24. Torture Is Murder on a Suit
TWENTY-FOUR
Torture Is Murder on a Suit
ZANO
R eno, Nero, Alessio, and Raffaele have turned torture into a fucking game. The leaders of each of the gangs or MC have been captured, and our capos are competing with one another over who gets them to crack first for information on the Triad. It’s twisted as fuck!
If I were a betting man, I’d say we have the best chance at winning this sick game of “confess and die.” After all, we have both the leader of the Black Hawks and Spike. Although, both are holding out longer than I would have imagined.
Spike knows he’s going to die and has committed to dying and still leaving us in the dark about the Triad. Chisel, the leader of the Black Hawks, is terrified of the Triad coming after his club, and to protect his brothers, the ones who were able to escape from Reno’s wrath, he’s given us a limited amount of information.
Fear seems to be the determining factor in all four territories. Drake, Chisel, Jorge from Hermanos de Sangre, and Knife from Mayhem Killers MC, are more afraid of giving up information on Wan Kwok than dying. So far, all the families have gotten limited information on Wan. Not nearly enough to track him down. We did find out that the one man who has met Wan Kwok in person at least once is Drake.
Drake is in Raffaele’s dungeon, and so far, he hasn’t cracked.
Raffaele has done everything but cut out his tongue, and you can’t very well talk without one, so Drake hasn’t given us anything to determine Wan’s whereabouts. Ivo’s ready to stab a knife in his heart, and Raffaele is holding on by a thread.
“We kill them all and make a statement to Wan Kwok,” Raffaele says angrily.
“It’s not the smart move,” Marco jumps in. “We need more if we want to find this bastard before he goes underground. Once it leaks out that his henchmen and their crew are missing, he’s going to retreat, then come back stronger, and we have no idea what this guy looks like.”
There’s silence while all the capos think about their options. There’s a good long pause, then Nero speaks up, not to the capos, but directly to his father. “Dad, we need to make the call.”
“We promised to leave him alone,” Marco answers angrily.
“We promised to keep him out of our business for as long as we could. This isn’t only about La Famiglia. Italian Mafia versus the Triad, Dad. It’s about the entire existence of our four families and, if we fail, how many others?” Nero counters.
Reno furrows his brows, looking at the phone but clearly not understanding what the hell they’re talking about, and I can imagine the other capos are doing the same.
“Someone want to fill us in?” Alessio says sarcastically. “I got half a guy’s guts spilling out, and he still won’t talk, so I’m thinking you have a secret weapon, and we’re dicking around while time is ticking by.”
Marco slams his hand down onto something, his voice raw and disturbingly eerie. “You know the price for his help.”
“We’ll never agree on this. He has every right to ask for revenge. The man raped his sister, and because she couldn’t cope, she committed suicide. We should have given him up years ago. You made a vow to a dying man to protect his son, and he didn’t deserve your protection,” Nero goes on to say. He lets out a sigh. “You’re my capo and my father. I’ll follow wherever you lead, but you know Egidio made you swear to protect his son before you knew the crime. He’s dead now, and his son is still a fuckup.”
“Reno, Raffaele, Alessio.” Marco addresses the other three capos. “I will be sending a man into Ultimo Morte territory. Eros will be there by morning. He will get what we need out of Drake.” I can hear the trepidation in his tone.
“You want to share?” Raffaele asks.
“Not at this point. But soon,” Marco states. He must be speaking with Nero when he says, “Call him. One hour from now, if he’s willing.”
Reno clears his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Where do we go from here?”
“We’ll let you know what Drake has to say. Nero will accompany Eros and will meet with Raffaele as soon as possible.” Marco finishes with “I have a meeting to attend.”
“Everyone out!” Reno commands.
We all exit the office, leaving Reno with his brothers and Leo. Elio looks down at his bloody clothes, then over to me. “That suit has had it,” he says with a chuckle. “I’d change before you pick up Ally. You’ll scare the shit out of her.”
“Torture is murder on my suits,” I quip with a smirk. Elio laughs, then nudges my shoulder with his own.
“What do you think that’s all about?” he asks, jerking his head back to the room full of Viales that we just left.
“No clue, brother, but I’d like to meet this Eros guy. If he manages to get Drake to talk when Ivo and Raffaele haven’t, I’d like to learn his technique.”
“You think we’ll get to meet him?”
“Only time will tell,” I say. “Reno says we can go home for now. I’m going to go shower and change first, then pick up Ally.”
“Mind if I shower at your place before going home? Mom might be up, and I don’t want her to see me like this.”
“No problem, but I’m not washing your back,” I tease.