Blindside(8)

He slowly slid the pistol out of the young man’s mouth. Before Tommy could answer, Janos jammed the barrel firmly on the young man’s crotch. Janos said, “Maybe I underestimated you. TVs might not be what makes you tick. I saw you looking at Alice’s beautiful breasts. I could teach you a lesson and you’d still be able to do whatever you nerds do on a keyboard.”

Alice gently pushed the pistol away from the young man’s groin. She replaced it with her hand. She wrapped her other arm around Tommy’s shoulders and could feel him shaking.

She said in a soft voice in his ear, “Shhhhh, it’s all right.” Closer to his ear, she whispered, “I think you understand everything now. Isn’t that right?”

Tommy just nodded.

Alice said, “That’s good.” Then she squeezed her hand on Tommy’s scrotum. Pulling his loose Dockers tight as she crushed his testicles.

Tommy squealed. His back arched in agony.

Alice kept the same seductive voice as she whispered in his ear, “That’s to make sure you don’t get any silly ideas. You’ll be on that plane. You’ll do what you’re told. Or a broken TV set will be all you can pray for. Do you understand me?”

Tommy nodded his head vigorously.

She moved her hand before the urine staining his pants touched her. In the rear pocket of his pants she found his thick leather wallet. She playfully pulled it out, then she reached in her own pocket and pulled out a condom in a purple wrapper. Alice slid the condom into the wallet. She gave Tommy Payne a sweet smile and said, “If you’re smart and you go to Estonia for Henry, you might get a chance to use this with me.” She kissed him gently on the ear. Then Alice locked eyes with him to make sure he understood. He was too scared to smile or show any excitement.

Alice handed him the wallet and waited while he slid it back into his pocket. His hands were still shaking badly. He was clearly embarrassed about peeing in his pants. Who wouldn’t be? Then again, who wouldn’t be terrified if someone like Janos had a pistol against their groin?

Alice looked up at Janos and winked. They were a good team. They had made their point.

They might even have some time to sightsee.





CHAPTER 11


I FACED A brief wave of condemnation from the older kids when I banned TV for the night. Like a mutiny on a really lazy pirate ship. It’s a fact that people occasionally try to murder police officers, a fact that’s often forgotten when people talk about police shootings. It was something I didn’t necessarily want my kids to see tonight.

It was bad enough that I was dreading going to bed. I knew what thoughts would be racing through my head as I lay in the dark and stared at the ceiling. I’d showered for twenty minutes and still felt like I could smell gunpowder. I didn’t need to hear people comment on an incident they knew nothing about.

After the shower, I lay down on my bed in shorts and a T-shirt just to get a few minutes of quiet time. It was less than a few minutes. My youngest, Chrissy, crawled up on my left side, and Juliana, my oldest, flopped onto the bed on my right side. They both had books. Chrissy’s was about kids looking for a treasure. Juliana’s was a chemistry textbook.

Neither of them needed me to read. But they did realize I liked having my kids around. They didn’t have to talk. They didn’t have to work to make me feel better. They just had to be there.

When Maeve and I started adopting children at an alarming rate, I’m not sure I realized they were saving me and not the other way around. I admit, ten adopted kids seems a little over-the-top. But once I lost Brian to the state prison system, I realized ten was just the right number. He was still a hole in my life. One day that would be remedied.

Lying in bed with my two beautiful daughters reinforced my belief about what’s important in life. I was never one of those guys who chased money or promotions at work. I didn’t think it was important that the Giants won every football game. (Although it wouldn’t hurt to win a few more.)

I knew how precious my family was, from the ever-forgiving and patient Mary Catherine to my surly yet supportive grandfather.

I felt myself start to relax with the girls next to me and lost track of time. It seemed like only a few minutes had passed when Mary Catherine walked in and clapped her hands. She said, “Enough of milking your bedtimes. You’ve got school tomorrow. Chop, chop, let’s go.”

Juliana didn’t even make her usual argument, that she was a senior in high school and didn’t really have a bedtime. They both gave me a good-night kiss on the cheek and scurried out of the room.

A few minutes later, Mary Catherine slipped into bed and shut off the light. Frankly, it was the moment I’d been dreading all day. Awake and quiet in the dark.

Mary Catherine put that fear to rest when she rolled over and snuggled in next to me. All she said was “You doing all right?”

Without conscious thought, I blurted, “You know, we still need to set a date for our wedding. It’s tough explaining to my grandfather how a good Catholic girl is living with me without the benefits of marriage.”

“What brought that on?”

“I have no idea.” Then, after a short silence, I said, “That’s not true. I said it because I love you. I just don’t know why I said it at this moment. Probably has something to do with the events of the day.”

“Seamus and I think it was just God deciding it wasn’t your time.” Now she was the quiet one for almost a full minute. “Are you going to be in any trouble over this?”