Meanwhile at the Matteo’s Bar & Bistro, Jimmy was bound and trapped in the basement of the neighborhood hot spot.  When he first gained consciousness and he didn’t like what he saw.  Every instinct in his body told him this was a mob hit in the making and he had to get out of there.  As Jimmy scanned the room for a door or window, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.  Quickly, he put his head down and pretended to still be unconscious.  The footsteps were slow and purposeful, they were also heavy, either the guy was huge or he was carrying something.  “Careful, the boss said he wanted everything done exactly his way,” a raspy voice said.

“I know what I’m doin,’” answered a very annoyed and out of breath accomplice.  Jimmy listened hard for any other voices or footsteps but heard none.  He still couldn’t be certain there were only two of them, for all he knew there could be ten more thugs upstairs.  Escape wasn’t looking good.  As Jimmy listened on, he heard dragging sounds then a thud, quickly, he peeked and saw a body being dragged across the floor.  His heart raced as he tried to discern whether this person was dead or alive.  Did it really matter?  There was nothing he could do, he was chained up like a dog which meant, this poor SOB was on his own.  Closing his eyes again, he kept his head down and made sure not to move.  As the men took off for God knows where, Jimmy was left alone with a body in the middle of the basement floor.

It was only after the door closed did Jimmy dare to open his eyes again.  Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down and looked around for a way to get out of his chains.  To his disappointment, the room was completely bare, these guys were smart and weren’t taking any chances.  They seemed to have thought of everything; the windows were covered, the door was steel, and there were shackles on the floor as well as chains hanging from the ceiling.  However the most disturbing part of the décor were the drain traps on the floor.  It was becoming crystal clear to Jimmy; this place was a slaughterhouse.  Like cattle, he and his new roommate were going to be butchered.  This was not how he imagined his life ending.