Chaz was grinning away as Mook sat there shaking his head.

"I don't know, Chaz. That was down and dirty, man. You think he ain't gonna do you? You don't know, man. You just don't know." Mook stubbed out his smoke and threw up his hands. "I'd watch my back if I were you."

Chaz was buzzing and couldn't be bothered. "Yeah? Well the hell with him. I'm tired of his schtick, bro. I don't care."

"Look Chaz, you burned him big time. What are gonna now? You gonna run? I mean, hell, $100,000 worth of useless powder?"

"A hundred grand will buy me a nice vacation and a new patch, that's what I think. Relax, i've got it covered. I'm gone tomorrow."

Mook stood up and grabbed his jacket. "I gotta go, man. You take care."

Firing up another one, Chaz congratulated himself again on the scam. Bernie was an asshole. He had it coming. He cranked up the tunes for a while, and danced around the house and then, grabbing another beer from the fridge he was heading for the couch when there was a knock on the door. He pulled his piece and stood alongside the door.

"Who is it?" No answer. He pulled the curtain aside an inch. Nothing. Nobody there. He opened the door a crack and peeked. He opened it wide and there on the porch was a box with his name on it. Damn. Bernie wouldn't try to bomb him, would he? No way, he hadn't told Bernie where he was living. It would take him days to find out, and by then he'd be gone. But what if somebody had ratted him out? No, he knew his friends. Not a problem at all. He picked up the box carefully and shook it. There was something loose in it. What the hell, he thought, and took it to the table and opened it.

Inside was a .357 Ruger. A very nice piece of firepower. He lifted it out and checked it. It was loaded, but two chambers were empty and it smelled of powder and something else. He sniffed it again and hit the floor as his vision went blurry.

He came to with a couple of cops standing over him. Groggy and out of it, he tried to stand, but one of them pushed him back down in the chair.

"You're not going anywhere, dude. Listen up, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say may be used against you..."

"What's this about, man? I haven't done anything. What are you guys doing here? Is this a bust? I've only got a few grams of pot, man, what gives?"

The cops looked at each other. "You're under arrest for the murder of Michael "Mook" Taylor. I'd shut up now if I were you."

"What?! I didn't kill Mook, he was here and then he left. What are you guys on about?"

They parted and looked down at the body on the floor that was being attended to by the forensics team. "He left, did he?"

One of them held up and evidence bag with the Ruger in it. "I wonder whose prints are on this."

"You wanna tell us what happened? You two have an argument?"

"Look, this is bullshit, man. That ain't my gun. Mook was my buddy. I found the gun on my doorstep in a box."

"What box might that be?"

"The one on the..." There was no box on the kitchen table. He looked around frantically. "I've been set up, damn it! You gotta listen to me!"

He thought hard. "I've got a gun, that ain't mine. Mine is..."

"We've searched the house. There are no other guns here. Your friend wasn't armed either. Looks like you shot him in cold blood."

He began to shake. "Ok, look, here's the truth. I...I burned a guy on a deal, see? $100,000. He must have set me up. The money is in a box under my bed. See for yourself."

The cops shook their heads. "We've searched the house. There's no money here. Your story won't wash. Besides, we got a phone call about you talking about how you were gonna do Mook over some falling out you guys had. You're not very bright, Chaz."

They cuffed him and took him downtown.

You wanna know what I hate more than anything else in the world? Well i'm gonna tell you anyway. So there. I hate stupid people. Don't you hate stupid people? You should. If you don't, well then maybe you're...Oh, never mind. Anyway, yeah, they really annoy me. Stupid people, that is.

You know what's one of the things stupid people do that really annoys me? They call you names. That's right, they call you names and then they laugh. Sometimes they point, too. I really hate that. People who aren't stupid don't do those things. That's a fact. You could look it up.

My friend says that all the time. He says you could look it up. I used to think that was stupid, but then I realized it couldn't be, because he's my friend, and I wouldn't be friends with anyone stupid. No sir, I sure wouldn't. I'll bet you're wondering what my friend's name is. Well I might tell you in a while. If I decide you're not stupid. I'm not gonna tell you my name though. Well, maybe my real name, but not my nickname. The name they call me just before they laugh. And point. I really hate that.

So you're probably wondering what all the screaming is about. Well, it's kind of a long story. Well, not that long, but I could maybe tell you if you promise to listen. See, it's like this, you can only take just so much, you know? I mean, when things get to maximum stupidity, then you gotta do something about it. You can understand that, right? Well, you can if you're not stupid like they are.

So here's the deal. The other day I was sitting around talking with my friend, and these really stupid guys came along and called me that name they call me. Then they started laughing. They asked my why I was talking to myself. I told them I was talking to my friend. They said no I wasn't, I wasn't talking to nobody but myself.

I got really mad. Just because they can't see him doesn't mean he isn't there. That's how stupid they are. They laughed some more, and they pointed at me. That really got me annoyed. So I made a plan. Because i'm not stupid. The next day I walked past them and made sure they saw me. I went to the old abandoned shed behind the factory, the one nobody ever goes in because there's supposed to be snakes and stuff in there, only there ain't, because I checked.

Anyway, they came to the shed, like I knew they would. Because they're stupid. They asked me what I was doing and I told them I trapped a rattlesnake in there. They said I was a liar, and they called me that name they call me. Then they laughed and pointed. I told them I didn't care because I wouldn't let them see the snake anyway. Those stupid guys always make fun of me at school. I get so tired of it.

So then they pushed me out of the way and went in the shed. Just like I knew they would. You know how I knew? Because i'm not stupid. So i closed the door while they were in there and I put the padlock on that I brought from my father's garage. Then I went around the back of the shed and got the gasoline I hid there. I poured it all over that old wooden shed, that's what I did. Then I took out the matches from the pocket of these nice pants my mother made for me. You can guess the rest. If you're not stupid.

Anyway, that's what all the screaming is about. So now you know. My friend says it was the right thing to do. He would say that, he's the one who told me to do it. There are too many stupid people in the world. He said that too. He said you could look it up. So now I gotta go home because it's almost dinnertime and my mom will be mad if i'm late. Bye bye stupid people.

"So, Ralphie, how was school today?" Mrs. Andrews look expectantly at her son.

"Ok." Ralph had a smile on his face, which was unusual.

"What did you do after school?"

"Oh, not much."

"Oh, come on, Ralph, you must have done something. You didn't have any trouble with those horrible boys that tease you, did you?" His father looked concerned.

"No dad. They won't be bothering me anymore. They were just stupid."

"Well i'm glad you got that resolved. You came to an understanding with them?" His mother had that worried look she sometimes got.

Ralph looked at her. Boy, she could be stupid sometimes. "Yeah mom, an understanding. They won't be stupid anymore."

Paulie stood outside the seedy hotel and looked up. Pulling the collar of his ratty black leather jacket up against the chill wind he glanced over his shoulder. The Carlton Hotel. It had seen better days. He entered, thinking a room on the second floor would do nicely. He paid and took the stairs up to the second floor room facing out onto the street.

Dragging a chair over to the window, he sat down, pushing the tattered, nicotine stained lace curtain aside and settling in...

Brett paced nervously, waiting for the call, annoying Bruno . "Hey, knock it off, will ya? You're makin' me crazy here"! Brett went and sat down at the bar and growled, "why haven't they called yet"?

Bruno rolled his eyes and took another sip of beer. "You wuss. Just wait for it, that's all".

"Look, this is the day, man, I just know it. I'm gonna be a made guy"!

Bruno shrugged and stared straight ahead. "Yeah, whatever".

"I sure hope that moron did exactly what I told him to do. He better have made the reservations and got a limo for me or i'm gonna give it to him good". Bruno looked over. "You ride him too hard, Brett, why don't you lighten up on him, he's your kid brother for christ's sake".

"Don't tell me how to deal with my family, Bruno"! Brett flexed his neck and glanced over at the phone. It rang as if on cue. He was off the seat in a flash. A minute later he was back at the bar with a spring in his step.

"See, I told you just to wait. Good news, huh"?

"You bet", Brett smiled. This was going to be the best day of his life. He decided he'd better call his brother and make sure that dimwit had everything on track for him.

"Hey chucklehead, how you doin"? Brett smiled. "You got me all lined up sweet"?

Paulie rubbed his jaw where it was still sore from the last meeting with his brother. "Yeah, Brett, it's all good. The restaurant is reserved for eight and the limo will be around the corner in that little alley, you know the one. Hey, I got it on the cheap for some reason, the guy..."

"Yeah, yeah, great. I'll take care of you later numbnuts. Thanks". Brett hung up and went back to the bar.

Bruno gave him a look. "What"?

"You should treat him better, that's all, I done told you."

"Look, he's a schmuck, i'm doin' him a favor lettin' him run errands for me. You know he's kinda slow and all. What would he do without me"?

Bruno had an answer but he was too smart to push it.

"Anyway, I gotta get ready for tonight. I'm gonna be a made man! Wish me luck".

Brett donned his sharpest suit and shined his shoes. He had been waiting for this meeting to be called for months. When he offered to take them to dinner and they said sure he knew this was it. They wouldn't have agreed to all that if he wasn't in. Don Genarro himself would be there. This was gonna be sweet!

He arrived at the restaurant and waited outside. When they arrived he led them in and they said down to the finest meal Brett could arrange. The Osso Bucco was the best anyone had ever had and the Don told some great stories about wise guy stuff. As they left Don Genarro's phone rang. He walked a few steps away and took the call.

When he came back he wasn't smiling and Brett had an uneasy feeling. But he was doing everything right, he told himself. Nothing was said and he led them down to the corner. That limo had better be right around it like Paulie said it would be.

Paulie sat forward and proped his chin on his interlocked fingers. He gazed out the window as a smile slowly spread over his face and he relaxed his shoulders. It hadn't been easy getting the Don's private number, but Paulie wasn't as dumb as everyone thought. No sir. He heard the faint pop of the silencer and looked again and thought to himself, man oh man, Brett's brains sure don't look pretty splattered all over that nice pink stretch limo. But then again, not much would.