In Bocca Al Lupo

3- Mama Bruno

Following Bruno around, I was hoping that he would just call a taxi or something, not wanting to be stuck in the evening humidity for too long. Unfortunately, he just kept on walking on, making no effort to try and get a taxi or anything. Accepting my fate, I bounced a little bit in my steps, getting closer to Bruno so I wouldn't get lost.

"Soooo... Bruno.... you come here often?"

Bruno gave me a sharp look. Seeing that he wasn't going to talk to me right now, I sighed and frowned. Another few minutes of silence, before something caught my eye in the distance. A dark clad figure shuffled away quickly. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, I shook it off as just some weird Italian emo.

"Aww man, I didn't even get to eat anything," I complained, hoping to finally get a response out of the snazzy looking dude.

"... you can have something soon, don't worry," Bruno begrudgingly caved to my demands, "Just stop talking."

Taking a sharp right turn into an alleyway, Bruno shoved his hands into his pockets and strutted right on down. Getting an antsy feeling, I stalked up right behind Bruno.

By sudden chance, I stumbled over a small rope and got a look behind me. The guy clad in black was holding something, something metallic that was reflecting off some light. A gun.

Realizing what was about to happen, I thought about ditching Bruno and making a run for it. At the same time, Bruno was the guy who was leading me to somewhere I could sleep safely. Feeling my heart beat wildly in my chest, I pushed off my foot and tackled Bruno down to the ground, looping one of my arms over his shoulder and pulling him around so he wouldn't bash his face against the pavement.

BANG

A gunshot rang out, the bullet obviously aimed for one of the two of us. Seeing that he had missed horribly, the man immediately took aim again, myself thinking fast about what to do. Spotting the rope on the ground, I pulled it up and lashed it out, whipping it at his face. Hearing an angry and pained shout from the man, I gripped Bruno's hand tightly and literally pulled him off his feet, sprinting down the street.

Fortunately, Bruno got his bearings some what back together, stumbling behind me as I made a mad dash around, slow enough to bait our pursuer into following.

"Slow done! I'm going to fall-" His protests fell on deaf ears as I tugged him a bit harder.

"You won't! Just trust me, okay?! I don't wanna get shot either!" I shouted back, hoping that would quiet him down again.

BANG

Another gunshot rang out, the bullet lodging itself into a streetlight. Grinning nervously, I spotted exactly the thing I was looking for and dived into another alleyway, hoping that our pursuer would take a moment to catch up. Looking back at Bruno, I forced myself to stop panting for a moment to tell him the plan, "Run all the way into the back. Stall for a few seconds and I'll take care of it. Cool?"

Bruno looked like he wanted to protest, but reluctantly nodded and did as ordered, seemingly understanding the serious tone in my voice. Running to the back of the alleyway, Bruno struggled to catch his breath, halfway doubled over. Hoping he was a good actor, I dove behind a trash can for cover.

Luckily, our pursuer bit the bait just as I hoped he would and stepped in the alleyway. Doing as I asked of him, Bruno held up his hands and began stalling for time.

"Wait a second. What's this about?" he asked. The guy in black stopped in his tracks for a second, before taking a few steps forwards.

"That brat you had along," he said, raising up the gun in his hand, "We almost got away with that hustle, but that goddamn brat stopped it. Nobody does that to us."