[Previously in Traverse, Inc. – Julie Peters grabs Ruth Elliott’s pistol and shoots Tony Scalisi in the gut. She orders Ruth to take her to see Myron. End of Part I]
We all sat in Myron’s living room and watched the news. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and shook my head in amazement. The others grinned. Something told me they had seen things like this before. My head spun and I only caught snippets as the newscaster casted….
“Shortly before midnight……the shooting of Jimmy Fusco, who worked for syndicate leader Tony Scalisi as a liaison to ex-Senator John Hughes…….sources say, Hughes had tried to run off with millions of tax payer’s…...through building contracts and the new I-200 roadway……Scalisi demanded his cut for getting Hughes elected…..fraudulent ballots.....deceased persons dating back to 1957…..Fusco had tried to stop Hughes……witnesses describing the struggle over a suitcase filled with money……Hughes firing at Fusco who is in stable condition at Howard County General Hospital…..investigators surmise when Scalisi found out Hughes had shot Fusco – he went looking for Hughes…..brings us to the startling video of a bewildered looking John Hughes waving a pistol over the body of Scalisi…… Hughes’ wounds though superficial, the likelihood of survival in prison…..Hughes had been overheard taunting the mafia kingpin during drinking bouts since his fall from office……a friend of his ex-wife, the former Gwendolyn Rogers Hughes, commented ……”
“Leech!” BS screamed. “You look great on TV, baby!”
“Yes, I do, but don’t call me baby.”
Everyone laughed.
“I missed it BS, damn!” Queen said. “What did you tell them, Leech?”
“The usual….he was drinking all day and hanging out in tranny bars all night.…”
The place erupted in laughter. Sister Boom fell out of her seat. But just as quickly the room fell silent. Peepers turned down the volume on the TV set and raised a glass. Tree, Scooter, Cracker, Queen B, Cheese, BS, Mr. Freeze, Sister Boom and Leech the Beech followed suit with their glasses. I raised my coffee mug.
“To Jesus and Cristobel,” Myron said.
“Jesus and Cristobel!”
We sat in silence for a moment and then Myron lifted his glass again.
“To Jimmy for taking one for the team,” Myron said.
“Jimmy!”
“To Julie Peters, may she rest in peace and may her credit card companies get over it,” Myron said. We all laughed.
“Julie!” we responded. I took two sips for that one. No longer would I be Julie Peters. Peggy Lipton had been reborn straight from the lean mean streets of the Mod Squad! Far out!
“And finally….” Myron said, “….to my dear mother, Ruth Elliott! May she retire in peace.
“Hear, hear,” everyone said and toasted. “To Ruth!”
“Who?” came a voice from the hallway that led to the back bedrooms. “Little ole me?”
“Yeah, ma!” said Myron. “You’re missing all the toasts.”
“Sorry gang,” Ruth said as she came out of the back drying her hair with a towel. “I had to wash that sleezeball off of me.”
“Which one?” asked Queen.
They all laughed again.
“So, Jimmy’s gonna be alright?” Ruth asked.
“Yeah, mom,” Myron said. “The vest did its job ‘cept for one bullet grazed him in the shoulder.”
The news coverage went to commercial and the group sat back and sipped their drinks. One by one they turned to me. Great. What now? Myron cleared his throat.
“So, Julie, um Peggy,” he started. “We have another job for you if you have time between going to jail and all.”
“It depends,” I said.
“I knew it!” shouted BS. “She wants more money.”
“Shut up, BS!” said Queen. “You don’t know nuth’n!”
BS turned to me, pointed and winked. “More dough, right?”
I shook my head.
“No, BS. I’ll do whatever for the team as long as I get treated like a member of the team. No more surprises – no more communication gaps – no more scaring the hell out of me to get me to do something you want me to do or react the way you want me to react. Tell me straight up what is what, and I’m in. If not, then this is our goodbye.”
“Fair enough,” said Myron. He looked at Tree.
“Yeah, we can do that,” said Tree. He looked at Cracker. Cracker shrugged and looked at Queen B.
“We are gonna do right by you, Julie,” she said.
“Peggy,” said Cheese who then snapped my picture.
“Yeah,” said BS. “You might be Peg-eee now, but you’ll always be F.I.N.E. to me, baby.”
“Shut up, BS! Geesh!” said Scooter who stood up and took my coffee mug to the kitchen for a refill. Mr. Freeze came over and tapped me on the shoulder. He had a check in hand.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Bonus,” said Myron.
“You did a great job,” said Tree.
“I’m sorry for making your life hell,” said Ruth. “This money is the least we can do.”
“And,” Scooter said to the group as he walked back into the living room with my coffee. “Here’s to our team! Here’s to our newest member – Peggy Lipton – and here is to no more games.”
“Here here!” we all shouted and toasted. I looked at the check. Five-hundred-thousand!!!
“Holy crap!” I muttered.
“Not bad, eh?” said Scooter.
“How much?” asked BS “You guys never tell me nothing.”
“She earned every dime, BS,” said Queen. “Just like you earned to not know.”
We all laughed and then Myron turned up the volume on the television. I yawned.
God, I’m beat, I thought. And sore. But I’m gonna have fun spending this money though. There was a high-pitched sound coming from the news cast….sirens…..or ringing….must be bad reception…..bad video too - blurry….I rubbed my eyes …..why is everyone talking at once…..splash some water…..wow, I’m tired…..can’t feel legs…..gotta....get....up.....
“Is she out?” asked Myron.
“Yeah,” said Queen B.
“She ain’t gonna like it, ya’ll,” said BS.
“No choice, really,” said Ruth.
“Nope, not this time,” said Tree.
“Help me with her legs,” said Scooter. BS started to help.
“Not you, BS,” said Cracker, who quickly took his place.
“Give me the check back,” said Mr. Freeze.
Sister Boom picked up the check from the floor. “Poor thing,” she said.
“The money is gonna be the worst part for her,” said Cheese.
“No it isn’t,” said Queen. “She'll get it later. The worst part will be when she wakes up and sees where she is.”