000, we all get 3 G’s each, plus the total from the family we comes to 6 G’s” Jon replied.
“Nice the family’s on a rise now are we?” Al asked Jon
“Yup we got 9 guys that took the 12th and 18th block no big things happened just negotiations.” Jon said proudly
“Good that’s good, no bloodshed is good bloodshed.” replied Al
Jon shook his head, Jon had been the information reporting guy, he would get the inside news, Alessio could but he preferred not to hear if a guy he knew was killed, he would rather find out from the Don if he had a buddy killed, or from Jon. Al was lucky though, it could be much worse, he has only had 2 friends die so far but they died together, on an operation attacking a racket. It was in the news of course but it wasn’t huge and as usual no one could connect to the mob. The family had paid out some news stations and paper routes but even ones that weren’t paid were still not getting the truth right.
Al walked outside to lean against the wall, he liked to think about where he was going in life, the money was good, and he was a well respected man. He, and the family were fair people though, not like the Blagovich family, they took advantage of people, using there fists instead of there head. The Catania family used there heads, this is why they are rising to the top.
Al heard gun shots! He jumped, he ran into the back of the diner only to see Jon and Frank lying on the ground coughing up blood.
Jon looked at Al with tears in his eyes, for Frank had died instantly.
“Al, Al!” Alessio knelt down holding him in his arms. Jon motioned him towards him, Al brought his ear to Jon’s blood-filled mouth.
“Al, go to my home hug my wife, cuddle my kids” Al had tears in his eyes now.
“Al save your crying for the man after me, take the money, give it to my family, say goodbye to my wife for me, tell my boys that dads not coming home.”
“No Johnny, no, you’ll go home, have dinner with your family. Buy your kids presents and hold your wife tight.” Al was weeping by this point. Vinnie had came from downstairs and Luigi was back.
Johnny closed his eyes blood had oozed from his back to the cement floor, then he hung lifeless in the arms of Alessio Amato, a orphan, a war hero, a mobster. Yet he was like anyone else in New York, going through the good times and bad.
Al was furious, Luigi and Vinnie took care of Frank and Jon, Al walked out the back door to the alley with the killers M1911 pistol in his hand, the killer was an Irish mobster, a tall man with pumpkin orange hair. He had been shot in the back of his left knee cap by Franks gun and now was crawling to his car.
Al grabbed the man by his hair and threw him against the wall, he was still in tears, he pressed the gun to the man sweat dripping forehead.
“What’s your name!” Al yelled “What is it”
“Pat O’Higgins”. The man replied
“Well you better have no relation to the Don otherwise he’ll be mad!” Al knelt down to the mans ear.
He spoke into the mans ear “ Jon Drago, husband of Chelsea Drago and father of two boys, Frankie Asta, husband of Maggie Asta and father of a young boy”.
The man broke into tears.“I only did what I was told” he cried “the fighting’s over man, were at peace now”.
Al stood up and stared at him. “No killing should ever be a truce. Get up” Al picked the man up and shoved him into the car and stood at the door still holding him at gunpoint.
“Go home get out of this business, do you have a wife and kids?” Al asked.
The man shook his head yes.
“Good, stay loyal to them. For I am saving your life.” Al then pulled the trigger putting two bullets in the mans right kneecap making him still able to drive. The man screamed in pain crying and begging for him to stop.
“Everyone’s gotta lose something” Al said and then shut the door. The man drove away to his home.
Alessio walked past Luigi and Vinnie, not looking them in the eye and giving Vinnie the gun. Al got into his car to report the actions to Don Leo himself, Al arrived with blood still on him. Al said there was no need for payback for he already had his. The Don agreed leaving it to his Underboss.
Al went to his parents grave, knelt at it and said
“Pa, I may have wanted to follow your footsteps, but I will never kill a man, never. I know that’s what you two want, and that’s how it should be.” Al stood up leaving his tie at his fathers grave. Al then went to somewhere for his mother, yet not for him. He went to church for the first time in over two decades. He told the priest his sins, and not surprisingly the priest had a loss of breath, knowing who Al was. Al then went to the mansion and spent time with the Don, he opened up about the war and took out his medals. Giving them to the family for display in the mansion. Al and the Don then sat there for the rest of the day talking about Al’s childhood. They had laughs and regrets, but they resolved them.
Al then spent the rest of his days doing business, he met a girl, Erin Dewell. They got married had two boys and were always open and loving to each other. Al rose to be the Dons Underboss, but when the Don had passed away he had given the position to the Dons Consigliere Jimmy Russo, the man who picked Al up on that sad day of his parents death. Al lived to be an idol in the Cosa Nostra society, never killing anyone, because he would only use his words. The family expanded to Chicago, Atlanta, and LA becoming a huge organization, yet that average man, Alessio Amato lived the way anyone else lived. Peacefully yet he had rough times.
As Al walked in, he was greeted by the restaurant owner Tommy, Al and Tommy had got to know each other after Al was introduced into the family, they would occasionally gone out for a drink at night, and Tom had introduced Alessio to his family. Tommy was a good man, loyal to his wife and family and never getting into bad trouble, even though he had an illegal business in the back. Al had learned from other family members that Tommy’s father had been good friends with Don Leo when he first arrived here in America. When Tommy grew up, he had the chance to open a restaurant, He was short of money though and he was supporting his father. Don Leo came to Tommy and told him that he could take whatever money he needed but he would slowly have to pay it back. In excitement Tom had accepted and offered Don Leo to open a racket in the back, Leonardo refused telling Tommy that he didn’t want to see anything happen to Tommy, yet Tommy still insisted making a deal that the Don could open a racket and he is to only pay half of the money back. The Don found this reasonable and promised Tom that he would make sure nothing would ever happen to him, that he was safe, and that his father would never know of this. So Tom opened the restaurant and became both sprawling in money and respected by the family for being willing to open the racket.
Al thought much of Tommy, he was happy that he was assigned to keep Tom safe, he knew that he wouldn’t let anything happen to the short pudgy man with a smile on his face.
Al walked into the backroom greeted by Jon and Frankie. Luigi had been in the out in the neighborhood watching for other families and Vinnie had been on the second floor of the restaurant watching over things on the inside and outside.
“Hey, how’s the wife and kids?” Al asked Jon and Frank.
“Great, great kids don’t want to go to school.” Jon replied.
“Yeah, my kid tried to play sick.” Frank said.
They all laughed. The four men had admired Al for asking about the family like a caring man, they would go home to their family knowing that Al was either alone or out drinking, the men had invited Al to dinner but he would refuse telling them to ‘go home, cuddle your kids and wife, there more important then anything in the world, even the
Don’.
Al sat down at his backroom desk a couple feet from his mens desks.
“How much did we roll in this week?” Al asked Jon
“$28,000, we all get 3 G’s each, plus the total from the family we comes to 6 G’s” Jon replied.
“Nice the family’s on a rise now are we?” Al asked Jon
“Yup we got 9 guys that took the 12th and 18th block no big things happened just negotiations.” Jon said proudly
“Good that’s good, no bloodshed is good bloodshed.” replied Al
Jon shook his head, Jon had been the information reporting guy, he would get the inside news, Alessio could but he preferred not to hear if a guy he knew was killed, he would rather find out from the Don if he had a buddy killed, or from Jon. Al was lucky though, it could be much worse, he has only had 2 friends die so far but they died together, on an operation attacking a racket. It was in the news of course but it wasn’t huge and as usual no one could connect to the mob. The family had paid out some news stations and paper routes but even ones that weren’t paid were still not getting the truth right.
Al walked outside to lean against the wall, he liked to think about where he was going in life, the money was good, and he was a well respected man. He, and the family were fair people though, not like the Blagovich family, they took advantage of people, using there fists instead of there head. The Catania family used there heads, this is why they are rising to the top.
Al heard gun shots! He jumped, he ran into the back of the diner only to see Jon and Frank lying on the ground coughing up blood.
Jon looked at Al with tears in his eyes, for Frank had died instantly.
“Al, Al!” Alessio knelt down holding him in his arms. Jon motioned him towards him, Al brought his ear to Jon’s blood-filled mouth.
“Al, go to my home hug my wife, cuddle my kids” Al had tears in his eyes now.
“Al save your crying for the man after me, take the money, give it to my family, say goodbye to my wife for me, tell my boys that dads not coming home.”
“No Johnny, no, you’ll go home, have dinner with your family. Buy your kids presents and hold your wife tight.” Al was weeping by this point. Vinnie had came from downstairs and Luigi was back.
Johnny closed his eyes blood had oozed from his back to the cement floor, then he hung lifeless in the arms of Alessio Amato, a orphan, a war hero, a mobster. Yet he was like anyone else in New York, going through the good times and bad.
Al was furious, Luigi and Vinnie took care of Frank and Jon, Al walked out the back door to the alley with the killers M1911 pistol in his hand, the killer was an Irish mobster, a tall man with pumpkin orange hair. He had been shot in the back of his left knee cap by Franks gun and now was crawling to his car.
Al grabbed the man by his hair and threw him against the wall, he was still in tears, he pressed the gun to the man sweat dripping forehead.
“What’s your name!” Al yelled “What is it”
“Pat O’Higgins”. The man replied
“Well you better have no relation to the Don otherwise he’ll be mad!” Al knelt down to the mans ear.
He spoke into the mans ear “ Jon Drago, husband of Chelsea Drago and father of two boys, Frankie Asta, husband of Maggie Asta and father of a young boy”.
The man broke into tears.“I only did what I was told” he cried “the fighting’s over man, were at peace now”.
Al stood up and stared at him. “No killing should ever be a truce. Get up” Al picked the man up and shoved him into the car and stood at the door still holding him at gunpoint.
“Go home get out of this business, do you have a wife and kids?” Al asked.
The man shook his head yes.
“Good, stay loyal to them. For I am saving your life.” Al then pulled the trigger putting two bullets in the mans right kneecap making him still able to drive. The man screamed in pain crying and begging for him to stop.
“Everyone’s gotta lose something” Al said and then shut the door. The man drove away to his home.
Alessio walked past Luigi and Vinnie, not looking them in the eye and giving Vinnie the gun. Al got into his car to report the actions to Don Leo himself, Al arrived with blood still on him. Al said there was no need for payback for he already had his. The Don agreed leaving it to his Underboss.
Al went to his parents grave, knelt at it and said
“Pa, I may have wanted to follow your footsteps, but I will never kill a man, never. I know that’s what you two want, and that’s how it should be.” Al stood up leaving his tie at his fathers grave. Al then went to somewhere for his mother, yet not for him. He went to church for the first time in over two decades. He told the priest his sins, and not surprisingly the priest had a loss of breath, knowing who Al was. Al then went to the mansion and spent time with the Don, he opened up about the war and took out his medals. Giving them to the family for display in the mansion. Al and the Don then sat there for the rest of the day talking about Al’s childhood. They had laughs and regrets, but they resolved them.
Al then spent the rest of his days doing business, he met a girl, Erin Dewell. They got married had two boys and were always open and loving to each other. Al rose to be the Dons Underboss, but when the Don had passed away he had given the position to the Dons Consigliere Jimmy Russo, the man who picked Al up on that sad day of his parents death. Al lived to be an idol in the Cosa Nostra society, never killing anyone, because he would only use his words. The family expanded to Chicago, Atlanta, and LA becoming a huge organization, yet that average man, Alessio Amato lived the way anyone else lived. Peacefully yet he had rough times.