Wolfe
It was evening when Don Mancini and Elio joined us in one of the warehouses at the vineyard, where they stored their guns and grenades and ammunition—all the good stuff. Andre, Salvatore, and Leo were there too, along with a few other guys, our crew for the night.
Don Mancini was dressed for dinner, in slacks, loafers, and a button-down dress shirt.
He had a Patek Phillipe watch on his wrist, a vintage design like he’d had it for a long time or he just liked that old-fashioned style.
“We eat. We negotiate. If terms are met, we make the exchange. If not, we leave. Simple as that.”
No one said a word, like they understood the plan, even though there was no doubt this would be more complicated than that. Nothing was ever smooth in this business—which was why I loved it.
“Let’s head out.”
We left in a line of vehicles, one of the shipping trucks with the vineyard logo on the side coming with us to carry the guns to the buyer.
The meeting was in Catania, an hour’s drive from the vineyard.
I’d already told Francesca about the job tonight and assured her I would text her the second the work was done.
You know, because the woman was obsessed with me.
Leo drove, while I sat in the passenger seat, the two of us sitting in silence as we followed the Mancini Vineyards truck.
“Want to hit up Taormina after this?”
“Why?” I asked blankly.
“What do you mean, why?” he asked. “Bars. Booze. Women. Need I say more?”
I already had a fine ass woman at home. But I couldn’t exactly say that. “Let’s just focus on the job.”
“You never go out with us.”
“Because I’m busy.” With your sister.
“You said you were working on a girl or something?”
I turned to him. “Huh?”
“At the dinner at the house,” he said as he drove with one hand, eyes on the road. “I asked if you had a girl, and you said you were working on it.”
And I was still working on it. “Oh yeah, didn’t go anywhere.” I thought it was best to say I didn’t have anyone because then he’d ask a bunch of questions about that, and I wasn’t prepared to do that dance.
“Then you should definitely go out with us.”
“Can’t you pick up women on your own?”
“Wow, okay,” Leo said. “Forget it.”
I suddenly remembered this was my woman’s brother, so I should probably maintain a good relationship with him.
Maybe even try to be his friend? I wasn’t sure how friendship worked because I’d never really had a friend.
Cosa Nostra had been my entire family, and they’d betrayed me without a second thought.
Santino and I still talked, but was he a friend or a work acquaintance?
I wasn’t sure. I was clearly not good at this sort of thing.
“Come on. I was fucking with you. I’m down—but first round is on you. ”
He perked up right away. “Deal.”
We arrived in Catania, drove down a couple streets to the restaurant. The truck pulled over, and we saw Don Mancini get out of the vehicle up ahead and head to the restaurant. Leo and I got out, while the others stayed with the truck, packing under their jackets and in their jeans.
We both trailed far behind Don Mancini, trying to be subtle since we were in public, with people on the sidewalks.
They arrived at the restaurant and checked in with the host before they were escorted to the table. We were given a different table a couple feet away, out of earshot but close enough to blow brains to bits if necessary.
We did the dance, ordering wine and entrees like we were out to dine.
“The two guys in the corner are with Hector,” I said. “You can’t see them because they’re directly behind you.”
“You’re sure?”
I nodded.
Leo took a peek at his father over his shoulder, the four men sitting at the table over candlelight handling business. Everyone else in the restaurant didn’t have a clue about the deal going down and the truckload of guns parked on the street. “Seems to be going well.”
“Yeah.”
We drank our wine and tried to blend in, but neither of us spoke to the other because we strained our ears to pick up on the quiet conversation at the boss’s table. They ordered appetizers like they intended to be there for a while.
Our entrees came out, and we started to eat.
I noticed a table of women across the room that kept looking over at us. We didn’t need the attention during a deal, but there was nothing I could do about it. I hoped they didn’t come over and make my life difficult.
“Hope no one thinks we’re on a date or something,” Leo said as he spun his fork in the pasta.
“We have bigger things to worry about right now, Leo.”
The conversation at the table turned a bit heated. The bodyguards in the corner pivoted their positions a little differently, like they wanted to make it easy to reach in and grab their guns from inside their jackets.
Leo abandoned his food and focused on the conversation.
Don Mancini said something about them being cheap, and they fired back and called him greedy. It went back and forth for a while, and it seemed like there would be no end in sight. Hector was decades older than Vincenzo, just like Luigi had been. Vincenzo was unusually young to be a don.
I left my chair and walked over.
“Wolfe,” Leo said in a hushed voice.
The bodyguards reached for their guns in their jackets but didn’t pull them out.
I grabbed a nearby empty chair and placed it at the head of their table before I took a seat.
“Let me save you both some time, alright?” I turned to Hector.
“Don Mancini is the only arms distributor in Sicily, and that monopoly is growing. If you want something cheaper, then deal with the Russians. But remember—you get what you pay for. Our product is designed by the military. What does it matter how light your wallet is when your gun jams and you end up dead? And then your wife loses everything because your enemies take it all from her when you aren’t there to protect her.
She’ll end up a seamstress, working her fingers bloody into her nineties. You want that for her?”
Don Mancini initially flashed me an annoyed look, though he didn’t make himself look weak by reprimanding me. But once he glanced at Hector’s reaction, that ire started to fade.
“You know how many other meetings we have this month?” I asked Hector.
“If you don’t want our product, we don’t give a shit.
There’s a line of men who do. So don’t waste our time if you’re too cheap to do business.
” We didn’t have a line of men who wanted our product—yet. But that would change quickly.
Hector studied me before he looked at the don. “Where did you find him?”
Don Mancini stared at him like he didn’t appreciate the question. “He was a stray.”
“And no one is more loyal than a stray who finds his forever home,” I said. “So are we doing business or not?”
Hector stared at me for a moment longer before he looked at Don Mancini again. “The highest we’ll go is—”
“Pay our asking price or leave.”
Elio turned to me. “Wolfe—”
“Do we look like vendors at the market?” I snapped. “We’re not here to barter or negotiate on price. Take it or leave it. Waste another moment of the don’s time, and I’ll skin your two bodyguards over there and turn them into pork rinds.”
Hector looked at Don Mancini like he would contradict me.
He didn’t.
Hector then turned to his associate, and they had a quiet conversation exchanged in whispers before he looked at the don again. “Alright, we accept the price. But we would like to discuss a wholesale price in the future as a possible third-party distributor—if you’re open to the idea.”
“I’ll consider it,” Don Mancini said. “Now let’s finish our dinner and make the handoff for dessert.”
We transported the guns to their nearby warehouse. Cash was paid, and the deal was done.
Before we parted ways, Don Mancini pulled me aside. “Wolfe, I appreciate your loyalty to me, but you have to remember that your intervention undermines my authority. I know you mean well, but you need to take a step back.”
I gave a nod in understanding. “I know you have everything under control, Don. I just get irritated when people jerk our chains.”
“I understand.”
“I hate when people waste time like it’s not the most precious commodity in the world.”
He gave a nod.
“You took time out of your life to meet him. You don’t need him, but he needs you. And to spend so much time asking for a fucking handout is obnoxious. The price is the price—get the fuck over it.”
“I know we have different approaches to business, Wolfe. The blood of Cosa Nostra is still red in your veins.”
“Yeah…a bit.”
“I prefer the longer road of patience and calm, even if it takes twice as long to reach the destination. I’m in the business of relationships, not sales.
Because of my vast network of contacts, I’ve been able to remain the biggest seller of both wine and product.
I have a good name and a great reputation. I want to keep it that way.”
“I understand, boss.”
He stepped toward me and gave me a pat on the shoulder. “You kept us alive when we faced off with Luigi. I should have listened to you then. But in situations where we aren’t about to get our heads blown off, leave it to me.”
“Yes, Don.”
He patted me on the shoulder again and gave me a slight smile. “Goodnight, Wolfe.”
“Goodnight, Don Mancini.”
He walked back to Elio, and his men followed him to the vehicle before he drove off.
“I think my dad is starting to like you.”
I turned to see Leo appear beside me. “I don’t want him to like me. I want him to respect me.”
“Well, you already accomplished that.” He turned to Andre. “You coming out with us tonight? We’re hitting up Taormina.”
“I’m in,” Andre said. “Salvatore?”
“I love Taormina,” he said. “Not passing that up.”
Guess this was a guy’s night, then. “Let’s do it,” I said, feigning enthusiasm. It was hard to get excited about going out when I didn’t like most people, and I already had the woman I wanted waiting at home for me. So, pretty pointless.
Leo and I got back into the SUV, and Leo drove.