Repercussions

In the early hours of morning, with school kids passing him by, cheerful in their brightly colored clothes. Their harried parents walking next to them. Moms yelling into their phones and Dads looking like they were about to burst into tears, a lone man cut through the throngs of people. He let himself into a candy store, the closed sign banging against the door as it closed behind him. He made his way to the back of the store, his trembling hands clenched into fists to hide their slight tremor, it would not be wise to show weakness.

On one hand, he had good news… the Romano don had fallen for the trap, and the bomb had exploded with him there. But on the other, he also had bad news, Gio Romano had survived, and from what he could tell, the man only had superficial injuries.

"Is he dead?" The Red Don's voice was cold and crisp. Like a perfectly ironed shirt, or a piece of paper folded so tight the edges could cut a man in half.