Mobster's Bet: Lascia che sia Dio a Decidere: Chapter 2 – Letting it Play Out

Chapter 2 – Letting it Play Out

It’s been a few weeks since our backers visited our casinos, and they’re coming back today for their bi-monthly visit and certain concerns of theirs. Cesare and I are practicing our shooting at my casino with our favorite pistols. Cesare is using his favorite revolver that is loaded with shotgun shells, while I’m using my golden pistol that uses rifle rounds.

“I still can’t believe they messed up the invasion of Cocodrilo so badly,” Cesare says as he aggressively reloads his revolver and fires it at a rapid pace. “That dictator is showing off what the invading force did wrong and telling us what we should’ve done. I mean, what happened?”

“Marin is figuring that out,” I say as I steadily shoot my pistol one shot after another. “What does it matter if we figure it out anyway? It’s over and done with.”

“We managed to liberate Trinacria with less than half the firepower of our country and less planning, but they decided to go in, guns blazing, with backup from the rebels on Cocodrilo, and they horribly lost.”

“That just goes to show how much better we are than they are.”

“Tch. That’s true. Do you still want to work within the government?”

“Maybe. If it’s more headache-inducing than working in business, then I may not.”

“Do you remember what Russell and the other old men said before? If you feel a pull towards a certain place, then it’s probably the will of God. I think we should get into politics just so we can prevent something like this from happening again.”

“Frank Ministro and his brother in politics didn’t manage to do much with the power they had. Donnie Parlarono of the Secret Intelligence Bureau couldn’t get enough info to help the invading force and rebels either, so what hope do we have in changing anything from inside the government?”

“We need to be in a higher position than they are. Maybe you should become president, and I’ll be vice president.”

“Ha. Like that’ll ever happen.”

“We can only hope to do so, and I’m saying we should do it.”

“Hey, hey!” Joseph Decoro says as he enters the firing range and over to us. “Campione brothers, what are you doing here?”

“Practicing our shooting. We need to keep them sharp just in case,” Cesare says.

“Where should we be, sir?” I ask.

“Quelling the riots and protests outside and getting those Vorfahren idiots a taste of the concrete.”

“It’s not done yet. Hold on.”

I go to the nearby computer and access the outside cameras. On the cameras, we see riots and protests happening outside the casinos of the Vorfahren, who are protesting because of our business and support of anti-Vorfahren politicians. Before Joseph says anything else, a fight breaks out among the rioters, consisting of Marin’s people beating on people with bats, brass knuckles, crowbars, and other blunt objects. The cops soon arrive, but don’t arrest Marin’s people and just go after the rioters and protesters.

“There we go. What took so long?” Joseph asks.

“We had Marin and Okazaki’s people focus on preventing other riots from around the city, and thought that it’d be better if we let the riots happen outside the casinos so the rioters would pay for the damages, have them arrested in public, and have the senseless violence of their ideology shown so that we can criticize them for it,” I explain.

“Ah! I get it now. It was a very Russell plan of yours. He’d be proud of you.”

“How’s he and the other bosses handling the situation?”

“Russell is moving his people around, doing his usual four-dimensional chess moves, James Sovrano is cracking heads in the Garden State, Angelo Delicato is protecting the old neighborhood from the Vorfahren, Vito D’Accordo is still protecting the ports and airports from foreign invaders, even as the snakes slip through the cracks, and Frank Ministro is tearing the president and related politicians and generals a new one with his brother over the Cocodrilo disaster.”

“What are you doing?”

“Helping to quell the violence that’s happening around the city and making sure everyone is doing their part. I guess you boys have everything under control.”

“Yeah. I wish we could do more, like busting heads out there ourselves,” Cesare says.

“I’d suggest it if your people weren’t doing their part. Leading by example is always the best motivator for the people under you.”

“Now you’re giving me an excuse to go out there and get my hands dirty.”

“We will if we see the need. For now, we’ll stay here and finish up our new meetings for the day,” I say.

“Keep up the good work, boys. You do the family proud,” Joseph says as he lovingly taps our faces and leaves.

Going back to shooting, Cesare asks, “Are you sure we shouldn’t go out there now?”

“Our people have the situation under control. We’ll be fine,” I say.

“I hope so.”

After letting out some steam, Cesare and I go up to meet Carlo Giocare at one of the brunch restaurant bars. He’s writing in his journal and talking to the chief of police, Umberto  Destro, more than eating and drinking his cappuccino. A rarity for him, meaning he’s in his serious business mode.

Sitting down with him and Umberto, I say, “Good morning, gentlemen. Is there anything we can help you with?”

“Vincenzo, always the one who knows what to say,” Carlo says. “We were going to ask you to help us get rid of the less-than-reputable members of the city, people who are worse than us, but it seems like you have that under control. What’s left to do is keep their faces down in dirt, and their people in the hospital with a bill so large that it’ll give them a reason never to accept money for protesting.”

“That’s why people are rioting and protesting? Because they were paid to?” Cesare says, surprised.

Umberto clarifies that, “Some of them are by members of their political party and allied beliefs, or at least that’s what my officers have found. Not all of them, though. Some are just too stupid to realize that people of their ideology are stringing them along so they can protest and be hurt or even martyred for their cause.”

“I think I really should go out there and get a piece of the action then.”

“You’re going to tell that to the chief of police like me?”

“Call it helping the authorities to make citizens’ arrests. What? You don’t need the help.”

“Not right now. I need you here coordinating your people more than out there.”

“They’re coordinated now. Vincenzo and Marin have a handle on that. I don’t want to sit around while innocent people get hurt, the city gets trashed, and our way of life is affected because of a bunch of butthurt yuppies and extremists.”

“I get it, Cesare, I really do. I feel the same way, and as a man in a similar position to you, I know that you’d rather force the results you want and get hurt rather than let others get hurt; however, your direct help isn’t needed right now.”

“Yes, sir,” Cesare says with a salute and a roll of his eyes.

“If you want to do something, then help us plan out our attack and areas of investigation. Here. I have a map of the city with the areas of interest marked.”

“Okay, fine.”

Carlo, Cesare, Umberto, and I go over the map, the marked locations, the plan of attack, and the list of suspects to pursue. Of course, Cesare wants to be on the front lines and use direct, brute force, but I go against that in certain instances. Given that we want the Vorfahren out of the country and their ideology classified as illegal, we do need them to show their violent side, so we allow Cesare to goad them into attacking us, so we can, in turn, arrest them or have a good reason to beat them to a pulp. For the most part, Umberto, Carlo, and I suggest more tactical maneuvers, like using our people to infiltrate these areas to either gather evidence or question the people there to get the information we need to expose their plans and give the police a reason to make arrests.

“Alright. I like what we have so far. I’ll relay what we’ve discussed with your wives, and we’ll get together at night to finalize them. You should go tell Arnold Ronaldo the Israeli’s part in this plan and make sure he isn’t misbehaving,” Carlo says.

“We will. I also hope that the chaos outside isn’t spoiling both of your stays,” I say.

“They did spoil the day a bit, but seeing those thugs outside lose their teeth and eat the curb made it better,” Umberto says.

“I have to agree with the chief here. Nothing is more satisfying to watch than divine justice on those who deserve it the most,” Carlo adds.

Cesare and I agree with the bosses and leave them. Going to the exclusive rooms where Arnold “Joker” Ronaldo is, we see him drinking more and playing more dangerously with more money than he usually does. He’s hardly paying attention to the women he came into the casino with, all of whom are standing back from him. I can’t blame them for doing so since he’s looking a little disheveled and out of his element. With each roll of the dice and each win followed by two or more losses, Joker gets less and less sure of himself and more and more hesitant and paranoid to make any sort of bet.

Looking up to us, he says, “My favorite two Mediterranean brothers are here, and just in time too! Could you spot me a thousand for my next bet?”

“A thousand?” Cesare asks while trying not to laugh. “You still owe us for some of your other bets that we loaned you money for.”

 “Come on, you know I’m good for it and pay you back on the bets I’ve helped you make.”

“We’ve also lost money because of it.”

Interrupting them, I say, “If this is a bet with our money, then we decide what we’re betting on.”

“Vincenzo, always the voice of reason. No offense, Cesare,” Joker says while Cesare grunts. “What do you think is going to be the result of the dice, my friends? High, low, or ace?”

Cesare looks to me, and I say, “Ace.”

“It’s an Ace then!”

When the dice are rolled, the results are an Ace. We get our thousand back, and Joker gets the rest of the winnings.

“It’s always a sure bet to bet on you, brothers. Come on, let’s continue our streak,” Joker says.

“I’d rather we talk business,” I say.

“Eh, business is why I’m like this right now. I bet too much on the Chimera States overtaking Cocodrilo.”

“We have a way of improving our situation. You can get your lost money back in a different way.”

“Alright, fine.”

Joker walks away from the gambling tables, and we sit in a private booth, his women still distant from him and him still drinking. Cesare and I tell him the plan we came up with and the Israeli mafia’s part that we want to play with them.

“I personally like to get some quick cash and get back at the Vorfahren, but our mutual friends aren’t going to do it just because you tell them to do it,” Joker says.

“I know. That’s why you have to tell them to meet us to finalize our plans and ensure their cooperation,” I say.

“Hmm. Alright. As long as we get our cut. What are you going to do about the president?”

Cesare and I look at one another.

“What do you mean, what are we going to do about him?” Cesare asks.

“If the family can arrange a meeting between a pope and his creator, then why can’t they do the same with a president?”

“Huh? Why should we? Because of his failure,” I ask.

“You could call it that. My sources tell me he’s compromised by a mistress of his that’s aligned with the Vorfahren. They confirmed it. Did you really think he wasn’t? Good Catholic men aren’t promiscuous like he is, right?”

“The family and the friends of the family are already having it out with the president and his influences. It’ll be handled, but not in that way. It’s too extreme right now.”

“Right now it is, but it won’t be later. You people bet and bleed a lot for the government to help them get him into office. He was supposed to do a lot for you, but let us all down. Who knows what’ll happen in the future?”

“We’ll consider it.”

“Please do.”

Cesare and I walk out of the room. My brother pulls me aside as we walk to our next meeting, and he says, “Should we really keep this drunk around? He’s talking about a bad bet that is bleeding us, while he’s just the same.”

“We’ll figure it out. Also, we should inform the Israeli mafia of our plans ourselves, just in case Joker forgets because of his drunkenness,” I say.

“I’ll make the call for our people to do so. I’ll also have our people watch Joker and drive him home when he’s ready to leave or should leave. I don’t trust him in the condition he’s in.”

“Good call.”

Cesare calls our family members and makes the arrangements for Joker and the Israelis. Because Fontaine Fontalloro is such a big hit every time he’s in our casinos, we meet him in an empty dining hall to arrange a contract before his next performance starts today. He’s dressed in an all-white suit, fedora, pants, a long tie, and shoes, all of which are so shiny that I feel like I need sunglasses to look at him. Sitting down with him and being served bread, water, and wine, we start our meeting with a handshake and friendly banter on topics about our actual family and what’s going on with them.

“Besides that and the usual drama of convincing my wife that I’m not seeing other women, my family is excited to see my new prospects in films and different venues. It’s all set in stone, right?” Fontaine says.

“It is thanks to our contacts in Hollywood and other entertainment industries,” I say.

“I’ve been telling Russell for years to make this official, and I’m glad that he’s giving it his full support, meaning we also get the full support of the family and its friends. Our way of life should be viewed positively in all forms of media and entertainment, like movies, books, video games, TV shows, and music, the whole nine yards. It attracts people to us and makes us look more favorable in the eyes of the public.”

“I thought this thing of ours was supposed to be more secretive. Don’t get me wrong. I know that people have an idea of our existence, so it’s good to give them a positive view of us, but still,” Cesare points out.

“It’s just to ensure that the parts of our way of life that are exposed are viewed as positively as possible so that the law and public don’t turn on us,” I say.

“I see. If that’s the case, can I write my own autobiography or a fictional tale about my life? I’ll be sure not to include things that the public shouldn’t know.”

“If you can, I don’t see why not,” Fontaine says.

“You’ll need the family’s approval on that. They have to review to make sure that there are no secrets revealed and that we are portrayed correctly. It’s the process taken for every bit of media about us.”

“Well, if Joseph Decoro, a major boss, can do it, I can do it too.”

Fontaine smiles and says, “Good, good! The most profitable part of entertainment is not the money that can be made through it, but the influence that it has on the public, and I’m so glad that people are seeing things the way I do. Of course, I will always make room for you in my schedule if I have any.”

“Thank you, Fontaine.”

Suddenly, Okazaki and Marin, with our people, burst into the room with their guns drawn and pointed behind us.

“Get down!” Okazaki says.

Instinctually trusting Okazaki, Cesare, and me get down with Fontaine, even though we don’t know what’s going on. The reason becomes obvious as people with submachine guns come out shooting from the stage at the table we’re sitting at. Peeking my head up with my pistol, I see that they’re people who work for us. I don’t give it another thought as Cesare and I return fire at the traitors. We gun them down, but also make sure to try not to shoot anything vital, so we can question them. Running up to them, my people, Cesare and I make sure the shooters don’t try to take their own lives with their guns or a hidden cyanide pill in their mouths, and thankfully, they don’t do anything or have any cyanide on them.

The only problem we have is Okazaki, who relentlessly beats one of the shooters with her hands. Marin has to restrain her as Okazaki says, “My family and I paid and treated you well! Why did you betray us for your stupid fucking foreign friends?!”

I restrain Cesare before he starts beating on the half-dead shooters as he says, “Is this what this is about? These people worked for us? Now that I’m getting a good look at them, I think I recognize a few-what, Vincenzo? I’m not going to kill them.”

“I know you’ll do worse, just like your other half. Let’s let the cops handle the questioning,” I say.

Speaking of cops, Umberto comes down with his cops to arrest all the shooters, gives us basic questions to put on the record, and promises to chop this all up to another in the list of crimes of those who follow the Vorfahren ideology. To calm things down, Fontaine sings for us, as we all sit down to eat and talk.

“God gave my guardian angel a message that you were in danger because of traitors in our ranks,” Okazaki says.

“We should go through everyone who works here to make sure we don’t have traitors in our ranks anymore. What happened today won’t be enough to send them a message. I guarantee it,” Cesare says.

“We’re planning on it,” Marin says.

“Yeah…it’s what we have to do,” I say.

Marin holds my hand and asks, “Are you okay, Vincenzo?”

“Yeah, it’s just that I can’t believe we let this happen.”

“They were loyal to us to begin with, and let an evil influence take hold of their mind because they thought the Vorfahren are doing the right thing, while also thinking we’re holding back the country and turning against our own,” Okazaki explains.

“We’ll figure this out and clean it up. It’s going to be okay,” Marin says as she caresses my hand.

“I know,” I say as I cross myself. “I know.”