This story is a re-post of one of my first stories. It has been re-edited for punctuation, grammar and other errors. I hope you find it a better "read."
When Vinnie didn't show up for work on Thursday morning, Tom phoned his apartment. The phone rang several times before a barely audible voice answered.
"Vinnie! Are you all right? Are you sick?" Tom asked in a worried voice.
"Yah, sort of," he replied weakly.
"What do you mean, sort of?" Tom asked more assertively. "What happened Vinnie?"
"Tremblay and one of his goons paid me a visit last night," he said in a halting voice.
"They said they wanted their money by the end of the week or it would get worse."
"Stay there Vinnie. I'll be right over," Tom ordered.
Tom called Robbie Delgado and told him that he had to leave and that Vinnie wouldn't be in today. He asked Robbie to visit all three jobsites during the day to make sure everyone had their task list, starting with Vinnie's crew.
He then jumped into his truck and made the half hour journey to Vinnie's apartment. When he arrived, Vinnie was sitting in a large recliner in front of his TV. Tom couldn't see any marks on his face, but it was all Vinnie could do to turn his head to welcome his older brother.
"What did they do, Vin?" Tom asked with a worried frown.
"Mostly ribs and gut. I can hardly move right now," he replied in a pained voice.
"Bastards!" Tom spat. "I'll make 'em pay for this."
Tom paused for a minute and then asked his brother, "Have you got a phone number for ..." Tom stopped again.
"No, never mind. I know what to do," he said to no one in particular.
"You stay here and sit tight, Vin. I'll look after this guy and the debt," Tom ordered.
"Tom, be careful. You can't trust these guys. He's got some friends," Vinnie warned.
"So have I, Vin ... so have I," he said menacingly.
"Stay here and don't answer the phone. If it's me or something important, let them leave a message and you can get back to them. Whatever you do, don't talk to Tremblay or Marcia, understood?"
"Yeah, understood," Vinnie answered in a soft voice.
"Hey Tom," he called faintly as his brother had turned to leave. "Thanks."
Tom nodded and looked at his wounded brother with a wrinkled smile, turned and walked out, closing the apartment door behind him.
-0-
On the way back to Vinnie's jobsite, Tom made a couple of phone calls, one to Peter Dennison at Orca, and another to Steve Inhalt. He had a plan, a risky one, but at least it was a plan. He chose not to share it with anyone, especially Jenny.
When he arrived at Vinnie's site, Robbie was there and they spent a half hour discussing what needed to be done. Tom asked Robbie to remain there for the balance of the day, and he would cover for him at Robbie's site as well as his own. He knew Robbie's crew would be fine on their own for a day or so, and his own project was a smaller renovation that wasn't proving to be difficult.
By eleven that morning everything was under control, and he could spend some time thinking about what he had to do with Mr. Martin Tremblay. He was waiting for a return phone call from both Peter and Steve that would let him know what his options were. He was becoming increasingly nervous and decided to head home for lunch, something he almost never did.
Jenny would be at the store and Nikki in school, so he would be alone. He needed some time to think through what he wanted to do. First, he had to calm down. He realized how angry he was this morning when he discovered his brother had been beaten. He wasn't just angry at Tremblay, but also at Vinnie for bringing this on himself. He sat at the kitchen table nursing a beer and mentally planning just how he hoped this one and, with any luck, only meeting with Tremblay would go.
Tom was distracted for the rest of the afternoon while he waited for the two phone calls. Steve Inhalt called first, just after 2pm. He confirmed that the arrangements Tom had requested were in place. He was curious about what Tom planned to do, but Tom politely put him off and suggested he would give him the whole story later.
Peter didn't call until nearly 4:30pm, but he had obtained the important information that Tom needed prior to meeting with Tremblay. He too was curious about what Tom planned and warned him against anything illegal. But in the end, he could only wish Tom luck after extracting the promise from him to tell him what he did. With the information in hand, Tom began to feel a bit more confident.
Jenny arrived home with Nikki at their usual time, just after 5pm. They briefly kissed and asked each other about their day while Tom gave Nikki a hug and a kiss. Nikki skipped off downstairs to begin her homework, and Jenny poured Tom and herself a glass of wine before she began to prepare their supper.
Tom told her he had a meeting at 8pm in the city with a prospective client, and would be out for a couple of hours or so. He told her nothing of Vinnie's beating, or his contact with Peter or Steve.
It almost came unglued when Robbie called with a progress report, and had a brief chat with Jenny before handing off to Tom. Luckily, he said nothing about Vinnie's absence, and Tom breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Tom drove through the dark late-October evening to the address that Peter had given him. He would not be phoning ahead to give Tremblay any advance warning of his visit. When he had parked entered the outer lobby of the fifteen story apartment building, he followed Peter's suggestion.
He pushed ten or twelve buttons, begin careful not to push the one for Tremblay's apartment. As the various tenants picked up and inquired, he simply said Fed-Ex and waited for one of the unsuspecting tenants to push the electric lock. Sure enough, within seconds, he was at the elevators and on his way up to the ninth floor.
As he exited the elevator on nine, he began to look for apartment 921. He paused in the hallway to slow his breathing and remember Peter's instructions. He held a clipboard in his hands and stuck a pencil behind his ear. He stepped to the door of 921 and knocked firmly three times.
He heard a TV inside and then an accented voice called:
"Who is it?"
"Security," was Tom's one word reply.
The door had a peep hole and Tom was sure Tremblay would be using it to check him out. After a few seconds, the door began to open. Tom pushed hard against the edge of the door, and the man inside went sprawling backward on the carpet. Tom closed the door behind him, walked over to a surprised, medium sized man, grabbed him by his shirt near the collar, and dragged him to his feet.
"Are you Martin Tremblay?" Tom asked in a menacing voice.
"What the fuck! ... Who the fuck are you?" the man spluttered. "Who the fuck do you think you are to come in here and push me around, asshole?"
"Let's try this one more time. Are you Martin Tremblay?"
"So what's it to you if I am?" he sneered.
Tremblay never saw it coming. Tom's hand moved barely one foot in distance before the heel of it hit the smaller man in the sternum. A violent whoosh of air came out of Tremblay's mouth and his eyes went wide as once again he was on the floor looking up. Tom stood over him, saying nothing, waiting for the man to regain his breathing and pick himself up.
