Chapter
4 – Half-Satisfied
“Do you think those bastards will
do what he said?” James asks me in the hotel room where all the members of the
family are.
“I think he will,” I say.
“What makes you think that?”
“He was impressed with my display
of strength and bold insistence.”
“I was impressed you did it as
well, but that doesn’t mean that other scumbags will listen to him. We need to
make sure the rest of them follow suit, know it was us who did it, and know
what will happen to those who try to corrupt the United States. My contacts are
telling me the Lupa army itself is involved in this. Where else do you think
they get their guns from?”
“What about Adler? You want us to
go after them, too?”
“No. The homeland of our ancestors
will be the example for the rest of them. We’ll give them a thrashing they’ll
never forget.”
“What about what happened with the
bosses that I talked to?”
“If they’re smart, they’ll stay out
of this. From what my contacts told me, those men in the villa used to be men
of honor until they sold out to Lupa’s dictator, this Il Luce. You want to
secure our country’s, our family’s, your family’s security, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’ll follow me and do as I
say, unless you think I’m wrong. You’re the strategist like Russell, Angelo,
and Vito. Tell me if there’s anything wrong with what I’m suggesting.”
“There isn’t.”
“Let’s get this done then and show
those two stuck-up empires what real strength looks like from real
Mediterranean men.”
For the next few days, Cesare,
Marin, Okazaki, and I help James, our family members, and members of the
anti-Vorfahren resistance sabotage the Lupa propaganda production facilities, their
army’s supply depots, and end up threatening the leaders here at gunpoint if
they choose to retaliate. When we think we’ve done enough damage, we prepare to
go back home, only for a group of soldiers to attack the town where we were
staying.
“Do we really think that their word
meant anything?” I ask.
“You’d think so after everything of
theirs that we destroyed, but it definitely was a possibility that they’d go
back on their word,” James says.
“We can’t leave yet.”
“Why not? These people can take care
of themselves, especially after they armed themselves with weapons we gave them
from the army.”
“Because we started this problem
for them, we have to solve it. Besides, if we get the army a thrashing they’ll
never forget, it’ll disincentivize them in retaliating, right?”
“…You’re right.”
“Let’s get this done then and show these
people what real men of honor look like.”
“Here I thought I was the boss and
outranked you.”
We help the townspeople hurry to
set up defenses and traps for the incoming army. Cesare and I, with the townspeople,
hide up in the hills, and as soon as the enemy passes, we trigger the
explosives, killing many and scaring the rest. After finishing them off,
another wave of soldiers, aided by tanks, advances on us, forcing us back as we
fire back at them with machine guns and rocket launchers. Further down the hill,
Okazaki and Marin take potshots at advancing soldiers and activate explosives
from their side to take out the damaged tanks. Still, more soldiers come at us,
forcing us to take up defensive positions in the town.
Just as the soldiers push against
our defensive line, men on horses arrive from behind the soldiers, firing at
them and yelling at them to surrender. I recognize a few of them as the bosses
at the villa I was at a few days ago.
“Surrender or face your maker!” one
of the bosses says in Mediterranean, as the fighting dies down. “Those men and
women from the United Chimaera States are real men of honor, unlike us, who
easily gave in to the demands of our country’s new leader. What happened to the
virtuous, rebellious spirit that this island is known for? In our island’s history, we never let anyone
rule over us that we didn’t allow, so why should we so easily give in now? When
have numbers and the perceived strength of our enemy gotten us to back down
from a fight?”
“Never!” the crowds of townspeople
say.
“Then I say, we fight for our
independence until our dying breath. If you wish to flee, then flee, but if you
wish to fight against us, you’ll only be met with the overwhelming
determination and ferocity of the people of Trinacria.”
The crowd loudly cheers, and the
soldiers either cheer with them or lay down their arms. Going up to the bosses,
they recognize and thank us for reigniting their fighting spirit.
“I know for a fact that you were
the one who chose to stay and defend the townspeople rather than easily retreat
to your country,” one of the bosses says while pointing at me.
“That’s true. Still, it was boss
James who wanted to stay to do more damage, so he should get some of the
credit,” I admit.
“Ah, you brownnoser. I ought to
smack you in the face for being bolder than me,” James says.
“Whatever the case, we appreciate
your support. We’ll be fine here while you head back home. You’ll get no more
trouble from the people of Trinacria.”
“I assume there are no hard
feelings for the lives we’ve taken?” Marin asks.
“None at all. In fact, you probably
should’ve shot us instead for our cowardice. Such are the old ways.”
“But it was mercy that saved us all,”
I say.
“All too true,” the boss says as he
crosses himself.
We say our goodbyes to the people
of the Trinacria, get everything we have on the plane, including the many gifts
they gave us, and fly back home. Russell is back from his trip across the country,
and we report our success to him and everything that happened.
“Good work, boys,” Russell says.
“Huh? That’s it? Did you not hear what
happened? We fought a fricken army and got them to turn on their country,”
James says.
“I expected these boys and you to
win. What else should I say?” Russell says as he lovingly slaps our faces. “But
you’re right. You should get more than my thanks. Cesare and Vincenzo will get
charge of their own men and have control of the new casinos that are being
built in the city.”
“And for me?”
“For you, James? You can have
whatever you want for the state your family controls. What else could you want?”
“Hmm. You’re right. Guess I shouldn’t
have asked.”
Cesare, Okazaki, Marin, and I are
thankful to Russell for his many gifts, and he’s thankful we never let him
down. We then celebrate at Angelo’s restaurant with everyone who helped fight
back against the Vorfahren, including the Israeli bosses, to whom I give the
old model pistol and some of the gifts the Trinacria people gave us. Donnie
Parlarono tells us that the Mediterranean Empire and the Zeitloses Imperium are
backing off from our country to focus on those closest to them. As far as we
know, our deal with the government is done, but the Vorfahren are still a
threat. Nevertheless, the next president will be more favorable to us and
should help expunge all corrupting influences in the country.
“I see a bright future ahead for
all of us,” Okazaki says.
“You always see that,” Cesare jokes
with a cigarette in his mouth.
“Yes, but it’s even clearer and
more certain than before.”
“Whatever the case is, I’m sure our
strategists have a plan for us.”
“We do,” Marin and I say. We lift
our wine glasses and say, “To God, family, and country.”
Cesare and Okazaki toast, and we
enjoy our celebration, each other’s company, and the promise of even better
times ahead.
The End
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