Smooth Criminals

We all stood about 100 yards in front of the Del Porto. We were about to put into action what we had planned last night. Michael stood to my right with his hands on his hips looking at the restaurant. He had on a blach suit with a red undershirt and handkerchief in his brest pocket. He had a black fedora with his hair balled up inside as a simple disguise. He couldn't go in their the way he had looked because everyone knew him in his white and blue suit and his curly black hair.

Johnny was on my left with Donatello between us. He wore a black suit and fedora with white stripes going down it. He had a white silk shirt underneath. Chris was on Michael's other side in his purple and black suit looking the same. As for me, I wore my new black dress and heels.

Michael looked over at me. "Alright, here's how it's going to go," he said. "You two will go in first, posing as a couple. We'll come in after you and then I'll create a distraction and we'll get the girl and go. If anything else happens, follow my lead."

Donatello whimpered. I pet the top of his large head. "You stay outside and stay out of sight." He barked once and took off into the dark. Johnny slipped his arm into mine and I placed my other hand on his arm. Michael nodded. We began walking towards the Del Porto.

"And Alyssa," Michael called after me.

Johnny and I stopped and I looked back at Michael. "Yeah?"

"What I'm about to do in there," he paused. "It's meant for you." He gave me a crooked smile.

I smiled back and then turned around and began walking again with Johnny. We came to the front door and Johnny opened the door for me and I stepped inside. I waited for him to come in behind me. He came up to me and put his hand on the small of my back and ushered me towards a table.

We stepped up several stairs to a slightly higher level and took a seat in a booth against the wall. I sat down and Johnny sat across from me.

I looked around the restaurant. There were men standing around with evil glowing out from them. My eyes fell on a man in a green suit who was kissing the hand of a young lady. They were sitting at the bar.

Johnny followed my gaze. "That's Robert L. He's almost like Frank's sidekick. Which means, Frank is upstairs."

I looked at Johnny. "How does that mean that?"

He smirked. "Rob never goes anywhere without Frank. Well, actually, Frank doesn't go anywhere without Rob. And, Frank's office is upstairs."

"You know a lot about the man you're trying to kill," I muttered.

He shrugged. "You gotta know the enemy."

I looked over at some men who were leaning against the wall seeming rather suspicious. Johnny looked over at them.

"Those are Mike's friends," he explained. "He called them up and told them to come down here just in case."

I nodded. "I see."

"Here they come," Johnny said.

We both looked towards the door. Michael came in rather quickly with Chris right behind him. They were close enough to us that we could hear what they were saying.

"I see her," Michael said. "She's standing on your side by the bar."

Chris looked at her and I realized that Kishaya was the girl Rob was kissing on the hand. Chris looked back at Michael. "I don't know, man. I got a bad feeling about this. I think we should just beat it."

"Chris, stop worrying and just follow me," Michael said.

"Seriously, man," Chris said as he placed his hand on Michael.

"I got this," Michael said in a louder tone.

"This girl is dangerous," Chris said still urging him to give up.

"Chris, I got this," Michael said as he pushed Chris away.

"Man, chamone!" Chris said.

Michael walked over by the bar and stopped by Kishaya. She looked up at him. Michael looked at her from the corner of his eye. Rob looked up at him and Michael casually shrugged it off and walked away.

Michael walked across the restaurant and got up on the small stage and disappeared behind the red curtain.

I looked at the other man sitting next to Kishaya and Rob. He had thinning gray hair slicked back and a face with deep wrinkles and small eyes.

"That there's Phish," Johnny said to me.

"Phish?"

"Yeah," he said, "you don't want to be messing around with that man. He likes to fight."

I heard a small thud from behind the stage and the red curtain drew back. A yellow screen came down and revealed Michael's silhouette. The black figure casually moved. Michael's voice then came out from behind the screen in song. Everyone's eyes turned to Michael's black figure behind the screen.

"My life...would never be the same. Cause girl you came and changed. The way I walk. The way I talk. I cannot explain." Michael's voice filled the room.

There was a pause and then music came on around us. The yellow curtain came up and Michael stepped out onto the stage. More of Frank's men crowded around Kishaya, Rob, and Phish. Michael began dancing and then he casually made his way over to Kishaya. He began to sing with the beat.

He took Kishaya by the hand and led her away from the men. He lightly tapped her butt and I immediately became jealous. Johnny looked at me from the corner of his eye and gave a half smile.

Michael and Kishaya began to make their way through the restaurant. Michael followed her as he danced and for a second, they disappeared behind a wall in the other side of the restaurant. I could see them through a series of not quite see through red windows. Then they disappeared again.

I kept listening to Michael's voice and the words that he was saying. He was singing to Kishaya, but as he said, it was meant for me. He was singing to me saying how I've changed him since I've been in his life. And it hasn't been more than three days only.

I looked over at Rob and he also looked jealous, but it looked even more like anger. Michael came back into view on top of a platform across from Johnny and me. Chris was on it with him and he was dancing with a bunch of people, including Michael, acting as casual as ever. Kishaya was slowly making her way over to them playing along.

I saw Michael and Chris talk briefly. Chris looked like he was still urging Michael to just leave. Michael made his way away from Chris just as Phish and a bunch of the other men made their way up the platform towards Michael.

Kishaya came up to Michael and they stood by a table where a couple of men were playing cards. Kishaya through a wad of money onto the table for them. Michael took out a larger wad and through it on top of Kishaya's money. Michael came up behind her and began almost grinding her.

My fingers clenched around the edge of the table. Johnny looked over at me.

"Don't doubt that will ever be with you," he said with a smirk.

I kept my eyes on Michael. "Do you mean with you or with Michael?"

He laughed a little. "Does it matter?"

"It will," I muttered.

He smiled. "He's just making it seem real."

I watched as Michael made his way down the platform and onto another one a few steps up. He made his way down that one and then went back down to the second one. Kishaya followed him. Phish and his men did so too,

Michael danced down a flight of stairs and disappeared again. Chris was still dancing with the other people.

I suddenly had an awful vision. Michael and Kishaya were dancing to the music that was playing. Michael was dancing amazingly as he always did. But so was Kishaya. She had on a suit with a fedora in high heels, but with no undershirt. Just her bra. Michael was dancing with her and she was dancing with Michael. But the thing was, she could dance. She could dance well.

I went back into real life and watched Michael and Kishaya now over by the bar. Michael took a bottle and slide it down the bar. A man at the end caught it. Michael kept singing and then he made his way up onto the bar. He began dancing along down it as he sang. I watched every move he made. I sighed without knowing it.

Johnny looked over at me. He gave an uncomfortable smile. I sighed again as I watched Michael. Everyone else was watching him too.

He picked up a bottle that was on the bar and threw it at the "No Fighting" sign and it shattered to a bunch of pieces. He kicked another one and it shattered against the wall.

Michael saw Rob come up and he made his way down off of the bar. Rob picked up a bottle and smashed it against the bar. Everyone gasped. The music stopped, Michael stopped, and everything else stopped. Kishaya held onto Michael. People came out and craned their necks to see what was about to go down. Johnny even flinched, but he stayed seated.

Michael pushed Kishaya out of the way and she walked away from the men. Several men surrounded Rob and they made their way towards Michael. Michael walked towards them and came face to face with a big bulky man with hug muscles and a tight tank top to show them off.

Rob turned around and walked past Phish. "Get rid of this guy," Rob said to Phish. Phish and the man in the red tank top made their way closer to Michael. Michael slowly backed up and went up onto the stage.

"You wanna play," Phish said. He had a deep threatening voice.

Michael turned around quickly and gracefully on the stage to face Phish. As he did so, three men dropped down from no where behind Michael. Michael didn't turn around, so I assumed they were his men.

"I love to play," Phish said with his arms out.

The men behind Michael stood up slowly.

"Come on, big man. Let me see what you got," Phish said.

Michael and the men with him cracked their knuckles. They slowly made their way down the stairs of the stage to face Phish. Michael nodded his head towards a man leaning against the wall on his right. The man dropped his cigarette and stomped on it and then made his way over to Michael and his other men.

"You mean that's all you got?" Phish said. "That ain't nothing. You ain't nothing. Come on, big man. Show me what you got. All you got."

Michael looked over at me and Johnny. He nodded. Johnny stood up and he motioned for me to stand up. I did and we got out of the booth and stood next to each other.

The man behind us lit a match and put it up to his cigar. Michael and his men took jumped up and landed in an almost fighting stance with their arms at their sides and their legs shoulder length open. They pulled back the left side of their suit coats in unison. Part of the music came back on and they began to dance. They stopped and I wondered what they were doing.

"That's it?" Phish said. "That's all you got? That ain't nothing," he said as he threw a piece of glass down at his feet. "You ain't nothing."

Michael patted his hand at his side and motioned for his men to follow him. "Come on, big man. Show me all you got," Phish said.

The beat came back. Michael and his men moved closer to Phish and his men. Michael took the table that was in front of him and flipped it to get it out of his way. It slammed against the wall and broke. Phish moved back cautiously as Michael moved closer.

Michael and his men danced threateningly towards them. "You rock my world," Michael sang. A man that was leaning against the wall next to Johnny and me spun around and flicked a knife at Michael. Michael grabbed the man's arm with one hand and took the cigarette out of the man's mouth with the other hand. Michael flicked it away. In one quick motion, he flipped the man around and he landed on the ground with a thud and a moan.

The man was removed from the floor. Michael and his men began dancing again. Chris began dancing again as well with the people around him. Phish and his men were ready for anything. Phish came up to Michael casually.

In one of Michael's spins, he put all of his force into it and slammed his fist into Phish's face in a hook. Phish fell down into a table with a shocked look on his face. As he fell, he knocked down a light and the bulb broke onto a stack of liquor. It caught on fire and everyone stopped and responded to the flame.

Johnny took my arm and he pulled me along. I heard Michael yelling to Chris to get the car. People were hitting each other and trying to get out. A man came at Johnny and Johnny punched him with his free hand. With his other hand he pulled me out of the restaurant as it began flame all around.

We ran out of the Del Porto and we went about 110 yards and stopped and turned around. We watched as people scrambled out. I heard a barking and Donatello came out from an alley towards us. He came over to my side and hid half behind me. Johnny let go of my arm.

"Where are they?" Johnny muttered to himself.

A car squealed behind us and all three of us turned around. It was Chris.

"Get in!" he yelled.

We all ran towards the car. I hopped in the back. Johnny lifted Donatello and put him in the back with me. Johnny hopped in the passenger's seat.

"Where's Michael?" Johnny asked him.

"I don't know!" Chris said frantically.

"Go around the back," Johnny ordered.

Chris put the car in reverse and we sped off going backwards down an alley. We heard two pairs of footsteps coming and Chris stopped the car. We turned around and saw Michael running with his hand clasped around Kishaya's forearm. They came to the car and Michael helped her into the back. Donatello looked at her and licked her face.

"Gross!" she yelled.

Michael laughed and got in beside me. "Go, Chris."

Chris put the car into drive and we sped off. Michael looked at me with a smile. I looked up at him with a frown.

"That was for you," Michael said.

A smile slowly slid across my face. "What was? The song, the dancing, the punching, or the fire?"

"All the above," he said. "However, even if the fire wasn't planned, I think I liked it the most."

Chris looked over his shoulder. "Well, if the stealing the girl didn't piss Frank off, I'm sure the fire did."

Michael gave a crooked smile. "I ran into him in there. He didn't look too mad, but he will when he finds out it was me."

I looked up at him. "Thank you, Michael."

"May I ask, for what?"

"The song," I said.

He smiled. "It was meant for you."

I smiled and moved closer to him. I moved my lips to his and our lips touched gently. He kissed me back and I smiled more and sat back in my seat. Michael looked down at me and smiled.

"I was wondering when we were going to finish that," he said.