Five #2
He must see my confusion. I’m not easily fazed, but there’s a lot of that going on recently.
“Franco is old and lazy and would never want the responsibility. Plus, let’s call it a test of sorts…
not for you,” he hastens to add. “These men followed Vito, even when he led them in a direction they must have at least suspected was contrary to what I’m trying to build this organization into.
A direction Franco might try to continue. ”
He’s right, and he’s wrong, but I’m not going to argue with him yet again.
None of the soldiers under the Viper were encouraged to think for themselves.
They were expected to do and not argue or face the consequences.
Many weren’t necessarily bad soldiers; they were just molded by fierce, uncompromising expectations.
But it’s well known that Mika is trying his best to drag La Cosa Nostra, kicking and screaming if necessary, into the twenty-first century.
Removing the traditional trades like human trafficking, enforced prostitution, and overtly violent protection rackets.
Trades that have become increasingly dangerous as time and moral conscience progresses, and replacing them with alternatives like gambling, money laundering and corporate asset stripping.
It isn’t a vision his uncle shared. Vito was strictly old-school.
He’s probably right about Therese’s husband, too.
I credit Mika with enough sense to understand how things were.
“Let’s find out which ones are content to follow the right path, delivered by the person I put in charge. I like to think we’ve gotten rid of most of the rot.”
By that, he means the men - often not even official, payrolled members of the LCN - who consistently worked for Vito and against Mika.
“But you know these men, and under your command, you’ll have a unique insight into where they stand and if any of them pose a continued threat to what I’m trying to achieve. If any of them give you any bother, they’re gone, understand?”
“Yes, sir.” I don’t think twice. I’m honored to have this opportunity to serve him.
“From now on, you’ll be in charge of all Vito’s dealings. I figure you’re also the best situated to know what he had going on… even if you weren’t directly involved.”
I quirk an eyebrow. It seems Mika might be as much of a ‘watcher’ as I am. Makes sense.
“And I want his messes cleaned up. Especially the skin trade. I want that shit stamped out.”
I grimace, and Mika cuts in. “I’m aware that means you’ll earn a lot less, but I’ll cover it.”
He’s right. Usually, a percentage of every deal is retained by the soldier or capo running it. But that’s not what I’m worried about in this case.
I sigh, knowing I’m going to have to go up against one of Mika’s personal crusades. Something he’s passionate about. Something that might earn me a bullet through the brain before I finish speaking.
But Mika’s nothing if not fair, so I can only hope to make him understand.
“It’s not that…” Jeez, how do I say this? “The girls, the brothels… Vito made sure they depended on him for everything. Most of them are addicts, many of them not voluntarily.”
His stare blackens with a fury I can almost feel, and I fidget in my chair. This needs to come over just right.
“They’ve been mistreated, malnourished, forced to hand over most of their earnings, and kept desperate.”
“All the more reason for that shit to stop. Immediately.” Mika’s tone is hardened ice.
“We can’t just cut them loose…”
Mika is out of his seat and grabbing me by the throat before I can finish the sentence, his strong fingers throttling the life out of me.
“They won’t survive!” I choke out as my vision starts to gray.
I’m flung back into my seat, the chair almost toppling from the force, a spate of grating coughs hack past my bruised windpipe, and I struggle to find my breath before that bullet finds me.
“What do you mean?” Mika thunders, his hands fisted as if he’s physically trying to keep them from curling around my neck again.
“I told you. They’re dependent. Intentionally so. What the hell do you think will happen to them if we abandon them?”
He slumps back into his own seat, but I can see he’s thinking, so I push on.
“Best case scenario is someone else steps in and takes over. We already know neither the Bratva nor the Irish will entertain it, so it won’t be any of our allies. And with whoever is making moves against us, I don’t think it’s a good idea to give them a foothold in our territory.”
Mika drums his fingers on the desk, and Ares watches me with his lips pressed together in a tight line. They’re not happy, either of them, but they’re listening.
“So what do we do?” Mika asks. “I refuse to endorse this kind of exploitation. It goes against everything I believe, and I won’t be shown to be a hypocrite.”
I curb the desire to rub at my sore throat.
“All the women in Vito’s fold both live and work in accommodation provided by him.
While I understand your position, if we just pull out, they lose not only what little income they have, but their home too, and while it might not be up to much, it’s all these women have. ”
Mika heaves out a sigh and rubs his temples in a rare show of distress, and I know I’m getting through.
“Look, if it makes you feel better, I’ll make it clear that they’re all free to go, if that’s what they choose.
But they’re not going to trust most anything anyone says.
I’ll talk to them, though. I’ve built a relationship with them over the years.
There’s a better chance they’ll believe me than anyone else. ”
Hell, more than one of them used to try to mother me when I first showed up there as a kid.
“However, I think you’ll be surprised how many will decide to stay… either because they’ve got nowhere else to go, because they’re addicted and afraid to move away from a guaranteed supplier, or they simply don’t believe it’s not a trap.”
Mika looks the closest to distraught I’ve ever seen him, and I can’t help wondering what he thought was going to happen. But I have to seal this deal. I’ve run interference for those women for too long to let them down now.
“What I propose is that instead of pulling the rug out from under them, we do what we can to improve things.”
Mika shakes his head, his dark eyes bleak. I knew he despised the skin trade, but I guess I never appreciated how much.
“How the hell do we do that?”
“It’s not that difficult,” I tell him, trying hard to let him see how earnest I am. “For those who decide to stay, we improve pay and conditions. We put security on site so they don’t get beat up. Wean them off the drugs and provide decent accommodation for them.”
Ares grunts in the background. “That sounds like it’s going to cost us more than it brings in.”
I scoff before I can stop myself. “You have any idea how much product Vito threw away making sure those girls got hooked? How much more he sold them at less than market value to keep them that way because they couldn’t afford to pay for it on the pittance he allowed them to keep?
But hey, if you can sleep at night after stripping them of the little they have after all the years of service they’ve given, then you’re not the man I thought you were. ”
Mika raises a hand, silently stopping the bickering that’s threatening to start.
I allow my indignation to subside and throw Ares a crumb.
“Besides, once they’re cleaned up and healthy, and not living in a flop, we can raise our prices, provide services for higher-paying clients, and give those women some agency.
We can make sure they know they can leave at any time.
That nothing and no one is forcing them to stay. ”
For the first time since we started this conversation, Mika’s eyes light up. Whatever it was, something I’ve said struck right.
Thank God!
He tips his head to one side. “It sounds like this is something you’ve thought about. Not just come up with on the spot.”
I look away. “You could say that.” If only he knew. I’ve thought about it a lot over the years, ever since that fateful day.