"Please please I'll do anything."

The man was shaking he had cement shoes on and was about to get thrown off the Brooklyn Bridge

"Don't worry If you can fly I won't shoot ya."

They threw him off the bridge and saw him hit the water. Guess he couldn't fly.

A Couple days earlier. Frank's Hardware, Brooklyn New York.

"Read em and weap boys."

A group of men were playing a game of poker in the backroom of the Hardware store. In addition to running the store Frank also ran a popular backroom poker game.

"Again? Christ I'mma be broke before I play my next hand."

Smoke and alcohol filled the room these were hardworking men from around the neighborhood the Bill mailman, Alex the cab driver, and Jim who ran the local corner store.

Frank heard a knock at the door and went over to see who it is. It was Topcat along with two other men

"Hey Topcat how's Solum?"

Topcat hit Frank and then started kicking him on the ground

"That's how Solum is Frankie."

Frank in pain looked up at Topcat

"What did I do?"

"Are you paying Solum for this game? Huh Frankie boy?"

If you wanted to run a poker game in this neighborhood you had to give Solum a piece of the action if you didn't she would make sure you'd pay her.

"No.."

Topcat kicked Frank again

"The party's over folks. No more freeloading in this neighborhood tell your friends. If you want to run a poker game or a brothel or whatever the fuck it is. You gotta pay Solum."

With the message sent Topcat leaves the backroom of the hardware store.

Tim was a truck driver for Steele trucking. He's been at the company for over ten years and it was a respectable job with decent pay and he enjoyed driving a truck. He was on his way to the Bronx to some warehouse delivering a shipment of record players.

"What the fuck is this?"

He sees a car flipped over and a guy asking for help. Trying to be the good Samaritan he decides to pull over to the side and help the guy. Just as he turns off the truck he feels someone grab him and the cold hard metal of a gun right against his face.

"You got record players in the back?"

It was Topcat he was tipped off about a truck shipment coming in tonight and he hired a local hoodlum Brain to come with him for some help. Brain was an idiot but he was good muscle and cheap.

"Yeah just please don't hurt me."

"You'll only get hurt if you don't cooperate we all just want to go home." Topcat whistled over to Brain "Yo Brain open the back."

Brain opened the back of the truck and the entire shipment was there packed and sealed. Record players were in demand in the old neighborhood and he'd sell them to the local store owners for a nice profit after giving Solum her cut he'd come out with about $50,000 not bad.

"It's all here the entire shipment."

"What about me? It'll look suspicious truck gets stolen and I don't have a scratch on me."

"You want a scratch I'll give you a scratch."

Topcat and Brain beat up the truck driver then get in the truck and drive away.

After the truck job and giving Solum her cut Topcat wanted to enjoy his spoils so he went down to Atlantic City. He had a fun time of driinking, gambling, and women.

"That was great."

Topcat said waking up next to some woman from the night before. He picked her up at a bar and then the rest of the night was pretty fuzzy he remembered going to the casino with this lady playing poker or was it blackjack maybe roulette then getting thrown out of the casino after dancing in his underpants, then they went to his hotel room where they did some blow, having some fun with her, then he blacked out.

"I'll see you around err... Mary."

Her name, he forget her name.

"Uhh you fuckin Pig. It's Sally my name is Sally all of you men are the same."

She got furious and stormed out of the room. He was sure he'd never see her again that was the story of Topcat's life with women he'd always find some way to screw it up.

"Eh whatever."

Topcat looked outside his hotel room he had a nice view it was a beautiful day in Atlantic City.

***

It was raining in New York in fact it was coming down hard. Choo-Choo was running in the rain to the nearest payphone. He was an old friend of Topcat's from the neighborhood and did a bunch of small jobs around the city. If you wanted a guy to be a safecracker or an extra gun for a job Choo-Choo was your man.

He took out a piece of paper with a number written on it and dialed

"Hey TC. Solum's got a job for you."

"Chooch is that you Solum? What? How'd you get this number?"

"Whatever that's not important just listen. You remeber A.T?"

"A.T? Who's A.T?"

"A.T Jazz? All that Jazz remember him? The guy who got busted with a truckload of booze ten years ago then rats to the feds to avoid prison."

"Oh yeah. I remember him that fuckin rat asshole piece of shit. Should have done his time like a man."

Topcat remembered A.T. He was in many ways just like him. They'd run the same type of rackets if Topcat was running a sports gambling operatiopn. A.T was also running a sports gambling operation. If Topcat had the best Pinochle games A.T was also running Pinochle games. It was a rivalry but a friendly rivalry they were all making money.

"Anyway word is that A.T was spotted just outside of Atlantic City and Solum wants you to take him out."

"Do you have an address?"

"Yeah apparently he was spotted at some gas station in Egg Harbor."

"Alright I'll see what I can do."

Topcat hung up the phone he had some hunting to do.

Topcat arrived in Egg harbor it was a quiet little town. It was still early in the morning and hardly many people were around perfect Topcat thought to himself No witnesses.

He spotted the gas station and then saw a motel nearby. A.T Jazz was probably holed up in there maybe sleeping or probably telling the feds more secrets. Fuckin Rat. Topcat was hiding in the bushes trying not to get spotted by A.T Jazz and not spook him. The Motel had about 15 rooms any one of them could have been A.T Jazz's room and Topcat didn't want to knock on all the doors it could alert him and it'd take forever by that time A.T Jazz would have probably jumped out the window and gotten away. Then it happened the door to Room #3 opened and A.T Jazz stepped out.

He was alone none of the cars in the parking lot of the motel looked like they belonged to the feds either. A.T Jazz went over to the back of the motel for a smoke. A stray cat walked in front of him and he picked it up to pet it.

"Hey little guy what are you doing out here?"

Just then he felt someone put something around his neck like a rope or something it got harder to breathe. It was a garrote made out of wire Topcat held it tight around A.T Jazz's neck.

"Who is this?"

"You rat bastard piece of shit. It's me Topcat T.C remember?"

"T.C please. I coulda killed you last night y'know. I was at that bar when you picking up that girl But I didn't. It was just a coincidence I told myself. You're just out here to get drunk and get laid. Just let me go...please"

Topcat tightened the wire harder. A.T Jazz was gasping for air.

"Well there's one thing you out of all people should know the hustle never ends. You took an oath man I thought of you like a brother then you break my heart. I hope you burn in hell."

A.T Jazz took his last breath then died. Topcat looked at the stray cat and picked it up.

"C'mon lets go."

He went over to a nearby payphone across the street at the gas station and dialed a number.

"Tell Solum about that thing she wanted yeah It's done."