“These two,â€? I continued, “the smart ones, decide to double cross the rest. They offer to stand back, do the recon on the turf and make sure all is on the up-and-up during the exchange. They never mention the car bomb they planted.

“What’s more, they suggest kidnapping a kid, some random orphan of the same age and build, to use in the car… Their excuse, you see, is that in case things go sour, all the groups cards won’t be on the table. That Louie can’t just snatch and grab ‘em back.

“They were telling the truth about keeping the kid on the side. If their plan to fake his death went bad, they needed some leverage. They relied on Louie buying that all the perps blew up with the car.

“Idiots never thought about the police and teeth identification.â€?

“Shit.â€?

“Yea, Sonny, yea. The world is shit and the scum out there get more nasty every day. And me? Well, I’m too old for this.â€?

I’m old school.