Saturday Midnight- Our Lady of Mercy Hospital- The Bronx

Dan stood by the hospital floor admin office reading the post-surgery report on Bling and Ian.

Ian Bower: Serious Condition. Vital signs are unstable. Concussion and a punctured lung, burns on back, broken left leg.

Michael “Bling” Alleyne: Stable Condition. Patient is conscious but uncomfortable. Broken left arm, broken rib, burns on hip and leg.

The two brutes survived, barely. The doctor told Dan they were, “Two tough sons of bitches who weren’t ready to die!”

Dan smiled, “You have no idea how true that is, Doc.”

Although Dan had a love-hate relationship with Bling and Ian, deep down he respected them. Two hardened killers, so fiercely loyal to their precious Rica that they took an explosion for her.

That's gangster~

Surrounded by twenty of Tara’s goons in the hospital, Dan signed off on the medical paperwork to pay for Bling and Ian’s treatment.

The least I can do.

After speaking with the doctors, Dan walked to the two-man room Bling and Ian shared on the hospital floor. Only three visitors were allowed inside at a time, so he could only view them through the door window. He saw Tara holding Bling’s hand while she and Kitty talked to him. On the other bed, Ian lay unconscious, breathing through a respirator. Rica sat next to Ian on a chair, laying her head on his shoulder, crying.

“She’s been crying all night.”

Dan turned around, “Reyna? How long have you been here?”

Reyna ignored Dan's question and peeked in the room. She glared at Tara and Kitty with a scowl. Dan caught it and stood back from her with his head down. Ashamed of his role in this current situation. Reyna finally spoke to him.

“Dan, was this all part of your plan, or is this all fallout?” she asked, pointing in the room.

“I-” He had no answer, only excuses. “Reyna, this doesn’t have to involve Rica anymore.”

She squinted at him, shifting her weight on one leg, “Is that what you think, Daniel? Look inside that room. Rica’s guys are lying in bed broken because you and those selfish outlaw sisters want to play this game with Lazlo.”

Dan shook his head, “Reyna, I’m not playing a game. I'm trying to deal with this in a way that won’t cause a bloodbath in the street-”

“Why? I have news for you, those guys don’t care what you want, Dan!” She locked eyes with him. “You’re messing with those killers' livelihood and your plan is to get them to sit down at a table with you?”

“Well.” He thought about how stupid his plan sounded spoken like this, however, “Yes. If I can get Lazlo to just sit down-”

Reyna shook her head at Dan and stepped away from him. She opened Bling and Ian’s room door and called Rica.

“Baby, let’s go.”

Rica raised her head off of Ian, “Eh? But mom, I wanna stay-”

“Rica!” Reyna growled her name.

Rica snapped alive, glancing at Tara and Kitty for protection. Tara tried to defend Rica, “Yo Reyna? What’s your problem?”

“Shut up, Tara! Rica, let’s go!”

Rica, outranked by her mom, tussled Ian's hair. She then hugged Bling before saying goodbye to Tara and Kitty. Dan stood in the hallway as the scene unfolded. And as Reyna and Rica stepped out of the room, Reyna had some words for Dan.

“I told you my kid was a handful, and now you want her to not be involved after this happened to her favorite morons?” She looked at Rica, “Seriously Dan, have you met my kid?”

“Eh?” Dan didn’t catch Reyna’s meaning but glanced at Rica’s sorrowed face. The child appeared to age a year in a day. Her eyes dried out from continuous crying.

Reyna moved in close to Dan, “Do you think I can stop her if she does something crazy, hmm?”

Dan hesitated to answer her trap question. “Reyna, crazy is bad. I believe someone needs to do something smart to stop all of this, don’t you think?”

“Someone?” Reyna answered, backing away from him. “Daniel, I think you already know where this is going.”

Dan gaped at her, “Hunh?”

Before he could ask a question Reyna turned her back on him and faced Rica. She lifted her daughter’s chin with her finger, forcing eye contact with her. When Rica looked up, her expression changed from sorrow to rage. The teenager turned to Dan as if to say something. But Reyna spoke first.

“We’re leaving, baby,” she said while walking off toward the hospital elevators.

Rica closed her mouth to follow her mom, but stopped in front of Dan, “Good night, Mr. Capra.”

Rica? He stared at her. “I’m sorry about all this, and...Good night.”

She nodded and walked toward the elevator. Once the doors opened she turned one last time and called out to him.

“Mr. Capra?”

He happily answered, “Yes, Rica?”

“Remember, that in the end…” She stepped in the elevator.

“In the end? In the end what?” He yelled.

He couldn’t see her, but before the elevator door closed, she answered him.

“In the end, Mr. Capra, it’s just business.”

...