Goon
I knew the Casellis were plugged in, but to know it and witness the shit was two different things. I hopped out the back of the Rez with Menace. He was quiet always, but he was even quieter than usual. Being away from his wife wasn’t something he was a fan of, and I could tell it made him anxious.
Menace was cool peoples, and a brother-in-law that would take some getting used to.
However, the way the nigga kept opening and closing his eyes, then cracking his neck had me gripping my gun.
I wouldn’t kill his crazy ass, but I’d beat his ass with this gun if he heard some voices, other than the ones that were actually speaking to him.
We pulled up to a mansion out in New Jersey. As the truck whipped around the winding roads leading up to the house, I checked my gun and leaned back as I waited until we got to the top.
“Guns stay in the whip,” he finally spoke.
I watched as he hit a code and a compartment slid back, exposing his gun.
Sitting mine beside his, I rested against the chair until we stopped.
Don’s Rezvani was pulling in behind ours, as we finally made it to the top.
There was a bunch of foreign cars already parked, as the driver killed the engine.
Duke was supposed to be with Stevie, but last minute she sent him to be with Menace. When he pulled up on us, Menace almost seemed relieved. Duke wasn’t just security for him; he was his family.
He had different drivers and security reserved for him and his family in case his usuals weren’t available. However, he preferred Duke.
Duke walked around the truck and opened the door for Menace. I hopped out, rounded the truck and stood waiting for the next instructions.
All of this was organized, and some shit that I had never been a part of. Don stepped out his truck and looked over at his brother, while Beans walked around the truck and stood beside him. Don walked over and held his hand out, and his brother dapped his hand.
“She’s alive… stop thinking about it.” He already knew what was going through his brother’s head without him telling us.
Menace ignored him because nothing would make this right.
His wife could have been murdered, and it was something that he would always think about.
Someone had managed to get Menace Caselli in the room and was able to take shots at him.
Something that wasn’t an easy feat, and nothing would be right until he was able to get the last laugh.
I remember making my way through the venue, and my mind was on my family: Boobie and our baby. They were the only thing on my mind, and until my eyes landed on her, I couldn’t think of anything else.
“Founding families. The Davis family, Vanducci-Cromwell family, and Caselli family make the founding families. There’s one more, but we don’t ever involve them.”
“Yeah, I know a little something about it.”
Recommendation: Listen to “The Firm” by Foxy Brown
I knew about the founding families, so I was familiar with what this meeting was going to be about. Menace was used to making moves on his own, however, you couldn’t do that when you belonged to something bigger. He had to get permission, because one move affected everyone involved.
Everyone’s money was in this some way or another, so he had to make sure everyone gave their approval.
Me on the other end, I would have blown the city up and asked for forgiveness later. It seemed like that was the course that Menace was going to take, but Corleon was the one who was making him have this sit down.
The sound of wheels crushing the gravel caused us all to turn around. We watched as two black Range Rovers pulled up the winding driveway, and a black Maybach followed behind, with another Range Rover behind it.
“Kora,” Menace muttered.
I watched as the cars all pulled away, and pulled off to the side, while the Maybach pulled up. The driver hopped out, walking around and opening the back door. The gold Louboutin pumps crushed the gravel as the rest of the body followed.
Kora stepped out, tossing her purse onto her shoulder and coming around the car door. The doors from the Range Rovers opened and I recognized Teflon. I had met him a while back at that meeting when Kora decided she wanted to cosplay as a glass maker.
“No,” Menace spoke.
Teflon nodded his head. “Zoo already spoke… you already know whatever he says.” He came over to dap me, Corleon, and Don up.
There was something peculiar about Teflon that I couldn’t put my finger on. When I first met him, I felt like something was different about him. Though, he was quiet and didn’t speak much, I could just feel it.
There was another man who came out the other Range Rover. He was brown skin, muscular, and tall. His tattoos covered most of his body and came over and dapped Don and Corleon.
When he made it to me, we offered each other a head nod. “Trigga.”
“Goon,” I replied.
“Why does Zoo know about this, Kora?” Corleon took the words from Menace’s mouth.
“He knows about everything. Not much that nigga doesn’t know… even about this one’s little relationships,” Teflon chuckled.
Kora looked at him, and he straightened up. “My personal business isn’t yours to discuss. Zoo told me that whatever you need from us, we’re here to provide.”
“Except, I don’t need you. You have a role, Kora… and I get you stepped up as the head when you and Zoo decided to fuck around, but this shit ain’t for you.”
I half expected Kora to pout like Boobie did whenever she didn’t get her way. Even protest and try to make her point, because whenever Menace said something, that was law. Instead, Kora smirked and messed in her nails before she looked up at her brother.
“You run your shit the way you see fit, and I never question you. I run my shit the way I see fit, and don’t you ever question me… that is how this works, Maverick. We both made that promise.” She held her hand out, and he took it, both doing a handshake.
Menace didn’t reply, he turned to walk towards the entrance of the house with Kora beside him.
How the fuck did she end up running the Kenzotti mafia while being a federal judge?
“You already know Boss lady don’t like talking about her shit,” Trigga snickered, teasing Teflon.
“I like to give her shit from to time… remind her that she’s human, too.” Teflon shrugged.
When we entered the house, the marble columns followed up the double staircase, and matching marble floors.
The house smelled expensive as shit, like they put money in the wall plugs to enhance the décor and design of the mansion.
The staff greeted us at the front and smiled like it was truly their pleasure to serve us.
“Welcome Mr. Caselli and Mrs. Kenzott—”
“Ms. Caselli,” Kora corrected. “Mrs. Kenzotti isn’t here… should have never even been, but that’s a story for another day with a cigarette and a French 75,” she replied nonchalantly.
Now even more I wanted to know what the fuck she had going on in her life.
I was never a nigga pressed to know any woman’s business, other than Boobie’s.
Kora was like a mystery that I was trying to piece together.
Menace wasn’t as hard to read as everyone thought, and Don was a bit of a mystery.
Everyone assumed because he was the youngest and most outgoing out of the siblings that he was friendly.
That couldn’t be furthest from the truth.
He had Menace running through his veins but was more calculated with the way he flew off the handle. I guess he was more like Kora in that way. Menace and Zoya didn’t give a damn about how they reacted.
If they felt it, they were going to let it be known, then come to some conclusion that made the least bit of sense. Menace never replied, he just followed behind the lady like the rest of us. Each room we walked through felt like it belonged in a damn museum.
The marble floors stretched from the foyer to each room. Floors were so glossy that you could see the chandelier hanging overhead. White stone with thick gray veins cut through the cracks in it. Every step we took echoed through the massive space.
Floor to ceiling windows overlooked the harbor that sat in the back of the home.
Through some bushels of greenery, you could see boats in the distance sailing under the bridge.
I stopped midstride and admired a particular painting that me and Khaos had stolen from one of the museums in Queens.
We never knew where the paintings went after we had them delivered.
All we cared about were those deposits that made it into our offshore accounts. It was nice to see that my hard work was on display in a beautiful home.
“Stop admiring your work,” Corleon smirked, as he walked past me and continued up with the rest of the group.
Along with the expensive art, the scent of cigars and rich cologne became stronger under the cool central air that was blaring throughout each room.
Everything was oversized: the couches, the glass tables, and the different art pieces of dead men staring at us like they could see through our souls.
We finally came to two grand oak wooden doors with gold handles.
She gave it a knock and waited before opening both doors, and walking through them. “Mr. and Ms. Caselli are here,” she announced our arrival.
Menace didn’t have time for the introductions and pushed past everyone to enter the room. I followed behind him because I didn’t know what to expect, and I made a promise to my baby that I would make sure her brother was brought to them.
I took my promises serious, because at the end of whatever was going down, we would all make it back home to our families.
The same familiar scent of cigars and cologne was stronger in this room. The dark wooden panels covered the walls from floor to ceiling, making the room feel warmer. The dim lighting hung low over the massive table that sat in the center of the room.