don’t offer a last name and he doesn’t react. I see a spark of something in his eyes.
No, I’m not a dumb lackey.
“Do you know who I am?” He arches a snowy eyebrow.
“No, sir, I can’t say I do.”
His eyes widen. “Yet, you are here risking life and limb?” He leans back and studies me.
I feel like a creature on a slide in a lab. “For Vita and her brother.” Mostly her brother.
“Ahh, this is about family then. You have formed a new family while you were gone?” He directs the question to Vita.
She nods.
“Charles, you may call me Giancarlo.”
You could hear a pin drop in the place. I think he just handed me down an honor. Unsure how to respond I look to Vita. “I thank you, and so does Vita.”
“Vita? This is your new name?” Giancarlo’s voice is gentle as he speaks to her and holds her hands in his.
“She says she’s no longer the same person.”
Sadness fills the older man’s eyes. “Yes, I can see that. But what does not kill us generally makes us stronger, no?” Giancarlo looks past her to the crowd. “This is why I am here tonight. Because I do not want to see any more happy, healthy families cut down in their prime. The potential wasted that night still sickens me.” He scowls and shakes his head. “This has never been our way. Lorenzo has turned the Lorello family into a twisted, unreliable laughingstock. I sat back. It wasn’t my place to try to change that, not when you all cowered and bowed to him. Now, you come to me with the rightful heirs to the family and some balls.” He inclines his head and shrugs.
The gesture reminds me of Robert Dinero.
“So, I say yes. But we do it my way. You say he has your brother, Matteo?”
“Yes, sir,” I answer.
“Then we need to move fast and strike hard. Have we dug anything up about his whereabouts or contracts?” Giancarolo moves to the table in the back.
Then…just like that, the air turns light. We’re all in this together, bound by a single purpose, to overthrow Lorenzo and get Houdini back. Giancarlo is a general heading into a war-room. The doors have been locked. The blinds are drawn and once again everyone is seated.
“We have one shot at this. I’ve gathered my connections here. They await my words. Who’s working on locating Matteo? He is the one that can sway those on the fence.”
Vita releases a shaky sigh. So far, Wesson has come up with zip. We’re trying to make sure the leak didn’t come from our own end. Did he always know where Houdini was, or was it happenstance? Little goes down by chance in our world. If it’s an in-house problem, it’ll be settled in-house. But after the flush we had with Sampson, it doesn’t seem likely.
“What was your brother doing in New Mexico?” Giancarlo asks.
Vita looks at me and I nod my head.
Dallas knew it might come to this. He wants to keep things open and honest. Last thing you want is people with this kind of power feeling deceived, or disrespected. That would mean trouble we can’t handle. We’re still trying to pull ourselves together. Dallas has done a lot toward stabilizing the situation. People trust him. He knows how to be stern when he needs to be, and chill when he doesn’t.
“Making a living as a nomad,” I answer.
“Nomad? Is that a gang?”
“It’s a person affiliated with a motorcycle club who has the ability to come and go as he pleases. Think of it as a contracture for hire who only works for one company.”
“Ahhh, he left the life, but the life never left him.” Giancarlo looks pleased. “If this so called club is there for him, why are you here?”
I repeat the speech Dallas delivered to me, almost verbatim. “Because this isn’t our world. We don’t know what we’re up against, and making moves blind, will get you killed.”
“Wise words.”
“My President is a wise man.”
“That remains to be seen,” someone says. The others snicker around the table.
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep my comments to
No, I’m not a dumb lackey.
“Do you know who I am?” He arches a snowy eyebrow.
“No, sir, I can’t say I do.”
His eyes widen. “Yet, you are here risking life and limb?” He leans back and studies me.
I feel like a creature on a slide in a lab. “For Vita and her brother.” Mostly her brother.
“Ahh, this is about family then. You have formed a new family while you were gone?” He directs the question to Vita.
She nods.
“Charles, you may call me Giancarlo.”
You could hear a pin drop in the place. I think he just handed me down an honor. Unsure how to respond I look to Vita. “I thank you, and so does Vita.”
“Vita? This is your new name?” Giancarlo’s voice is gentle as he speaks to her and holds her hands in his.
“She says she’s no longer the same person.”
Sadness fills the older man’s eyes. “Yes, I can see that. But what does not kill us generally makes us stronger, no?” Giancarlo looks past her to the crowd. “This is why I am here tonight. Because I do not want to see any more happy, healthy families cut down in their prime. The potential wasted that night still sickens me.” He scowls and shakes his head. “This has never been our way. Lorenzo has turned the Lorello family into a twisted, unreliable laughingstock. I sat back. It wasn’t my place to try to change that, not when you all cowered and bowed to him. Now, you come to me with the rightful heirs to the family and some balls.” He inclines his head and shrugs.
The gesture reminds me of Robert Dinero.
“So, I say yes. But we do it my way. You say he has your brother, Matteo?”
“Yes, sir,” I answer.
“Then we need to move fast and strike hard. Have we dug anything up about his whereabouts or contracts?” Giancarolo moves to the table in the back.
Then…just like that, the air turns light. We’re all in this together, bound by a single purpose, to overthrow Lorenzo and get Houdini back. Giancarlo is a general heading into a war-room. The doors have been locked. The blinds are drawn and once again everyone is seated.
“We have one shot at this. I’ve gathered my connections here. They await my words. Who’s working on locating Matteo? He is the one that can sway those on the fence.”
Vita releases a shaky sigh. So far, Wesson has come up with zip. We’re trying to make sure the leak didn’t come from our own end. Did he always know where Houdini was, or was it happenstance? Little goes down by chance in our world. If it’s an in-house problem, it’ll be settled in-house. But after the flush we had with Sampson, it doesn’t seem likely.
“What was your brother doing in New Mexico?” Giancarlo asks.
Vita looks at me and I nod my head.
Dallas knew it might come to this. He wants to keep things open and honest. Last thing you want is people with this kind of power feeling deceived, or disrespected. That would mean trouble we can’t handle. We’re still trying to pull ourselves together. Dallas has done a lot toward stabilizing the situation. People trust him. He knows how to be stern when he needs to be, and chill when he doesn’t.
“Making a living as a nomad,” I answer.
“Nomad? Is that a gang?”
“It’s a person affiliated with a motorcycle club who has the ability to come and go as he pleases. Think of it as a contracture for hire who only works for one company.”
“Ahhh, he left the life, but the life never left him.” Giancarlo looks pleased. “If this so called club is there for him, why are you here?”
I repeat the speech Dallas delivered to me, almost verbatim. “Because this isn’t our world. We don’t know what we’re up against, and making moves blind, will get you killed.”
“Wise words.”
“My President is a wise man.”
“That remains to be seen,” someone says. The others snicker around the table.
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep my comments to
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