Deep(32)
This was the first time Nick had a place at the Council table. He found himself both impatient with and fascinated by the rigors of tradition.
Finally, after more than an hour of toasting and eating and talking about families and complaining about global politics, the staff served large portions of tiramisu with small glasses of Frangelico.
If nothing else, the diners would be too full of food and drink to argue much, Nick thought.
When the waiters cleared the dessert plates and brought coffee urns and cups out, Enzo Marconi leaned his elbows on the table. Marconi was a short, thin, almost completely bald Sicilian in his mid-sixties or so. Ben and Enzo were close allies and, though Nick didn’t know for sure, it was likely that the two older men had spoken off the record already.
“Thank you, Ben, for the wonderful meal and the excellent company. But we’re together today not just for good food and conversation. You have a problem, and you need our help.”
Told earlier to stay quiet, Nick sat back and observed the families at work.
Ben nodded at Marconi. “We do have a problem. We all have a problem. Alvin Church and his band of vermin. They don’t understand the world they’re in, and they are making trouble for us all. He tried to kill my nephew a few days ago. He did kill a good soldier. And hurt innocents.”
Conti asked, “Is that confirmed? It was Church?”
“Yes. We got a message from him Saturday, claiming credit.”
“What was the message?”
Ben gestured at Nick, who answered. “The registration card from the SUV.”
Gabriel Sacco cut in. “These are Providence problems—caused by your beef with Auberon. You handled that beef off the record. And every one of us had something going with Auberon. All that business was broken.”
Ben tipped his head, once, acknowledging Sacco’s complaint. “You’re right. But that was a problem that needed to be handled quickly, and I did what had to be done. I’ve made my apologies to the Council, and I’ve paid my restitution to the families.” He looked around the table. “Yes?” All the bosses, including Sacco, nodded. “We move from here, then. That the void would be filled by this gutter trash none of us expected. Yes, Church’s attention is on the Paganos now, and it’s us who are taking the brunt of the damage. But I know you’re hurting, too.”
Sacco spoke again, clearly looking for a fight, and Nick turned his antennae toward the reactions of the rest of the table. Something was happening here. “Again, this is your weight. You should not be asking for help. You should be offering it.”
Conti, too, was spoiling. He could see it in the nod of the man’s head. Nick sat forward, and Ben gave him a warning look. Fred, to Ben’s left, caught Nick’s eye and made a bare shake of his head. Neither needed to have worried; Nick wasn’t going to interrupt. But he would have information for later, if he needed it.
But his uncle was on fire today. “It’s good you say this, Gabriel. I’m not here to ask for help. I am here to offer it.”
His assertion changed the tone of the table immediately. Ben had their attention. Though the conversation was lively, and though Sacco and Conti looked for holes everywhere, by the end of the meeting, the Council was in and had a plan. It was a long-view plan that would take weeks to play out, but it was solid.
Alvin Church didn’t know it yet, but all the families were coming for him. His days were numbered.
~oOo~
Nick’s new driver, Sam, was not quite as big as Jimmy but big enough and plenty mean. He’d been promoted from bagman to this more high-profile position. Nick knew he’d been a great bagman because nobody ever fucked with him. So he was probably great for this position, if he could handle the long stretches of empty time without getting bored.
Was that what had happened to Jimmy? Had he gotten bored and wandered off? Had Church’s men simply gotten lucky? Had they been following Nick around with a bomb, waiting for their chance?
No. They’d known when they’d have the chance. Somehow, they’d known. They’d known where Nick would be. They’d known where the SUV would be. They’d known they’d have opportunity to place the bomb, and Jimmy never left his post without letting someone know and getting covered.
That meant that somebody close to Nick was in on it. Not Jimmy. Jimmy had been killed, and his warning had saved Nick, Brian, and Beverly.
Brian was Nick’s oldest, closest friend. Their relationship transcended the Pagano Brothers. And Brian had been with Nick all night. He’d covered him with his own body.