Chapter Forty-Two
Michael
Mad Sal pulled the office door closed, and then sat down. He brushed the wrinkles from his slacks as if he really didn’t care if he accomplished the task or not.
When he was satisfied, he looked up. “How long have I been your consigliere?”
Anthony shrugged. “Since the beginning.”
Sal flicked a piece of lint from his sleeve. “Do you value my advice?”
“Arguing with you is like arguing with a stone wall.”
Sal cocked an eyebrow. “Do you value my advice?”
“I do.”
Sal nodded. “God has a lot on his plate, Tony. He doesn’t have time to look down on all of us, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Italy, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Greece, France. That’s a lot of people to look after. Hell, there’s even Christians in China.” He looked at me. “Did you know that?”
I nodded. “I did.”
He met Anthony’s gaze. “So, when God takes time to tell us something, we need to listen. It’s disrespectful if we don’t.”
“You think seeing the light was a sign?”
“A warning sign,” Sal said. “What else can you call it?”
Anthony looked at me, and then at Sal. “I don’t know.”
“Make some changes, Tony.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Anthony said.
Sal waved at me. “You haven’t made it official, but my guess is that Michael is the underboss, no?”
I hadn’t given it much thought since Anthony’s return from jail, but no one officially replaced Gino. Sal was the consigliere, which was an advisor or counselor to the godfather. He was the one person who could oppose the orders of the man in charge without fear of repercussion or retribution.
Anthony nodded. “He is.”
Sal glanced at Anthony, and then at me. “In this room we have the boss, the underboss, and the consigliere. The three men who can make changes in the family. Let’s make them.”
I had no idea what was going on, only that Anthony called a meeting between Sal and me.
“What problem are we trying to resolve?” I asked.
Sal looked at Anthony. Anthony nodded. Sal looked at me. “Tony wants to live long enough to enjoy his grandson.”
I wanted him to live long enough to enjoy his grandchildren as well. I had intended to talk to Anthony about working less, and spending more time with the child once he or she was born.
If it was Sal’s intention to have Anthony either step away or minimize his time with the family, it would no doubt mean I would have to step up, and that was something I didn’t really want to do. I took an oath, however, and I would do whatever the family asked of me.
I sat and silently hoped more work wasn’t in my future.
“I think that’s a good idea,” I said. “What are our options?”
Sal cracked his knuckles. “I think we’ve got one option, and only one. I don’t like it, and I’m going to guess you won’t like it either.”
“Are you talking to Anthony or me?” I asked.
“You.”
The thought of the only option being one I didn’t like wasn’t very appealing. I swallowed hard. “I’m all ears.”
“I’ve thought about it since Tony’s trip to the hospital.” Sal pursed his lips, and then shook his head. “I won’t like it either, but I think it’s the only way to keep everything in order, and profitable.”
“Enough with the suspense,” Anthony said.
“It’s tough to talk with a dry mouth, Tee.” Sal nodded toward the scotch. “Pour Michael and me a glass.”
Anthony poured three glasses and handed each of us one. Sal sipped his scotch and continued, “If a man owns a profitable business in Philly, and his service is one that everyone wants or needs, he opens another branch in Atlantic City. And then, in Jersey City. Allentown. The next thing you know, he’s got branches in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Kansas City.”
He finished his scotch and slid the glass across Anthony’s desk. “But. If he doesn’t open the other branches, he reaches a limit on the outreach of his company. One branch can only yield so much profit.”
Anthony leaned forward. “So, what are you saying, Sal?”
Sal gestured toward his empty glass. “Pour me a glass.”
Anthony poured Sal’s glass full, and then pushed it across the table. Sal raised it to his lips. “Open another branch, Tony.”
“The fuck.” Anthony coughed. “I called you here for solutions, gran coglione. That’s not going to solve my problems, Sal. It’ll create new ones. More responsibility. More headaches. More chances of being arrested, killed, or—”
Sal stood. “Let me finish, you stubborn prick.”
Anthony chuckled. “Sit.”
Sal sat, brushed the leg of his slacks, and then looked up. “There’s a market in Central America that we’re not tapping into. South America, too. Here’s my suggestion. Michael moves to Belize. You move there, too. From your homes in Belize, you run the south branch of the family’s operation. Guns and protection. That’s it. No rackets. No nothin’. Guns and protection.”
Anthony shook his head. “Who runs the Kansas City operation?”
“Cap. I’ll be the consigliere, and the underboss. Or, move another capo to underboss.”
I couldn’t believe Sal thought I wouldn’t like the solution. I’d spent countless hours trying to decide what I could do to make sure I came home every night to my children, and hadn’t come up with any ideas as good as his.
I looked at Anthony.
He took a drink of his scotch, gazed down at the table for a moment, and then looked up. “You talk to Cap about this?”
“It’s not my place, Tony. It’s yours. But. My opinion? He’s ready. Hell, he fought in a war for ten years. This? This is nothing.”
Anthony looked at me. “Michael. You go to Belize to relax. Can you relax with an old man bothering you every day?”
“My children’s grandfather?” I chuckled. “It’d be a dream come true.”
Sal nodded and grinned as if he’d already solved the problem.
“You said you didn’t like this idea. Why not?” I asked.
“If you go to Belize for good, I’ll only see you when I come visit. I hate to admit it, but I’ll miss having you around.”
“Well, if this works out, I’ll miss you, too, Sal.”
Anthony alternated glances between Sal and me. “You two want to kiss?”
“Fuck you, Tony.”
Anthony let out a laugh, and then went stone-faced. He often did that, and did it well. When Sal met his gaze, he cleared his throat.
“I’ll agree to this on one condition.”
Sal shrugged. “I’m listening.”
“If Cap agrees, you act as consigliere. The underboss? The underboss will be Peter.”
I couldn’t believe my ears, nor could I have been happier. To think Anthony had gone from not trusting Peter because of his sexuality, to accepting it fully was a huge step. His time in jail truly had changed him.
Either that, or his spiritual awakening did.
Regardless, he was a different man.
A man I was proud to be in the presence of.
“Consider it done,” Sal said.
“Call Cap,” Anthony said. “It’s time we make a decision.”
* * *
To the knock on the door, Anthony said, “Come in.”
The door swung open slowly, and Cap peered into the room, his face washed with worry. “Guy hates walkin’ into a room when these three fellas are lookin’ back at him. Want the door closed, or open?”
“Closed,” Anthony said.
“Figured so,” Cap said.
Cap pushed the door closed and glanced around the room. “By the looks of the empty glasses, seems I’m comin’ in on the tail end of this one, fellas. Any chance of getting a swallow of that scotch before you hit me with whatever bad news you’re gonna give me?”
With an expressionless face, Anthony poured Cap a glass of scotch, and then pushed it across the table.
Sal clapped. “Have a seat.”
Cap looked down at the floor, sipped his scotch, and then let out a dramatic sigh. “At least there’s not a sheet of plastic on the floor.”
Anthony laughed.
Sal glanced at Cap. “You heard about Tony’s run-in with the china cabinet?”
“Last weekend? Yeah. Good thing Tripp tied that tourniquet, from what I heard.”
Sal nodded. “Before he got the blood, he had a...” He cocked an eyebrow. “A spiritual awakening.”
“I saw the light.”
Cap took a drink, and then met Anthony’s gaze. “Came close to meetin’ your maker, then. In combat, it happened all the time. Guys would get shot, damned near die, and then come back to the platoon and tell stories of seeing their grandparents and shit. Spooky, if you ask me.”
“We’re not here to tell stories,” Sal said in a gruff tone. “We’re here to solve problems.”
Cap looked at Sal. “What’s the problem?”
“Anthony wants to move the operation to Belize. And, he wants to keep the operation here. There’s a hell of a gun market in South America, no?”
Cap nodded. “There is, yes.”
“If the move south takes place, it leaves a hole here that needs filled.”
Cap looked at me. “My man Tripp can fill it.”
“Not if he’s in Belize,” Sal snapped.
“Oh. He’s goin’ down there, too?”
“He’s the fuckin’ gun expert. Tony don’t know shit about guns. He’s going down there to retire.”
“Unofficially,” Anthony said.
“So, Tripp and Anthony go south. Who you thinkin’ you want to use to run this operation?”
“Someone who’s not afraid to show a little muscle. Someone who will whack a fuckin’ rat when one shows his stinkin’ head. And, someone who’s young, and can be in the position of boss for a long fuckin’ time. A man with purpose.”
Cap looked at the floor for a moment, and then met Sal’s gaze. “I’m drawin’ a big blank.”
“You,” Sal said.
Cap burst out into laughter. After he caught his breath, he looked at Anthony.
Anthony returned a stone-faced glare and a flat response.
“He’s not joking.”
Cap looked at me.
“He’s not joking, Cap.”
Cap shifted his eyes to Sal, and swallowed hard. “You want me to be the boss?”
“I’ll be your acting underboss.”
Cap’s chest puffed out. He stood, cleared his throat, and looked at Anthony. “You’re serious?”
Anthony nodded. “We still need to work out some details, but yes. This is our answer.”
“Do I have to drive a Cadillac?”
I fought not to laugh. Of all the questions Cap could ask, that was the one he chose. Cap was Cap, and there wasn’t any changing him, that was for sure.
Anthony shot him a look. “You can drive whatever you want.”
“Well, if I can be a boss in a pickup truck, I’ll damned sure do it. I’d be honored.”
“It’s settled,” Anthony said. “We’ll work out the details in the next few days.”
I couldn’t have been more proud of Cap.
To think we’d made the impression we had in the short time we’d been in the family was unimaginable. It confirmed that I surrounded myself with good men.
And, a man can only be as good as the men he surrounds himself with.