Niccolo was being diplomatic.
A more accurate way of putting it was,When our father died, DARIO decided to go against everyone else’s advice and get out of the drug business.
All the men in the room knew that was what hadactuallyhappened.
Niccolo continued. “When the Agrellas were wiped out and we took over street operations in Florence, we continued to expand the ‘no drugs’ policy. But that didn’t mean the demand suddenly went away – just the supply.
“Small-time gangs have jumped into the fray because they know there’s a lot of money to be made. Unfortunately, that’s bad for our image. If a bunch of hooligans are running around conducting business onourturf, it makes us look weak.
“Plus, as Raffaelo said, they’re selling shitty product that’s killing people. So not only has our standing on the streets of Florence diminished, but people are dying as a result. My personal opinion is that we should getbackinto the drug trade, purely as a way to reestablish control and make sure more people don’t die.”
“I notice you skipped over the part about the women not taking our deal,” Dario said wryly.
“They’re separate issues – ”
“I see them as one and the same,” Dario interrupted. “If we go back to the old way of doing things, we victimize the women who sell sex, and we victimize the people who buy drugs.”
“Again,” Niccolo said patiently, “just because we don’t want to be involved in that part of the business doesn’t mean that the demand magically disappears. I could just as easily argue that we’re victimizing the women by not protectingthem from violent customers, and that we’re victimizing the drug clientele by allowing inferior product to kill them.”
“So we should profit off of misery?” Dario snapped.
Niccolo shrugged. “We can do it at cost, if that’s your concern.”
“Hold on,” Roberto interjected. “That’s an awful lot of resources to expend just to break even. The opportunity cost alone is huge – the amount of time and capital that wecouldbe putting towards another source of revenue is – ”
Niccolo glared at him in warning, and Roberto shut up.
“You see?” Dario said. “This is what happens: we take one step down the slippery slope, and suddenly we’re pimps and drug dealers.”
Niccolo smiled tightly. “I’ve stated my opinion. Perhaps you should hear from the others.”
“I know Roberto’s position,” Dario said darkly.
“That’s not fair,” Roberto protested. “My job is to make money for the family. You know that.”
“I know, I know,” Dario grumbled. “Adriano?”
“I think we should get back into drugs, if for no other reason than I don’t want a bunch of fuckheads running around making us look weak. And we should bring the pimps back. If it makes you feel better, we can tell them that if they hurt any of the women, we’ll fuckin’ kill them. But you heard what Giorgio said – theputtanasaren’t taking the deal.”
“Don’t call them that,” Dario said coldly.
Lars gave me a look likeI told you so.
I tried to keep my temper under control. “Alright – theprostitutesaren’t taking the deal. But we have to deal with reality.”
Dario turned to Nic’s wife. “Sofia?”
She looked a tiny bit surprised he’d asked her opinion. “Well… like you, I’m ordinarily against anything that would victimize women. But if you take all the emotion and moral judgment out of it, it’s simply a question of economics.
“Drugs are a product. Prostitution is a service.
“There’s a demand for both. As Niccolo said, just because you don’t want to sell the product or provide the service doesn’t mean the demand goes away.
“In a wide-open market, competitors will move in to cater to the demand. But if there’s no oversight, then they’ll sell inferior product.
“And the providers of the service – in this case, prostitution – won’t be protected from violent customers.
“Worse, as competitors realize there aren’t any repercussions for bad behavior, they become bolder. They’ll act out even more.
