> To be victorious, to defeat your enemy, is to proclaim your existence.

There were three men in the room. One was standing by the window, gazing periodically outside, as if waiting for someone or something. Occasionally the street light coming from the window would cause a reflection at his waist, flashing the grip of a silver pistol. For Joey and Caroline, that flash was more blinding than staring at the sun.

The other two were lounging at the circular wooden dining table. Living in Queens, you didn't have to watch many mafia movies to know mobsters when you saw them. They always dressed formally, but carried a nonchalant swagger, like they knew nothing could hurt them, or maybe they knew everything could and ultimately would, so they wanted to enjoy life to its fullest.

"Mom, you know this guy?"

Caroline remained silent, sharing eye contact with the man who spoke, communicating in a language only the two of them could understand. She stood there, frozen, as if afraid of the consequences of any words that might escape her lips.

"Hey kid. Joey, right? Heard a lot about you....say, you seen your pops around?" the apparent leader of the men said as he casually threw out five 100 dollar bills into the center of the table.

The seriousness of their suits contrasted strangely with what they were doing, playing cards. To Joey, it appeared to be the same game he played not long ago. There was a messy assortment of cash huddled in the middle of the table. It was the most cash Joey had seen in his whole life.

"We haven't seen him in months," Joey responded.

The man digested the words and apparently disliked their flavor. "Hmm, you see, that's a real problem, cause he owes me a lot of money," the lead mobster said as he continued his game, only periodically brandishing his piercing gaze in Joey's direction.

He flipped over another card onto the table. The sound of it leaving the deck of cards and hitting the table reverberated through the stillness of the room, as it did in the hearts of Caroline and Joey.

"Alright I bet," the leader said after looking at the new card. His companion opposite him stared at that card, yet with the opposite reaction. He shook his head in obvious disappointment as he threw away the two cards in his hand to the side.

"Haha, I'm running good today baby!" exclaimed the leader, as he scooped up the money from the center of the table towards himself with one arm. The other arm triumphantly held his two cards above his head, as if they were a priceless treasure he was reluctant to release.

Eventually, his excitement faded. "You know, it's a good thing your pops is an old friend of mine, otherwise I really wouldn't come here personally to...pay my respects," he continued as he glanced at Caroline.

"Alright, well, seeing as I'm in a good mood today, I'll give you a chance to make things square....you know how to play this game?" he asked Joey as he motioned to the cards on the table."

"A little," Joey replied hesitantly.

"Johnny, get up," the leader ordered the man who had been playing opposite him as he indicated to Joey to sit.

"Have a seat. You win...we leave....let you have dinner with your ma."

"I don't have any money," Joey replied.

The man chuckled as he looked at Joey. "Don't worry, I'm a reliable lender," the man assured Joey as he flashed a grin and waited for Joey to come to terms with the fact that he didn't have a choice in the matter. After several moments, Joey finally sat down, fully aware that he may as well be stepping on a landmine.

The man maintained his grin along with unwavering eye contact with Joey as he counted out ten 100 dollar bills from his pile. He laid them out in front of Joey, side by side, neatly, deliberately, as if trying to convey some point, it's power building with the steadiness of his movements.

When he was done, his smile suddenly evaporated like a mirage. He leaned in, digging his elbows into the table and cupping his hands in front of him. "Keep in mind kid, I'm also not the kind of guy you want to owe," he stated intently.

His slicked-back dark brown hair sat unmoving, as heavy and solemn on his head as his words were on Joey's. Joey had never known words could weigh so much. He sat there in grave silence, as he felt his heartbeat grow stronger and his back colder.

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After what felt like an eternity, the leader laughed and said, "I'm just kidding. Do your best kid. There's always beginner's luck right?" the leader eased the atmosphere, seemingly enjoying the situation. "Johnny, you deal the cards," he motioned to the man who had been sitting in Joey's seat prior.

The man named Johnny picked up the cards and began to deal out a hand, first dealing two cards respectively to Joey and the leader.

"Bet 200," the leader said after he looked at his cards and looked at Joey, seemingly pleased with his holding as he threw 200 dollars into the center of the table.

'He bet 200, which means he's saying he has good cards. If I think my cards are competitive, I have to put 200 in myself, which is known as...calling, that's right. Or, I can quit this hand which is called folding, but I'm not ready to quit,' Joey thought to himself.

"I call," Joey replied as he matched the man and put 200 in front.

The dealer continued with the next part of the hand, dealing out three cards in the middle of the two players. Joey had the right to act first this time. He looked at the cards, looked at the man, then said "Go ahead. Your move."

The leader had been waiting for this. He had a smile blooming on his face and said, "Oho, I guess it is my lucky day. I bet." He looked at Joey as he gradually and menacingly enunciated, "E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. All in," as he proceeded to push all the money in front of him to the center of the table.

Joey took a few moments considering his options. 'He's made a huge bet which is saying he's very strong. Unless...he's bluffing, which would mean he's weak and just wants to pressure me to fold and give up this hand, then he would win all the money we've put in the middle so far. Strong...or bluffing?' Joey thought to himself.

Joey studied the leader for a few seconds then suddenly spread a smirk. "Call," he said.

The leader looked at Joey sternly for several moments before saying "That's a lot of money kid. You sure you don't wanna fold? You sure you can take that gamble?"

"...Gamble?" Joey repeated the word as if meditating on it. "Yea...everything in life is a gamble...but living isn't for the weak. I...call!" Joey declared.

The leader narrowed his eyes as he stared at Joey for a long time, before finally saying "Johnny, deal it out." The two last cards hit the table. The leader picked up his cards to his face, closely examining them and the cards on the table as if searching for something. Then he reluctantly sighed and said, "Alright I got nothing. What you got kid?"

Joey maintained his smirk as he flipped over his cards for everyone to see. The leader's eyes suddenly expanded to become as large as saucers. He studied Joey's 2 cards and the cards in the middle again, this time for even longer than before.

[5♠ 5♥]

"Fives? You called me with nothing but a pair of 5s?" the leader seemingly asked not only Joey but everyone in the room, as if he wasn't sure he was seeing clearly.

Silence engulfed the apartment for what seemed like minutes. "Hahaha, the brass fucking balls on this kid! You guys believe that?" The leader asked as he looked around, seemingly happier to have lost than when he won earlier.

"Hey kid, how'd you know I was bluffin'?"

Joey looked down at the money, drifting off into a memory he hadn't recalled in a long time...a memory he thought he'd be better off forgetting...along with everything else involving that man.

'Joey boy, you remember what you need to do right?' the middle-aged man asked as he waited for a response. His short dirty blonde hair matched his eyes and overcoat as they all merged into one with the narrow shadow of the alley. From time to time, the man would sneak glances around the corner.

'Walk to the shop, find all the cameras on the way, remember all the men inside, then come back and tell you everything,' Joey replied, looking up in expectation. His height only reached the man's waist. That man's back was so large to him then.

'That's right, smart boy,' the man said, unsurprised. 'Hey come here, see this street here?' he asked as he motioned to the street where the shop was.

'It's got two exits. Problem is, once the alarm in the shop goes off, both sides are going to be swarming with cops. The cops think the first thing someone would do after getting out of that joint is gonna be to try to get away as fast as he can, so hop in a car right? Yea that's what they think.'

He paused as he turned around, 'You see this alley here? There's a back entrance going through to the next street over, and another one just like it on that street. While them cops are wasting their time covering these exits here, I'm going to be miles away haha.'

'You get it? You have to know what your enemies are thinking and what they think you're going to do. Once you know that, you just gotta disappoint em' and do something else. That's how you win,' he continued.

'Alright, you do a good job here, and I'll take you for ice cream, sound good Joey boy?'

As the memory faded, Joey found himself staring at the money. "This is the most cash I've had in front of me. I figured you'd know that and think I'd be scared to risk it all by calling a large bet. That being the case, if you had anything good, you wouldn't have played it so strong and fast to scare me. So I figured I was ahead. You wanted me to fold, so I decided to disappoint you."

The leader took a long look at Joey this time as if it was the first time he was seeing him. "Not bad kid, looks like you're smarter than that old man of yours. Well," the leader continued as he got up from the table, "Word is bond right."

He looked at the money for a few seconds, then smirked and said, "I'll be taking this off your old man's tab." Then he picked up all the money on the table, leaving one 100 dollar bill. "Buy yourself some books," he said as he motioned for his men to leave.

As he was getting ready to descend downstairs, he stopped and said with a smile on his face while shaking his head, "Nice hand kid...the name's Angelo." Then he looked at Joey's mother for several long moments and nodded, "Caroline," and as quickly as the gust of bitter winter chill from the hastily opened front door, he was gone.

Joey sat there, lost in thought, staring at that 100 dollar bill. He felt as if something changed in him tonight, though he didn't know what. The creaky old wooden chair under him, which most would've already thrown out to the curb years ago, never felt more comfortable.