“An outsider would have difficulty inspiring loyalty...but they would be operating outside law enforcement’s playbook as well. It could provide enough chaos and confusion for someone withsufficient skill to exploit. William’s death...affords us a greater chance than if he were taken alive,” I said, and at the unhappy murmuring that followed, I shrugged. “William was one of our own, and he was very good at what he did, but right now I’m not focused on our loss, but on solving the problem that has been dropped into our laps.”
I had never shown myself to be an overly sentimental or emotional person, not when it came to business, and especially when we had just suffered a significant blow. Sentimentality had its place when dealing with people on a personal level, but when were you supposed to zoom out and look at things through an objective lens? Well, they could mourn in private. Right now, there was a problem staring us in the face.
“William served The Family faithfully for years, and calling his loss a severe blow would be underselling it,” Augustine said, leaning forward. “He had many friends, and his own blood who would step forward and take his place, but Levi and Eliza have called attention to the problem. Everything north of SoCal and south of us lacks someone to take charge, someone who can handle the delicate process with forethought and attention to detail without drawing attention to themselves.”
“Any number of people here could do it,” Theodore piped up from his usual place at the corner of the front table, close enough to feel important, but off to the side so he wouldn’t be in the direct line of sight...or in the splash zone. “Although most are busy with other operations.”
“Then pick someone capable of doing the job but wouldn’t cripple their current operations,” Eliza said, sounding irritated.
“Are we going to vote or volunteer?” Leonard asked curiously. I kept my reaction to myself. I thought his chance of being voted for was about the same as people in Hell getting ice water.
“That decision was made within an hour of finding out what happened,” Augustine said, and everyone fell silent while he watched all of us.
There were good choices in the room, but which one would he choose? Honestly, if it weren’t for her position, Eliza would have been a good fit. Few people could command the same level of respect and fear as Augustine. I doubted she would let her children out of her sight, so they wouldn’t make her look bad or oust her.
Roy or Elliot would be decent enough choices as well. Neither of them was tied to anything that required their personal touch. Roy was a little too fond of his substances and was known to make sloppy mistakes because of it. Elliot was more sober, but his ability to rein people in was... questionable.
In fact, the more people I ran through my mind, the more I saw gaping flaws that could open them up to being undermined or unfit for the job. It wasn’t the largest or most prosperous section of Family territory, but it was vital for the rest to function. Everything ran through that territory, and having the feds running the place would make our jobs more difficult. It would have to be someone who didn’t have a major vice that could be taken advantage of or hinder their ability to work; it had to be someone who knew how to clamp down on dissent and danger without causing a huge mess. It also had to be someone who had enough charisma to convince those loyal enough, but unsure, to follow, but enough force of personality to make sure all the vultures circling the body weren’t going to swoop in at the worst moment, either.
“Levi will take care of things,” Augustine said, leaning back in his seat and watching peacefully.
It felt as though the room had zoomed out around me, and I was left to stare through a small pinprick at Augustine. My facial muscles had frozen. There was a low buzz in my ears, whichmight have been my blood pressure or everyone discussing the latest development.
Me?
“Him?” Leonard echoed my thoughts and scoffed. “He’s a kid.”
“He’s ten years your junior and has been managing ten times as much as you since he was legally allowed to drink,” Eliza snapped, scowling at the doughy man. “When was the last time you ran anything of note with any success?”
That was true; I had done a damn fine job of making sure all the transport lines along the western coast were either clear or rerouted. I had run a few groups more than once and was held in good regard among the people I operated with. However, I had not shown an ability to handle an entire region on my own; I was a specialist at best, someone who had shown precisely zero interest in moving up in our world. If anything, it was my fondest, most privately held wish that I could one day find a way out without having to pay in blood.
The sounds of reality came flying back as I stared at Augustine. I could hear the discussions, noting that some were moving on to business as usual, unbothered and unfazed by the recent, unexpected development. They were the ones who were good at what they did, secure in their positions, with no ambitions for anything greater. Some were noticeably unhappy; I made note of them. Others were pissed about the decision and whether I had known about it beforehand. A few were like me, absolutely silent and listening while keeping their attention on Augustine.
Augustine, however, was busy staring down at the table rather than meeting anyone’s eyes. He had purposefully dropped the news without warning, but to what purpose? It couldn’t have just been to see my reaction; he could have done that without an audience...unless the audience was the point.That or, as I suspected before, there was a mole, and it was his way of rooting around in our heads to see who could be responsible. No matter what his reasons, he wasn’t one to speak idly, which meant I had been volunteered for the job, and there was nothing I could say, not with an audience anyway.
“This will remain between us, I hope you understand why,” Augustine said, silencing them quickly. “It’s essential we are all on the same page. I’ll know if the information leaks. In the meantime, other things need to be discussed.”
Leonard leaned back with a harsh snort. “Gettin’ played for the favorite again, I guess. Or are ya gonna claim you just got friends in high places?”
I ignored him. The man was an idiot and a fool, and I sat listening to the rest of the meeting, fully aware that the primary reason we were there had been taken care of, though I was sure he would pull some people aside later.
‘Friends in high places.’ What a laugh. Anyone with a brain knew I didn’t have friends, not anymore. This life didn’t provide an opportunity to find, make, or keep friends, not without risking a lot. The chances of betrayal were too high. The Family punished traitors harshly, so it was always surprising when someone betrayed them. But betrayal within the family wasn’t a betrayalofThe Family. The internal politics of the Marelli family were more treacherous than Italy under the Medici’s. Of course, an outside threat forced everyone to present a united front, but there were always opportunists seeking new ways to improve their position.
One friend, that was all I had ever had in my life, and all I had ever dared to have before my life path had been chosen for me.
“So, you always sit by yourself?” a voice asked from above me.
Scowling up, I was blinded by the afternoon sun as it blazed overhead. Grunting, I shifted position to look again and saw...someone I didn’t recognize. “Why are you in a tree?”
The stranger laughed, swinging down using a branch to land before me. “I’m waiting for my parents to come back. I like to be up high to see them coming.”
“You could just wait for them to drive up,” I said with a frown. No, he wasn’t a complete stranger; I had seen him before, but only a few times. In a packed city public school, new kids were interesting for a day or two, and then the excitement faded. This one made waves on his second day after Matthew Garrett, a juvenile troll, decided he had a new target. Except the new kid wasn’t the target Matthew thought, and had broken his nose and wrist in the fight. “Oh, you’re the kid who fucked up Matt.”
“I am,” he said with a shrug, as if he didn’t care that he’d beaten the biggest, meanest asshole our school had to offer. That was until we were in middle school next year, then there were going to be a whole slew of guys like him. “And my parents aren’t going to drive up anytime soon. I’d be a little freaked out if that happened.”
“Why’s that?” I asked as he dropped, right onto my sketch pad.
“They’re dead,” he said, as he leaned to one side and carefully pulled my sketch book out. “Last year, plane crash. Whoa, you draw?”
