CHAPTER EIGHT
The next morning was quiet as a mouse as Reno, Sal, and Dom, along with Sal’s big brother Tommy Gabrini, and their uncle Mick “The Tick” Sinatra, were all downstairs in Reno’s expansive office inside his hotel on the Vegas Strip. All wore their usual tailored suits. All looked like businessmen of the highest order, which they were. But they weren’t there as businessmen. They were there as stone-cold gangsters. And every one of them looked so somber that when Trina walked in, she thought she had entered a wake.
Mick and Tommy were leaned against the side wall standing side by side, seemingly in deep thought. Reno was leaned against the edge of the desk, his legs spread out before him. Sal and Dom were seated in front of the desk, their legs folded. They were all spooked even though no one in the family was harmed physically by the intrusion. But emotionally, it was a wakeup call.
Trina sat on the edge of the desk beside Reno. They fought like cats and dogs. But in times like these, they were as united as white on rice. But her presence didn’t lift the mood. She fell into the somberness too. “I just got off the phone with Big Daddy,” she said. “He wants us to keep him posted.”
“Years ago,” Reno said, “my penthouse was attacked right here at my hotel. I declared then that I would do everything in my power to make certain it never happened again. But it happened again. What if we had all been asleep? They were within moments of taking out the rest of our security. And they would have taken them all out had Dom not thought fast on his feet and grabbed those AKs.”
“Good move, Dom,” Sal said as he rubbed his neck. “Good looking out, kid.”
“Yeah, Dom, good decision,” said Tommy.
Dom thanked his two uncles, both of whom were steeped in that mob life, but he would have loved to hear an attaboy from his Uncle Mick, by far the most powerful mobster in the world. But he got crickets from Mick.
Which offended Trina when she saw Dom glance at Mick and Mick continued to remain silent. “You know what? You need to cut that shit out,” she said to Mick. They had a history. Mick once wanted Trina for himself.
That was why everybody in the room got tense. Mick seemed genuinely confused. “Cut what shit out?”
“Drop it, Tree,” Reno warned his wife.
But she never backed down from anybody, including Mick. “You can at least tell my son he did a good job, Mick. He saved our lives. He did a good job.”
Mick frowned. “A good job? He defended his family, which was what he was supposed to do. What the fuck I look like giving him a pat on the back for doing what he’s supposed to do?” Then he looked pointedly at Trina and Reno. “Y’all raising some soft-ass motherfuckers up in this bitch.”
Reno said nothing. He knew there was no winning against a vicious man like Mick the Tick. But Trina didn’t care. “We’re trying to keep our boys alive. If that makes them soft, then that’s just tough. At least they’re alive.”
Everybody was shocked when Trina went there. They all knew that Mick had two sons that had been killed because of that gangster life.
Mick immediately pushed from that wall and hurried toward Trina, undoubtedly to slap the shit out of her, but Reno got between his uncle and his wife. Dom and Sal jumped up too.
But Reno was toe-to-toe with Mick. “You will not touch her. That’s not happening," Reno said firmly. “Not a hair on her head. You will not touch her, Uncle Mick. And I mean not ever.”
The two men continued to stare at one another. Both men respected each other, and both men stood their ground. But it felt like a standoff. Like a situation that was not going to end well. Until a knock was heard on the office door, and Robby Yale, Sal Gabrini’s underboss, walked in.
“Hey everybody,” Robby said as he looked curiously at the standoff.
But it was Reno who spoke, although he was still staring at Mick. “Did you find that bastard, Robby?”
“Not a peep,” he said, and both Reno and Mick looked at him, effectively ending the standoff.
“He’s in deep underground,” Robby continued. “And when I say deep, we looked everywhere and under every rock even remotely associated with him. Nobody knows where he is.”
Reno exhaled. “Damn. How did he get that deep that fast? This shit just happened.”
“And that’s the answer.”
Everybody turned when they heard that voice. Carmine Gabrini, Reno and Trina’s youngest child, was standing in the doorway of the office. He walked on in.
“If you don’t get your ass out of here,” Trina said angrily.
But Reno stopped her. “Just wait a minute, Tree. We need answers.” Then he turned to his son, who had an actual genius IQ. “Make it plain, Carmine. None of that philosophical shit. Just tell it to us plain.”
“The laws of probability suggests,” Carmine began, but Sal cut him off.
“Didn’t Reno tell you to keep it simple, Carmine? Keep that shit simple. Nobody wanna hear about no probabilities.”
“With all due respect, Uncle Sal--”
“Just get to the point, Carmine!” Reno blared.
Carmine shook his head. “They perish for lack of knowledge.”
“Carmine!”
“Okay! The reason, at least more likely than not, which is and always will be probability , is that Brocco “B.B.” Bernardi was able to go into hiding so quickly because he had planned the attack before the attack ever happened.”
Reno’s face was frowned. “What are you nuts? We know that already. We know he had to have planned a hit like the one he pulled off on the PaLargio.”
“Even further back than that,” said Carmine. “Probability suggests that the fight Paul Bernardi instigated with Jimmy was pre-planned.”
Reno frowned. “How the hell he’s gonna pre-plan for Jimmy to kill his heir?”
Carmine hit his open palm against his forehead. “The result wasn’t planned, Father. Of course not.”
“So what you’re saying,” said Trina, “is that Paulie was supposed to kill Jim? That their fight wasn’t by accident?”
“That’s exactly what he’s saying,” said Mick.
When Mick said it, they all looked at him. “But that doesn’t make sense,” said Reno. “It was about Paulie’s girl. It wasn’t pre-planned.”
“You don’t know that, Reno,” said Sal. “Maybe B.B. did plan that confrontation.”
“But why would B.B. want Jimmy dead?”
“It may not be about Jimmy,” said Mick.
They all looked at Mick again. “What do you mean?” asked Trina.
“From what I’ve found out,” Mick said, “that attack on the PaLargio was planned to take place after Jimmy was shot. The go order was supposed to take place as soon as confirmation was given that Jimmy was down. Then they would attack the penthouse. And since it was a Saturday night, your busiest casino night, chances of you being home were zero.”
“So you’re saying Trina was the target?”
“I don’t know for certain, but that’s what it feels like, yes. And like Carmine said, he was already in hiding to wait for the blowback.”
Everybody was stunned. Especially Reno. “But why would B.B. target my wife?”
“I don’t know that yet, but it undoubtedly has something to do with you.”
Reno’s heart dropped. It always had to do with him. Trina slipped her arm between his arm.
“But after Jimmy turned the tables on Paulie and killed Paulie instead, then Brocco had to mourn his son’s death.”
“Which took about two seconds,” said Sal.
“Right,” said Mick. “Then it became revenge all the way, on top of whatever the first reason was. So he gave the go order for the PaLargio attack. But he had to have already been in deep hiding by the time Paulie and Jimmy got into their fight. His men were already waiting to launch their attack on the penthouse, but they had to wait for the call from Brocco to get it done.”
“But when Jimmy won that fight and took out Paulie instead,” said Tommy, “it threw it all into disarray.”
“Right,” said Mick. “He mourned his son’s death, then his anger took over. He told them to go full steam ahead. Carmine’s right.”
Dom looked at his younger brother. Uncle Mick was always backing up his ridiculous theories no matter what they were. It was as if Mick had much respect for Carmine even at his young age and little to none for everybody else. It confounded Dom more than it upset him. “How did you figure that out?” he asked his kid brother.
“The laws of probability has to be considered,” said Carmine, “even though nobody wants to hear that. There’s no way it could have been a spur of the moment fight the way Jimmy was explaining it. Paulie came out of that house party confronting Jimmy because he was there on a mission.”
“How do you know all the details?”
There was a hesitation. “I overheard certain conversations,” Carmine admitted.
“You overheard my ass,” said Dom. “His slick butt is always eavesdropping on every conversation in this house. Every single one. Nobody’s secrets are safe around him.”
“Whatever, Dommi,” said Carmine dismissively.
“So since you know all that,” said Reno to Carmine, “where’s B.B. hanging out?”
“I’m not a psychic, Father,” said Carmine. “I have no idea.”
“Then get your ass on out of here,” said Reno.
Carmine’s handsome face looked hurt that he had been helpful but still wasn’t appreciated by his father. Reno saw the hurt before anybody else could comment and went over to his son and gave him a hug. “I’m proud of you, son. You gave us good information. Now get out of here,” he ordered, and Carmine, now smiling, left the office, closing the door behind him.
“I didn’t see that one coming,” said Reno. “You already knew that too, Uncle Mick?”
“Not until Robby said Brocco was in deep hiding. You can’t get that deep that fast unless it was planned out well in advance.”
“But why would B.B. want to come after my family?” asked a now puzzled Reno. “I didn’t have any beefs with him ever. What’s that about?”
“I don’t know, but it’s a problem,” said Mick.
“We’ve got to find out what the problem is,” said Trina.
“No we don’t either,” said Mick. “We’ve got to find Brocco Bernardi, snuff his ass out, and fuck the problem.”
They all agreed with that.
“Where do we begin?” asked Reno.
“You gotta get Trina out of here because she might have been the target of the PaLargio attack, but you’ve got to take Jimmy and Dom with her because of Paulie’s death” said Mick. “That’s where we begin. They’ve got to go into deep hiding just like Brocco and his family did. Because I’m willing to bet my house that Robby and the guys couldn’t find any of Brocco’s family members either. Could you, Robby?”
“Not a one,” said Robby. “And we were looking for them just as hard as we’ve been looking for B.B.”
“You’ve got to go in deep, Reno,” said Tommy, “to protect your family. And you can’t be out searching for the bad guys and protecting the home front. That’s not going to work in this case. And the PaLargio has already been compromised. You can’t stay here.”
“Why not?” a troubled Reno asked. They all looked at Mick because they wanted to know what the difference was here too.
“If he could figure out a way to penetrate this Fort Knox of a penthouse, then he could penetrate anywhere he finds you. You’re the target, you, Tree, and Dom and Jim now too. We’ve got to find him before he can find you, and we will find him. That’s our job. Protecting your family is yours.”
“But where are we going to go?” asked Reno. “I haven’ t gone underground in years. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“I have just the place,” said Sal. “A place I saved up for times like these.”
“What place?”
“I own a house there and a diner. You’ll come in with the cover of having lost your shirt in real estate, or some shit like that, and now you’re coming there to start over. Trina’s uncle left her that house and diner, and you figured that would be a good place to begin again.”
“Why Trina’s uncle and not mine?”
“Just trust me on that, Reno, alright?” said Sal. “Trina having an uncle that cares enough about her to leave her property sounds more real than you having an uncle that gives a shit.”
Everybody hesitated, and then they all laughed.
“That won’t be my cover story,” said Reno. “Bet that.”
“You’ll live the ordinary lifestyle,” said Sal, “for only a couple weeks if that long. But the more you immerse yourselves into the town’s culture, the less likely anybody will get suspicious. So hang out with the townspeople. Go to church on Sunday--”
“ Church ?” asked Reno.
“Yes church,” said Trina. “I been trying to get you in one for years. So yes church.”
“But remember, Reno,” added Tommy, “there won’t be any security anywhere. Nobody but the people in this room will know where you guys will be hiding out. It’s up to you and Dommi to provide the security.”
“Which he’s not going to need to provide in that backwater town,” said Sal. “You have to drive damn near an hour just to get to it, and then you have to turn around and drive an hour just to get back to civilization. It’s tucked away. Nobody drives through that town. Nobody comes to live in that town. So make sure you get your story straight about why you suddenly own that diner.”
“Do I look like some fucking novice? I know what I’m doing,” Reno declared.
“But what about Maddie and Mariah and our grandbaby?” asked Trina. “They’re on a Mediterranean cruise with my parents. How are we going to get them?”
“I flew in extra security and they’re on the ship as we speak,” said Mick. “And since Sal already had a detail on that cruise, too, that group is well-guarded. They won’t be able to leave the boat until we find that bastard, but they’re one-hundred-percent safe.”
“I’ll call Jovie,” said Sal, “so that he fully understands that he won’t be able to contact Sophia until we catch B.B. Because you guys will need to get out of here asap, under heavy incognito shit, and leave cellphones and all that technological crap behind. Besides, there are no cell towers where y’all are going.”
Reno opened his suit coat and placed his hands on his hips. He looked up at the ceiling.
“It’s the only way, Reno,” said Tommy, whom Reno respected above all others. “Your job is to keep your family safe, and as this attack just showed, this penthouse won’t cut it. You’ve got to go deep under and trust us to find Bernardi. That’s the only way to avoid a war.”
Reno and Trina looked at each other. Both were disturbed and flustered, but both understood. They had to do what they had to do.