Free The Dirty City by Jim Cogan Page B

my desire to give this guy a wide berth, I’d taken my eye off the bigger picture. I should have realised there would be more than one guy on me.
    “Hey!” Boomed a familiar voice from somewhere behind me. I glanced round and saw the burly figure of Hugo, some fifty yards away and bearing down on me fast. His call had alerted the guy watching my car, the two of them began to close in on me in something akin to a pincer movement.
    I bolted up the nearest side street then around the first corner. Now, having lived in this neighbourhood for many years I should have known every little rat run – but God damn it if I didn’t run straight down a blind alley with a dead end. From a strategic point of view this was a massive faux pas on my part, I was not only outnumbered but also cornered in a location that was secluded enough to ensure that there would be no witnesses.
    “Get your fuckin’ hands up in the air where I can see ‘em, Mr Jerome.”
    I turned around to see the skinny guy with the foul mouth, gun drawn at the ready, walking confidently towards me. Hugo skulked along behind him, trying to look menacing. This time, with the disadvantage they had me at, he sort of almost managed it.
    “I’ve met Hugo, there, but I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure before?”
    My hands were up and I didn’t have many options, so I went for small talk and close proximity.
    “My name is Luigi, Mr Jerome. As I’m sure you’re aware, I too work for Gianni Vitalli. Hugo came to see you yesterday and made it clear that you ought to keep your nose out of a specific piece of Mr Vitalli’s business. You only get one warning from Mr Vitalli, then he calls me in and things get real nasty.”
    He’d gotten within ten feet of me – still too far away.
    “Now, Luigi, I’m sure we can come to some sort of understanding here, right?”
    Eight feet and still closing.
    “The only thing you need to understand is this, Mr Jerome. You didn’t heed the warning and now you’re going to face some painful consequences.”
    Six feet. Almost.
    “You’re gonna’ learn a vital lesson today - you do not try and bullshit the mob, you hear me?”
    He was real close now, within range, and thankfully Hugo had stayed back a little and hadn’t drawn his gun. I’d practiced this quite a lot but had never previously tried it out in the field. If I wasn’t quick enough then the most likely eventually was that I was about to get shot at point blank range – that probably wouldn’t end well.
    “Ok, Luigi. Here I am, you got me – so I look like a chump. Well, you’d better get it over with.”
    I stood there, hands raised, but elbows bent. I studied Luigi’s body language – it was like a poker game, I was just waiting for that moment – I was waiting for him to blink...
    In one fluid movement I threw my left hand towards the opening of my right hand coat sleeve – within which I made a point of always keeping a short iron bar concealed. It was about a foot long and was held in place by a by a stitched sheath of material, strong enough to keep it there but easy enough to rip loose. Once I felt my hand grip the end of the bar I yanked it clear of my sleeve and swung it in an arc that lined up with the barrel of Luigi’s revolver.
    I was just quick enough, Luigi was able to discharge a single shot from the weapon but the impact of the bar had knocked his aim out, the bullet whistled past my head by a fraction. I must have caught his trigger finger too because the gun then flew from his grasp.
    I hastily reversed the swing of the bar into a forehand smash against the right side of Luigi’s face, then swung again to inflict a sweet backhand smash to the left side of his head. The bar had only a small amount of mass, but combined with the force I’d managed to generate and the element of surprise, it was enough to stun Luigi and send him in to the floor in a crumpled heap.
    Now I had to get past Hugo. I figured his reactions would be slow,