“I don’t want him sneaking up behind me while I’m attacking the others.”
“You’re planning to attack the others? Trained killers? No way,” she said. “I’m calling the cops!”
I put my taped hand on her arm, shook my head. “Don’t make such a fuss. This is what I do.”
She looked… everything at once. Angry. Frightened. Exasperated. The businessman at the table across from us got to his feet. He put a little menace into his voice for my benefit while speaking to Kathleen. “Are you okay? Do you need any help?” She looked at him and back at me, and we locked eyes. She smiled at the man and shook her head no. Then she settled back in her seat, took in a deep breath, let it out slowly. When she spoke, her voice was small but steady. “Okay.”
“Ma’am?” the businessman said.
“I’m fine. Really,” Kathleen said, and the guy eased back into his seat, much to the relief of his wife. He did the right thing, too: stood up for a woman in distress, impressed his wife. If all went well, we’d probably both get laid tonight.
“You okay now?” I asked.
“I trust you.”
I nodded and looked back at my plate. It was harder to finish my greasy fries with my hands taped up, but I managed it. Then I asked, “You going to eat that sandwich?”
“Care for any desert today?” Our waiter looked nervous.
“What’s your name, son?” I asked.
“Jared, sir.”
I passed Jared a Franklin and asked if he’d seen the big guy in the kitchen, the one in the dark suit with the black shirt who kept peeking through the glass every thirty seconds. Jared’s face clouded over. He tried to give me back the hundred. “I really don’t want to get involved in this,” he said.
“Don’t look toward the kitchen,” I said. “Just answer me. Where is he standing in relation to the door?”
“When you go through the door, he’s on your right.”
“The door pushes open to the right,” I said. “So when I first walk through, he’ll be hidden from view, yes?”
“Yes, sir. What are you going to do?”
“Has he caused any trouble yet?”
Jared lowered his voice to a whisper. “He’s got everyone scared. He’s got a gun.”
“Anyone call the cops?”
“They don’t dare. And I don’t blame them.”
“Good,” I said. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.”
“We, sir?”
“That’s right, son. You’re going to be a hero today.”
I told Jared and Kathleen my plan. She asked, “What’s a Glasgow Kiss?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Assuming it works,” she said.
“It’ll work. These aren’t DeMeo’s best people.”
“How do you know?”
