“Shit,” Tipo says, “son of a bitch!”
“I’m sorry.” I glance around at them. “I didn’t know until I went to see him, but I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I got us into this mess.”
“No,” El Jefe says, “you didn’t, you just said yourself that Frank has. You were still a kid when you made that deal; and we’re just as much to blame for that, we should have protected you and your family from Frank, but we didn’t.”
Tipo nods. “Yeah, we’re the ones who should be sorry.”
I’m in shock, this is not what I was expecting. Anger and disappointment, absolutely; but acceptance, and even an apology from them… no way.
“There was nothing you could’ve done…” I shrug. “It’s Frank.”
“Hmm,” El Jefe says. “The question now, Diablo, is what do you want? Not what Frank wants you to do, but what do you want to do?”
“I want to stay legit and step out from Frank’s shadow. My mom and Donovan know about the deal; they want me to find a way out of it. But…” I sigh, “I’m not sure if that’s even possible.”
“Alright,” El Jefe says, “this is not an official vote yet, but do you want to stay legit, Sí? or No?”
He looks around the table.
“Sí,” Walrus says.
“Sí,” Pretty Boy and Tank say together.
“Sí,” Slim says.
I nod. “Sí.”
“Sí,” Tipo says.
“And it’s a Sí from me,” El Jefe says, “like Walrus, I enjoy going home to my wife, not worrying about who’s watching or tailing me, and I sure as hell never want another lock-down with you all again.”
Tipo chuckles, clearly remembering how El Jefe reached the end of his tether being trapped in the clubhouse for a week with us that one time.
“So how do we deal with Diablos Rojos?” Tank asks.
“And Frank,” Pretty Boy says.
El Jefe is about to say something, but Slim sits forward; he never usually talks at meetings, choosing just to listen and vote.
“I’ve got an idea.”
“Let’s hear it,” El Jefe says, leaning back in his chair.
“Diablos Rojos say we owe them for helping Frank, but we’re not the only ones loyal to him,” Slim says.
“Explain,” Tipo says.
“Diablos Rojos just need bodies for their runs; they probably don’t even care who it is. Us owing them a debt for Frank gave them a pool of people to choose from. But maybe it doesn’t have to be us. We’ve got ex-members out there who are still interested in illegal work, and they were in the club with Frank. If we can prove to Diablos Rojos that they’re loyal to Frank and that they can repay his debt to them, it’s a win-win. Diablos Rojos get the bodies they need, and we stay legit.”
We’re all quiet, taking it in.
“Shit,” Tipo says, “that’s fucking genius.”
El Jefe nods. “And if we want to give Frank the message that the deal is off, I’m sure Diablos Rojos would be interested to know that they’ve been played. If that’s not too harsh of a message for you, Diablo?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m done. They can do whatever the fuck they want to him.”
“You really think this could work?” Tank asks.
