After a full day's trip, Cleese pulled up to his uncle Kieran's ranch. Gene had sent him out of state to take care of a reputation problem. Years ago, Missy had had to hire an outside contractor named Manny Boris to find a man who had attacked one of her girls. The man had been a golden boy back in his home town and was being hidden by the community. Manny tore apart the city, threatening it's citizens, and asserting his dominance. The problem was that after he took care of his mark, Manny just stuck around causing trouble. Worse yet, he liked the effect associating with the ol' Empian family had on others and just kept doing it. Now he was running the town by throwing the Empian name about to threaten people. He was good at his job, just needed to be taught some sense. Cleese was to bring him in alive.
Kieran hailed Cleese from the back of a horse. Kieran loved horses and was rarely not riding one. It was almost like he was part horse himself. Kieran had trained Cleese early on, as he did most of the ol' Empian enforcers, to fight and shoot. Kieran was ancient and couldn't be active in the family, but was happy to run his ranch and train new recruits there as needed.
"What? My training not good enough to keep you safe that you had to get armor," Kieran teased as Cleese sat down with him on his porch. Cleese showed off his new body suit and the special shotgun rounds he loaded with the acid from the Neenan job as they visited. As it usually did, the conversation eventually turned to the sad fate of Kieran's cousin Peter Meehan.
Peter had once worked closely with Big Zed and Kieran's father, Sal. Peter had a gift for figuring out the good odds in any situation, which made him an important bookie for Sal's organization. That is, until Big Zed made a play for Sal's position at the head of the family and Peter saw the good odds on Big Zed winning the struggle and betrayed Sal. Big Zed had been pretty happy to have won over one of Sal's major players. Which is why he got vicious when Peter betrayed him as well.
Peter had seen signs that the community was in danger and that others beside the family would need to be armed and prepared. Big Zed forbade any arming of civilians for fear it would backfire on them and encourage the little man to attack Big Zed. If outside forces threatened the community, the family would need to beef up protection and hope for the best. Peter couldn't take that chance and enforced his own plan. Stealing firearms from the warehouse, he gave them to the local men and taught them how to clean and operate them.
When Big Zed discovered the betrayal, he exacted revenge. After a slew of set-ups and attacks, he finally took Peter out. Nobody was exactly sure how it happened, but Peter was first diagnosed with bird flu of all things. Then his liver started deteriorating. The doctors were able to slow it down, but Peter would be needing a new liver.
After commiserating over Peter a while, Cleese asked Kieran about Manny Boris. "He's feisty," Kieran warned. "He's been terrorizing one of the local towns under the family name, but he's not hiding behind it. The man has a formidable rage that shouldn't be trifled with. He'll tear through you if you take him head on."
"Then what do you suggest," Cleese asked. "I have to take him in myself or else Eugene won't count the favor."
"I'll have to do some thinking," Kieran responded. "Phil and the other ranch hands are having a bonfire and were hoping to see you before you left. Go have a drink with them and we'll talk in the morning."
Cleese bid Kieran goodnight and wandered down to the fire. He was greeted by Phil, a seasoned ranch hand that was as inseparable from a horse as Kieran was. Phil was just tapping the keg as the other ranch hands were showing up, some coming straight from the fields on their horses. These guys were known to get a bit rowdy.
As the party got louder, Kieran came down from the main house scowling. Cleese met him halfway, ready to apologize. "You best tell those boys to calm it down a bit," Kieran admonished. "I've got more than just them on this ranch and won't stand for their shenanigans this late."
"Sorry, Kieran," Cleese apologized. "They're just trying to show me a good time."
"No, they're just using you as an excuse," Kieran sighed. "They get too much of that liquor in them, and they're as wild as stallions. When they get this loud a fight is usually quick to follow."
As if on cue, angry shouting was heard clearly over the rest of the party. As Kieran and Cleese approached, the shouting picked up and two men could be seen shoving each other. One of them was quick to pull his sidearm and took a drunken shot that missed the equally drunk opponent. His opponent, who happened to be unarmed reached for the only weapon he could find: Cleese's shotgun. Cleese started sprinting and shouting at the man to put it down, but it was no use. The man took a little too long adjusting the gun, so the crowd around him dove out of range as he pulled the trigger. That left a clear shot at Kieran.
Cleese turned in horror as he heard a thump from behind. Kieran was down with his foot bloody and smoking. Cleese rushed over and gingerly pulled Kieran's boot off to see a smoking hole through his foot. There was only the one puncture, but blood was gushing and the veins were turning green up the leg. The man who grabbed the shotgun stumbled over and proclaimed, "just a foot wound. He'll be fine with a bandage and a drink." Without looking< Cleese planted his fist firmly in the man's crotch. As the man doubled over, Cleese grabbed his collar and slammed him face-first into the ground.
Cleese ripped the man's shirt off and wrapped it around the foot. He cradled his uncle in his arms and made his way to the main house.
Kieran gurgled out. "it's that acid shot, isn't it?"
Cleese just curtly nodded.
"I'm done aren't I?"
Again, Cleese just nodded.
"Then I've got a few things to take care of real quick. First, your problem. Manny's tough but he's a southern boy; never seen snow in his life. Drive him up the mountain and he won't know how to handle the ice. Secondly, if you can spare the liver, make sure it goes to Meehan; he'll make better use of it than I'll be able to. And most importantly, I love my family, make sure they hear it one last time."
Cleese nodded one last time.
Kieran was gone before they reached the house. Cleese fell to his knees and just held his uncle in his arms; a stone soldier trying his hardest not to cry. He failed at it.
This entry is dedicated to the memory of Harry Stone: beloved everything. Please visit www.helpharrystone.com
No comments:
Post a Comment