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Sal looked at Reno. “What bullshit he pulled?”

“When we were at Zam’s widow’s house and he and his guys ran around the back of the house when they could hear the action was inside the house.”

“I told you he was following my protocol.”

“And that’s why we don’t want your protocol instituted here. That shit is whacked.”

Sal didn’t say anything. He wasn’t one of those mob bosses that would put his men in danger just to protect him.

He could protect himself. But he didn’t have the energy to argue with Reno.

Reno was too old school. He saw how his old man ran the mob and he figured that was the best way: run in with all guns blazing no matter what.

But that wasn’t, and would never be, how Sal ran his mob.

Mick drove around front while his stakeout car filled with his capos drove around to the back of the fishing shack.

Mick and the Gabrinis got out with their guns at their side cocked and ready, while his capos waited around back.

Tommy had the battering ram and he was the one, on the silent count of three, that slammed the ram into the front door, the door flew open, and Sal, Reno, and Mick hurried in with their guns aimed and ready to fire. Tommy brought up the rear.

Big Dan, in his underwear and t-shirt, came out of the bedroom when he heard the door forced open, but as soon as he saw Sal’s face he ran back into that bedroom.

The Gabrinis ran down that hall after him while Mick checked out the rest of the house.

A barrage of gunshots were fired just before they made it to the open bedroom door, forcing them to slam their bodies against the hall wall and take cover.

They waited for the barrage of gunfire to end.

The capos from outside ran in to assist, and Mick ran down the hall from the other side of the house.

Everybody in that hall were trained to count the bullets being unleashed to determine their next move.

It sounded to their well-trained ears that Danny was firing a Desert Eagle chambered in .

44 Magnum, which meant it would have eight rounds of ammunition in its magazine.

They waited until that eighth bullet was fired.

When a lull occurred, they looked at each other.

Sal held up seven fingers and they all agreed with him that they heard seven shots too.

But they didn’t hear that eighth shot. Could be that the weapon had been fired before and there was only seven rounds in that magazine.

Or it could be that Danny was sharp enough to reload before he released that final bullet.

Or, more likely, he could be waiting for one of them to show his face before he fired that final bullet.

Tommy, the intellectual of the group, quickly grabbed his wallet out his back pocket and threw it, waist high, across the open doorway.

As soon as the wallet appeared in that doorway, that final bullet was unleashed.

And that was when they knew they had the bastard.

They were about to make their presence known.

But Reno got a gut reaction and held back Sal and Tommy, who were the two most anxious to get their hands on Big Dan.

They looked at him as if he was crazy, but they knew if Reno was crazy he was crazy like a fox.

And that was when Reno pulled out his own heavy wallet and tossed it across the open doorway too.

And as soon as he did, Danny fired a shotgun blast that put a gaping hole in Reno’s wallet.

“That motherfucker!” Sal said and then he and the group jumped into that doorway before Danny could cock the shotgun to fire again.

“Drop it!” Sal yelled out as soon as they made their presence known in that doorway, but all they saw was a rifle. But no Danny Testa.

And then they saw that open window.

Mick, with his capos following him, ran for the back door to provide cover from that end while Reno, Sal, and Tommy climbed out of the open window.

When they jumped out, they could see Danny’s big bulk trying to run around the pond to hide in that thick brush.

With Sal outrunning his big brother and cousin, he easily caught up to Dan long before he got anywhere near that brush. It was as if Danny had been running in slow motion.

Sal knocked him to the ground as if he was a tackler on a football field and then he turned him around, got on top of him, and straddled him with his body.

“You knew my son was in that room and you still let them attack?” Sal was so angry his face was blood red.

“You knew my son was there! You knew Lucky was there!” Sal began pistol whipping Dan so hard that it opened a deep gash across Danny’s face.

Tommy and Reno had to intervene and stop him before he killed the man. They needed answers first.

Mick and his guys made it on the side of that pond, too, as Tommy removed Sal from Danny’s body and Reno stood Danny back up. But then Sal broke loose from Tommy and jacked Danny up.

“Get him away from me!” Danny ordered as if anybody out there would obey any order he laid down. “Get him away from me!”

“Why did you do it?” Sal’s face had changed from rage to anguish.

He had to know the truth. “How could you do that to me and my son? Lucky was in that room. Lucky was there and you didn’t stop that ambush.

He calls you his uncle. His uncle ,” Sal added with clenched teeth as he jacked him up harder. “Why would you do that to us?”

Danny was anguished, too, as the blood was trickling down his face.

“Why do you think I did it? Hun Sal Luca? Why do you think? You kept getting bigger and bigger, and I kept standing still. How do you think I felt? You getting bigger and I’m standing still!

When Robby came along with the idea, hell yeah I said yes.

Who wouldn’t? A chance to take over? Hell yeah I was onboard! ”

Everybody froze. And looked at Sal. But Sal was staring at Danny. “What do you mean when Robby came along?”

“Just what I said,” Danny responded to Sal.

“You think I cooked up this idea all by myself? How the hell I was gonna do that? Robby Yale came to me. He said if we got rid of you and your heir at the same time, then he’d be best positioned to take over before anybody else could step up.

And that’s when he’ll join forces with me under my command.

I wouldn’t have been as big as you are, but I’d be bigger than I am now.

By a long shot. That shit wasn’t my idea, but I was onboard with it. Hell yeah I was.”

Then he jerked away from Sal’s now completely loose grasp.

Because Sal was completely floored. Robby Yale involved in that assassination attempt? In Lucky’s assassination attempt? His Robby Yale? He’d never believe that!

But Reno and Tommy and Mick weren’t nearly as sure as Sal. They glanced at each other. That explanation didn’t sound so far-fetched to them.

“Let’s get him out of here, Sal,” said Tommy. “We’ll safe-house him for now, until we can check out his story.”

“What check out?” asked Sal. “His ass lying. Robby wouldn’t do that to Lucky.”

“You didn’t think Big Dan would do it to him either,” said Reno.

“But he did it to him. Your judgement is shot, Sal. It’s shot to hell.

Now let’s go!” He grabbed Sal by the arm and began to move with him, while Mick nodded to his capos and they took custody of Big Dan.

They all began walking back to the capos’ car in the backside of the shack.

“I’m not lying, Sal,” Danny said as they walked. “Robby Yale been wanting you dead for years.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Sal yelled at him. “Shut the fuck up!”

But Danny was talking like a man who knew he had nothing left to lose and he was determined to twist the knife.

“He would have taken you out himself, but he realized Lucky was a man’s man who would take over even at his young age.

Or Mick would try to prop up Reno’s kid Carmine even though his ass is nothing but a kid.

Or Dommi would stop playing cop in Mississippi and come back to take over.

That’s the state of the Gabrinis now. Bunch of kids and a bunch of fuck-ups.

But the smart money was on Lucky taking over.

That’s why he knew he had to take out both of you. ”

“How did you know Lucky was with my brother?” asked Tommy.

“I told you Robby set that shit up. I was in town chilling at my club and he calls and tells me that they were gonna be hanging out together and he’ll make it seem like I’m about to merge with Junnie Consalvo if he don’t meet with me.

Make it an emergency meeting that’ll be no big deal since I’m like family to y’all.

Yeah I’m family alright,” Danny said. “The black sheep of the family. Like you, Sal,” he added and laughed.

Sal had had enough. He broke away from Reno and jumped on Danny. He was punching him with all the force he had, destroying his face, and it took Tommy, Reno, and Mick to get him away from Danny. Danny was nearly unconscious by the time they pulled Sal away.

“Get him to the safe house now!” Reno ordered Mick’s men as they continued wrestling with a Herculean-strong Sal.

The capos grabbed Danny, held him up as they walked him hurriedly to the car.

But before he could get in the car, a gun blast shattered the awkward peace and sent Danny buckling forward and then falling to his knees and then to his face. He’d been shot in the back of the head.

Everybody had their guns drawn looking around. It was Tommy who saw the gunman. “He’s in those woods!” Tommy yelled as Sal got up and he, Reno, and Mick ran after Tommy to get to that man.

But by the time they got into that thick brush and ran through the thickets and limbs to the other side, the gunman was in his car and speeding around the curve near the top of the street. He was gone.

And by the time they got back to the car, so was Danny Testa. That one precision shot did it. He was dead. They were right back where they started from.

Except Robby Yale had been implicated.

And the story Danny told didn’t sound insane to anybody else but Sal.

“Salvatore, I’m not asking you, I’m telling you,” said Mick. “We’re going to have a conversation with Robby. Whether you like it or not.”

Sal didn’t like it. But he knew Robby had a right to clear his name. He nodded his head.

Reno called Big Daddy at the hospital. Big Daddy said he sent Robby home when his arm began bothering him.

“Good,” Reno said. Better to confront him at home than in the public.

Reno then asked how Lucky was doing (he was still sleeping, waking up, and talking up a storm), and then he ended the call.

“Big Daddy sent Robby home,” Reno said.

Sal frowned. “Why would he do that?”

“His arm was bothering him. At least that’s what he claimed.”

Sal didn’t like the way Reno said that, as if Robby was all of a sudden this big liar, but he didn’t argue the point. Because even he was wondering what reason would Big Dan have to implicate Robby?

Mick and the Gabrinis piled into Mick’s SUV, and Mick sped away. His capos stayed back to collect their wallets out of that house and clean up the mess that was once Big Danny Testa.