Chapter 30 #2
Angie swallowed and stepped up to his desk, trying to hide her trembling hands.
“Mayor Borden, I am so pleased to meet you and thank you for your commitment to our fine city. I need you to listen to me for just a few minutes, and then if you want to send me down to Cook County Jail, I’ll go freely. ”
He smiled. “I’m listening, Angie, but please, be brief.”
His phone kept ringing, and there was another knock. “All good, need some more time,” he called out. Angie figured that was code for No murderers in here—the coast is clear.
“Here’s what I need. I need Mario Longetti behind bars tonight.
I have enough evidence right here to put him away for life.
” She spread the papers in front of him on his desk; she had used a yellow highlighter showing Mario’s name and the amounts of the bribes he had collected. She watched as the mayor skimmed them.
“Angie, this is incriminating evidence. These documents could hurt more people than just Mario, including me.”
“Mayor, I only want what’s mine—and Mario behind bars. That’s all. I will destroy the original and this copy. I need to see him in handcuffs tonight before I leave this building. That’s all I’m asking, sir.”
Angie watched as he looked at her and over at Lorna. “Okay, then, I can tell I’m not going to get rid of the both of you until this is done. My city attorney is in the outer office. I’m going to bring him in and we’ll get this matter over with. Lorna, move your cart.”
Lorna pushed her cart aside and unlocked the door. The mayor’s bodyguard immediately stuck his head in and looked at the mayor. “All good, boss?”
The mayor gave him a thumbs-up. “Send Richie in. Now!” The guard looked at Lorna and Angie and went back out.
A heavyset, bald middle-aged man in a tailored black suit walked in. “Mayor.”
“Richie, I need you to look at these documents.” The mayor handed him Angie’s papers.
In less than ten seconds, Richie read them, looked at the mayor then over at Angie and Lorna and then back at the mayor.
He can read faster than our mayor, a lot faster, Angie thought.
“Okay, exactly what do you ladies want? It’s not a good time to be bothering the mayor.”
Angie walked over to Richie, stood tall in her five-foot-two frame, and looked up at him. “I am Angie Sortino and I have two demands. I need Mario Longetti in handcuffs tonight, and I need my husband’s pension reassigned to me.” She swallowed deeply and stood her ground.
Angie watched as the attorney sized her up. She had never felt so clear and strong in her whole life. She kept looking him directly in the eye. She wanted to throw her arms up in the air, the soundtrack of Rocky playing in her mind.
“Make it happen—and fast, Richie. Tonight. Now,” the mayor demanded.
“Yes, Mayor.”
“Lorna, I’m going to need you and Angie to wait in the outer office while Richie gets Mario here.” He glanced up briefly from his computer.
“I’ve never asked for anything ever, and I will never again,” Lorna said.
“I hear you, Lorna. You can trust me. Now if you kind ladies will let me get back to my business here, when Mario comes in, I’ll invite you in to watch him get his due.”
“Thank you, Mayor,” Angie said. “And please forgive me for this intrusion.” Angie walked out and Lorna followed.
They both made a beeline to the nearest bathroom. Inside her stall, Angie had to check her pants, worrying she might have generated a bit of a trickle when she stood up to Richie with her demands.
While she relieved herself, she called out to Lorna, “We did it! We really did it!”
“We can’t declare victory yet, Ang. When I see that motherfucker in handcuffs, then we celebrate,” Lorna announced from the adjoining stall.
Angie washed her hands and looked over at Lorna, who was doing the same. “You know, that was the most fun I’ve ever had. It scared me to death, but I feel so liberated. I’ve never stood up for myself like that.”
“You had Richie on his toes, and that’s saying something. I’ve watched him eat high-powered politicians alive in seconds in this building. You are a badass, Ang. I’m so proud of you.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you, Thelma.” Angie threw her arms around Lorna.
They walked into the outer office and the mayor’s assistant stood up and said, “May I offer you two something to drink? The mayor sent out his favorite bourbon if you’d care to calm your nerves.”
“How lucky are we to have such a gentleman running our fine city,” Angie said.
“I think we’ll both take a little of that; it’s been a stressful evening.” Lorna walked over to the assistant’s desk and brought the crystal filled glasses back to their seats. Angie watched as several visitors walked in and out of the mayor’s office, even though it was late in the evening.
Almost an hour had passed since the mayor had sent Richie off to fetch Mario.
Is this whole thing going to go south? Angie wondered.
Lorna was sipping her bourbon and watching all the different people coming and going.
“You think he’s going to have us arrested and they’re just waiting for the bourbon to calm us down? ” Angie whispered.
“No, he’s a man of his word. I’d stake my life on it.” Lorna sipped.
Angie’s cell phone rang. She quickly walked into the hallway to answer it without checking who was calling.
“Hello.”
“Angie, don’t hang up. It’s Ralph, I’m worried about you. Ben called me and told me what was happening with Gina. He’s worried you’re going to do something dangerous at City Hall.”
“Ralph, it’s none of your business what I’m doing. I can’t talk now.”
“Please be careful. I would hate for anything to happen to you.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I need to go. Please don’t call me again. If and when I want to speak with you, I’ll give you a call. But don’t hold your breath.”
Angie ended the call and went back into the mayor’s outer office. She started to tell Lorna that Ralph had called when two of Chicago’s finest, bookending Mario Longetti, walked straight into the mayor’s office. Lorna motioned for Angie to follow her into the mayor’s office.
The bodyguards closed the doors behind them.
The mayor stood up. “Mario, seems we have a serious problem that has to be resolved tonight. I don’t have time for this bullshit.”
“Mayor, I have no idea what’s going on here.” He looked over at Angie. “This woman is an alarmist. Disregard anything she has to say. She is mentally unstable.”
Angie marched up to Mario and punched him in the face with all her might. “You are pure evil. How dare you mess with me and my family!”
One of the policemen moved Angie away; Mario wiped the blood off his mouth. “Who knew you had a good right punch. Vinnie would be proud.” Mario snickered.
Angie went at him to hit him one more time and the officer intervened.
“Settle down now,” the officer said as he stood between Angie and Mario.
“Don’t you ever speak my husband’s name again, you scum of the earth,” Angie practically spat. “You’re not half the man he was. And one more thing, Mario. I know you tampered with my niece’s food and got all those people sick.”
Mario’s creepy smile made her want to hit him again, and she was not a violent woman; she’d never punched anyone before.
“If she’s dumb enough to leave the fridge door unlocked, don’t blame me. It was just a little syrup of ipecac, soaked right into the Jell-O,” Mario said.
“You fucking pig! Her catering business has been shut down because of you. But you didn’t just mess with her, you messed with Louie Rago. And when he hears it was you, good luck finding friends in prison.”
Richie shook his head. “You messed with Rago? He’s been here longer than any mayor.
You’ve really dug yourself into a deep hole you’re never getting out of.
You’re on your way to Cook County Jail now.
” Richie read Mario his rights. “We have sufficient evidence to arrest you for multiple crimes. You have put the City of Chicago and the Mayor’s Office in grave danger.
” Richie motioned toward the officers, who handcuffed Mario and started to escort him out.
“You’ll regret this, Mayor,” Mario bellowed. “My people got you where you are. Good luck getting reelected—or with whatever political move you’re seeking next.”
Mario glared at Angie. “I may be in jail for now, but I have a lot of friends.” The officers pulled Mario out.
The mayor looked over at Lorna and Angie. “Now can I get back to work?”
“One more thing, Mayor, if I may.” Angie stepped toward him. “My pension. I need Cookie to change the paperwork tonight so I can leave with the papers in my hand.”
The mayor yelled for his assistant. “Get Cookie here immediately.”
“Yes, sir,” she responded from the outer office.
The mayor sat back down and continued working on his desktop computer, his phone ringing.
He answered the call and started speaking, motioning for Angie and Lorna to leave the room. They took the hint, walked out of his office, and closed the door.
His assistant finished her call and looked up at them. “May I offer you anything else?”
“We’ll just have another sip of that delicious bourbon and wait for Cookie. Any idea how long it will take?” Angie asked.
“She’s still in the building. I’ve sent security over to escort her here. It won’t take long. I instructed her to bring your husband’s file. We’ll get this all closed out in no time at all.” She continued working at her desk, fielding calls to the mayor’s desk and clicking away on her computer.
Lorna looked over at Angie. “One more thing to check off and we’re home free. I heard Ralph’s voice on the other end when you got that call. He has the balls to call you. What did he want?”
Angie took a sip of her drink. “He’s trying to come to the rescue, like I need a man to defend me. I just want this evening behind us.”
Lorna put her arm around Angie’s shoulder. “It will be soon. You were awesome in there. I knew you had it in you.”
Angie took her first deep breath of the night and sat back just as Cookie walked directly into the mayor’s office. Lorna and Angie stood up and followed.
The mayor ended his call and glanced up. “Cookie, please let me see Vinnie Sortino’s pension paperwork.”
Angie watched as Cookie promptly took it out and handed it to the mayor.
“What is Mario’s name doing here as the beneficiary? His widow is standing right here.” He pointed over at Angie. “And she is the rightful recipient.”
Cookie looked over at Angie and back at the mayor. “That is correct, sir.”
“I don’t want to know how anything happened; we can deal with that later. You need to put her name on it right now, notarize it, and hand it to Mrs. Sortino. Am I clear?”
“Clear, Mayor. I’ll take care of this right now. We can settle this out front. I don’t want to waste any more of your time.”
“Thank you.” He looked over his eyeglasses at Angie. “Are you satisfied?”
“Yes and thank you. God bless you, Mayor Borden,” she added. Angie followed Cookie out.
Richie was waiting in the outer lobby as Cookie changed the paperwork, notarized it, and handed it to Angie.
“When can I expect to get my money, Cookie? I thought you were trying to help me, not help Mario steal my pension. Shame on you!” Angie exclaimed.
“I had to turn a blind eye to a lot of things here to keep my job. I just didn’t know what to do about Mario. I’m so sorry that you got hurt in the process, Angie. You’ll get your money by the end of the week, I promise.” Cookie’s shoulders slumped forward.
“I’m tired of waiting, Cookie. I’ll come right back to the mayor’s office if it isn’t, I can promise you that.
And I will keep my job here at the City Hall until I decide to leave, no questions asked.
” Angie drew herself up as tall as she could, standing in front of Cookie with her hands on her hips.
“This is not how I wanted things to turn out, Angie, you have to know that,” Cookie said.
“Yet here we are. I had to bother the mayor and Richie just to get what I was owed.” Angie glared at Cookie.
“Please accept my apology, Angie.”
“I’m in no mood to forgive you or Mario right now, or likely ever,” Angie said.
“I need to head back to my office. Is there anything else?” Cookie looked at Richie.
“You’re good to go, but the mayor will need a full report on his desk first thing in the morning on just how this name change happened,” Richie instructed.
“I will make sure that happens.” Cookie left in a huff.
Angie examined the paperwork, with Lorna looking over her shoulder. “Looks like everything is in order here, Ang. Let’s get out of here.”
“Hold on, ladies,” Richie interrupted. “I’ll need those papers you showed us and also the originals. Tonight. A deal is a deal.”
Angie reached in her bag and handed him the copies. “The originals are at my bank. As soon as Mario is convicted and behind bars, you have my word you will get them. Not a minute sooner, are we clear?”
“That could take some time; our court systems can be slow.”
“If it’s not done before the elections, then this goes public.
No one is off the hook until he is behind bars, my family’s safety is guaranteed, and the pension money is in my bank account.
I don’t care how you get it done.” Angie and Lorna started to walk out of the mayor’s office, leaving Richie standing there.
As they were leaving, Angie looked over at the mayor’s assistant. “Please thank the mayor for his help and thank you for all you do for this fine city. Say, do you like homemade pesto sauce? It’s one of my specialties.”
The assistant gave Angie a perplexed look, but then said, “Actually, I do, and so does the mayor.”
Angie and Lorna left the office, grabbed a cab, and headed to the Rosebud to celebrate.
“I’ll call Louie Rago in the morning and straighten this thing out with Last Bite,” Angie said.
“But first, my strong woman warrior, we celebrate you!” Lorna put her arm around Angie and they walked out of City Hall.