“Don’t listen to him, Mr. Cold, sir,” Duncan begged. “We’ll do whatever you want. Just protect us, okay? The Luchesis can’t know we did this. We, we had nothing to do with this! Please!”
“On the contrary,” Cold drawled, “my new friend Mr. Tamerlane here is a hero.”
“I am?” Mickey blinked.
“Tony Luchesi was going to steal the money kept here for himself,” Cold explained. “Mr. Tamerlane heard about it and being the loyal man that he is, he called me to let me know so we could take care of it. Our confrontation got out of hand, and we were forced to kill everyone here.”
“That’s, that’s not what happened,” Duncan stammered. “You can’t tell that to the Don. He won’t believe you!”
“He will.”
“Okay, so, you set Tony up for being a thief,” Mickey mused. “He’s already on the family’s shit list for borrowing money ’cause he can’t stay away from the ponies at the track… which, I’m guessing, you already knew.”
“I did.”
“What happens to all the money then?” Mickey pressed.
“It’s the most awful thing,” Cold said with a sigh, glancing over to Jules with a knowing smile. “We were not able to recover all of it because of the fire.”
“Fire? What fuckin’ fire?”
“The one I’m gonna start,” Jules said gleefully.
“We take the money, divide some of it amongst ourselves, and burn the building to the ground,” Cold said. “The Don will be grateful we took care of a thief and appreciate the cash we were able to spare.”
“That’s it? It’s that easy?” Mickey frowned.
“Oh, Mr. Tamerlane, have faith.” Cold chuckled. “The truth is whatever I say it is.” He took another sip from his glass. “I want you to come work for me. I’m sure I will have many uses for your unique talents. In exchange, I will protect you and Mr. Gill, provide you with a handsome salary, and when I take the city from the Luchesis, you will rule alongside me and the others.”
“The others?” Mickey hesitated.
“You know, the rest of us fine gentlemen who don’t like the fuckin’ Luchesis,” Jules said, belching loudly as he set the emptied bottle down on the counter. “It’s a real good deal, kid.”
“Mickey,” Duncan hissed. “Come on. We should take it.” He smiled eagerly at Cold. “We accept, sir. You can totally trust us. We’re so very trustworthy. Thank you.”
“Allow me to raise you up, Mr. Tamerlane,” Cold urged. “You’re worth much more than taking shots at disgruntled union leaders and heckling with human trash over deposits. Pledge yourself to me, and Strassen Springs will be ours.”
“You sound pretty fuckin’ sure,” Mickey said, searching Cold’s face.
“Because I have a plan,” Cold said, his icy eyes meeting Mickey’s, “and I already know what to do.”
“Yeah, and how long is that gonna take, exactly?”
“Have patience,” Cold purred, a small smile playing over his lips. “I promise the spoils will be worth the wait.”
Duncan gave Mickey a pleading look.
Mickey didn’t know if Cold could deliver on what he was selling, but he didn’t have anything to lose. He had already been prepared to burn his ties with the Luchesi family, and here was a man offering him the matches.
Fuck it.
Mickey kneeled down, taking Cold’s hand and kissing it chastely. “I’m yours to command, Boss Cold.”
Cold flinched and quickly gestured for him to stand. “I’m not a boss, not yet. Just ‘Cold’ will do for now.”
“What happens now?”
“Now, my dearGentlemen, we wait. We watch. We bide our time. And when the moment is right?” Cold flashed a chilling smile. “We take Strassen Springs.”
