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EPILOGUE - MARCUS
This was all that I wanted- almost. But the family was in good hands with Uncle Carmine. He was loyal. He could be trusted. He proved it. And anyways, Gianni still reported to me, so did Paulo. I had my eyes and ears open, and waited.
There was enough to distract me with Anna and the baby. And I added to it by buying a farm in the Catskills, and an old bar/restaurant/ vaudeville club. The plan was to renovate it and open it back up, I needed something close by to run and escape to.
Family and friends kept coming round to see the baby and congratulate us. Most of these people I didn't trust being alone with the silverware, never mind be around my family. But I played the good host for as long as I could. It was something of a relief when Michael and Sara were able to come down and spend a few days with us. We took them to the place I had bought. Michael and I needed to talk anyways.
They brought gifts, clothes, college fund donations, and Sara cooed at the baby with Anna. Michael was more disinterested. Partly because of how much Sara was fawning over the baby, partly because of work, he had phone calls to take, to ignore, to return. He was distracted and busy, and I’m sure part of him didn't even want to be here.
"Want to see the bar?" I asked him. "It’s still a work in progress but you’re a man who can see potential."
"Gladly," he said warmly. I poured him a beer and we played pool, and his phone kept ringing, but he ignored it. Finally he was relaxed.
"Congratulations on the election, I know you're here to congratulate me, but I missed your triumph there." I told him as I poured a nice scotch for him.
"Yeah well, you on my arm may not have played well with the press anyways. Honestly, I'm a little worried just being here. I don't want to know about your business and the family and all of that, but it's just becoming a liability for me you know. For my political career. I'm just being honest here with you."
"I know, brother. But I'm out of it now. I've divested myself of that world, you don’t need to know, but Carmine has control now. And Sal is a pretty good second in command. I have my own family to worry about now, you know. Besides I'd rather be a liability to you in other ways."
He laughed at that, "How a liability? Are you going to bring back burlesque and make me shut you down?”
"Hopefully. I need the excitement of running a place like this. I may dabble in acquiring companies too, but this is good for now.”
"Excitement will be the death of you brother."
"I hope not.”
"Any companies in mind? I guess it may be a conflict for me, if you’re involved in any shady companies or ones that do business with the state, I’d have to make sure me and the Governor were far away from it."
"I have a few in mind, they might be shady, but none are involved with the state, at least not openly. Anyways I'm glad we have time to talk. We may not get to see each other very often what with our busy schedules."
"We're family, we'll make time for each other," he added quickly, and seemed earnest.
"Family by name and blood, but not family anymore."
"What?"
"The company I just purchased was a small one, MMM Inc. It was called."
His eyes widened.
"They have an interesting history, and I'm told, were a supporter of your campaign, though maybe not on the books."
"Marcus,"
I stopped him before he lied to me, "Shut up. I know it was you Michael. I know you and Jackie were working together. I don't know why but I know more than I want to know. More than you want me to know. You're dead to me now. I have no brother. Know that you had your chance and missed and now it's my turn. Know if anything should happen to the people I care about, it will go very bad for you and the people you care about. Now finish your fucking drink and we'll go upstairs and say our goodbyes. You have urgent business or something, and we will never see each other again hopefully. If we do, one of us will not walk away from that meeting. I have enough dirt on you to take down you and the governor now, but that’s safe, locked away, buried in the desert if you like to imagine it.”
He feared me, I could see it in his eyes, and the way he looked away, down at the ground, thinking of something to say. “Actually, finish that drink, that’s too good a scotch to pour out, and take your last shot, it looks like you're behind the eight ball."