Snafu Epilogue
May. 4th, 2005 05:11 pmAiden's dead, nothing to see here, move along, move along...
...oh, still here, are you? Well, in that case...
"When they told me I got a visitor, I wasn't expectin' it to be you, Dannyboy," Sonny Sassone said, leaning back in his chair.
Danny didn't say anything, just stood across the table and looked at him. Sonny wasn't much different from the boy he'd been a decade before. Older, of course, with a few more scars...harder. There was no doubt in Danny's mind that he could have beaten a man to death with a baseball bat.
"You're not gonna talk?" Sonny continued after a moment. "Fine. I'll talk for the both of us. Been a while, Danny. You come to get me out? Or just ot tell me off for bursting your perfect cop bubble to your b-"
"You get the news in here?" Danny asked abruptly. He threw the rolled-up newspaper he'd stuck in his sling down on the table.
Sonny reached for it awkwardly with his cuffed hands. His face went abruptly still in shock at the headline: Cop-killer dead in shootout. He scanned the rest of the paper. "You shot my fucking brother, Danny," he said blankly.
"Curly killed two detectives," Danny said, suddenly filled with unrestrained fury that made him shake. ...Detectives David Crehan and Lynda Jarensky, of the Missing Persons division... He'd read the article so many times that the words blurred in front of his eyes at the slightest provocation. "Two detectives, a Tanglewood Boy, and Vinnie. Vinnie, Sonny. Vincent Patriso. One of his own. Strangled him to death. I worked the case, I saw the body."
Sonny shook his head. "Curly wouldn't do that," he said, but there was slow sad belief in his voice. He looked down at the paper again, then back at Danny. "When you killed my brother," he said softly, "was it for that detective he kidnapped or for Vinnie?"
"When I shot him," Danny replied, half-believing it himself, "it was for the gun he had at Flack's head and the bullet in Aiden's side. Not for Vinnie." Very quietly, "And for me." In a normal voice, he added, "If it's any consolation, Phil's still alive. They took him out of the ICU this morning, and he's being charged with three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, three counts of assaulting an officer, and one count of kidnapping. There's no way he'll be able to get a plea bargain. He's damn lucky Aiden was wearing kevlar."
"What if she hadn't been?" Sonny asked, a smile playing around his lips.
"Then Phil would be dead right now," Danny said flatly. "Blood for blood."
Sonny grinned, then threw back his head and laughed. "Your name may be Messer, but your blood's Constantine through and through. And you'll always be Tanglewood."
"Fuck you, you crazy bastard," Danny said, turning sharply on his heel.
"Dannyboy," Sonny called. Danny stopped with his good hand on the door. "Blood for blood."
End
The next Snafu story is New York Minute, followed by Omerta.
Yeah, I know I said there'd be another chapter, and that there would be sex. I lied. I thought there would be, but it didn't fit.
...oh, still here, are you? Well, in that case...
"When they told me I got a visitor, I wasn't expectin' it to be you, Dannyboy," Sonny Sassone said, leaning back in his chair.
Danny didn't say anything, just stood across the table and looked at him. Sonny wasn't much different from the boy he'd been a decade before. Older, of course, with a few more scars...harder. There was no doubt in Danny's mind that he could have beaten a man to death with a baseball bat.
"You're not gonna talk?" Sonny continued after a moment. "Fine. I'll talk for the both of us. Been a while, Danny. You come to get me out? Or just ot tell me off for bursting your perfect cop bubble to your b-"
"You get the news in here?" Danny asked abruptly. He threw the rolled-up newspaper he'd stuck in his sling down on the table.
Sonny reached for it awkwardly with his cuffed hands. His face went abruptly still in shock at the headline: Cop-killer dead in shootout. He scanned the rest of the paper. "You shot my fucking brother, Danny," he said blankly.
"Curly killed two detectives," Danny said, suddenly filled with unrestrained fury that made him shake. ...Detectives David Crehan and Lynda Jarensky, of the Missing Persons division... He'd read the article so many times that the words blurred in front of his eyes at the slightest provocation. "Two detectives, a Tanglewood Boy, and Vinnie. Vinnie, Sonny. Vincent Patriso. One of his own. Strangled him to death. I worked the case, I saw the body."
Sonny shook his head. "Curly wouldn't do that," he said, but there was slow sad belief in his voice. He looked down at the paper again, then back at Danny. "When you killed my brother," he said softly, "was it for that detective he kidnapped or for Vinnie?"
"When I shot him," Danny replied, half-believing it himself, "it was for the gun he had at Flack's head and the bullet in Aiden's side. Not for Vinnie." Very quietly, "And for me." In a normal voice, he added, "If it's any consolation, Phil's still alive. They took him out of the ICU this morning, and he's being charged with three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, three counts of assaulting an officer, and one count of kidnapping. There's no way he'll be able to get a plea bargain. He's damn lucky Aiden was wearing kevlar."
"What if she hadn't been?" Sonny asked, a smile playing around his lips.
"Then Phil would be dead right now," Danny said flatly. "Blood for blood."
Sonny grinned, then threw back his head and laughed. "Your name may be Messer, but your blood's Constantine through and through. And you'll always be Tanglewood."
"Fuck you, you crazy bastard," Danny said, turning sharply on his heel.
"Dannyboy," Sonny called. Danny stopped with his good hand on the door. "Blood for blood."
End
The next Snafu story is New York Minute, followed by Omerta.
Yeah, I know I said there'd be another chapter, and that there would be sex. I lied. I thought there would be, but it didn't fit.