My latest novel in progress. Seriously, folks, I'm looking for ideas, constructive criticism. I mean, if there's something you totally dig, that's cool too. But HELP!

"Here's the deal, gentlemen. The gang we're dealing with is new, but it's members are old hands in the business. These are the names we have. Nicoletti the Rat. Used to deal in information to keep outta trouble. These days he's getting the specs for the gang's jobs. Johnny Boy Kapusta. An up and coming musician, a ladies man, and a con artist. "Tricks" Small. He's an explosives expert and a dead shot. Bob "The Builder" Giammatteo. Strong guy, used to do construction work. But he's smart, too. "Noises" Delatorre. A real motor-mouth; he could talk your ear off without telling you a darn thing. He looks innocent, so they use him as a lookout a lot. Mel Beckman. A gorgeous dame, but a heartless killer. She's one of the best things they got going for 'em. Jamie "Stroff" Stroffolino. Another musician, a drummer. He can crack a safe in no time flat. And finally, Franco Zani. The boss, the mastermind. He's notorious, never been caught. He's chosen his people well. It's our job to round them up."

In the back room of a club, a meeting was being held. The thin man known as Nicoletti the Rat was growing impatient"So we gonna start or what?"
"Course not Rat, I mean we gotta wait for the others, you know that ya been here long enough; but I bet they're doin' another encore, Stroff loves playin' up the audience. Sounds like a big crowd, didja see? I didn't have a chance to, not even for a drink you know 'cause I was runnin' late and you know how it is-"
"Noises!"
"Yeah, Boss?"
"A little less, ok?"
"Sorry Boss, but you know m…"Noises trailed off under the boss's glare. The only sound was that of cards being shuffled by Tricks' deft fingers. Just then they heard resounding applause and Johnny Boy, Stroff, and Mel came in from off stage.
"Sorry 'bout that, Boss," Johnny said, flashing a grin. "But they were loving it tonight."
"We were ON!" Stroff started a beat on a chair. "That crowd got me wired!"
"I'm so glad you enjoyed yourselves," the boss said evenly. "Now would it be too much trouble to get on with this meeting?" The trio took their seats. "Rat, what have you got?"
The thin, rat-like man stood up. "Alright," he began, "this could be a good job. But it's tricky."
"That's the best kind," Mel replied impishly.
"Of course, hunny. Can I finish now?"
"If you quit calling me 'hunny'.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"And that's it."
The boss turned to his explosives and safe experts. "Tricks, Stroff, can you handle it?" Still shuffling his cards, Tricks nodded.
"Absolutely," Stroff added.
"Noises,-"
"Yeah Boss, sure, I know," he replied, rolling his eyes. "I stand watch, look innocent, I know the deal, but gee Boss, there's gotta be somethin' else I can do, I mean ain't there somethin'-"
"Your input is appreciated, Noises. But the lack of it would be appreciated more. As I was saying, I need you to do some distracting, get the guard out of the way without any violence. Can you do that, Noises? Nod for me."
He did so, though he could hardly contain himself. Distractions were his specialty.

The Boss went on. "Johnny Boy, I want you to call Bob The Builder, pull together a means of transport."
"No problem, Boss. You want a decoy in case?"
"If you can manage it. Don't lose sleep over it."
"Don't worry about me," Johnny said with a wink.
At this point, Mel stood up. "What about me, Boss?"
He gave her a half smile. "Always so eager. Sorry, doll. We need you here, covering at the club. Next job, I promise."
"Then it's settled? We go in two days." Rat concluded.
"Excellent," said the boss. "Then I suggest we adjourn. Noises, go get your drink before you pass out."
"Right Boss, thanks Boss!" Noises gasped as he rocketed out of the room. The others rose and drifted out after him, chuckling.

The club was, as they say, hopping. The room was filled with lively music and cheerful chatter. There were shouts of delight and cries of defeat emanating from the gaming tables. A man who had just entered could not help but smile, the mood of the place was infectious. "Bob!" A jovial, cultured voice hailed him.
He turned and extended a hand to his friend. "Johnny, good to see you. Sorry I couldn't get here sooner."
"It's cool," Johnny replied. "I just finished playing. Come on, let's sit down. I gotta fill you in."
At the bar Noises and Rat were indulging in another round. The former jabbered on about something or other. Rat didn't pay much attention after a point. He let his eyes drift around the room. They locked on the entrance.
"…the only thing about Mel is she'd probably break a guy's nose instead of slapping him like your average dame-" Noises broke off. "Rat, what is i-"
"Shut up, Noises. Get the boss. NOW!" As the now silenced chatterbox hurried to comply, Rat got up to intercept the group that had just entered the establishment. He tried to remain calm, but his hand was shaking ever so slightly. "Mr. Caparelli," he greeted the man at the head of the group, "always a pleasure to see you h-here. You boys like a d-drink or s-something, maybe a-a-"
"We'll have to decline at the moment. I'd like to see Mr. Zani, catch up on things with him. If that ain't a problem…"
"Caparelli, what're you doing in my club?" said a voice behind Rat.
"It's a free country, ain't it Zani? I came to see how you were."
Zani's face gave little indication of what he was thinking. "Well, that sure was considerate of you. As you can see, business is booming and I've never felt better. Mr. Nicoletti, why don't you get some drinks for these gentlemen?"
Caparelli shook his head. "There's another reason I came. Some of the boys noticed Mr… ah… Nicoletti, here, doin' some snooping 'round a certain part of my territory. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but he is your specs man, is he not? You planning a job on my turf, Zani?"
"Now, Paolo, have I ever intruded on your turf? Eh? You know me better than that!" Caparelli nodded, reluctantly. "I thought we were friends, Paolo. And you come into my club, accusing me like this?"
I'm sorry, Franco. See, this is why I came here first. These knuckleheads never know what they're talking about. Forgive me?"
"Of course." The two shook hands and had every appearance of having resolved the issue. But Nicoletti the Rat knew that appearances could be very deceiving. Sure enough, he heard Caparelli make one final statement, under his breath.
"If you try anything in my territory, Zani, I will find out and you'll wish you'd never been born before I'm through with you." With that, Paolo Caparelli and his associates exited the club.

From her vantage point on the second level, Mel breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the rail. The boss had managed to keep things civil, this time. She felt a tap on her left shoulder that almost made her jump. Ah, but she would know that tap anywhere. "Sorry, Tricks," she said, turning to her right. "Not this time."
"You're good," he admitted. "But someday, when you most expect it, I WILL get you."
"When I MOST expect it?"
"Of course." He smiled mischievously. Mel laughed, though in retrospect it had come dangerously close to a giggle. None of the guys knew how to make her laugh quite like Tricks. It was then that her friend's face took on a serious expression. "Look, Mel," he said, "it's not because you're a dame. The boss knows you can handle a job."
She looked at him in surprise. "Oh, I… uh, I know. I don't mind. Next job."
"You sure? 'Cause I thought you were disappointed." It felt as though he was looking right through her. "I don't know what the boss is thinking, but I wish you were coming with us… I could use some help getting my stuff together. If you've got time to lend me a hand…"
"Of course!" she replied with a little too much enthusiasm. "I mean,.. I gotta do something on this job. You guys can't expect to have all the fun."

Now that the immediate threat was past, Rat and Noises had joined Bob and Johnny's table. "Any of you see Caparelli come near here again, you come get me," Nicoletti warned the others. "Got it? Don't do nothin' stupid."
"Sure, Rat. But, we could handle him easy, ya know. He ain't that tough."
Rat gave Noises a look. "Never underestimate Caparelli. He's a regular magician when you get on his bad side."
"A magician?"
"Sure, Noises," Bob answered, leaning in for effect. "You know, he makes people…" a flourish of the hand, "disappear." Noises gulped.
Johnny laughed and chucked him on the arm. "Honest, Noises, ya scare like a kid!"
"I ain't foolin' around, Johnny Boy," Rat growled. "You get Caparelli on you, and I won't do a thing to help you."
"Alright, Rat. Alright." Johnny shrugged. "Yeesh."

"And here's Stroff to lighten the mood," said Bob, quickly changing the subject. "What's going on, Stroff?"
"Any of you seen Tricks around? We were supposed to get planning, but-"
"Come to think of it," Noises interjected, "where'd Mel get off to?"
Rat got a devilish twinkle in his eye."Those two missin'? Did ya check all the secluded booths? Dark corners? Behind the shrubs?" His joking innuendo had the desired effect on his compatriots.
"You're horrible," said Johnny, though he couldn't stop laughing. "Anyway, those two are never gonna admit it."
"You never know," The Builder grinned. "We don't want to leave them to their own devices for too long. Come on, let's go find 'em."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Stroff, gimme a hand. Somebody, get some water. Come on!"
Tricks heard running footsteps and worried voices. His head hurt. He opened his eyes and tried to bring the faces looking down at him into focus.
"He's waking up!" said Stroff.
Tricks accepted a hand and was pulled to his feet, a little too quickly. Holding his head, he noted that one of their number was not present. "Mel! Where is she?" he demanded.
"She ain't here, Tricks," Noises replied, "I saw her with you before. What happened? Ya look terrible-"
Tricks seemed to ignore him. He staggered to a table, got out his cards and started to shuffle them. The casual observer might have been puzzled by this. But his friends knew that he simply needed to calm his nerves. After a minute, in which no one dared to speak, he began to relate the events leading up to his unconscious state.
"These thugs showed up, wanted Mel to go with 'em. She was shakin', I never seen 'er scared like that. I tried to take 'em on. Stupid…I let myself get angry, I swung like a rookie." He rubbed his arm. It was still sore from being twisted behind his back. "Next thing I know, I'm on the floor, you're all here and she's gone." His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were going white.
"Woah, Tricks, take it easy. You're just one guy, it ain't your fault!"
"No, I shoulda'… I could'a taken 'em. I was an idiot."
"We'll get her back," said Zani. "Listen to me, Small. You can't sit here bein' sorry for yourself, we need you."
Tricks didn't answer. He tucked his cards in his pocket. He pushed back his chair and stood up. And, looking the boss in the eye, he nodded.
"That's our boy!" cheered Stroff. The entire group clapped and slapped him on the back, at which he flinched, but in general it made him feel better.

Mel could still remember the first time she met the rest of the gang. Franco Zani had been building up his group, and was searching for an extra gun he could count on. If that person could be of use in his club, all the better. Why he'd decided to look her up, she never really understood. But for whatever reason, that night he and the boys had come to offer her the job. She was singing in a modest joint then, doing alright, but not as well as she'd have liked.
After her set, a thin man she'd never seen before came up to her. "Excuse me, Miss…ah, Beckman?"
"Yes?"
"That was some performance. You're really good, I mean it."
"Thank you, Mr…"
"Nicoletti. Roberto to my mother, Rat to everyone else," he replied, offering his hand, which Mel shook firmly. She noted a slight change in his expression; he was impressed.
"I think I've heard about you," Mel said.
"It's possible. You get enough people mad at you, your name gets around.." he gave her a half smile. "Perhaps you've also heard of Franco Zani." Her eyes widened slightly. "Well, he is here, and would like very much to talk to you, if you have the time."
"Uh, sure!" She followed him over to a table at which his associates, and his employer, were seated.
"Miss Beckman, this is Mr. Zani-"
"Our feahless leadah," joked one of the others.
Rat continued. "And the wise guy here is Stroff. That's Bob, Johnny, Noises-"
"Alejandro Guillermo Delatorre, at yer service," Noises interjected.
"He never shuts up. And that's Tricks; he don't talk at all." The man in question nodded solemnly. It never failed to crack up the rest of the gang. "Least, not unless it's somethin' worth sayin'."
Zani took it from there. He explained the offer to Mel, and she accepted without a second thought. The chance for a better gig, not to mention the work on the side. She could pull the trigger if it came to that, and that was important in Zani's business. Sure there was danger, but life was dangerous even if you didn't go looking for trouble.
The guys were probably trying to find her. Mel was a woman of action, she'd prefer to get out of this one on her own, prove herself to the boss. But what if she couldn't do it solo? Would it mean she wasn't as good as the rest of them?

Before they knew it, the aforementioned guys were standing outside a warehouse down town. According to Rat, it was currently used by the Dunnigan gang,and Tricks' description of the thugs was unmistakeable. Rat had had run-ins with Eddie and his brother a few times before. If he knew them, they'd come here first, and the other five members would be there as well. It was a less than savory location, with general refuse strewn about and a vague stench all around. There was a single entrance that they could see, a large sliding door.
"Well, now what?" Bob inquired, glancing up at the dingy structure. "Guns blazing?"
"S'good a plan as any with these guys. Be ready for a fight, though." Nicoletti took aim at the lock on the loading door, and then a deep breath. Come on, he told himself. Not as though you've never done this before. Even so, he was not looking forward to this encounter. Here goes nothing. "Ready, boys?" He didn't wait for a reply.

BLAM!

Eddie Dunnigan jumped at the sound and whirled around to see the door of the warehouse slammed aside. He shouted to his brother and went for his gun, but a second shot spun it out of his reach. "Da Rat!" he growled in a fierce brogue. "Get 'em, boyos! Colin, ye lazy idjit, do somfin'! Ge'a move on!"
Colin really hated his older brother sometimes. But he decided to take his anger out on Zani's boys instead. If it weren't fer blood…, he thought bitterly as he dove into the fray. "O'Leary!" he called behind him. "Get 'er outta 'ere!"
It became apparent that guns were out from this point. The boys would meet Dunnigan's lads in a fair fight, and that was agreeable to the Irish, who in fact preferred the hands-on approach.(not done with this paragraph yet)
Tricks felt his rage rising as soon as he laid eyes on the Irish devils who'd beaten him earlier. But no, he had to control himself if he expected to fare any better this time around. Off in the background, beyond the fighting, he saw a wiry fellow attempting to drag Mel out through the back. "Oh no you don't," he said under his breath, charging through a gap in the brawl. Mel was putting up a good fight; that would give him time.