Chapter Three
Mean Streets
by scullysboy
Copyright December, 2001
Sonny spent one more night on the roof, but Louie was unable to sneak up and join him. His parents piled the whole clan into the station wagon, and they headed off to visit Gloria's parents in Queens for the weekend. Louie offered Sonny his key, so his friend could sleep inside that night while they were gone, but Sonny declined. "I need to get used to sleeping on the streets," he told Louie. Louie felt like crying, but didn't want to seem like a wuss. He also figured that Sonny hadn't shed a tear in years. He had developed an uncanny ability to shut off his emotions; a defense mechanism against the horror his life had become. The one saving grace about Sonny being out on the streets, Louie mused, was that he would no longer be the punching bag for a maniacal cop. Sonny watched from the rooftop as the Cerullo's drove off. Louie, tucked way in the back of the wagon, put his hand up on the glass. Sonny saluted him back. He crawled into Louie's sleeping bag, which he planned to leave behind in the morning. Lying there, alone, safe from anyone's ears and eyes, Sonny Corinthos cried himself to sleep.
The rising sun woke him early. He got up, rolled up the sleeping bag and gathered his meager possessions into the laundry bags his mother had given him. Walking quickly and silently down the fire escape, he then jumped the few feet from the end of it to the ground. As he walked, he reached into his jeans and pulled out what little money he had. It was enough for a donut and the subway, at least. After purchasing the donut at the corner, he headed to the subway. He stood, looking at the map of all the lines, and tried to decide where to go. Wherever it was, it needed to be outside of Brooklyn; outside of Deke's domain and that of his police cronies. Somewhere where he could breathe freely for the first time in eight years; somewhere he could try to find a better life. His eyes drifted across the map of all the burroughs, and came to rest on Manhattan. "Yeah," he said quietly, "that's it." Manhattan was where all the big men lived. The men with so much power and money, they put the wise guys in Brooklyn to shame. These were men that were respected, men that were feared. Men that no one would dare to raise a hand to, or to lock in a closet. Sonny had no idea how, but he would become one of them, or he would die trying. He boarded the train and it sped off, taking him to his destiny.
He emerged on Broadway near Madison Square Garden. The sheer volume of people on the streets blew him away. Fear gripped him and he wondered, "how will I survive in this?" He began walking and soon found himself at Bryant Park. It seemed a decent enough place to sleep, so he took note of its location and walked through it. As he walked, he noticed a family of four sitting on a bench. Rather, the mother and father were sitting, and the two boys were running around nearby. Noticing how distracted they were watching the kids, Sonny also saw the mother's purse was sitting unattended, next to her on the bench. It was effortless to walk behind them and scoop it up. He was far away before they even noticed what had happened. Crouching behind a shrub, Sonny explored it's contents and was happy to find several hundred dollars. "Tourists." He took the money, but left the traveler's checks, then tossed the purse aside so it could be seen from the walking path. He had no wish to ruin their vacation; they looked like a nice family. But it was more money then he'd ever seen and it would buy him a safer place to sleep for several nights. "I can do this," Sonny told himself. He'd steal until he had enough money to live on; enough money that he could respect himself and be worthy of others taking notice. Then, and only then, he'd seek out those important men, and ask for an opportunity to prove himself. And he prayed to God, they'd give it to him.
Sonny walked and walked. The further he got from the Park, the more run-down the neighborhoods became. Soon, he thought, he'd be in the right price range for a room for the night. As he approached one corner, he noticed two women standing there. They were unmistakably hookers, and Sonny braced himself to walk past them. They watched him approach, and one spoke to him as he expected. Back in Brooklyn, the streetwalkers used to talk to him whenever he passed. Of course, there were none in his neighborhood; they wouldn't ply their wares on the street where a cop lived. But they were nearby, and Sonny would see them from time to time. "Hey honey, want a date?" Sonny stopped and looked at the woman. He would have normally kept walking, but they were blocking the sidewalk. So instead, he shyly smiled at her and replied, "no thank you ma'am." The two women burst into laughter. "Ma'am? Oh that's rich! Did you hear that Simone?" The other woman responded, "yeah I heard Marlene. What a gentleman we got here!" "What's the matter kid, no money?" Marlene asked seriously, looking intently into his eyes. Sonny blushed under her gaze, "something like that." "You know," she continued, "you're so handsome, I might even give you a freebie." Sonny couldn't help but smile widely, showing his dimples to their full effect. "Would you look at that?" Simone commented; "aren't you just the cutest thing?" Marlene stepped closer and reached out to touch Sonny's face with her hand. "What's your name?" Sonny winced at the gesture and took one step back. "Sonny." "Even his name is cute," Simone said. Marlene kept looking him right in the eyes, but lowered her hand down to her side. "Well Sonny, are you sure there's nothing I can do for you?" Sonny cleared his throat, "actually, could you tell me a place to stay?" "For the night, or longer?" "Longer." "There's the Excalibur Hotel, it's two blocks that way," Marlene pointed behind her with her thumb. "It's a dump, but the doors lock, and it's cheap." Simone offered, "Marlene lives there kid. Maybe you can stay with her." Marlene shot her a "shut up" look. Something about this kid made her want to take care of him, like a mother, although she was barely old enough to be one to him. "Thanks," Sonny said; it sounded like as good a place as any. He waited for Marlene to step aside and let him pass. As he did, he said, "see ya." Marlene watched him walk away and whispered, "yeah, see ya kid."