Rich Boys

In the windy city forged by blood, betrayal, and money, follow the tale of two immigrants chasing after the American dream.

The sirens and flashing lights eventually died down as the squad cars slowly faded from sight. High above the chaos, Joe Gatto and Cliff McFarlie watched from the rooftop cautiously until the last car departed. The two men instantly fell to their knees unable to hide their excitement a moment longer.

"We did it Joe! This is the American dream right here baby. To think two bootleggers were able to pull one over the Foxy Lounge. Do you realize how big this heist was? We are going to live like Kings, f*****g Kings baby! Tony must be smiling down on us now." Cliff said cheerfully, cradling a brown leather briefcase.

" Yeah like Kings." Joe said in a monotone voice.

            

Joe rose to his feet, dusted off his black pinstripe vest and black fedora. The moment of glee was gone and Joe's piercing blue eye were set solely on the leather briefcase.

"Once we get back to the joint we will give Betty her half. That broad definitely earned her keep.  But after that, it's you, me, and The Town baby. Hey Joe why are you so quiet?"

            

Cliff got off the ground and turned around only to find the barrel of a Luger pistol pointing at him. Cliff was so dumbfounded by the sight, he wasn't aware of the amount danger that he was in.

"Whoa are you balled up inside Joe? Watch where you're pointing that thing man."

"Make with the case Cliffy this don't have to end up messy." Joe said in a chilling tone.

"What's eating you right now? Joe, it's me Cliff. We're friends remember?"

"I said make with the case. Don't make me ask you a second time Cliffy. I already wacked Tony and I will do the same to you." Joe said lining up his shot.

            

The reveal of Tony's death stunned Cliff momentarily. The fear of death grasped Cliff's heart, while beads of sweat ran down his back. Cliff swallowed hard and carefully lowered the briefcase onto the ground. With a slight tap from his wing tipped shoes, Cliff kicked the briefcase towards Joe.

"That's a  good boy. It's nothing personal Cliffy but money is money. Say hello to Tony for me." Joe said wrapping his fingers over the trigger.

"Joe please don't!" Cliff screamed

            

The sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the hollowed streets of Chicago. Cliff timidly opened his eyes and checked for a wound but to his surprise he was okay. Joe, on the other hand had several smoking rounds lodged in his back. Joe tried to speak but collapsed without uttering a final word.

"Are you alright kid?" A female voice called.

"Betty?"

            

Betty, the black haired diva, stood in the rooftop stairwell holding a shotgun over her shoulder. Before addressing Cliff further, Betty checked her handy work. She prodded Joe's corpse with her heals to ensure he wouldn't be getting back up.

"Thanks doll face I owe you my life. I can't believe Joe would do something like this. For God's sake he killed Tony. You of all people knew how close the three of us were. God damn it Joe why?" Cliff cried out.

            

Betty knew there was truth in what Cliff was saying, after all she was their usual hostess at the Foxy Lounge. Betty reached down and pried the briefcase from Joe's cold hands. She quickly checked to make sure that the case was in tack. Before Cliff could finish speaking Betty raised her shotgun to the man and smiled.

"To answer your question kid. Money is power." Betty said in a carefree tone.

            

Startled flocks of pigeons took flight after the gunshot. Police later found the two lifeless bodies that were left on the rooftop that day. The killer was never found however witnesses claimed to have spotted a raven haired woman carrying a leather briefcase fleeing the scene.

Author's Note

As usual I am always accepting comments and feedback. Enjoy

Reviews

[Stan Lee]

Woah! Twists at every turn! What a great story. I liked this a lot. The dialogue was tight! And the descriptions were well done. I try hard to make my reviews constructive but the only thing I can think of now is, wouldn't the flocks of pigeons have been startled off from Betty's first round into Joe? I liked that ending though. It brings a sense of finality and ties everything up nicely. Thanks for sharing Brandon! :)

[Brandon Adams]

I'm so sorry I never responded to your comment. Thank you for taking your time to read my story. You're right about those pigeons, or perhaps there just some tough birds. I'm glad you enjoyed reading my piece. I do have several ideas for continuing this story but this story was originally meant to be only one piece and not a novel. Who knows I may come back to it one day.

[Debbie Stevens]

You set the scene well. While some of the phrases were a little quirky it matches the era. Well done.

[Brandon Adams]

Once again thank you for taking the time to read this piece. I've always believed the the most important character in any book should be the world itself. Since this wasn't a fantasy piece I already had an established world. So now the challenge for me was to bring this world to life through dialog. This was difficult for me to do, since I restricted myself to a one page story. However, I enjoy doing these writing exercises and i'm glad to someone was able to enjoy it.

[CrimsonShinigami]

A few grammar mistakes that we usually make. It was a nice story, well written though I feel like there should have been more description of the scenery and how the character was feeling in that moment for me that way I'm immersed into the world you have created that's just my opinion. Keep up with the good work.

[Brandon Adams]

Thank you for taking the time to read and review my story.

[lessa (kenzie)]

goodness, what a write. You use wonderful descriptiveness and imagery. Not much of a story person, but enjoyed this. Awesome

[Brandon Adams]

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment on my work. I'm glad you enjoyed it especially since you're not a story oriented reader. Hearing you say that really puts a smile on my face.

[matrixmark]

REALLY cool beginning...got me hooked straight away. The sudden turning of friends was great. It reminded me of classic scenes from the a time when Goodfellass and the Godfather we're around. I didn't see Betty coming in to finish off Cliff. WOW that was a shocker. Brilliantly wrote. short, sharp and great visionary.

Mark

[Brandon Adams]

Thank you for taking the time to read and review my story. My goal with any story is to hook the reader from the beginning, after all I write for others not myself. I also wanted to point out that you are right about the time setting. I'm glad that you enjoyed the piece.