Sylvia merely stared at him as if he were something that had crawled out of a sewer pipe, then turned her back on him.

Pop's face flushed in anger and his eyes narrowed. Ellen found herself shuddering at his look of hatred, and it was only then that she remembered her original opinion of the fat old man – that although he was not as sadistic as Vito, he was probably the most evil of all of the convicts in spite of his jolliness and friendly outgoing demeanor.

Less than a minute later, Rex moved restlessly away from Billy's side and growled low in his throat. The gang leader gave a hand signal and the dog went over to the corner and lay down.

Vito, looking white-faced and frightened, slunk into the room. His ferrety eyes blazed with murder as they swept over Ellen. "You fucking bitch," he said, and had taken one step toward the cringing young blonde when Billy's fist hit him on the side of the head. He literally flew through the air and bounced against the wall, where he slumped almost unconscious to the floor. Then, shaking his head to clear it, his eyes a cauldron of madness, he put his hand in his pocket and withdrew a switch blade knife which he flickered open. The seven inch blade leapt to life, ready to destroy.

Stone-faced, completely unconcerned, Billy pulled a revolver from his waist band and pulled back the trigger with a soft click. "Tell everyone goodbye, Vito."

Only then did the wiry little convict panic. "No… no, Billy. Don't…" he panted. "Look, I'm throwing away my knife. I didn't mean… I… NO…" The last was a scream as he saw his death warrant written on the gang leader's face. "NO!"