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Tony and Salvatore Jr. now known by those whom he associated with simply as "Sal" had found the connection they were looking for in Alfredo. Alfredo had put Tony and Sal in charge of taking care of Twin Anchors for him while he found other establishments to "purchase" with his business partner that he simply refered to as Al. Tony and Sal were cut into a small percentage of the business take, but for them what was considered a small percentage was more money than they had ever seen since coming to America.
All that was asked of them was to simply hang around the bar, guard the door, make sure no one caused any problems, ensure the patrons paid before leaving and paying the drivers who dropped the goods off. So what if they had to pay off the police now and then when they came in looking for a hand out. Tony and Sal had been told to expect as much, the cops didn't run this city, Alfredos friend Al did from what they were told. So it only made sense that they'd want to come around acting tough to make a little extra money, they were in the wrong business after all.
Through all of the people Tony and Sal met while running Twin Anchors they found the guys who claimed to be friends with Al the most interesting and troublesome. Drunken threats of cutting someone down with a tommy gun, back room card game arguments, and not wanting to pay because of a sense of entitlement were common. Sal however had become skilled in calming these wise guys down. He'd pour them a drink on the house, tell a joke, or sometimes begin singing old Italian folk songs to calm the hot heads of Al's well dressed friends. Sal seemed to soak it all up, the whispered stories, the money slid into his hand when he cut the cards in someones favor, or the sense of belonging he felt when they'd include him on jokes or toasts.
Tony however treated this job just as that. He was the one getting up and bringing up bottles the bartender would run out of, stacking crates, watching the bar while the bartender went to the back to take a piss. He wasn't so romanticised by the idea of organized crime. He did however learn a few things here and there by the stories and chatter he heard while working. Tony learned that it was the family Alfredo worked for in Philadelphia that was bringing in the alcohol from Canada, and it was his friend Al that was paying for the alcohol in and Alfredo was getting his cut from both the shipments and the bars profit. He was then sharing that profit with his friend Al, while Tony and Sal who ensured Twin Anchors ran smoothly received a small percentage paid for out of Alfredos shipping earnings. It was business 101, Tony and Sal took care of everything from sun up to sun down and the guy with all the comnections made all the money. As much as it bothered Tony he envyed Alfredo more than he despised him, he envyed Alfredos friend Al even more. He got to sit back and get a cut without ever having to make as much as an appearence. Still Tony was just happy to finally be as he saw it, making it. Sal however was not as content with his role nor his pay. Perhaps hanging around all those wise guys had given him a complex, or maybe it was because deep down he wanted what they had, the life, the stories, the money, the power. Tony kept his head cool as much as he could, reminding him of the money they were making, the apartment they shared, and the promise Alfredo had made them. Alfredo had assured both Tony and Sal that once he returned to Philadelphia he'd bring them with him to work for his boss, make some real money. As he told them this was Al's town he was only here while it was profitable for his family and of course himself. While Tony was perfectly content of leading a life of partial ignorance, he could tell Sal was more than willing to pack up and leave at the drop of a hat. After all there was no family, there was nothing but money, and the promise of more elsewhere seemed to light a fire in Sal Tony had never saw.
He had only ever known Sal as the slightly chunky quiet kid everyone picked on. Now there was Sal the headstrong, cocky kid who packed a pistol given to him by Alfredo for "protection". Alfredo had of course given Tony one as well, but he never felt the need to carry it, he had never needed it at Twin Anchors or on the street. In Tonys mind, somehow he still found a way to believe it was just another job, something his parents would be proud to see him have and being a part of a well off group of other Italian immigrants would surely make them proud.
As time went on however and moved into November Tony soon realized why Alfredo had given he and Sal those guns. It must have been around 11 that Saturday night, the 28th of November. Two officers of the city of Chicago knocked on the front door of Twin Anchors. This was nothing out of the ordinary, policemen always came to the front so the patrons could escape out the back in order to receive their bribes. Only this time the officers did not stand by and allow escape but instead fired their guns at the ceiling upon entrance and shouted for everyone to stay seated. The friends of Al's were in the backroom in the middle of one of their card games along with Sal. They all managed to cut and run out the back leaving Tony, the bartender, and about 15 intoxicated patrons confused and alone to fend for themselves.
Everyone knew how these things worked, or so they thought. Tony was the most confused by this event. He had never saw these two officers before, and had for sure never had them come in with their guns drawn. Tony approached the men with his hands held above his head. Tony cracked a smile and said "Hey fellas, I don't know if you're new to this or not but if you're wanting your money all ya had to do was ask". The bearded officer on the left took the end of his pistol to Tonys face sending Tony stumbling into the bar back first. "Keep yah filthy mouth shut"! The other officer said in a thick irish accent. The two officers proceded to run the |
