People Standing Still

I pulled up to Rampart with my uncle’s mob buddies, their fat fingers and thin ties laughing behind the wheel. “You think this little gnat is funny to the boss? They ain’t, and we all know this will not end well.” I twist the ring on my Saturn finger and ask, “Whose bones are in the basement?“ Tommy gives me a sly wink as he shuts the trunk to the Lincoln. ”Real people are dying everyday, every damn day, but you keep letting that tongue wag.” I look at him and shrug. ”Don’t throw them in the lake just yet.”

Tommy takes a long glance at a strange liquid that begins to soak through the floorboard. “They have a losing hand, they just don’t know it yet.“ I grab the cuff of his jacket and wipe away a tiny piece of brain fragment. “Let’s go, It’s starting to stink.“