When Jason flagged the bounty posting on the network, indicating he had completed it; he received an immediate response; payment approved pending confirmation. A small note was attached.
~While I have enough cash to pay it, win or lose, if he manages to play sunday, or turns out dead, I'm not paying out. So long as he's alive and not throwing a football sunday evening, you get the cash.~
Jason gave a laugh as he set it down.. and started off down the highway, headed back west. Jimmy Russo; or so he claimed; was sitting on the floor between the seats; there were no back seats in the van, nor any direct access to the back. He might need something else to bring people to the next job.
"Alright. Butch, keep quiet for now. We're gonna call in to Nicky and find out what the deal is with this lump down here."
He tapped the button on the cell, setting it in the dock on the dashboard as he left the van in cruise control; the auto-avoidance mechanisms could handle most traffic like this, but best to keep your eyes on the road; no self-driving vehicle was perfect yet, despite all the auto-drive trucks cruising the interstate.
After a few rings, the phone beeped. "Well if it isn't my new friend Eyeball. What has you calling me so late at night? I trust its something urgent?"
The man seemed a touch irritated. Jason looked at the clock. It was only 8PM. It would be even earlier than that in vegas. Did he interrupt dinner? Or a date? "Sorry to bother you, Nicky. Would you happen to have a brother named Jimmy Russo.. a bit short, fat, balding?"
"Goddamnit what is that asshole doing now? You know what, don't tell me. Bring him here. Just don't let Penelope see him. Actually.. I'll meet you somewhere else."
Jimmy leaned towards the phone. "Brother! It is fine, your associate just stumbled onto a little entertainment we had setup with me and some.. people I know around Dallas."
"Oh, this is on speaker then? Eyeball, you tell that tiny little piece of shit that if he did anything even vaguely business-related, his balls are never gonna make it back home. I'll text you an address. Have him there tomorrow."
Jason glanced at the phone, then at Jimmy, as the phone disconnected. "Well then. We'll see about getting you to vegas. You get to live. The hell did you do to piss off your brother like that?"
Jimmy looked down at the floor. "Uhh.... I'm in the family, but I'm not 'in the family', if you know what I mean. I got in a fight and... uhh.. I called the cops on somebody."
"Thats it? You called the cops on someone and you're out?"
"Pretty much, yeah. They didn't kill me.. but they broke both my legs, pretty damn bad, actually. Had to get fake knees put in. Told me I was out. If I ever tried anything again they were gonna... well. You heard Nicky." The little man seemed to be curling in on himself.
"It wasn't business, not really. Maybe a little gambling and fun with friends. Thats.. thats okay, right?"
Jason slowly shook his head. "You were part of a criminal organization that abducted hundreds of people, had some really famous people in it, and already made the news once. You were lucky you weren't rolled up in it the first time. If you're supposed to be 'out'... that doesn't really sound like out to me, Jimmy."
Somehow he seemed to shrink even smaller in the space wedged between the seats. A tone sounded from the van, and Jason glanced up. "Huh. Man, I love these new rigs. Engine been running for almost a week straight and its only now running low on gas. Butch, keep an eye on him. I'll grab us some drinks while we're there."
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"And some food, too? I haven't eaten in like... two hours!"
Jason laughed as he pulled into the station. "Yeah, I'll get some food too. If he tries to run, don't kill him... just break one of those fake knees again for him."
***
"This is Tina Lamarc for headline news! A deadly mass-killing incident just outside of Dallas, where it is currently estimated that over twenty people have been shot, another fifteen or more brutally beaten; the total death toll is expected to exceed thirty. More details will be released as they become available, but according to the testimony of one of the victims, famed Cowboys quarterback David Lebowski was one of the assailants; while this cannot be confirmed, Lebowski is in fact hospitalized at this time, and police are guarding his room. The general manager of the cowboys was unavailable for comment at this time, and they are declining to comment until they have more information."
A roar of laughter spread through the room as the statement sank in, alongside angry growling, muttering, and some friendly... and less friendly.. jokes.
"I heard he stole all of their cars and left em scattered all over the place, so the ones that lived all had to walk home." "I heard he made that Lebowski asshole cry like a little girl." "I bought the video of the whole damn thing off the web for twenty bucks. Best thing I saw all year."
Nicky Russo leaned back in his seat, shaking his head. He wasn't one to bet on sporting events, but his casino handled sporting events alongside every other form of gambling someone might like; and this was going to throw an enormous wrench into the numbers. Granted... he'd had enough of a heads-up that he'd encouraged his people to encourage more betting, and would come out a bit ahead of any of the other casinos on this... well, dramatically so, since he'd been the one offering the best payout if the cowboys won, and now that seemed much less likely. And, well. The bets were already in. Couldn't change em the day before the game.
He should thank whoever put that bounty in. Stood to make him a fair amount of profit. Still. What the hell was Jimmy doing? The dumbass was supposed to be out of the game. Quietly living in some little house up in New York. Why was he part of some bumfights-style bullshit down in Dallas? One thing was for sure, he needed to get Penelope out of town until Jimmy was gone.
He gave it a moment's thought. Tapped his phone.
The other end picked up instantly. "Hey daddy! I was just trying on some of the necklaces I got last week. I can be right down if you'd like?"
"No, sweetheart. Our friend Eyeball just did me a bit of a favor and tilted the odds on the cowboys game.. and Valkyrie saddled him with babysitting her boy. I figured we could do him a favor in return. I want you to spend the next day or two checking out targets.. High-security ones you can't just break in easy with speed alone. Find something that might be worth their time. Preferably nothing military, don't want to get the kid killed and Valkyrie pissed at all of us."
"I'd love to daddy! Thank you!" For Swiftblade, the exuberance at being given another solo assignment was evident. She'd always hated working with others; they seemed so slow and miserable when she actually got excited and her powers really kicked in. And now? Daddy just kept letting her go on her own! He was trusting her! She'd been angry at how he kept coddling her, but knew full well she couldn't do -too- much with Lightning around. But now... he'd kept telling her it was because of Lightning he'd kept her back. She'd always doubted it, to a certain extent; he loved her, obviously, and didn't want her taking risks. And with Lightning out? First he just let her rob all those jewelry stores. Now this? She never should have doubted him. She'd drop by later, give him a hug and thank him for it after she'd scouted out a few places.
***
Jason gave a slow yawn as he stretched and settled out of the bed. Jimmy was bundled up in a blanket, lying between the two queen-sized beds. The other bed in the hotel room occupied by the enormous form of Butch.. who had a stuffed dinosaur of some sort pressed against his chest, and was muttering something in his sleep. Butcher had actually jammed the door shut with his blade, and short of breaking the window, nobody was getting out til he pulled it free; so they were presented with the strange image of an enormous 12-year-old boy who was the only one that could easily get out of the hotel.
"Alright, folks. Up and at em." Jason walked over to the machete; wiggling it back and forth, only to find it firmly stuck; he'd need a hammer, at the least, to pull it free.
Butch rolled over, grumbling.. and fell off of the bed onto Jimmy. The two both shouted, startled, and there was a fair amount of jostling; the much smaller italian man bearing the brunt of it; before Butch pulled to his feet, shaking his head.
"I'm up, I'm up!" The closest to actually being childish Jason had yet seen him.
"Okay, boys. We've got another few hours to Vegas, and we're supposed to meet Nicky for lunch. Butch, go ahead and make them regret serving you a free breakfast, see how much you can get down in... ten minutes.. Jimmy.. clean up if you want. Once Butch is done, we're gonna head out. See what your brother decides to do with you."