Repaying the Mafia’s Dept

TRISTAN I’m trying not to think about who could have seen us.

I’m trying to tell myself it might have been one of the guards but the tension I feel stirring inside me tells me otherwise. I have a bad feeling and usually when I have these bad feelings I tend to be right.

I push it out of my mind along with everything else when Dominic and I head out for the journey back to LA. It’s going to take us well a little over two hours by jet to get there.

Dominic has given me the silent treatment all morning and he’s avoided looking at me. He’s just been distant.

At least talking to him would help establish if it was he who saw me with Isabella.

When we get to L. A I do feel like home. there’s a comfort about being back that’s good for me.

almost like a rejuvenation.

That was what the island should have felt like but I never really got to enjoy it as such.

We saw Massimo just before the meeting so we were able to talk prior to everyone arriving. It was good to talk amongst ourselves as brothers. And, if I’m honest just good to see him.

He wants us to keep an eye on the Mazzones.

The problem with not knowing who to trust is exactly that. It creates anxiety because you have no idea what to begin to look at to establish why you shouldn’t trust a person. It’s not like it will be as easy as looking to see if a person sweats too much or talks too fast, or even says shit that doesn’t make sense.

The men coming here today are going to be men who would have experience in the art of manipulation.

We gather in the meeting room first then our guests come in ten minutes later.

There’s Viktor and Aiden representing the Romanov family and Franco and Lucca representing the Mazzones.

As I see them I keep my eyes peeled on them. I’ve never met with these men before, but I’ve seen them at Syndicate functions. Back then they looked normal, standard, but then most traitors do. You can’t usually tell who the traitor is until he’s ready to show his face.

They are all we’re expecting so when they walk in and the door closes, Massimo rises to start the meeting.

“Thank you all for coming,” he states and looks at each of us.

We all nod to acknowledge the greeting.

“I’ve gathered you here today because you are all that remains of our fathers who formed the Brotherhood. As this is the first time some of us have gathered to sit down and discuss the next steps I take this time to express my condolences for our losses. It was a great loss and should never have happened.”

Viktor and Aiden are the only ones we’ve had dealings with since Massimo decided to reform the Syndicate. They were the first to contact and the first to suspect foul play.

“My thanks to you,” Franco says.

“The reason for our meeting today is twofold. The first is to establish my plans for the future and also to discuss certain things that need to be hashed out before that future takes place.”

Out the corner of my eye I can see Viktor giving Franco a hard stare. He suspects him. He thinks the other traitors are them. I’m not so sure now that I’ve seen them.

I’m not getting the vibe that they’re anything but grateful to be here.

I glance at Dominic who looks focused. He’s staring ahead at Massimo.

“I am reforming the Syndicate and I will keep most of the structure as it was because those practices were set in place for a reason. Even though or fathers are gone everything is still laid out as it was. Some practices are still in motion. Those have not fallen away. It’s just rebuilding who we are, who the Syndicate are and who will fall part of the Brotherhood.”

“When you say you intend to keep the structure as it was do you intend to have no leader?” Lucca asks. “The old ways did not include a leader.”

Massimo shakes his head. “That will be the first thing I change. I think that was one of the things that led to the downfall. I appreciate having equality, but this Syndicate will be formed of those I trust. It will operate on trust not equality because sometimes you can’t have that. It can’t exist in a group like the Syndicate because you need someone to take charge and enforce order where it needs to be enforced.” Massimo explains and I feel proud of him for doing so in such an eloquent way.

I always thought the same. I didn’t think a group of crime families who were all as cut throat as each other could live by principles of equality the way other groups might. We’re not wired that way and that’s why they had traitors amongst them. people who wanted power and to overthrow the system as it was.

“So what now?”

“What now is this,” Massimo states and gives him a piercing glare. “I started with us today because I felt that you should have a chance to be part of what your fathers built. But there are traitors amongst us and I will not have traitors part of my Syndicate.”

As if he’s just reaching for a pen from his back pocket, Massimo pulls out his gun and aims it at them.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

They look at each other in panic. They would have left their guns at the door.

The only people allowed guns in here were Viktor and Aiden.

“How dare you do this?” Franco counters. “We have done nothing.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. It’s been brought to light that an Italian family were working with the culprits who blew up the Syndicate. The only people that points to is you guys.”

“No,” Franco argues. “Massimo I know you. We’ve met before on several occasions. I think on those occasions you would have seen the type of man I am. Neither me nor anyone who falls part of my family were responsible for any of what happened.”

I actually believe him. I do. I haven’t had dealings with him like Massimo has but he sounds like he’s telling the truth.

Massimo alternates pointing his gun between Franco and Lucca.

“The thing about traitors is this, you don’t know who they are or when they’re telling truth from lies. Get up, get to your feet,” Massimo orders and they obey.

When they stand I can tell they’re shit scared. They look like men about to face certain death.

I think this would be the part where if either were guilty they’d make some kind of move to defend themselves but they’re just following orders as Massimo motions for them to move to the wall in a standard interrogation lineup.

Massimo signals for us to join him so we do.

Me first then Dominic at my side. Viktor and Aiden come to my right. We all aim our guns at the men standing by the wall. Men who look afraid.

Fear ripples from them and sadness at what might come next.

They both look afraid, and sad, both are signs I always take to mean something for good or bad.

The guilty never tend to look the way these men do. Either they’ll jump straight to terrified when they’ve been caught out and beg for their lives, or they’ll have a nonchalance about them as they continue to lie about their innocence.

“I want to hear what dealings you have with Mortimer Viggo,” Massimo demands and they look shocked.

“The leader of the Circle of Shadows would not converse with men like us. You know how he feels about Italians. It’s obvious he swayed Riccardo because they both needed each other,” Lucca says.

“You might have needed him too,” Massimo replies. “That man will work with whoever can benefit him the most and he’s always been seeking to eradicate the Syndicate. Tell me now what part you had to play in helping him, or you’re fucking dead.”

“Massimo please don’t do this,” Lucca says.

A chorus of begging begins but I hear something strange against the background of conversation.

It’s a chopping sound…no. That’s not it.

Thrip, thrip, thrip.

Blades slice through the air, beat against the air. Dominic hears it too, then we all do.

It’s too late when that happens because we see what’s making the sound.

A military helicopter hovers in front of the floor to ceiling glass windows with a man dressed in full black carrying a machine gun.

No one can just walk into D’Agostinos Inc without being searched, so it makes sense for our enemies to fly.

Fuck.

As the bullets spray smashing the glass, I dive to my left covering my brother. I knock Dominic to the ground getting him out of the way and we both flip the table to cover ourselves.

Panicked I look for Massimo and see he’s shooting back from behind the pillar near where he stood. He’s covering himself as best as possible but he’s in the open. The pillar isn’t wide enough.

it’s not going to be enough to shield him from all those bullets. Franco is shooting from the ground.

Lucca and Viktor got hit. They’re on the ground with bullets all over their bodies. Dead. They’re dead. This is shit, more shit we never saw coming. There’s never been an attack on the company like this before. How the fuck did this happen?

Aiden is behind the desk with the overhead projector shielding himself the way we are.

Franko rushes to Massimo but both are too exposed. Franco gets hit and that’s when I know I have to do something or I’ll lose another brother today.

I turn to Dominic who looks as freaked out as I do. “Don’t you dare move. You fucking hear me?”

I tell him and I thank God when he nods.

I look back to the shooter. I have just one shot but I have to get in the right position to take it, and quick.

On three I run out and fire one lone bullet that gets him in his head and he falls from the helicopter.

I continue shooting hitting the pilot as he tries to get away and the helicopter spirals out of control.

It flies off at first then comes down hard over in the park, crash landing with a loud explosion that shakes everything like an earthquake.

A hollow takes residence inside me as I watch the flames go up and the people around scramble for protection.

This was planned. Someone knew we’d be here.

I turn around returning my focus to those in the room both the living and the dead.

A rush of sadness washes over me as I focus on Aiden holding Viktor’s lifeless body. Tears stream down his cheeks. Tears he tries to hold back but they flow from the pain of loss. They force through until he caves and breaks down.

I see Viktor’s face and grit my teeth. He was a good guy, one I felt I could trust. He loved his father the way we loved ours. In our world it’s not often to get supportive fathers who love their sons the way ours did.

The work he and Aiden did helped us to find out the extra information we needed to have about Mortimer.

Clearly this is him. This is his doing. Trying to kill us again and launch an attack on what remains of the Syndicate.

Massimo… Dominic is with him. Both look to me with worry in their eyes.

This was planned because of who was here. The people who were about to reform the Syndicate.

That was a plan to kill all of us, me included.

The three remaining D’Agostino brothers, the Romanov brothers, and the two remaining brothers of the Mazzone family.

Franco and Lucca Mazzone are both dead.

I was right. they weren’t guilty. They weren’t traitors. Not the ones we’re after.

They weren’t part of the secret plot, and not the kruv’ omerta’.

So who was it?