CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
By the time Frankie “The Monk” Paletti walked into Mick’s office, you could hear a pin drop.
Mick was now seated behind his desk, and Big Daddy was standing against the wall with the sole of one of his shoes against that wall in case he had to push off in a hurry should Monk or Mick try something deadly.
Roz was standing beside Mick to one side of Mick’s chair, while Teddy and Nikki were standing beside Mick on the other side of his chair. Reno and Sal, who escorted Monk in, assumed they were standing beside Mick like three prison guards to keep him from making any quick, earth-shattering moves.
That was very much a part of their decision to stand there.
Mick could lose his temper at the drop of a hat.
But mostly they were concerned that Monk could do so too, since Mick took out so many of his men, and they were going to protect Mick.
But it was also because they were still confused.
He kidnapped Duke, returned him after only five hours, and now he was showing up at Mick’s hotel? Why?
But he walked up to the desk of the most powerful boss in the world without flinching. It was their moment of truth.
“Dory Toscano murdered my second-in-command,” Monk said in a matter-of-fact tone. “He murdered Danny Cerva and his entire family. He took out his wife. He took out his six children. His children,” Monk said with emphasis. “I gave the order to take Dory out.”
Big Daddy could see Mick’s jaw tightened. “You knew he was my son,” Mick said.
“Yes.”
“And you did it anyway?”
“He took out my underboss and his entire family, Mick!” Monk was suddenly shaking with rage. “What the fuck was I supposed to do?!”
Nobody, not even Teddy, had ever seen him so enraged. But he calmed back down. “Then you showed up in Rome and took out an entire brigade of my men from Rome back to the States. Sixty-five of my men.”
Sal shook his head. He still couldn’t believe that shit. Mick took viciousness to another level.
“Do you realize you took out sixty-five of my men?”
But Mick was unrepentant. “Yes I took’em out. And the rest of your men hid like roaches or I would have taken them out too.”
It wasn’t the answer anybody in that room wanted Mick to give. Monk obviously wanted a truce. Mick obviously was too far gone to bend.
But Monk could turn unbendable too. “Dory Toscano started this shit. Dory started this, not my guys. He started it. Did you not realize that too?”
“Yes I realized it just like you realized he was my son but that didn’t stop you from ordering his assassination.”
“He killed women and children, Mick!”
“He was my son!” Mick bellowed it out so loud and with such emotion that he nearly jumped up from his seat. The tension in that room was palpable. “Nobody touches my children but me! You could have called me, Frankie.”
“Would you have called me if my guys would have killed your underboss and his or her entire family?”
It was clear that no way Mick would have made that phone call had the shoe been on the other foot. It was clever, they all thought, that Monk had asked it. But Teddy needed this to end. He needed answers from his (former?) best friend.
“Why would you kidnap my little brother,” Teddy asked, “just to return him five hours later?”
Monk looked at his (former?) best friend for the first time since he arrived in that office.
“After your father took out my men, I did blow up that tanker as a warning. And then I took out one of your cargo ships to fulfill that warning. I minimized casualties, but I had to respond. But I would have never,” Monk said in a voice most emphatic, “kidnapped Duke or allowed any harm to come to that young man. I would have never done any such thing and you should have known that, Teddy.”
They all stared at Monk as if he had just said something profound. Even Mick didn’t expect to hear those words.
“What are you saying?” Big Daddy asked him. “Are you saying you didn’t snatch Duke?”
“I would have never done that.”
“You didn’t return him as a gesture of good will?” asked Reno.
“No!”
“Then why are you here?” asked Teddy.
“I knew it was Mrs. Sinatra’s opening night, so I had my men spying to see if anything was being plotted or planned by Mick against my organization.
When my guys saw Duke being snatched, and they were far enough away from the craziness that ensued, I gave the order for them to follow that van.
Which they did. Since the van avoided the heaviest traffic areas and took to side streets, I ordered them to commandeer it. And they did at a red light.”
“They took control of the van?” asked Big Daddy.
“At gunpoint, yes. It was my guys that dropped Duke off and held the kidnappers hostage instead.”
“Oh Frankie!” a relieved Roz said and hurried from around that desk even as Mick was grabbing for her not to go anywhere. But she hurried to Monk and hugged him with a big bear hug.
They all could see how touched Monk was as he closed his eyes tightly. This so-called war was eating him alive too.
Big Daddy was so relieved, too, that he wanted to pull Monk into his arms as well. But he didn’t move. He still blamed Frankie and Mick equally. They were family. They both should have handled the entire affair differently.
When Roz pulled back from Monk and held his sincere, expressive face with her two hands, she stared into his huge, almost girl-like gorgeous eyes. “What changed?” she asked him.
Monk looked over at his father-in-law. “Big Daddy was right,” he said. “We were building a bridge to nowhere. Somebody had to stop construction and I knew it sure as hell wasn’t going to be Mick the Tick.”
“Watch it,” Mick said. “I can still stomp your ass through this floor.” And they all laughed what was more a nervous than joyous laugh.
“You certainly can try,” said a now smiling Monk.
“But wait a minute,” said Reno. He wasn’t as forgiving as everybody else. “We’re just going to take his word for it? He waltz up in here and says he didn’t kidnap Duke and we’re supposed to just believe it?”
“No,” Mick said as he rose to his feet. He looked at Monk. “If what you say is true,” he said, “that would mean you have my son’s kidnappers.”
Monk nodded. “Yes, I do.”
Mick felt a sense of relief. He wanted it over with too. “Take me to them,” he ordered as he began making his way from behind the desk.
“I wanna go too,” said Roz.
Mick didn’t even dignify that request with a response. He, Monk, Teddy and Nikki began leaving.
“Mick?” Roz yelled after him. “I wanna go too.”
“No.”
“But Mick?”
“I said no gotdammit!” He showed the stress he was under when he yelled at her.
But when he looked into her eyes and saw that he had hurt her again, his heart dropped. And he softened. “I know you wanna go,” he said, “but there’s no way in hell you’re going.”
It was soft for Mick, anyway, but it still sounded harsh to everybody else. Not that they disagreed with Mick. They agreed that a safe house was no place for Roz to be. But the way Mick said it!
Mick kept walking. When he got to the exit, he gave Reno and Sal the bad news. “I want both of you to stay here with Charles. I don’t want any blowback.”
They didn’t like it. They were usually the ones barking out orders. But when on Mick’s turf, Mick was in charge. They understood and didn’t object.
But before Monk could walk out of that office, Big Daddy stopped him. “Monk?”
He turned. “Sir?”
“Where’s my daughter?”
Monk knew a part of Big Daddy still hated the fact that Ashley chose to marry a mobster. A part of Monk hated it too. But it was done now. “I brought her here with me. She’s in the back with Duke and Jackie.”
“And she’s staying here until we find out what the hell is going on.” Big Daddy said it as if it was a fact, not a request.
Monk nodded. “That’s why I brought her here when I realized a third party I know nothing about is involved.”
Big Daddy exhaled relief. He would thank him, but his ass should have made Ashley go with him and Amelia when they showed up at his house.
Monk didn’t sweat it as he left with Mick, Teddy, and Nikki. They all wanted to see for themselves just who those kidnappers were, and why they were targeting the Sinatras.