Of Mobsters and Men: WILD (Book #2)

by L. A TehPeaceMaker

  “You know that’s still sore.” I groaned.

  “Would you like if I kissed it better?” Stefano delivered a hearty laugh.

  Chapter 13

  Stefano’s POV

  As my door slowly opened, I raised up from my leather chair and walked over to a couch in the corner. I glanced at the door seeing my soldier, Louise Accardi, entering. He bowed his head and took off his coat before sitting down.

  I crossed my legs and leaned back in my seat. I look Louise straight in the eyes, signaling that we’re going to jump straight into business. “You tell me you want to be in on the mission, as if you didn’t already know you were going to be. So Accardi, what’s going on?” I asked him, my eyes narrowed as I waited for his response.

  Today was the day of the mission. Segreto had called Franklin once more, giving him the address of where they’re supposed to meet up. It was clearly a setup, but we weren’t going to sit around and do nothing with useful information.

  “Thank you, for listening to my request. Sir, I want to do a special task in this mission.” He explained.

  “And that is what?” I asked him, curious.

  Accardi has always been known as cautious yet abrupt, so his complete silence was making me suspicious.

  I furrowed my eyebrows as he looked at me. “I have strong reason to believe the enemy we’re facing is Vincent Vandal.” He said, firmly. Shit, I inwardly cursed. Then again, Accardi is also smart and thinks of all possibilities before the approach.

  I kept my straight face and my composure as I stared at him. I hadn’t shared with anybody about the phone call from Vandal or the details regarding his death. No one knew I suspected Vandal or had gained further evidence of the enemy being remotely close to someone that’s supposed to be dead.

  “Why do you think so? You have to be careful with these kinds of statements.” I asked him. I wanted to get out of him how he came to such a conclusion.

  “I know, Capo. Anyway, I say that boldly because I used to train Vandal. Back when he was being straightened out to join The Pride, I learned much about him. On a mission I took his group to, my eyes were open to the true nature of himself that he unleashed.” He elaborated, his eyes looking as if in a daze.

  “You told me about that mission.” I said, narrowing my eyes as I tried to remember the details.

  “He was able to kill a soldier and it’s one thing about the manner he did the killing, that got to me. The enemy’s neck was slit ear to ear. He was quick, too. I only knew one kid who was childish when he killed. That kid was Vincent Vandal.” Accardi continued.

  “The boy impressive with the knives.” I said recalling the phrase he used to describe Vandal.

  “It was his favorite weapon during battle.” Accardi added.

  “Mmm. That day Enrico showed us the pictures of the death of Bruce Bianchi, you had this... look in your eyes. I thought you knew something.” I said, keeping my eyes focused on him. He had a lot to say that day Bianchi was murdered. When Enrico showed us the pictures of his death, he couldn’t get his eyes off it.

  “I did. I thought maybe it was a coincidence, but I should have known better than to doubt myself.” Accardi shook his head afterwards.

  “There are no coincidences in murder, Accardi.” I said lowly and he nodded in response.

  I stood up from my chair and walked in front of my desk, leaning against it. “But, why do you wait to tell me now? That information could have saved us so much time and so many lives.” I questioned him. Accardi has never held back on valuable information.

  “Like I said previously, I doubted myself. But yesterday evening, Vandal contacted me himself.” He shared. I narrowed my eyes and clenched my jaw. “He told me it’s a shame that I’m his enemy.” He added.

  Vandal probably said that because Accardi was the one that he was most close to as he was the one that straightened him out.

  “So, what do you want to do?” I asked him, wanting to know what his plan was for the mission. “I knew Vandal better than anyone in The Pride. I was quite fond of him. I tried to get him to stay within the lines, even advised him to stay away from your wife when she was younger. I’d be more likely to get info from him if I’m captured. I also have a bounty on my head, so he’d take advantage of that.” Accardi answered me.

  I was inwardly shocked. This man wanted to get captured?

  “You’re a valuable asset to The Pride, Louise. Your capture will be dangerous for you, and harmful for us. They could torture you and get essential information from you and use it against us.” I said, critical of his proposal. What could he be thinking?

  “I know what to do in that situation.” He replied.

  “Louise, there’s nothing more dangerous than a person with nothing to lose. You have a family of your own, think about them. Putting yourself in the enemy’s palm is not pretty. You aren’t to make yourself a sacrificial lamb, capisce?” I said to him.

  He averted his eyes in defeat yet nodded his head in understanding. I wasn’t fooled, though. I knew there would be a possibility that Accardi would go against what I commanded.

  *

  Late Afternoon

  “Thank you for allowing me into your home.” I thanked the sweaty, muscular man as he hastily wiped his hands with a towel. “It’s...nothing. Please, take a seat.” Antonio offered the first chair as we entered his tiny living room. The nervousness in his tone was almost annoying.

  I sat down in the chair and he clasped his hands together. “Would you like a drink, anything at all?” He asked, this time trying to be in control of his voice. “No, I’m just fine.” I responded, wanting to jump into the purpose of my visit. He nodded his head and sat down in the chair across from me.

  “My apologies for interrupting you in the middle of your work.” I said to him. I saw him working on a car outside of the apartments and told him I had just a few questions. From the moment he invited me inside his home, I knew I’d like him.

  Antonio shook his head. “It’s alright. Sir, you said you have some questions for me. How could I help? I’m not in any trouble am I?” He asked me, worried.

  “Not if you cooperate with me.” I answered him. The middle aged man nodded, his thick eyebrows furrowed in caution.

  “Antonio, do you have family that live outside of Boston?” I asked, tapping the arm of the chair I was sitting in with my index finger.

  “Yes, I do.” He replied slowly, as if he didn’t know if he was supposed to answer that.

  “Where?” I pressed.

  “Ehm, Philadelphia and New York, mostly in New York City.” I nodded. “How close would you say your family here are close with members outside of Massachusetts?” I asked, my eyes slightly narrowed.

  “As close as family gets. We don’t see each other often, but do what we can to maintain la connessione.”

  “Capisco. Now, your sister is Melanie Vandal, correct?” I asked, moving the questions forward. “Si, oh! Dio mio! What has she done?” He asked, frantic.

  I raised my hand slightly, indicating he should calm down. “She hasn’t done anything. Tell me, is Melanie Vandal your only sister or immediate sibling?”

  “No. We have one more sibling in New York. Her name is Rebecca.” He said. I could see beads of sweat form on his forehead.

  “Is she married?” I asked again.

  “Yes, she is. With children.”

  I nodded my head and tilted my head to the side. “What is her last name?” I looked at him straight.

  “Ehm, I know it’s Barresi. Yes. Yes, Baressi.”

  “Does she have any sons?” I pressed further.

  “Yes. Mario and Algosto Barresi.”

  So, Segreto is Vincent’s cousin.

  “Have any of your sister’s sons visited you recently?” I was referring to Segreto’s constant appearances in the town a few weeks ago.

  “Yes. The youngest Algosto, visited me a couple times some weeks ago.” Antonio answered me.

  “Did he come alone?” I s
topped tapping my finger.

  “Yes... If I may ask, why are you asking me all these questions about my family?” He asked me.

  I got up from the chair and nodded to him.

  “There’s an ongoing investigation and you were just randomly selected for questioning. You can’t mention any of this to anyone, though. Thank you.”

  As Antonio walked me out of his home, I became thankful to Enrico. If it wasn’t for the information he dug up about possible familial connections to Segreto, I wouldn’t have gotten such information from Vincent Vandal's uncle.

  *

  Going back to headquarters, I entered the room where I’d find Ricardo and Enrico observing the mission. We had about ten soldiers going to the address Segreto provided to meet with Franklin. Just like Ricardo checked, the address was in the middle of nowhere. The address led us straight to a deserted farm field.

  There were cameras on the hats and chests of each soldier, along with a few mics so we could see and hear what was going on. “The formation is five soldiers in front and five soldiers at the hideout for reinforcement. Accardi, Angelo, and Thomas are among them.” Enrico said pointing to the screen where we saw them approaching the small warehouse. Accardi waved for the other five members to enter the warehouse as well.

  “Is anyone even in here?” Angelo’s impatient voice snapped through the mic.

  Thomas sharply turned his neck to the side. “Look, someone is-”.

  Following his warning, several shots were followed. About a dozen men popped out of corners and barrels and began shooting.

  “Shit, shit, shit.” Ricardo cursed. “Accardi, we need you all to shoot and injure as many as you can, but we need to take in at least one-” Enrico ordered into a mic but was caught off.

  Accardi yelled for our men to shoot as they retreated. Accardi was shot in the leg and arm. “Shit, Get up Accardi!” Angelo yelled. Thomas continued to shoot and duck. One of the men in the corner picked up something and my eyes widened.

  “Dammit, that’s a bomb!” I said.

  “Get the fuck outta there!” Ricardo yelled into the mic.

  Angelo and Thomas looked at each other and then at Accardi. “If he gets captured, we’re fucked!” Angelo muttered as he and Thomas ran out with the others.

  I clenched my jaw as I looked up at the screen.

  Ricardo slammed his hand down on the table.

  “Everything is going to shit! Not only did we not get Segreto, we didn’t even capture one man!” Ricardo yelled.

  “Louise what the fuck are you doing?! He went against the plan!” Angelo yelled again. Thomas’s camera showed Ricardo’s red-as-a-tomato-face.

  “They’re fucking getting away.” Ricardo said pointing to two vehicles driving away from the back of the warehouse.

  “Everyone, let’s shoot the tires!” Thomas said, adding bullets into his gun as the others began shooting away.

  Accardi’s words replayed in my head as I looked through the files of all the men in this mission. I was fuming but I had to be calm enough to think of a strategy in this situation. One must be calm to analyze. “Enrico, all of the men on this mission were given tracking devices, right?” I asked him.

  “Yes.” Enrico answered, furrowing his eyebrows as he listened to me.

  “Let them take Accardi.” I said, earning bewildered looks from Ricardo and Angelo. I walked over and pressed a button on the keyboard. “Angelo, Thomas, tell everyone to stop shooting.” I said into the microphone.

  Everyone on the field lowered their guns with confused faces. “But-” Angelo started. “Accardi has a tracking device on him. Let them take him. More than likely, they’ll be taking him to an area close to where our enemies reside. I think this was Accardi's plan. Let’s take advantage of his sacrifice.” I explained to them.

  The men nodded their heads. “Good. Come back to headquarters and we’ll re-strategize.”

  I have strong reason to believe the enemy were facing is Vincent Vandal...

  I knew Vandal better than anyone in The Pride…

  I hope you’re right, Accardi.

  “This asshole is smart. Segreto didn’t even show up!” Ricardo laughed.

  Enrico nodded his head in agreement. “He has no driving philosophy, he’s just doing all this on a whim, it seems.”

  “Franklin is still in the basement, is he?” I asked the two of them. Ricardo and Enrico turned to look at me. “Yes, sir. Do you need assistance in extracting information? I’m already in a bad mood.” Ricardo asked, cracking his knuckles.

  I smirked and let out a chuckle. “No, I have it from here.” I replied back, turning to leave.

  *

  Franklin’s head hung below his shoulders when I walked into the room. He was still tied up to the wooden chair and looked disheveled. Compared to previous men we’ve tortured, Franklin was in good condition. I only went easy on him because I knew he wasn’t the type that could endure suffering. I needed him alive if I were to get information from him.

  “Vincent Vandal is your boss, right?” I asked walking up to him until I was in front of his body.

  My eyes raked down his defeated form. His shoulders shook as he inhaled and exhaled.

  Seconds went by with silence. I squatted down to the level of his face and narrowed my eyes at him.

  “How is Ms. Franklin doing?” I asked him, inwardly smirking.

  He clenched his jaw and averted his eyes to mine. “You bastard, don’t you dare lay a finger on her!” He yelled.

  I chuckled and stood up, putting my hands in my pockets as I paced around his chair. “You know what kind of man I am by now, so I doubt I need an introduction. I’m aware that your wife is the only one you have left in this world. I will kill her to protect my family.” I said, glancing at him to see his ghostly facial expression.

  “I advise you to not test me. Your wife means nothing to me, so it will be easy. Answer my question.” I stood in front of him again.

  “It is. It’s Vincent Vandal.”

  “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” I asked him, narrowing my eyes. So, that brat really is running the show here, huh?

  He sighed heavily. “He makes no apologies for who and what he is. He says what he wants, he does what he wants, whenever and wherever he wants…” Franklin began, I could see a few tears slip out of his eyes.

  This man is pathetic.

  “He doesn’t play by any rules but his own.” He added.

  “Is he responsible for the attacks in the town?” I asked him.

  “Yes.” He nodded. I clenched my jaw and proceeded with the next question.

  “Have you been funding his attacks?”

  He took a couple seconds before answering. “Yes, kind of.”

  I gritted my teeth and quickly wrapped my hand around his neck, squeezing it. We were now face to face and the fear in his eyes was evident.

  “Kind of? This isn’t the time to play games with me.”

  “H-half of the money g-goes to take care of Vincent’s fam-family in the neighborhood. Its Ma-Marco that delivers them the money.” He struggled to say as he tried to breathe.

  I furrowed my eyebrows as I thought. I’d just visited Vandal’s uncle and he did confirm that Segreto had recently stopped by. “Where does Marco Segreto fit into all this? I know he's Vincent’s cousin, but what role does he play?” My hand was lessened to allow him to properly speak.

  “He’s the mediator. Vandal can’t be seen in the neighborhood, so his cousin has been doing the spying for him.” He answered. I clenched my jaw and let go of his neck.

  “Spying of what?” I pressed.

  “His job is making sure the attacks are being followed through and looking after Vincent’s family.” He answered again, regret on his face.

  “Are there any special helpers that help Vincent with these attacks?” I asked next. It was all about the right questions, at this point.

  Franklin looked elsewhere, afraid to respond. I narrowed my eyes on him once more.


  He was a fool if he thought anymore spillage from his mouth could get him into any more trouble. Something told me Vincent knew what he was doing when getting Franklin to work with him. He knew a weak man like Franklin would get captured and end up confessing. Vincent wanted me to figure out he’s the enemy. He never gave a fuck about Franklin.

  “Answer me.”

  “The Brotherhood.” He finally responded.

  That sly motherfucker. Waldo Tuniccio really did have a hand in all this. It made so much sense. Segreto and Vincent couldn’t cause all this havoc by themselves.

  Vincent knew i’d mistake the double V’s of his first and last initials as a W and investigate Waldo instead. That bought him a lot of time.

  “I hope you’ve been very truthful today, Franklin. If it’s discovered you lied, your wife will pay the price.”

  *

  I walked out of the room and my phone began to ring. I picked it up. “Vanzetti.” I answered.

  “Do you know who I am now?” The ridiculous voice enhancer sound was back.

  “One hundred percent.” I said. I could feel a vein at the side of my head.

  “I could just sing.” Vincent begins. “The table has been set so let us begin. Your bullshit ends soon.” I said.

  “This is war. There are no seats on the battlefield. I’m gonna tear you apart,Vanzetti. I’m four steps ahead of ya’.” He replied, smug. I could see the smirk on his face already.

  “It’s revenge that you’re after isn’t it?” I asked him. His silence told me I hit a nerve. What Vincent wanted the most was to bring me to my knees, the same way I did to him.

  “Every breath you take is an assault on my being… That’s how I feel about you, Vanzetti.” Vincent replied, malice in his tone. We weren’t under the same roof, but I could feel the evil radiating off the phone.

  “I’d like to see you do something about it.” I provoked him.

  “If the only thing I did was make threats, I wouldn’t have gotten so far.” He replied lowly.

  “Well you’re about to face me, which means you’ll progress no further.” My eyebrows were furrowed as I spoke.