36. Chapter 36 #2
“And we don’t understand why you’re here when you weren’t on the list, but we’ve accepted it and we’re moving on,” Owen says smoothly, in a tone that sounds like he’s swatting at an annoying fly rather than addressing a man so deadly he’s feared in all of Mexico.
But it works, and my brother shuts his mouth.
Hunter appears unaffected, studying the agenda laying in front of him.
“I’m going to ask that you all refrain from outbursts when it is not your time to speak. As you can see from the agenda, everyone will have ample time to express their opinions and viewpoints,” Owen continues.
The tension in the room is thick, but everyone remains silent. I keep a watchful eye on my father and brother, just as each of the others are keeping an eye on their respective family members.
We start with allowing my father to present what he knows of the Russians moving back into Las Vegas territory. It’s surprisingly well put together. Danny Trentini shifts uncomfortably in his seat as my father talks, his eyes never leaving the section of table where my family sits.
“We know the Russians do not play well with others. And we know they will not hesitate to kill innocent people. While I disagree with my youngest son that Las Vegas should be neutral territory, I do agree that the Russians must be stopped before they gain more ground.”
He sits, and Owen swipes at his tablet, changing the slide projected onto the wall to indicate who is currently allowed to speak.
The slide changes from my father back to Owen.
It feels like we’re in a middle school classroom rather than a high-powered summit of families who control most of the world’s drug flow and money laundering.
Owen asks a dozen questions of my father before moving to the next item on the agenda. Griffin Price.
Instead of my father, the name on the slide changes to Jamie Bowden.
My father’s fist clenches atop his papers, but he stays silent as Jamie stands and opens a folder he brought in with him.
“Gentlemen, my son informed me two weeks ago that Mr. Serrano here believes Griffin Price to be involved with the Russians, as he laid out in his eloquent presentation.”
The Irish accent makes it sound like he’s mocking my father, but it’s honestly hard to tell. Still, the tension ratchets up a notch as Bowden continues.
“I took the liberty of deploying some of my men on a fact-finding mission, because we’ve had trouble with Price in New York before. Here’s what we found.”
Owen changes the slide so we can see what’s in Jamie’s folder. I had no idea he’d done that much coordinating with each of the meeting attendees. But the careful planning on Owen’s part seems to be paying off because so far no one has shouted or pulled a gun that we missed in the pat downs.
“As you can see, Mr. Price has been a busy young man. He seems to be buying up stakes in a dozen Russian backed companies, and yes, several of those are right here in Las Vegas. Now, we value Vegas as neutral territory, and I admire what my son has done here. It has provided a safe place to meet with contentious parties on a number of occasions, and I for one would like to keep it that way. So let me tell you a bit out Griffin Price’s way of doing things. ”
He goes on to lay out the ways that Price set the Russians up to take over key territories in New York, ending with the fact that he doesn’t have enough proof just yet, but he believes it was Price who ultimately orchestrated the assassination of the mayor of New York City, because doing so put a friendly party in office temporarily which was enough to get his Russian friends the various permits they needed to operate in the city.
“What does that have to do with Las Vegas?” Danny Trentini asks when Owen opens the floor to questions.
Jamie leans back in his chair, resting his hands on his belly, fingers laced together. “I’ve been known to be wrong on occasion, but didn’t the mayor of this fine city just resign? What happens when she leaves office?”
Hunter curses and leans forward. “The Mayor Pro Tempore takes over immediately, and then the city council selects someone to finish out her term. A city council that has recently been overrun with new council members in the last two cycles.”
“How much longer does she have?”
“Eighteen months,” Hunter growls. “Seventeen by the time she leaves office. We can’t let her resign. Not yet.”
My eyes fly to his. He can’t be serious. There’s no way we can let that woman continue in office.
“How do we know she’s not close with the Russians?” I ask. “Didn’t we already ascertain that she is?”
Jamie slides a piece of paper my direction, as Owen changes the slide again.
“As you can see there, lad, the paper trail leads to Phineas, not Mayor Brandt. It would appear Miranda was a naughty girl and had an affair with one of Maxim Argon’s men years ago, and that resulted in young Phineas being born. ”
There are whistles and gasps around the table as the pieces fall into place.
The first two hours of the meeting fly as we continue through Owen’s carefully crafted agenda.
We summon Bellamy to allow Tyson, Sabrina, and Grace into the room to guide everyone to their suites where they will stay for the night.
In each room, Tyson has set up a lunch spread, and they are given their cell phones but not their weapons.
Everyone will meet back in the conference room in one hour.
I wink at Grace as she asks my father and brother to follow her. The blush in her cheeks makes me smile.
“Ah, Grace, I see my son is fond of you. It’s a pleasure to meet you finally. Perhaps you can introduce me to Liliana as well.”
I can’t hear what Grace says as she leads them from the room, but whatever it is makes my father laugh. A rare feat, but I pray she doesn’t take him to meet Lili.
Mostly for fear of what Lili might say. My Spitfire is not known for keeping her thoughts to herself.