“What will ya have Johnny?” Asked Ray the owner.

“Give me a Jack on the rocks Ray. How are you doing?”

“I’m not doing too bad Johnny. How about you?”

“I’m doing pretty good. I just won a hundred fifty out at my dad’s poolroom in East Islip playing straight pool.”

“Wow that’s a nice score. What fool lost that to you?”

“His daddy owns a big paving company.”

“Not for long if the kid keeps playing people you.”

He had bought the bar about a year ago from the original owner’s widow. Ray had lived here in Oceanside all his life. He had been taken prisoner in World War One and hated violence. If you even looked like you were going to throw a punch, he threw you out and banned you for a week. But if he liked you, he would do anything for you. Including loaning you money or letting you run a tab. I knew Ray all my life. In fact, he and my dad went to school together. They both played semi-pro baseball together also. With his silver hair and quick wit, his friends called him The Silver Fox.

“Let me know if you’re going to the track tonight Johnny. I have some horses I want to bet.”

“Sorry Ray. I’m not going tonight.”

“With a pocket full of money your not going to the track?”

“I’m going to try to keep it for more than one day.”

“I hear that.” He said.

“Has Bob or Chuck been in today?”

“Bob was in around lunchtime. I haven’t seen Chuck in a few days.”

Ok thanks, let me have another drink and have something your self.”

“Thanks, I think I will.” He said.

Ray poured himself a Scotch on the rocks and tossed most of it down.

“Cheers Johnny. Thanks.”

“Cheer.”

“Here comes Bob and Chuck now.” He said.

“Give them whatever they’re drinking and tell them to come back to the table I’m at Ray.”

A few minutes later Bob and Chuck came back and sat down. Bob was well over six-foot and about two hundred pounds of blue-collar muscle, with a Black Belt in Karate. He was nobody to mess with when he was drinking heavy. The only reason he had all the work he wanted was he was the best torch man around these parts. He could cut a car up in three-foot sections in less than an hour. Bob worked when he needed money. He worked mostly for chop shops and at Chucks wrecking yard, whenever the price of metal went way up and Chuck wanted a lot of cars cut to take to the scrap yard. Bob and Chuck were in their early thirties and friends since childhood. I was twenty-five.

Chuck was around six foot and over two hundred. He was easy going, and rarely was in a fight. You really had to do something to his family or screw with his money to get him that mad. He leased a piece of land down by the canal for his wreaking yard.

Me on the other hand am five foot six in shoes and about one fifty. I boxed when I was in my teens and had a good enough record to turn pro. When I had a record of thirty-one and one, someone connected to the mob asked to be my manager. I didn’t want to get into that so I just quit boxing. Then I did a tour in the Army with the Cold Weather Special Forces. I’m a mechanic by trade now, but make most of my money on pool tables. My dad was a road pool player when he was younger and taught me how to shoot and hustle at a young age.

Even though I can hold my own in a fight, I’m small compared to most of the troublemakers around town. Bob and Chuck have saved my butt many times over the years. Chuck says I have way too big a mouth for someone that small. It has something to do with me being mostly Irish and Indian. Not a good combo for drinking.

One night a few years ago we were in a biker bar out in Islip. Bob and Chuck told me if I started anything in there, I was on my own. Of course I got drunk and thought I was ten foot tall and bullet proof in no time. There was a big biker dude I had been mouthing off to and staring down for about an hour. When I went to the men’s room, the guy followed me in and beat hell out of me, then hung me up on the cloths hook on the back of the door and left me hanging there until Bob came and got me down. It was embarrassing.

“Hi guys.”

“Hey.” They both said in unison.

“Do you have everything worked out for the job? Bob asked.

“It’s all set for one o’clock Monday morning. I have everything planed. We should be in and out in two hours. The workers start coming in by five, so we need to be out of there well before that.” I said.

“Why not go in on the weekend when no workers come in?” Bob asked.

“Because Mac is off the weekends and the ship that the guy from Brooklyn will offload the ingots takes off for somewhere overseas at around nine every Monday morning.”

“What about the cops?” Chuck asked.

“The cops only make two swings by there. Once a little after midnight and once at around four in the morning. I’ll need to park by the phone booth by the deli and wait for the cop to make his first check on the smelter. Then we can bring the trucks to the smelter and do our thing.”

“You said you were going to take care of the guard?” Bob said.

“I gave Mac two hundred and fifty dollars to let me hit him in the head with something to make him bleed a little. Then I’ll tie him up and leave him in the guard shack for the workers to find in the morning.”

Mac was a friend of mine. I take him with me to a strange bar or poolroom where I’m going to play for big money. He is well over six-foot and around three hundred pounds. He really can’t fight well, but he looks mean as hell. I have never had any trouble getting out of the places with the money I’ve won. Mac isn’t the brightest star in the sky though. So it was easy to get him to go along with his part in the job.

“Sounds like you got everything covered.” Chuck said.

“I should. I’ve been planning it for over a year.”

“I priced the scrap value today. Take all the ingots you can get. The price is as high as I have ever seen it.” Chuck said.

“Ok with me.” I said.

“Chuck said we could get between twenty-five and thirty-five grand on the truck.” Bob said.

“Wow that’s a nice score.” I said.

“The scrap yard in Brooklyn is going to pay us in cash too. We might have to wait a day or two for some of it, but the guy is good for it.” Bob said.

“George Morrow just came in. Did you hear someone carjacked him yesterday on his courier route? Now he has no car to use for work.” Chuck said.

“Hi George. Sorry to hear about your car being stolen.” I said.

“Hi Johnny. I can’t get a rental paid for by my insurance company either. I didn’t have commercial insurance on it. If I push it they will drop me. I don‘t know what the hell I‘m going to do now.”

“Here’s four hundred. I wish I could help you more but that should get you a rental for a week or so way you can work.” I said.

“I can’t take that Johnny. God knows when I could pay you back.”

“Go ahead and take it, I’ll only give it to the horses anyhow. Pay me a little a week when you get back on your feet.”

Chuck threw a fifty on top of my money and Bob broke down and put a twenty down.

“Thanks a lot guys. Your lifesavers.” He said as he walked off to the bathroom.

“You’re a sucker Johnny.” Bob said.

“The guy is a hard worker and he has a wife and three kids. Besides I’m going to be coming into a nice chunk of money in the next few days.” I said.

We all laughed at that.

“Not too long ago I went broke playing a guy at the Blue Duck some eight ball. I still thought I could beat him. George was there and slipped me a hundred bucks to get back in action with the guy.”

“Did you win?” Bob asked.

“I beat the guy for my three hundred back, plus six hundred.”

“Way to go Johnny.” Chuck said.

“If you could stay sober when you played pool, you would be hard to beat for anyone. Your problem is you drink too much when you’re playing.” Chuck said.

“Thank you Doctor Abby. What are you my frigging therapist?”

“I’m not kidding. I know Tommy Tusco, the pool pro from Queens. He told me no one wants to play you for money when you’re sober.” Chuck said.

“Lets get back to business here and get off my back.” I said.

“You said we don’t need to bring anything but the two-flatbed trucks right?” Bob said.

“Bring work gloves, ski masks and make sure you cover any lettering on the trucks with those magnetic signs I had made up for you.”

“Couldn’t you think to put anything better than Sal’s hauling on the sign’s?” Chuck said.

“I saw his truck out in East Islip the other day. It’s a red ford just like yours. If someone sees the truck going in or leaving the smelter, it will take the heat to him for awhile.” I said.

“You’re a clever little thing Johnny.” Chuck said.

“The cut will be thirty-five percent for Chuck because we’re using his Trucks. Thirty-five percent for me for planning the job and thirty for you Bob. Does that sound fair?” I asked.

They both grunted yes.

“Ok let’s get some more drinks and go over everything one more time.” I said.

“I have it set up with the guy in Brooklyn to put all the ingots on the ship as soon as we get there. Just in case the cops start looking at scrap yards for the stolen stuff some time Monday, the stuff will be out of there by ten. I think it’s going to Japan.” I said.

“I got two big tarps to cover to stuff on the truck.” Chuck said.

“It looks like we have everything covered. I’m going to go home and get some sleep. I’ll call you both tomorrow to make sure nothing has come up.”

On the way to my car, Joe Farina the local bookie that I took bets for stopped me with two of his goons. When Joe had one goon with him you were all right, but two meant there was going to be some trouble.

“Hi Joe, what’s going on?”

“You owe me three grand.” Joe said.

“For what?”

“Your buddy Timmy called in three grand worth of bets and took off when he lost.”

“He’s not my buddy Joe. You’re the one that sent him to me.”

“You know the rules, you placed the bets for him, and you make good on them. Either you find him and make him pay up or pay it your self. I don‘t care which. You have two days.”

“Give me a break. You said the guy was good, then when he splits it‘s on me?”

One of the goons stepped in front of me with an I’m going to enjoy this look on his face. I hit him as hard as I could with a left to the liver and a right to the kidney. He went down on one knee. The other goon grabbed me and held me until the other one got up. Then he worked me over pretty well with body shots.

“That’s enough. I‘m sure he‘s got the idea now.” Joe said to the goons.

“Joe I don’t have three grand and I have no idea where Timmy is at.”

“You have two days to get me my money or your history Johnny. I’ll have them break your hands and arms so bad that you’ll never hold a pool cue again.”

Then they all walked over to Joe’s Cadillac and left. I went back in the bar to have a quick double of Jack, then left for home. Just what I needed, Joe the bookie on my ass now. I could probably get my dad to talk to Joe, but at twenty-five I figured it was time I handled my own problems. After soaking in the bathtub for almost an hour I went to bed.

The next two days I asked around about Timmy. Finally someone told me he took off to Florida. The guy said he borrowed money from everyone he could and then took off. Real nice guy. If I didn’t have this smelter job coming up tonight I would go and look for him. I would pay Joe with the profits from the smelter job, then take a trip down to Florida after it was over.

It was after midnight as we sat in the trucks in front of the closed deli waiting on the cop to make his first check on the smelter.

“Where the hell are the cop’s when you need them?” Bob said nervously.

“There he is now. He didn’t even stop. He just slowed down a bit. It must be donut time for him.” I said.

“Let’s do it.” Chuck said as he fired up his truck.

Bob dropped me off in front of the side gate. After snipping the barbwire on top of the fence, I scaled it easily. I found Mac in the guard shack reading the Racing Form.

“Ok Mac, this is it. Remember what to say when they question you tomorrow. Make sure they bring you to an emergency room. Maybe you can collect worker comp for awhile too.”

“Be careful not to hit me too hard.”

“Sit back down in your chair. I don’t want to have to try and pick your fat butt up off the floor after I hit you.”

As soon as his butt hit the chair I smacked him good on his forehead. He fell out of the chair onto the floor and out like a light. What a wimp. I saw he had a pretty good size gash on his head as I tried to pick him up. He wouldn’t budge. When I heard the two trucks come in, I went and got Bob and Chuck to help me lift Mac to the chair so I could tie him.

“What did you do, Kill him?” Bob asked.

“I just gave him a little tap. I can’t help it he can’t take a little shot to the head.”

“That looks like more than a little tap.” Bob said.

“Just help me get him in the chair please. He will be fine.”

“By the looks of that gash you hit him pretty good.” Chuck said.

We got him in the chair with much effort. I tied him to the chair and tied the chair to a set of pipes that came out on the floor.

“Ok let’s get this stuff loaded and get the hell out of here.” I said.

“We have the trucks parked so we can load them from all sides. Why don’t you go out by the gate and watch for cops. There are only two forklifts anyhow.” Chuck said.

“It’s after one already. How long will it take you to get the trucks loaded and tied down?”

“About an hour or less.” Bob said.

“Ok I’ll be out by the front gate.”

As I was walking away I saw them starting to load the pallets of ingots onto the trucks. Everything was going to plan so far.

A little less than an hour later and five cigarettes, a big tractor-trailer with a long flatbed pulled up to the gate. On the door it said Able Hauling Company. The driver got out of the truck and walked up to the gate.

“Can I help you with something?” I asked.

“I’m here to pick up twenty-six tons of ingots. Where’s Mac the guard at?”

“He called in sick today. They called me in to work for him.”

“Well here’s the paperwork. Open the gate.”

I had to think fast.

“Didn’t your company tell you that they canceled the pick up?”

“When the hell did they do that?”

“I think just today.”

“Can I use your phone to call my dispatch?”

“All our phones are down. I think the whole area is out.”

“That’s frigging great. I drove all the way here from Jersey.”

“I’m sorry no one told you, but I know it’s true because they told me that the load was on hold until next week for some reason.”

“They probably know the price of metal is going up next week.”

“Is it?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but that’s the only reason they ever hold loads of metal up.”

“All I can say is that I’m sorry. Someone at your place should have told you.”

“I’m going to find a phone so I can chew the dispatcher out.”

“Go down to the end of this road and make a right. Then go about two miles to the Blue Duck Bar. There’s a phone right outside it.”

“Ok thanks.” He said walking back to the truck.

“I knew the outside phone was broke all the time there and the bar was closed at this hour. I just hoped they didn’t fix it in the last few days. We needed all the time we could get before he got hold of his dispatcher. I didn’t know anything about this pick-up.

When he pulled away I ran back to the trucks to tell them what happened and to see how much longer it was going to take to load.

“About another fifteen minutes and another fifteen to tie it down.” Chuck said.

“We need to get the hell out of here now.” I said.

“I’m not leaving without the full loads.” Bob said.

“I’m going back to the gate. Get the rest loaded fast. I don’t like this. The truck driver is calling his dispatcher that will probably call someone high up from here. Then it will hit the fan fast.” I said.

I ran back to the gate only to get another surprise. A county cop car was parked at the gate and a cop was walking to the gate.

“Hi officer, what can I do for you?”

“Where’s Mac at?”

“He called in sick today. My name is Fred Boes. I’m working his shift.”

“You got any coffee in the shack?”

“No I’m sorry I don’t drink it. I didn’t know anyone would stop in this time of the morning, sorry.”

“It’s no problem. Who is working back there?”

“Two guys are working on moving stuff around. Mac told me the other day they were going to put up another building.” I lied.

“Your suppose to let the police know when people will be working here. That way we know no one is trying to rob the place.”

“I’m sorry I thought that management took care of that.”

“It’s ok. I’ll let my dispatcher know that there are people here working.” He said as he walked to his car.

“Thank you.”

I saw him on his radio. This was getting bad. He needed to get the hell out of here. I made believe I was walking away while I waved to him. Maybe he would pull away.

Watching from behind some oil drums I could see him writing something on a clipboard. Then he pulled away slowly. I ran back to Bob and Chuck to tell them about the cop. The trucks were all loaded and tied down, but Bob and Chuck were no where in site. Then I heard banging from the main office. It sounded like metal on metal. When I got to the office door I saw Bob swinging a sledgehammer at a big old safe up against one wall.

“What the hell are you guys doing. The cops were just here. They will be back soon I’m sure. We don‘t have time for this.”

“We’re going to get the money out of this safe.” Bob said swinging the sledge.

“Come on out of there. You don’t even know if there is any money in it.”

“I’ll have it open in a minute.”

I could see by the greedy look in both their eyes that they weren’t going to leave without opening it. I was starting to panic now.

“Come on. We have around thirty grand on the trucks to split between us. Lets not blow it and get caught over what is probably nothing in the safe.” I shouted.

Almost an hour later they got it opened. It had a little over a hundred dollars in it and a lot of useless papers.

“Now can we get the hell out of here you morons? It‘s after three in the morning. We‘re way off schedule.”

I ran to the shack to check on Mac before we left.

“How are you feeling?”

“I have a hell of a headache and need to be untied to go to the bathroom.”

“Go in your pants. It will make it look better. I’ll see you in two days with the rest of your money. We’re going to give you another five hundred.”

“Come on Johnny. Let me go to the bathroom.”

“No. I’ll see you in two days. Remember what to tell the police when they find you.”

Running back to the trucks I felt bad for not letting him go to the bathroom, but I had no time for it. We needed to get out of here and into Brooklyn fast.

“Come on I’ll open and close the gates behind you.” I shouted.

After locking the gates back up we headed for Brooklyn and our payday. The trucks were over loaded. I hoped Highway Patrol didn’t stop us.

The forty-five minute trip went off with no problems. After weighing both trucks on their scale, they unloaded the ingots onto a flatbed railroad car and covered them with tarps.

“I thought they were going out by ship this morning.” I asked in a panic.

“There was a change of plans. The ship won’t leave till Thursday now. Don’t worry the train will pull out before nine this morning. Come on into the office and I’ll pay you for the stuff. You got thirty-two thousand coming to you.” The owner said.

To my surprise the guy paid us in full. Chuck and I got eleven thousand plus and Bob got ninety-five hundred. More than a lot of people made in a year.

We drove the trucks back to Chucks wreaking yard and went into his office for a quick drink to celebrate.

“I’m going to take my share and buy this piece of land. Chuck said.

“I’m going to wait for a few months for everything to settle down, and then I’m buying a brand new three-quarter ton Ford pick-up with dual wheels.” Said Bob.

“What are you doing with yours Johnny? After paying Joe the bookie first.” Chuck asked.

“I’m not paying him a dime. I’m driving down to Florida to live. I’ll be leaving as soon as I see Mac and pay him his five hundred.

This is one robbery that turned out good for everyone. Chuck owns his own wreaking yard; Bob has his new truck and does side jobs for Chuck and some local chop shops. Mac got a raise and fifteen hundred dollars for his injury, then got married. You can find me sipping Margarita's on Clearwater Beach on Florida’s West Coast and playing in high stake pool games at night. I guess the only one that got screwed was the insurance company and they will just raise everybody’s rates to make up the difference and more. I love it when a plan comes together.

END