Critical

Lou made the turn into the restaurant's parking area. The establishment itself was a mere stand in the middle of an expanse of macadam. Patrons had to park, go up to the window, and order. When the appropriate number popped up, the patron had to hike back to the window and then eat the foot-long sub in his car. Lou could remember patronizing the place in high school when he got his first jalopy.

Fifteen minutes later, Lou couldn't have been happier as he indulged both his appetite with his old favorite sub called Joh

The other reason Lou was content was that Joh

Lou wasn't certain Freddie still worked for Vi

All at once, Lou stopped chewing. Someone emerged alone from the restaurant. For a second, Lou thought it was Vi

Lou looked back at the restaurant, half expecting one of Vi

All of a sudden, Lou again stopped chewing. A new black Cadillac sedan with heavily tinted windows appeared stage right and proceeded to pull up behind the older model. In the next instant, Lou tossed his sub to the side, scattering bite-sized meatballs on his car's front passenger seat. He was out of the door in a flash and across the street as the driver of the Cadillac was rounding the car's rear. For once, luck was on Lou's side, since the driver was Freddie Capuso, and he was alone.

"Freddie, my friend," Lou called out.

Freddie stopped and turned as Lou came up to him. As soon as he recognized Lou, his face blanched. Nervously, he looked around, especially over to the nearby restaurant door.

"Gosh!" Lou effused. "How long has it been, Freddie, old boy?" The last time Lou had seen Freddie, he was a scrawny kid who artificially held his arms out from his body as if he were muscle-bound. Now he was a man: well, sort of.

"Holy shit, Lieutenant! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Just having a sub across the street for old time's sake. I used to go there when I was in high school, and then I see you pull up. What a coincidence."

"Nice to see you," Freddie said quickly. "But I gotta go."

"Not so fast," Lou said. He wrapped a restraining hand around Freddie's upper arm while Lou's other hand was holding on to his holstered gun. Lou knew these people were nasty and unpredictable.

"You could get me killed if I'm seen with you!" Freddie blurted.

"I could have you killed with a single phone call, my friend. I just want to talk to you for two minutes. My car is across the street in Joh

Freddie looked around Lou over toward Joh

"The longer you put this off, the more chance you're taking," Lou said. He gave Freddie's arm a tug in the direction of Lou's Caprice.

It didn't take long for Freddie to realize that he didn't have a choice. He nodded and quickly crossed the street. Lou followed Freddie all the way to the front passenger-side door. Freddie opened it quickly but took one look at the tiny meatballs, tomato slices, and onion rings fa

Lou glanced around Freddie to see what he was referring to. "I can understand your reluctance," Lou said. He closed the door and opened the back. He motioned to Freddie to enter, then climbed in after him.

"Make this fast," Freddie commanded, as if he had a say in the matter.

"I'll try," Lou said, ignoring Freddie's bravado. "First up, who's the current local capo for the Vaccarros? I've been out of the loop."

"His name is Louie Barbera, but he's only a temp, because Paulie Cerino's supposedly getting out on parole."

"Really?" Lou commented. He'd not heard the rumor about Cerino.

"What the hell are you bothering me for with that kind of question?" Freddie grumbled. "You could learn that from any number of people."

"How do Vi

Freddie merely laughed.

"Is it that bad?" Lou asked.

"Vi

"What about the Asians, Hispanics, and Russians?"

"They are getting to be a pain in the ass for everyone."

"All three groups."

"Mainly the Asians bringing in drugs from the East rather than South America."

"It was rumored there was an apparent hit last night," Lou said, finally getting around to the point. "Do you know anything about it?" He purposefully didn't want to give any of the details.

Freddie's eyes flicked over toward the restaurant door in a nervous fashion, which for Lou was a giveaway. From his years of experience, he guessed ski