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Frankie cracks an eye as his cell-phone insistently rings for the third time. He checks the clock on the bed-stand. Three forty nine. It is still quite dark.
“Who the hell is that?” he mutters to himself as he props up on an elbow and puts the phone to his ear.
“Is this Frank Fiore?” A voice asks.
“Who's this?” asks Frankie suspiciously; not recognizing the voice.
“Sorry to wake you so early. My name is Jim Vangall. I'm an orderly at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility hospital in Ossining New York.”
“I'm familiar with it.” Frankie says. “What's this about, at four in the morning?” he asks.
“Mister Fiore, we have an inmate here by the name of Aloyisius Rollo who's been asking for you. He gave me your number to call.”
An alarm immediately goes off in Frankie's head. He hadn't heard from or seen Biff since he got out of Rikers,
“Biff, yeah I know Biff. He asked for me, huh? Something wrong? It's been a while since I talked to him, why did he ask for me?”
“I don't know all the details, but they told me he's in a bad way, what I mean is... it's like a last request. The doctor here doesn't think he's going to be around too much longer.”
Frankie swallows hard to overcome the lump in his throat. “Who else did you call?” he asks.
There is a moment of silence on the phone. “Who else did I call?” repeats Vangall.
“Yeah, who else did he ask ya to call?” insists Frankie.
“Nobody, he just asked for you.”
Frankie searches for his voice. “How long has he got?” he manages.
“The doctor doesn't know exactly, he says it could be any time,” says Vangall
“If I come up there, how do I find him—-Biff—-mister Rollo?” asks Frankie
“Just ask for him by name at the front reception desk and give them this number. Do you have a pen?”
“Yeah, hold on a second,” says Frankie as he scrambles for a pen. Vangall then reads off Biff''s prison number and hangs up.
Frankie sits up on his bed and digests the content of the call. It has been almost two years since he last talked to Biff and truth be told, he hadn't thought very much about him in that time, he had too much going on in his own life, he tells himself, especially his eighteen months at Rikers. He can't control the visions racing through his head, though, visions of the recent past, of his time with Biff and the strong impressions this man has left on his life. Biff taught him more about life than even his own father, not to mention that he saved Peggy and Jana's lives as well as his, in the showdown with Sonny and Max.
***
Frankie logs onto his laptop and searches the airlines for a flight to an airport near Sing Sing leaving from Raleigh. He decides the best he can do is book to JFK and rent a car for the thirty mile drive up to Ossining. That being taken care of, he books a Hampton Inn for four nights close to the facility. He logs off, shuts down the computer and checks his watch; almost five o'clock. He punches in a number on his cell-phone—-At the other end a sleepy voice greets him.
“Frankie?”
“Yeah. Good morning, Peg. Sorry to wake you so early, Hon, but something important came up.”
“Something wrong?” Peggy asks.
“Yeah, but not something I didn't expect,” Frankie says. “It's Biff. It sounds like he's ready to check out.—-I wanna be there before he does.”
“I'm so sorry to hear that. Who called you?”
“Some intern from the hospital up there. Biff asked him to call me.”
“Who else is going to be there?”
“Nobody.” says Frankie
Peggy sounds surprised. “Nobody?” she asks.
“That's right, he didn't ask that anybody else be there,” says Frankie, his voice cracking.
“Oh, Frankie, I'm so sorry. Do you want me to go with you?”
“Thanks, but no. This is something I need to do myself—-besides you have your job and Jana to worry about. I already made reservations. I'm gonna leave for Raleigh about seven, the flight is at eight fifty.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“I guess that's up to Biff.”
Frankie checks his watch.
“I'm gonna hafta run, Babe if I'm gonna make that flight. Tell Jana goodbye for me.”
“I will, Frankie.”
“See you soon, Babe... Love ya.”
“Love you too,” says Peggy.
***
The rush hour hasn't begun yet and the roads are empty as Frankie barrels up I-40 to I-540 toward Raleigh RDU airport, as morning dawns. He ponders the toll, Cancer has probably taken on Biff's body. How will he look? He recalls how he already looked drawn and thin when he last saw him. Will he be able to hide his feelings?
Raleigh airport is relatively quiet when he arrives. He parks his Cadi in the airport lot and takes the shuttle to terminal 2 for his Delta flight to JFK.
The line through security is short and goes quickly. His flight is scheduled to take off on time.
Frankie buckles up for the one hour and ten minute flight to Kennedy airport in New York. He lays back on the headrest and closes his eyes, trying to relax, but the unconscious mind wont let him. Scenes of his time with Biff when they both worked collections for Jimmy Provitera, permeates his thinking. Frankie quickly learned, and it was Biff who taught him that in contemporary crime organizations when money is involved there is no such thing as honor among thieves, although the word honor is often thrown around.
Frankie recalls how his father, Louie had warned him about Jimmy. Frankie winces now when he thinks of the scars that Louie bears for protecting him when he was on the run and Jimmy was hunting for him. The only good thing that came out of his days with Jimmy was finding Dunnville North Carolina and the best of that was finding Peggy and her daughter, Jana.
CHAPTER 2
Frankie parks his rented Chevy in the lot up the hill from the prison and walks down toward the main gate reception area. From this vantage point Frankie can see below him much of the expansive complex of buildings that make up the Sing Sing Correctional Facility and beyond that a fantastic view of the Hudson River.
“I'm here to see a friend who's in the hospital wing,” he tells the guard at the front reception desk. He gives Biff's name and number and is given a form to fill out, he then waits while his information is checked out. Frankie then passes through a security check and is thoroughly searched.
After waiting almost forty five minutes he is told to enter the building, where he is escorted through a maze of locked gates, doors, halls and buildings that date back to 1833. He is finally brought to the hospital wing and taken to a ward where a row of beds line both walls. He is steered to a bed located in a corner near a window.
Arriving at the bed, Frankie stifles a gasp as he views his once robust, rotund, muscular friend reduced to a living corpse by the ravages of his lung disease. He is attached to several monitoring machines which beep and bop. He has an oxygen tube gizmo stuck in his nose through which he inhales the life extending oxygen.
Biff's eyes are open as he looks over his visitors. He scans the face of the guard with no reaction and then looks at Frankie and stops, and stares—-and stares. Slowly Frankie can see the light of recognition come into his eyes.
“Whattia say, Biff,” says Frankie, bending close.
“Frankie,” whispers Biff, barely able to be heard. He extends an emaciated hand toward Frankie. Frankie takes the hand and bends down and embraces his friend and mentor, kissing him on both cheeks.
“You have about a half hour, I'll try to give you more,” says the guard as he walks away.
“Thanks,” says Frankie.
Frankie stands awkwardly by the bed several minutes not knowing what to say.
“Remember how you used to make me clean my shoes before I got in your car? Well, I want ya to know I wiped my shoes before I came in here,” says Frankie.
Biff looks quizzically at Frankie for a second before the trace of a grin crosses his face.
“You're—-funny—-kid,” he whispers.
“How are they treating you?” asks Frankie.
“First class—-top shelf—-and it's all on the state,” slowly manages Biff.
“Is there anything I can get you?” asks Frankie.
“No—-they give me everything I need.”
“Peggy, Jana and my brother Ray send their best to you and they told me to tell you they're praying for you.” says Frankie.
“I can use a lot of 'em where I'm goin'” says Biff with a chuckle that escalates into a prolonged coughing spell.
“You want some water?” asks Frankie.
Biff nods and Frankie motions toward an attendant.
“He needs water,” he calls out.
It takes several long minutes for an orderly to bring a pitcher of ice water.
“Where did ya go, to the reservoir?” asks Frankie sarcastically as he takes the pitcher and pours some water. Biff takes a drink and the convulsive cough diminishes.
“You okay?” asks Frankie.
“Yeah—-yeah,” says Biff, recovering.
For the next twenty minutes Frankie continues the small talk, highlighting some of the interesting or exciting incidents of the times they spent together.
“We had some good times together and some not so good times, but never dull times, right Biff?” asks Frankie.
Biff, who has been listening intently, nods slowly as his eyes glisten and a tear rolls down his cheek. Frankie struggles to keep it together.
“Frankie, there's a big favor I gotta ask ya—-somethin' important I need ya to do for me,” weakly whispers Biff in his raspy voice.
“Yeah, sure, Biff. What is it?” asks Frankie, leaning in.
“Look, Kid—-I don't have the strength—-and they're gonna throw you outta here soon—-so I'm not gonna have the time to explain everything to you.”
With great difficulty Biff reaches over his head and removes a brown manila envelope from among numerous papers under his pillow.
“I had them make a copy for you and I want ya to take it wit ya and read the whole thing when you're alone,” he says
“Yeah, sure, Biff, but what's it about?” Frankie is baffled.
“Just read it, and when you do, I want ya to call me here and tell me if you'll do it.” says Biff.
“Yeah, of course I'll do it, whatever it is,” says Frankie.
“Don't say that until you read it,” admonishes, Biff.
“Okay, but I don't think there's anything you could ask me to do that's so bad that I would say no.”
“Don't count on it,” says Biff.
The guard signals that time is up.
“I guess I gotta go,” says Frankie. “I'll come back to see you soon.”
“Do that,” says Biff “and don't forget to call me after ya read that paper.”
“Yeah, I will. Listen, Biff, you think it's okay if I give you another hug?” asks Frankie.
“Do ya hafta?” asks Biff.
“Well, if you don't want to...” says Frankie.
“No, I guess its okay,” says Biff.
Frankie embraces his friend, looks at him for a few moments and turns to go
Biff's eyes follow him from the room.
On the way out of the prison, Frankie stops into the administration office and leaves his information with a staff member with instructions to contact him if and when Biff's time came. He has them understand that he will make all the necessary final arrangements.
***
Another pair of eyes follow Frankie as he leaves Biff's side. These eyes are located beneath a Sing Sing corrections officer's hat, worn by a man the inmates call, Strabismus, a formal term for the word “squinter” or “Squinty” which is a habit frequently employed by this individual. Apparently some resourceful inmate found the word in an obscure thesaurus and decided he could use it with impunity, telling Willie Maxwell (his given name), that it was the name of a famous ancient Roman emperor.
Squinty, who has been standing close enough to overhear Biff and Frankie's conversation, now moves quickly from the hospital area, through several buildings and corridors, through checkpoints where he is required to show his security ID, to the most secure and isolated area of the prison, where the most dangerous and notorious prisoners are kept. A guard, seated in his cubicle looks up as Willie approaches and shows his ID.
“What's your business here,” he asks.
“Delivering prisoner147862 his mail,” says Willie.
“Okay leave it there on the table,” says the guard.
“No, I've got to get his signature on some legal papers. Here, I got the OK from Farley, the block captain,” Willie says, shoving a piece of paper toward him. The guard examines the paper and with a wave of the head motions him toward the security door.
“What cell is he in?” asks Willie.
“Third cell on the right,” directs the guard. "I'll buzz you in,” he says.
CHAPTER 3
Willie Maxwell started squinting at the tender age of four years. It took his parents almost three years to realize the reason Willie was squinting was because he couldn't see further than three or four feet in front of him. Even after correcting his vision with eyeglasses and later on with contact lenses, it was apparently too late to correct his habit of squinting; the habit was too deeply embedded in his subconscious.
As a child he lived in Mount Vernon New York, a town in Westchester County adjoining the Bronx. He could actually walk to the elevated train or the bus station and take a train or bus to Times Square in Manhattan, where he spent much of his time when he should have been in school.
Willie dropped out of high school when he was sixteen and jumped around from job to job for five or so years until he met his wife to be, June Concannon.
It was love at first sight and Willie immediately knew June was the girl he wanted to marry and bear his children.
June loved Willie also, but she needed more. If she was going to raise a family, she needed a man with a steady job, a job with security, benefits and a pension, in other words, a government job. That put a kink in Willies' plan. Where could he find such a job? He searched, but couldn't find anything for which he could qualify based on his intelligence and education. He was desperate to get married because he loved June and wanted to have a family, but also more importantly, because she wouldn't have sex with him before marriage and he was horny as hell. As luck would have it, a good friend of Willie's who had been convicted of cashing other peoples social security checks, did time at Riker's Island around that time. He told Willie of hearing of several job openings at the prison. Willie checked into it and applied. He was allowed to take the civil service test and passed the minimum requirements. Unfortunately he was next to last on the waiting list and had to wait twenty two months to be called up.
Upon starting his new job, he and June were soon married.