John Steel Collection - Books 1-3

Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

A gentle breeze blew through the streets of Little Italy, but it barely cooled the warm air still hanging over the city after the scorching day’s sun.

People sat outside the many restaurants that filled the well-lit streets, with bright reds, greens and blues of neon signs reflected in windows and from vehicles.

The night air was filled with music and laughter, and everyone seemed to be happy and enjoying the evening al fresco.

Steel’s stealthy form crept into an alleyway, carefully clinging to the shadows as he went. He stopped at a group of stacked boxes and waited as he observed a large man standing at the end of the alley.

The man was watching a TV that had been illicitly plugged into the local grid. Flickering light from the set spilt up the alley and created convenient shadows – convenient for Steel.

Vinny Carbone was a heavy, bald man, his giant form seeming almost too large for his blue hand-stitched suit as he danced up and down while watching the ball game and yelling at the TV.

‘Come on, goddammit!’ Vinny barked in a gruff, almost gravelly voice at the tv.

‘Where is Santini, Vinny?’ Steel said. His voice was soft but threatening.

‘Well, my mystery guest is here,’ Vinny answered, recovering quickly from his surprise. ‘We have been expecting you. They didn’t think you would show, but hey, here you are….’

The man turned halfway around to lay eyes on the i***t disturbing him, but all Vinny saw were shadows.

John Steel stepped into the middle of the walkway. As he did so, all light seemed to disappear from around him, as if he was a black hole swallowing the light.

Steel stood motionless but alert as if he knew if there was going to be trouble, it would come from behind him.

Slowly, several large, brutish-looking thugs in jeans and muscle shirts appeared, brandishing weapons of all descriptions.

Vinny turned fully around to face the new game about to take place. Suddenly the ball game was forgotten. Vinny did not want to miss this confrontation.

His suit was paired with a white shirt opened wide enough to show off his bronzed barrel chest, and a gold chain with a large crucifix hung amidst the grey hair.

The light from the TV set caused flashes of illumination that danced up and down the alley but seemed somehow not to touch the stranger.

‘Sort this bastard out, boys. I wanna see what he’s made of.’ The fat man nodded to his crew.

John Steel sensed a man moving up steadily behind him.

The thug swung a baseball bat, bringing it downwards with such power that it splintered on the ground as Steel sidestepped the blow. The goon let out a painful ‘Ooff’ as Steel spun around and elbowed him in the back of the neck, knocking him off balance. The man’s head flew down from the blow, straight into a knee that Steel had brought up to meet the man’s face.

The air was suddenly filled with an eruption of blood, bone and swearing as the man’s nose exploded from the impact.

Another guy rushed forward, slashing blindly at Steel with a large blade.

Steel blocked the hand wielding the weapon, then Steel pulled the arm underneath his own armpit so that the outstretched arm was in a lock, then snapped it at the elbow.

The man screamed, and the knife fell straight into Steel’s free hand.

‘Stick around. I haven’t finished yet,’ Steel called out.

The newly acquired blade whistled through the air and embedded itself into the back of Carbone’s knee.

Vinny screamed in agony as the blade cut through sinew and met bone. Vinny crashed to the ground with a loud thud, reeling in pain.

John Steel turned quickly, only to be met by two more men. One with a bat and another pistol.

The bat was swung at head height, but Steel leaned back just as the business end sailed past so close that he felt the wind brush his face. Then, as Steel came back up, he used the full force of his body to drive his forehead into the face of his attacker. A sickly c***k, like snapping twigs, as he shattered the man’s nose. The gangster stumbled, but not too far from reach, as Steel used him as a shield from the remaining attacker, who held the gun.

The armed man bobbed and weaved, trying to get the drop on him, but John Steel pushed the man with the newly broken nose towards his pal and then rushed him. There was a scraping sound as The Shadow slid across the floor, knocking his opponent to the ground and then, in the blink of an eye, he used one swift punch to the neck, laying the man out cold.

Vinny scanned the alleyway, still lit by the flickering TV images, but saw nothing. He called for his crew, but there was only silence. Crawling forward, leaving a trail of fresh blood on the dirty ground, Vinny went to see if his men had got Steel. But all he saw were bodies lying motionless across the passage.

‘Where the f**k are you, j******f?’ Vinny screamed, his head dancing backwards and forward, checking everywhere, except…Behind him.

Steel’s shadowy form loomed across Vinny, his long coat moving with the wind.

‘Now, where were we?’ Steel murmured in Vinny’s ear. ‘Oh yes.’

A scream filled the alley, but it was drowned out by the nearby festivities of the night.

The TV flickered on, lighting up the alley, lending a backdrop to one final scream.