Chapter 12
Adriano
Giorgio did a goddamn good job briefing everybody. He was nervous at first, but he settled down fast.
I knew it was a big deal for him to talk to Dario and everybody else. None of our foot soldiers had ever done that before. It was sort of like a sergeant coming in and briefing a five-star general and a bunch of two-stars. He handled himself well.
Raffaelo was Raffaelo. He didn’t give a shit about status or rank – he just launched right into it. He gave a great speech, and I could tell Dario was affected by what he said.
Once Giorgio and Raffaelo went off to the kitchen, Dario looked at the rest of us. “Thoughts?”
Since he was consigliere, Niccolo was the first to speak. “The way I see it, we have two problems: the gangs and the public health issue. Sofia and Rachel don’t know this, so I should make it clear: when our father died, we decided to get out of the drug business.”
Niccolo was being diplomatic.
A more accurate way of putting it was, When our father died, DARIO decided to go against everyone else’s advice and get out of the drug business.
All the men in the room knew that was what had actually happened.
Niccolo continued. “When the Agrellas were wiped out and we took over street operations in Florence, we continued to expand the ‘no drugs’ policy. But that didn’t mean the demand suddenly went away – just the supply.
“Small-time gangs have jumped into the fray because they know there’s a lot of money to be made. Unfortunately, that’s bad for our image. If a bunch of hooligans are running around conducting business on our turf, it makes us look weak.
“Plus, as Raffaelo said, they’re selling shitty product that’s killing people.
So not only has our standing on the streets of Florence diminished, but people are dying as a result.
My personal opinion is that we should get back into the drug trade, purely as a way to reestablish control and make sure more people don’t die. ”
“I notice you skipped over the part about the women not taking our deal,” Dario said wryly.
“They’re separate issues – ”
“I see them as one and the same,” Dario interrupted. “If we go back to the old way of doing things, we victimize the women who sell sex, and we victimize the people who buy drugs.”
“Again,” Niccolo said patiently, “just because we don’t want to be involved in that part of the business doesn’t mean that the demand magically disappears.
I could just as easily argue that we’re victimizing the women by not protecting them from violent customers, and that we’re victimizing the drug clientele by allowing inferior product to kill them. ”
“So we should profit off of misery?” Dario snapped.
Niccolo shrugged. “We can do it at cost, if that’s your concern.”
“Hold on,” Roberto interjected. “That’s an awful lot of resources to expend just to break even. The opportunity cost alone is huge – the amount of time and capital that we could be putting towards another source of revenue is – ”
Niccolo glared at him in warning, and Roberto shut up.
“You see?” Dario said. “This is what happens: we take one step down the slippery slope, and suddenly we’re pimps and drug dealers.”
Niccolo smiled tightly. “I’ve stated my opinion. Perhaps you should hear from the others.”
“I know Roberto’s position,” Dario said darkly.
“That’s not fair,” Roberto protested. “My job is to make money for the family. You know that.”
“I know, I know,” Dario grumbled. “Adriano?”
“I think we should get back into drugs, if for no other reason than I don’t want a bunch of fuckheads running around making us look weak.
And we should bring the pimps back. If it makes you feel better, we can tell them that if they hurt any of the women, we’ll fuckin’ kill them.
But you heard what Giorgio said – the puttanas aren’t taking the deal. ”
“Don’t call them that,” Dario said coldly.
Lars gave me a look like I told you so.
I tried to keep my temper under control. “Alright – the prostitutes aren’t taking the deal. But we have to deal with reality.”
Dario turned to Nic’s wife. “Sofia?”
She looked a tiny bit surprised he’d asked her opinion. “Well… like you, I’m ordinarily against anything that would victimize women. But if you take all the emotion and moral judgment out of it, it’s simply a question of economics.
“Drugs are a product. Prostitution is a service.
“There’s a demand for both. As Niccolo said, just because you don’t want to sell the product or provide the service doesn’t mean the demand goes away.
“In a wide-open market, competitors will move in to cater to the demand. But if there’s no oversight, then they’ll sell inferior product.
“And the providers of the service – in this case, prostitution – won’t be protected from violent customers.
“Worse, as competitors realize there aren’t any repercussions for bad behavior, they become bolder. They’ll act out even more.
“As a result, people will see you as weak. Your brand suffers… competitors become even more aggressive… and it all becomes a downward spiral.
“From a purely practical standpoint, we should be involved in both drugs and prostitution, no matter how distasteful it is. It’s the best way to maintain a level of safety for everyone involved, and to increase control over all other aspects of your business.”
“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” Niccolo said.
“Good, because you didn’t,” Dario said in irritation.
Niccolo just looked amused.
Dario obviously hadn’t liked Sofia’s take –
But he’d asked her for it.
And that was a consigliere’s job: to give the Don advice he didn’t want to hear, and that everyone else was afraid to tell him.
I was impressed that Sofia had done it, and done it well.
“Massimo?” Dario asked.
“There are good arguments on both sides.”
“But if you had to choose one?”
“…I’d get us back into both,” Massimo said gently. “Teenagers are dying, and the women aren’t going to quit, so we might as well do what we can to make everyone safer.”
Dario grunted in annoyance, then said, “Valentino?”
“I know you guys partied in Ibiza back in the day,” Val said, “and I did my fair share before I met Cat. It’s not like we never did any coke or messed around with escorts.”
“Your point?” Dario snapped.
“Isn’t it kind of hypocritical for us to have done that sort of shit in the past, but tell other people they shouldn’t do it?”
Dario glowered a little more, then turned towards the couch. “Lars?”
“I don’t have an opinion.”
“That’s not an option,” Dario said. “You’re part of the family now; you have a vote, and I want to know your thoughts.”
Lars looked uncomfortable, but he said, “From a purely practical standpoint, if we don’t take these gangs out of the equation, we’re going to eventually end up fighting a war with them. So if we can avoid a war, I vote for that.”
Dario didn’t look pleased. “Rachel?”
“If you’re looking for moral pros and cons,” she replied, “you realize you’re asking someone who did contract killings for a living.”
Dario smiled in amusement. “I remember very well.”
We all knew Rachel was talking about the time she nearly killed Dario, back when she briefly worked for our uncle Fausto.
“Alright. When I was at MI6, I wasn’t privy to how the government handled things, but I heard rumors.
Let’s just say that on one hand, they tried to stamp out certain activities – but they were also aware that they could only go so far.
They allowed local organized crime a certain amount of leeway because they knew if they wiped everybody out and created a power vacuum, worse groups – like the Russians – would move in and take over.
The government was very concerned about human trafficking, but they used a lighter touch in things like drug enforcement.
“They were pragmatic, you could say. And if the government of the United Kingdom was pragmatic about these sorts of things, I don’t see why you can’t be, as well.”
Dario stood there, a dark look on his face. I could tell he wasn’t happy with what he’d heard.
“Well, that’s everyone,” Niccolo said. “I thank you all for speaking your minds, but now I need a private word with the Don. If we could have the room, I would appreciate it.”
Everyone stood up and began to walk out, including me.
“Should I stay?” Sofia asked her husband.
“I think some things are more easily said if it’s just me and my brother,” Niccolo said diplomatically.
She smiled knowingly, then filed out with the rest of us.
“What’s going to happen now?” Rachel asked once we were out in the foyer.
“Something you don’t wanna be around,” Massimo told her.
“If you hear any shouting,” I advised Rachel, “just ignore it.”