“This plane is even better than your last one, Alejandro. Much roomier, much nicer.” Alonso’s been with my family since before I was born, so he gets away with the jab.
“Be glad you even have a seat in here. Alejandro could stick you in the hold or make you fly commercial.” Carlos has no problem teasing his father.
This is my second private jet. Carmine Mancinelli, little fucknut that he is, had a tantrum and blew up my last one. He thought he got revenge for shit that happened with his then-girlfriend, now-wife. It wasn’t anything personal with her, but my family comes before his.
That tit-for-tat Julián mentioned the other night is exactly what happened with Carmine. I couldn’t just accept his retribution for what it was, even if I felt a little bad. I had all of his cars booted each time he parked on a public street, and I blewup several race cars he owns—Formula One and NASCAR. We’ve had something of a truce ever since, though that could change at any moment.
I head into the cabin and close the door behind me since I need to call my family. The men know why I came back here, so none think twice about it. They understand it’s a private conversation. It’s why none took seats in the row closest to the cabin. I turn on the white noise sound machine I travel with—not to help me sleep, but for when I have calls or meetings where I don’t need anyone overhearing us.
“Hola, tío.”
“Hola, sobrino. ¿Cómo te va?” Hello, nephew. How’s it going?
“Muy bien. Happy to be on the plane. Happy to be on the way home.” Very well.
We continue the conversation in Spanish.
“Do you have anything to report?”
“Yeah, our men took out all the Oskolkis’ Elite Group yesterday. Left none of them. The only one alive is theirpakhan.”
Maks should’ve taken care of him when he had the chance. We’ll give him one more shot.
“The guy knows that if Maks doesn’t kill him, we will. I told him he should call Maks and let him know I came for a visit.”
“Did he shit himself?”
Javier’s tone is purely mocking. He’s the most misanthropic of all of us, even though we each have a touch of that, since we’ve seen humanity at its cruelest too many times. We’ve been guilty of it just as often as we’ve witnessed it. But none of us are as jaded as he is. He can thank watching his father get murdered when Jorge was eight, he was nearly ten, and Joaquin was nearly eleven.
“He definitely came close each time I said Maks’s name. He begged me not to make him call Maks. Stupid man was more scared of a guy all the way in New York than the one in front of him. However, when I busted both of his kneecaps, I disabused him of his belief that Maks’s torture would be worse than mine. He believed he was going to get off easy with me.”
There’s a round of chuckles on the phone since my cousins and I are all enforcers for our family. We’ve had plenty of training on how to ensure people understand what it means to crosslos Diaz. We don’t handle day-to-day shit. Only the people who fuck up badly. I deal with our Latin American counterparts whileTres J’sand Pablo handle the ones here in the States. The worst face Pablo alone. I only came to Chicago because of my connection to Julián.
“Anything interesting happen?”TíoEnrique is almost always straight to the point.
“The man sang like a fucking canary. Unfortunately, it was nothing new. He just confirmed the Kutsenkos and O’Rourkes are still funding the war in Italy. The Kutsenkos might not be laundering money through the Oskolkis anymore, but they’re still taking sides in that battle.”
“Puta madre.” Motherfucker.
That’s Jorge. He’s pissed, and rightly so after everything he just went through to protect his fiancée. He proposed just before I headed to Chicago, and I’ve never seen him happier.
Joaquin and I are the only single men left standing. When shit went sideways in Germany, Joaquin and I flew out there to help. It’s where we learned it’s two against two in an Italian turf war. Marriage connects the SicilianCosa Nostraand VenetianMala del Brenta, and both are Salvatore’s in-laws. They’re gunning for the Camorra and’Ndrangheta.
“Jorge, what do you want to do with them?”
Ultimately, it’sTíoEnrique’s decision. However, he’ll listen to my cousin’srequests since Jorge’s fiancée’s family were the casualties.
“I don’t know yet, but we’ll see how Maks reacts to Alejandro’s handiwork. Maybe for a moment he’ll think it was Dillan who gave the order, but I doubt it. I want to see if he follows through on his word and does away with the Oskolkis’pakhanlike he said he would.”
“I wouldn’t hold your breath that he will, Jorge.”
“I know, Javier.”
My cousin’s sounding a little testy toward his next older brother. I wonder what I’ve missed, though I’m sure Jorge’s still exhausted from the last month. Not only did he have to protect Anneliese, but he also had to find and rescue her father. It’s taking a toll on him, even though he does his best to hide it from Anneliese.
Joaquin and I talked about it more than once while we were over there. Joaquin was definitely worried about his baby brother, and I was right there alongside him.
“There was another development while I was with Julián at his bachelor party.” I get us back on track.
