*
Nick glanced continuously at the entrance from their table near the front of the restaurant called ‘The Black Rose’ in Boston. Paul verified the fifth man who lived at the warehouse on C Street frequented The Black Rose for drinks and trying to meet women there, and in the crowded common area near the bar. The cobbled public thoroughfare for foot traffic which led from one bar and restaurant to the next including the famous TV ‘Cheers’ bar, also hosted street performers and small displays of various marketable goods. A one man show played guitar and sang various well liked country and ballad type tunes at the front. Nick had already sent Jean over with a twenty dollar bill for the man’s tip jar in appreciation for his talent.
There had been no sign of the Algerian, Dabor Sidi. Nick finished his last bit of Ruben sandwich while enjoying the banter at the table between Jean and her guest on the trip, Sonny Salvatore. Jean continued a nonstop dialogue ridiculing all of Sonny’s small packing errors, including leaving his toothbrush and underwear at home. Sonny unpacked to also find he had his family’s TV remote in his bag by accident. The missing TV remote garnered many unhappy phone calls after Sonny called home the mistake. Nick had immediately overnighted it back to the Salvatores while enjoying the inadvertent packing miscue. To his credit, Sonny laughed with Jean’s audience, shrugging off the abuse. Jean seemed primed to get a rise out of Sonny. Nick nearly took a hand in the continuation, but Sonny ended it with one sentence.
“Okay… okay… you’ve worked the payback enough,” Sonny told Jean with a smile.
Jean’s eyebrows immediately furrowed and her smile disappeared. “What payback?”
Sonny looked around in confusion. “Oh sorry. I thought you told them. My bad.”
“Tell them what,” John asked.
“Dagger hasn’t beaten me in knife throwing for two weeks.”
Jean gasped. “My shoulder’s sore! I think I pulled a muscle. After all I’ve done for you, Sonny Salvatore, and this is the way you treat me – listing a temporary handicap for everyone to laugh at?”
Sonny was having none of that. “You were having such a good time ranting about my packing errors I figured you wouldn’t mind me telling everyone about your number two ranking in the throwing knives competition. Oh yeah, and there’s nothing wrong with your shoulder. I should have known you could dish it out but can’t take it, Viper.”
“Viper?”
“Yeah, Gus,” Sonny continued as a red faced Jean tried to compose an answer to his assault. “It’s a pit snake that strikes without warning. I think it fits Jean better than Dagger.”
Jean took a deep breath while absorbing the smiling silence around her. “Good one, Cracker. I went a little far on the packing stuff. The remote was funny though.”
“The no toothbrush and underwear was a dumb packing mistake, but I packed the remote on purpose.”
Sonny’s admission caused amused havoc amongst his audience. Dabor Sidi entered The Black Rose, all smiles. The woman greeter at the doorway met him with a smile. Sidi glowered at her without answering, walking by her to the inside bar. Sidi, dressed in a black pants and sweater outfit with black jacket, strolled through the crowded restaurant staring creepily at every woman he found attractive along the way while proceeding to the bar. Nick noticed Gus and John watching Sidi’s journey through the restaurant too.
“That’s the guy, huh Dad?” Jean moved slightly to get a better look.
“Yeah, Viper, he’s the one.” Nick grinned at Jean’s stiffening form next to him. “I like the new code name. So do you, I think. Don’t stare at the guy. We’re going to take him in here.”
“Really? That is so cool,” Jean whispered. She then turned to Sonny to report.
“I’m guessing the target has arrived, huh?”
Nick smiled at Rachel across the table from him. “He’s here at the bar now. I’ll pay our tab. Then we’ll leave, but John will stay. I’d like you, Tina, and Cala to walk the kids back to the hotel as we talked about. Gus and I will help Sidi after John gives him a little something as penance for his drinking of alcoholic beverages.”
“Will we see you later?”
“Of course. It’s early. I didn’t figure Sidi would be by here until later. He’s getting an early start. So will we. It’s a good thing I have Clyde standing by. He didn’t think we’d get lucky this early in the evening. It’s only seven. Did you want to take the kids out somewhere tonight? Cassie’s meeting with us in the Sea Grille at our hotel tomorrow morning to discuss the book signing, but it would be safe for you to go do something fun tonight.”
“I think we’ll go on the ‘Ghost Tour’ they have I mentioned to you. There are tours leaving every half hour up to 9 pm. I’ll take everyone on that.”