“We need to dump the body on the French side of town,” Vinnie said as he drove Jimmy’s clown car into enemy territory. “It has to look like a couple of street clowns took him out. They can’t suspect anything else.”
Jimmy snorted a line of glitter, trying to overwhelm the alcohol in his system with a more powerful drug.
“People are going to see us if we go driving on the French side of town,” Jimmy said. “Let’s just dump the body and get out of here.”
“We’ll take the back roads,” Vinnie said.
The little red car beeped and chugged through the French ghetto, passing hoboes and junkie clowns, unable to avoid their attention. It was obvious Jimmy’s car didn’t belong there. The French side of Little Bigtop was like a completely different place than Bozo territory. Instead of bright reds and yellows, this area of town was colored with the darkest blues and deepest purples. The architecture was surreal, with black-and-white-striped pillars, ornate doorways, and circular windows revealing expressionless mimelike children in eggplant-colored pajamas.
“We should have paid somebody to do this,” Jimmy said, licking glitter from his fingers.
Vinnie shook his head. “That would’ve created a loose end.”
They turned down a darker, less populated road.
“Don’t worry about it,” Vinnie said. “We’ll find a deserted area and drop the body off. We’ll make it look like a mugging. It happens all the time here.”
When they found a quiet enough spot, they pulled over. Vinnie waited outside the car for a few minutes, just to make sure it was all clear. Then he had Jimmy help him move the body and stuff it behind a dumpster.
“So we make it look like a mugging?” Jimmy asked.
Vinnie nodded.
Jimmy took the money out of Pierre’s wallet and tossed it on the ground next to him. Then he kicked the corpse in the chest.
“What are you doing?” Vinnie asked.
Jimmy kicked the corpse again. Blood exploded from its throat.
“Making it look like a mugging,” Jimmy said.
He continued stomping on the body until its ribs were caved in.
“Why would a mugger break his rib cage?”
Jimmy shrugged. “That’s what I’ve always done when I mugged people.”
“Beating somebody to death for fun and then taking their money afterward is not the same as mugging.”
Jimmy wiped the blood from his size 20 shoe. “It is to me.”
“This is why you’re the smallest-earning capo in the family. You’re lazy when it comes to details.”
“Oh yeah?” Jimmy asked, raising his voice. “And you think I’d be the top earner if I were more like you?”
“It wouldn’t hurt.”
Jimmy raised his voice even louder, loud enough to wake the people in the apartments above. “The only reason I don’t earn as much as you is because my crew is small and inexperienced. You have the largest crew in the family. Of course you’re going to bring in more money.”
“Keep it down, all right?” Vinnie said, looking up at the apartment windows above them, making sure none of their lights turned on. “We should get going. We can argue on the way home.”
Jimmy pushed him.
“Fuck you, Blue Nose. I’ll keep it down when you stop talking to me like I’m an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot,” Vinnie said. “You’re a capo. You should act like one.”
“You see what I mean? That’s what pisses me off more than anything. You still treat me like I’m your dumb underling.”
“After you were promoted, your father asked me to continue looking out for you. I’m just respecting his wishes. And I’ll keep looking out for you for as long as you need looking out for, even after your old man retires and you become the new boss.”
“You think I’ll keep you around once I’m boss?”
“Yeah, I do,” Vinnie said. “I believe you’ll make a great boss one day. And a great boss doesn’t get rid of his prime assets.”
Jimmy snickered. “You’re a prime asset?”
“Let’s just go,” Vinnie said.
Vinnie was done arguing. He got into the car and started the engine. Jimmy had to follow him inside so his words could be heard.
Jimmy said, “Fuck that. You’re no prime asset in my book. You’ll be the first thing to go. You can count on that.”