A nauseated looking Pym hunkered down at the desk behind Cold, and Jerry and Crybaby took the last two seats at the table. Duncan went to the couch since there was nowhere else to sit.
“The first order of business is the hit,” Cold said. “Per Cristian’s command, we were tasked with killing Delgado Ricci because of his support for Matteo. My intention was to spare Mr. Ricci to gain valuable access to the Luchesi family’s personal finances. Mickey was going to miss, we were going to fake Mr. Ricci’s death, and then keep him safely tucked away until this was all over. However, that did not happen. There was a second assassin, and he or she killed Mr. Ricci. They also tried to kill Mickey.”
Roger frowned over at Mickey in what may have been concern.
“How did this other killer know about the hit?” Jerry demanded. “You didn’t even tell all of us what was going on.”
“There’s a rat,” Jules grunted. “Gotta be.”
“Someone in Cristian’s camp may have told Luigi,” Cold said. “Matteo had no reason to kill Mr. Ricci, not when he was openly supporting his claim. Luigi may have wanted his man to get credit for the kill. More likely, Cristian was testing us. He knows what a valuable and dangerous asset Mr. Ricci would have been alive and in the wrong hands.”
“You mean in our hands, yeah?” Jules snorted.
“Precisely.”
“What do we do now?” Duncan asked nervously. “Cristian knows. He has to. He is gonna know we fucked up. He’s gonna know what we’re doing.”
“No, he’s not.” Cold shook his head. “We say nothing. Mr. Tamerlane will still take credit for the hit, and we move on.”
“That’s it?” Mickey frowned.
“Cristian wanted Mr. Ricci dead. Now he’s dead.”
“Is that what the surprise meeting was about? That fucker Salvatore seemed real eager to jump on my dick about not actually killing Ricci.”
“Cristian had some concerns regarding some rumors he’d heard. I did my best to put them at ease so we can continue working together.”
“He totally fuckin’ knows, doesn’t he?”
“Most likely.” Cold shrugged. “But right now he needs us. As long as Matteo and Luigi are both still fighting him for the city, he can’t afford to lose our support.”
“Even if he knows we’re trying to fuck him over?” Duncan asked miserably.
“A temporary problem that will soon have a permanent solution,” Cold replied. “Now, the drug sting. As planned, Strassen Springs’ finest recovered a very impressive amount of illegal drugs and made several arrests. Officer Carville is looking at a promotion and is very grateful for the little boost we gave him.”
“Carville ate it the fuck up.” Crybaby cackled. “He was happier than a pig in shit. Literally. ’Cause you know, he’s a pig. He’s already working on tracking down two more distribution hubs right here in the city limits.”
“Excellent.”
“He’s holding Marco Luchesi and a few others on charges,” Crybaby said. “They’re gonna have their arraignments tomorrow. Thought you might wanna know.”
“Well.” Cold’s upper lip twitched. “I will look into that. Can’t have a prize specimen like Marco locked up. Someone should make sure he makes bail.”
“I’ll call him,” Alistair said quietly.
“Him who?” Duncan asked.
“Later.” Cold held up his hand. “We’ve dealt a substantial blow to the Luchesi family’s operations, but there is still much to do. The ledgers have revealed a particularly lucrative opportunity I believe we are going to take advantage of.”
“What is it, Boss?” Jerry lit up a cigarette. “More drugs?”
“Even better. Guns.” Cold smiled wickedly. “Matteo is expecting a very large shipment of weapons. We’re going to relieve him of it.”
“Fuckin’ awesome,” Crybaby cheered. “Let’s do it.”
“Oh, we will,” Cold promised. “You, Mr. Tamerlane, Mr. Gill, and Mr. Lorre will be going.”
Mickey made a face hearing he was going to be working with Roger again.
