Russo's Trick or Treat

Ardos felt the nose of the gun press against his temple. He growled. This was what compassion got him. He raised his hands defensively. "Alright, alright. I'll do whatever you want. Just don't shoot."

He opened the door back to Russo's, Hattie still on his back with her gun pointed to his forehead. "Sir, she's armed. She just wants her candy."

The restaurant goers watched, scandalized by the sight of the gun. Vito just looked at the scene incredulously.

"...Ardos. You idiot. You're invincible."

...Oh, right. Ardos felt his face flushed. Vito, not tolerating this shit any longer, gestured for the waiters to fetch the dog cage outside. The waiters, terrified of incurring Vito's wrath, scrambled outside and freed the dogs into the night to save time and came back with the dog cage.

Vito strode over to Hattie and yanked the gun from her hands. He snapped it right in front of her, throwing the parts to the side.

"Put her in the cage, boys."

And so it was done.

For a while, there was some semblance of normalcy again. Well, normalcy, with the sounds of a shrieking plant girl in the background. Vito learned to tune out the shrieking until, inevitably, she got bored of it, which was a gift from god. Meanwhile, whenever everyone entered the restaurant and asked about her, he shrugged and dismissed it as post-modernist Halloween decoration. It's a metaphor for global warming. One creepy dude tried to buy her from him, to which Vito simply glared at and shooed out of his restaurant.

Eroshay came in. Vito looked up, a lightbulb going off in his head. He looked at Shay, then at the convict.

"It's a little thief. She tried to steal from us and threatened Ardos with a gun. I'm giving her a time out, teaching her a lesson not to steal from Vito Rosales. You can help me with that." He picked up a chair and placed it in front of Hattie's cage, concocting the most devious form of torture the world has ever seen. He gestured for Shay to sit and handed her Hattie's pot of candy. "Eat it. Make sure she's watching," he said, making full eye contact with Hattie as he said this.