CHAPTER NINETEEN
Security was tight all around the small hospital, inside and out, with many of Mick’s men and Sal’s men and Monk Paletti’s men, too, all providing protection.
Big Daddy stood at the window inside the private hospital on the outskirts of Philly and watched alongside his oldest son Brent Sinatra as another SUV arrived and the Drakos family stepped out.
Gloria Sinatra-Drakos, Oz’s wife and Mick’s oldest daughter, hopped out ahead of all of them and took off running toward the hospital’s entrance.
Her little girl and Nikki and Teddy’s little girl both began running after her, but Oz hurried and grabbed them both before they could catch up to Gloria. It was tough enough.
He and the girls waited on everybody else, instead, and then they all made their way inside the lobby area where Big Daddy and Brent were waiting.
Big Daddy had already pointed Gloria to the waiting room where the rest of the family was holed up by the time the Drakos family made it inside.
They all embraced father and son and was glad to see them, but it was an overall somber greeting.
“He’s still in surgery?” Alex asked.
Brent nodded. “Afraid so.”
“Damn,” said Oz. “That’s a long-ass surgery.”
“Where’s everybody?” Marcellus asked. “Is he the only patient here?”
“That’s how it’s designed,” said Brent. He knew Marcellus was a new addition to the family, and he’d only met him a few times before at various family functions, but every report about him was positive. “If your net worth isn’t in the high millions or billions, you need not apply.”
“Wow.”
“So everybody’s here then?” Alex asked. “I saw most of their planes at the airfield.”
“There’s so many young people in town that we put them in the ballroom at Uncle Mick’s mansion,” Brent said. “The principals are in the conference room down that hall.” “The principals” were the heads of the families. All three Drakos brothers were considered principals too.
“Teddy back there too?”
Brent shook his head. “He and Marco are in New Orleans picking up Nikki.”
“She’s okay though?” Oz asked.
“She’s at the Essence festival so her phone is off,” Brent said, “but we assume she’s fine.”
“Where’s Roz?” Alex’s wife Kari asked.
“She and the other wives are in the waiting room down that same hall,” Big Daddy said. “She’s waiting for word. She’s in no position to do anything else.”
“Did she get hurt too?” Alex’s son Jordan asked.
Brent looked at his distraught father, expecting him to answer that. But Big Daddy was uncharacteristically silent. That was why Brent, instead of going to the mansion with his brothers and sisters, stayed by his father’s side. “She wasn’t hurt, Jordan, no,” he said.
“But she’s doing poorly?” Kari asked.
Brent nodded. “She’s not good. She’s not good at all.”
“Poor thing,” said Kari. “I’m going to check on her,” she added, and headed down the hall.
“Who’s in charge of security at Mick’s compound?” Alex asked Brent.
“Reno’s son Jimmy is in charge, along with my brothers Tony, Bobby, and Donald. But Uncle Mick’s men are everywhere at his house. That place is more fortified than the White House. They’ve even got aerial surveillance five miles out to catch even a hint of anybody trying anything.”
“On whose orders did all of this take place?” Oz asked. “Big Daddy’s?”
Normally it would have been his father, but Brent shook his head. “Reno’s in charge. My dad’s in no condition . . .”
All three Drakos brothers could see how devastated Big Daddy was.
“I’m going to go over to the mansion to check out the security for myself,” Oz said.
“Good idea,” Alex agreed.
“I’m taking Jordan and the babies with me. This isn’t a place for kids. Keep me informed,” he said, and they left.
Brent looked at Alex. “I don’t get your brother. Does he ever support Gloria in anything?”
“To be frank,” Alex said, “I think they’re headed straight to divorce court.”
“I’m surprised they haven’t gotten there yet,” Big Daddy said.
Alex smiled. “Agreed.”
Then Alex opened his suit coat and placed his hands on his hips. And he shook his head. “This is some awful business, Charles,” he said to Big Daddy. “It looks like super bowl level security around these premises. From what Oz told us it was an ambush on top of an ambush on top of an ambush.”
Brent looked at his father as Big Daddy fought back tears. “That’s exactly what it was. Just horrific,” Big Daddy added. “They pumped a lot of lead into my baby brother. A lot of lead.” Then he look his soft green eyes into Alex’s eyes. “And they have got to pay.”
“Damn right they do,” Alex agreed.
“Do we know who did it yet?” Marcellus asked. He was a businessman first and last, but his Drakos family on his father’s side had deep ties to the mob world too. And with Mick Sinatra’s daughter and granddaughter in the Drakos family now, there was no getting around it.
Big Daddy shook his head. “We don’t know anything yet. The principals are meeting. They may have some new intel.”
“Is Hammer Reese here?” Alex asked.
“No, but Amelia is,” Brent said. “Hammer’s on some assignment where he can’t be reached, but he’ll show up. He always does.”
“Why aren’t you in the principals meeting, Big Daddy?” Marcellus asked him.
Big Daddy shook his head. “I can’t hear anymore details. Not yet anyway. I need to know that my brother is going to pull through this before I can get my head in the game. I just can’t do it,” he said heartfelt.
Alex squeezed his shoulder. “Perfectly reasonable,” he said. “But if you don’t mind, Marcellus and I need to get up to speed.”
“Please do,” Big Daddy said, and both men made their way toward the conference room.
Brent looked at his father. “Uncle Mick will pull through, Dad. He always does.”
Big Daddy gave a cursory smile. He wished to God he could believe it too.