Levi #2
“A few scuffles here and there,” he said with that same unchanging expression that I now realized was probably what made Will so uncomfortable. Doubly so because there was something about the way he spoke. I couldn’t immediately put my finger on it, but it was definitely there.
“Scuffles,” I repeated, finding it an odd word to use because it was old-fashioned, and a bit prissy for someone who looked like they worked hard, fought hard, and probably played too hard.
“In the past week alone, there have been numerous fights that have bled out onto the streets. Some of them with businesses that do not need your...assistance.”
‘Protection money’ might be an old-fashioned idea, but it was alive and well in the modern day.
One of the first things I did upon reaching Cresson Point was make sure all the businesses and people who had originally been under our paid protection were informed that protection would continue well into the future.
The problem was that others, not just Los Muertos, since a city like Cresson Point bred its fair share of gangs and criminal groups, had tried to move quickly into what was essentially our territory.
Most had been chased off already, but these. ..brutes had yet to get the hint.
“It does get kind of hard to do business when you’ve got fire licking at your heels,” Luis said, and although he didn’t grin, I could swear I could see him smiling in his head.
Ah, there it is. False face hiding a monster.
She was right. That was what had unnerved Will and had me on edge from the moment I’d laid eyes on him.
His words didn’t match anything else about him.
He was taunting me, enjoying himself, but his body language said he was bored, and his face said there was nothing emotionally important happening.
There was too much of a mismatch between what he apparently wanted to convey and what the rest of him was saying.
Some might consider him an attack dog kept on a tight leash, but I was sure I was actually dealing with a madman whose sanity relied on someone strong enough to keep him in line.
..or a monster held in check by someone mean enough to make him behave.
“Speaking of fire, there’s been plenty of those, in the literal sense,” I said, flashing the madman a smile.
“And that is the tip of the iceberg. I haven’t even got into the.
..scuffles between your people and mine, between your people and regular people, different gangs, and.
..just about everyone. Incidents I was willing to put on the back burner for a while to see if good sense might win out. ”
“I guess you realized you had to come out of whatever throne room you built for yourself to deal with us then,” Reg said, smirking at me.
Both men were enjoying the chaos they were causing, which.
.. tracked. Los Muertos was effective not just because it could be cunning when needed, but because its people were not afraid of anything.
Brutality was one of their favorite weapons, and they weren’t shy about wielding it.
It works for them.
Too well. Their reputation preceded them wherever they went, from the average person on the street to gang leaders.
That reputation was often enough to make anyone considering resisting think twice, unless they wanted to learn just how harsh Los Muertos could be toward those who got in their way.
They didn’t need elegant interrogators or go after people’s weak points when they could make enough people disappear, only to reappear as brutalized parts to make their point.
That was true for the cops as well, and over the past decade, as Los Muertos’ hold on parts of the country deepened, even federal agencies trod carefully around them.
They didn’t operate at the ‘higher’ level that The Family did, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have plenty of resources, including information.
I remembered Augustine mentioning a team of feds that were assembled to try to stop Los Muertos from encroaching on the eastern seaboard.
Los Muertos had found out who was on the team, and two disappeared completely, three had been found in pieces with clear signs of prolonged torture, and there had been several attacks that ended in injuries.
The worst I suspected were those agents who had lost loved ones, either Los Muertos had kidnapped their loved ones and held them hostage, or had outright killed them.
The most memorable had been an agent whose daughter had been taken, and when he’d tried to negotiate, they had sent pieces of her to him. ..still warm.
And when he finally backed off, even retired, they’d sent him her head as a gruesome ‘retirement’ gift.
So yes, their reputation preceded them, and I knew damn well I was dealing with maniacs who committed their cruelties long before they considered finding justification for them.
“If good sense will not assert itself, sometimes it requires help,” I told him, ignoring the ‘throne room’ comment.
That might not be aimed at me specifically because of my connection to Augustine, but more because I was the representative of the Marelli family they had to deal with.
The Family was as well known as Los Muertos, but I could proudly say it wasn’t because of an equal penchant for cruelty and brutality.
We were, however, treated by many as a sort of criminal royalty.
I preferred to think of it as a little closer to the Roman Empire, broad, dignified, capable of great force, but preferring stability and cooperation.
And in that comparison, that would make Los Muertos the barbarians pounding at the gates in an eager cry to sack the city.
“And you’re the one to help?” Reg asked, and I found myself in the rather uncomfortable position of trying to figure out if they really were equals or if this was some sort of mind game.
There were two dangers in trying to anticipate what they were doing.
Underestimating their cunning despite knowing it was a threat to what I was trying to achieve, and overestimating them and finding myself.
.. well, outsmarting myself. I had done it in the past, trying to outmaneuver someone I thought was far more clever than they were, only to end up with a far more complicated situation on my hands than was necessary.
“Personally, I hope we can help each other,” I said as smoothly as I could. “That is what I’m hoping we can achieve at this meeting.”
“Goddamn,” Luis said with a whistle, his mask cracking ever so slightly with a flash of impatience. “It really is true, not one of your Family knows how to speak. You know how to talk, though, that’s for sure.”
“If you want me to skip being polite and go right to blunt, I can do that in a heartbeat,” I told him.
“Good, do it. We don’t have all day for you to show us you’re better behaved than us,” Luis said, and I noted the way Reg’s eyes flicked toward him. There was no emotion there, but his partner was clearly trying to provoke a reaction.
“The terrorizing of the people under my protection stops. The ambushes and attacks on my people stop,” I began, speaking as calmly and smoothly as before, but leaning forward to rest my arms on the table, keeping my eyes on them.
“The burning, terrorizing, threatening, and general mayhem that you’re bringing to my city? You guessed it, that also stops.”
“Your city?” Reg said, tilting his head slightly. “Seems to me this city isn’t exactly claimed.”
“Cresson Point might not have been central to The Family before, but it has always been a part of our interests. Obviously, that interest has shifted with my being here,” I admitted.
“So yes, this city is claimed, a claim I am making while we sit here pretending neither of us wouldn’t prefer to kill the other and move on with our day. ”
“Little Man thinks he’s got claws,” Luis said, and I heard the relish in his voice, as if he were already picturing what he would do to me if he had me alone.
The thing was, he didn’t have me alone. I suffered from no illusions that I would somehow magically be capable of holding my own against him in a one-on-one.
The thing was, I had always operated, to great success, by never giving my opponent the advantage.
I was just as likely to meet him for a one-on-one meeting as I was to run back to Seattle and kiss Augustine full on the mouth. “I wonder when I get to pull them out.”
“Careful,” I warned him softly. “There are more dangerous weapons in the world than fangs and claws.
“C’mon,” he said with a grin that reminded me of primates showing their teeth right before they attacked. “What do you say? You, me, a little candlelight, a little romance? We’ll see who comes out on top.”
“Why? Because it’s the only way you know how to win?” I asked him lightly. “I think not.”
“He’s cocky, but he ain’t stupid, Lu,” Reg said with a smirk, but I caught the way he shifted, as if bumping his partner under the table. Good, Reg was in charge then, and Luis was the monster or madman kept in check by...force of personality?
Or...they’re friends.
Hmm, that again. It wasn’t unheard of for people in our line of work to bond after years of working together.
..although perhaps this was a case of friends before work.
Depending on how far back their bond went, I might be dealing with two people who had been close long before they took their first real steps as the ruthless people they had become.
..at least professionally. So, trying to drive a wedge between them was not only useless but could also backfire.
They were a united front, and they weren’t trying to keep that a secret, but Reg seemed to want to be a little circumspect about how much influence he had over his partner.
“Now, I’m guessing you have an offer? Otherwise, why are we here?” Reg said dryly.