MICHAEL DENNIS MOONEY -- new writings

by tom nowak

i woke up early
wendy was cooking breakfast
and rolling joints
music crept out of the twin speakers
and floated through the house
wendy kissed me and stuck
a lit joint in my mouth
i laughed and took a long deep hit
i jumped into the shower and
sat with wendy to eat breakfast
it was sunday
a lazy sunny sunday
we had no plans and we
were going to enjoy ourselves
wendy put the dishes in the sink
and said let's go for a walk

i said sure baby
the door slammed as we went out
the air was filled with wonder
as we walked out of the house
the shot took me by surprise
first one then another
bullet ripped into the wall
i hit the deck
and pulled wendy down with me

i didn't notice she was bleeding
she had been hit and i hadn't
i saw nothing
whoever was doing this was good
i searched the opposite side of the street
i saw the glint of sun off a scope

i didn't have a weapon on me
i was careless
wendy lay there and said nothing
i told her i was going to move back into the hall
and she looked up at me and smiled
and then lost consciousness
i picked up a piece
and ran back outside
crouching in the style of the khe sanh shuffle
the glint was gone
the assassins had fled

i looked wendy over
i saw the small hole the bullet had
made at the point of entry
neat and precise
i looked at the exit hole
it was bleeding profusely
i called an ambulance
and then called uncle vinny
he didn't answer his phone

i started calling down the phone tree
i got one prospect
he said that we had suffered
a retaliatory raid by the peckerwoods holdouts
i asked if anyone was dead
he said two members, and uncle vinny
was in critical condition
the ambulance arrived
they started an i.v.and put wendy
in the back

i went inside grabbed my colors
and jumped on my bike
wendy was already in the operating room
by the time i reached the hospital
they asked what type blood i had
o positive i said
good they said, she needs some
i sat nervously in the waiting room
filling the telephone with quarters
after i had donated my pint

the attack had been coordinated
across the bay
two members dead, three wounded
uncle vinny in critical condition
wendy hanging on by a thread
as vice president i called the first number
on the phone tree
and the message was relayed to all
involved members, prospects, hang arounds
ex members and friends
there was to be a meeting at the club house
at noon
be there, was the message

i made sure there was an armed guard
with uncle vinny and wendy
the other casualties
had already been released from the hospital

i sat at the large table
in the members-only room
well i said
any ideas or names?
no one had any info yet
there was a knock at the door
a prospect came in and whispered something
in my ear

i said thanks and he left
well there were six teams
only four connected
vinny, the two dead members
and my old lady
the other two ran afoul

a member's kid had seen one team
he came into the house and told
his dad about the guys with guns across the street
that member had shot one and held the other prisoner
he was now singing like a proverbial canary

i was guaranteed he would give up all the details before he died
the last assassination group had
received heavy gunfire from the member they had
been sent to murder
they gave up and split
within an hour i had the names
and the addresses of everyone involved
it was ex peckerwoods and some
friends

within an hour and half
i had teams in the field with instructions
to capture or terminate
the word came from the hospital
vinny was out of critical condition
i rode back to the hospital wendy was at
she was still in surgery
i sat pacing in the waiting room
i was pissed
i was angry with myself
i had been careless
just because it was safe an hour ago
doesn't make it safe now
well i would never make that mistake again
the doctor came into the room
he walked towards me
he looked at me and said
she made it
but she will need a lot of time to recuperate
there should be no permanent physical damage
she will be in a room in intensive care
go see her but only spend
a few minutes with her now
she keeps asking for you
i walked into the room and saw her
she smiled weakly
i bent down and kissed her
she had tears in her eyes
she tried to talk but she nodded out
i kissed her and went out to the prospect i had waiting with me
i want armed guards around the clock
he nodded

i rode from the hospital wendy was in
to where the boss
uncle vinny was
i walked into his room
the boss was looking miserable
they got us eh?
yeah i said but it's under control
damage was not as bad as they had intended
how are you doing?
i'll live he said, but i'll be sore
i got five slugs in me
can you imagine that?
five 9mm's, the doc said
i guess 9mm aint shit, eh bro?
we laughed and the boss went to sleep
the guards were in position
the day's deeds were done

now i went to see our prisoner
i looked at the bloody face
he flinched when i grabbed him
i said look man you gave it up
so i'm going to let you go

everyone looked shocked
he tried to smile
oh, i said but i already put the word out
you snitched your bros off
i'm sure they will take good care of you
get him home
i suspect he will have visitors waiting
they dragged him out and took him home to his place
i was told shots rang out before the boys left
payback is a bitch
i went back to the hospital to sit with wendy
i felt tired and fell asleep in a chair
i lay my head on the bed and held her hand
life sure is strange i thought, and drifted off to sleep