The Family Business

by Pete, Eric

  “I get where you’re coming from, and I assure you that I’m not trying to fuck up your business. As a matter of fact, as a show of good faith, I’m going to throw you two grand. That’s Ruby’s fee for a night, right? That’s two grand you never would have gotten, since she stopped working for you.”

  “Two grand ... just for a phone number?”

  I knew that would get his attention—being the businessman he was, of course. He could say what he wanted about there being no exceptions to the rule, but I knew that just like most people, Remy had a price.

  “I know favors and exceptions don’t come free, Remy. I’m willing to pay. So, what do you say?”

  Again, Remy paused. He was doing either one of two things: trying to recall Ruby’s number, or deciding whether breaking one of his sacred rules was worth two thousand dollars.

  I decided to call his bluff. “You know what? You’re right. Forget I even put you in this position.”

  “Oh, no, wait. I have her number right here.”

  “Cool.” I scribbled the number on the back of an envelope as he rattled it off. “Thank you, Remy, and as always, it’s a pleasure doing business with you.” I ended the call with a smile on my face. Remy might have been a good businessman, but I was better.

  I wasted no time calling Ruby.

  “Hello,” her voice greeted through the phone.

  “Ruby?” There was a silence after I spoke, which told me she recognized my voice.

  “Orlando.” Her tone wasn’t welcoming. It was more like a what-the-hell-you-doin’-ringing-my-phone kind of tone.

  “Yeah, it’s me,” I said.

  “What do you want? How did you get this number?”

  “I got it from Remy. I needed to talk to you about how things ended the other day. I’d like to see you.” Without trying to sound too desperate, I hoped she could hear how sincere I was.

  “I know you think of me as just some piece-of-trash prostitute, but I have feelings, Orlando. Crazy as it sounds, I had feelings for you. I didn’t deserve the way you treated me. All I did was turn off your lousy phone.”

  “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that. But because of what you did, I missed a very important business call. A call about something that might have bankrupted my family business.” I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I was starting to get worked up just thinking about it, and I didn’t want to take it out on Ruby this time. I tried again, in a calmer tone. “Look, I apologize for the way things went down, but there is just so much going on.”

  “Let me guess. With work, right?”

  I overlooked the obvious sarcasm in her voice. “Yes, work. But look, I can’t really get into things over the phone.” By now I had arrived at the warehouse and was parking my car. “If you’ll just agree to see me, then we can talk, and I promise I’ll tell you everything.”

  “Not interested.”

  “Excuse me?” Now, that was a surprise. I knew she was hurt, but I definitely didn’t expect her to be such a hard-ass about this. “I know you feel the connection between us.”

  “Anything that was there is gone, Orlando. I just want to be left alone—by you, by Remy, and all the rest.”

  “Please don’t be like this. Just give me ten minutes of your time.” I definitely hadn’t begun this call planning to beg, but she was being so stubborn, I felt like I had no other choice. In the midst of all this chaos surrounding the Roadster, I had this inexplicable desire to be with Ruby, like a calm port in the middle of a storm. “Please, Ruby,” I begged as I shut off my car and headed toward the warehouse. “I really need to see you. I can’t leave things like this.”

  I could hear her sigh. It was so cold, I could imagine a frost coming out of her mouth. For a moment I really thought she was going to say no, and I didn’t have it in me to beg anymore. Instead, she gave in. “Sure.”

  A slight victory smile spread across my lips, until she said, “Set it up through Remy. And, Orlando, don’t call this number again.”

  “I won’t, but we don’t need Remy.”

  “Yes, we do.”

  Needless to say, the smile disappeared from my face. I choked out a laugh as I walked inside the warehouse, where I was greeted by Junior’s men. I lifted a finger so they wouldn’t interrupt my call. “Oh, so it’s like that?”

  “It’s business. Just like your reason for yelling at me in the restaurant. You chose to make it about business then, and I choose to keep it about business.”

  Again, she was so cold that I could imagine icicles hanging off her words. “All right, fine,” I agreed. “I’ll call-”

  Boom!

  A loud blast echoed throughout the warehouse.

  “Look, Ruby, I have to go. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Orlando! My God, what was that?”

  “That was business. I’ll see you soon.” I ended the call, stuffed the phone in my pocket, and pulled out a gun.

  LC

  29

  “Alejandro, are you able to talk?” I was seated in the conference room at our offices. It had been almost two days since Alejandro and I first spoke about the hijacking. I was not any happier now than I was then. I motioned for Harris to come closer as I placed the phone on speaker.

  “Yes, the line’s secure. Speak freely,” he replied.

  “There have been new developments on our end. I just wanted to know if you have anything for me. I’m starting to lose my patience about the loss of my product.”

  “I can only imagine, my friend. You have remained remarkably calm during a difficult situation. Unfortunately, I have no answers for you. I’m afraid my resources on the East Coast aren’t as reliable or thorough as they should be.”

  Does he really expect me to believe that? I wondered as I glanced over at Harris, who just shook his head. We both knew Alejandro had been supplying the Mexican gangs on the East Coast for years; I had just never cared, because they weren’t anything significant or challenging to my network. Besides, I had some very reliable people I worked with on the West Coast too.

  “Has Miguel helped you any?” he asked.

  “No. He hasn’t done shit but proclaim his innocence.” I was starting to get tired of this.

  “And what do you think?”

  “That he’s a liar,” I replied, my voice rising in the specially equipped soundproof room. “And that you took my money, then sold my shit to someone else.”

  “Lavernius, my friend, I give you my word. I have nothing to do with the travesty that has happened to you. I only want good relations between us.”

  I sighed long and hard. “You want good relations between us, you fucking Latin viper, then give me my shit back!”

  “I give you my word, and then you raise your voice and accuse me of being a snake?” I heard a loud thump, which I assumed was him pounding his desk.

  “That’s because you are a fuckin’ snake. You were when I met you, and you are now. But I’m used to dealing with snakes in this business. It’s the thieves and crooks I have a problem with, and you’ve become a first-class crook.”

  “I am no crook!” he yelled, his anger matching my own. “I could sell my ‘shit,’ as you call it, to the Italians or the Jamaicans and not have to deal with your arrogance or accusations. I do this only because we were once good friends.”

  “That’s right, once good friends. Past fucking tense. Now, who did you sell my shit to?” I asked.

  “I don’t believe this. It’s like talking to a petulant child with you.”

  “Ha! I’m not the one who killed his own men to cover up my crime.”

  This news seemed to take him off guard, as he grew silent for a while. “What are you saying? My men are dead?” His voice cracked. If he was putting on an act to seem innocent, he was doing a damn good job. I still wasn’t convinced, though.

  “I told you there have been new developments,” I said coldly.

  Harris had gotten a tip less than an hour ago that the truck was in a warehouse up in Orange County,
New York. I’d sent Pablo’s brother Carlos and his crew up to check it out, since they were the closest. They reported back that the truck was there, but the car was gone. They also found two dead bodies, two men who appeared to be Mexican. In truth, I wasn’t so sure that the Mexicans were really dead before he got there. There was no one Carlos loved more than Pablo, and if he had the chance to avenge his brother’s murder, well, let’s just say God Almighty couldn’t have stopped him.

  “What are these developments?” he asked cautiously.

  “We found the truck that your men delivered. My car’s gone, of course, but there are two dead Mexicans there. If we ID them as your men, then we have a serious problem, Alejandro, because there’s no fucking reason that your men should have been anywhere near that truck after it was delivered to my men.”

  He remained silent.

  “Nothing to say, huh?” I asked. “That’s okay, because remember I still have Miguel, and he’ll eventually spill the truth. If I have to, I’ll rip out his fucking liver to make him talk, and then I’ll mail it back to you.”

  “Don’t touch him, Lavernius. I am warning you,” Alejandro threatened.

  “My, my, my. You’re awfully touchy about your employee, señor, which is surprising. I mean, if you think about it, Miguel maybe the one who planned the hijacking and then set them up to be murdered. After all, who else knew the truck’s route?”

  “He would not do such a thing. He would not betray me.”

  As I considered the theory I’d just put forth, I realized it could be true. Miguel might very well be the mastermind of the hijacking. “You seem so sure of Miguel’s innocence, Alejandro. Perhaps you put more faith in your men than is warranted.”

  “Lavernius,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, “Miguel would not betray me. Miguel is my son.”

  This time, I was the one stunned into silence, during which Alejandro’s confidence returned.

  He warned, “If you harm my only boy, Lavernius, I promise you I will not rest until one of yours is hanging from a stake.”

  I looked over at Harris, who was undoubtedly thinking the same thing I was. Thank God I had not given a final order regarding Miguel’s fate. Family members were generally off-limits, unless you wanted a war. I had no idea that Miguel was family, but that wouldn’t matter to Alejandro. He would not hesitate to even the score if we harmed Miguel.

  “Why didn’t you tell us he was your son?” I asked, trying to keep my tone more neutral than it had been.

  Thankfully, Alejandro seemed willing to dial his anger back a notch too. “Miguel’s all about proving himself in my organization,” he explained. “He doesn’t want anything handed to him. I’m sure your sons feel the same way.”

  “Yes.”

  “So, can I speak to him? You have not killed him, have you?”

  Hearing the fear in Alejandro’s voice, I realized that holding his son was a dangerous thing, but it was also a good bargaining chip. “No, no, Miguel’s alive. But I’m still not in the mood to share him with you. Not until I check out this trailer personally.”

  “You do understand I cannot let you hold my son any longer without a sign of good faith?” he said.

  “How about you return the money I gave you and I return your son?”

  “You know I cannot do that. It would be an admission of guilt, and I am not guilty of anything. I was thinking more like a sign of good faith on your part. You have my son. For all I know, your people murdered my men and are processing the delivery as we speak.”

  “Ridiculous! You already had my money. Why would I jack my own shipment?”

  “I don’t know. To discredit me?” he speculated. “Maybe you’re just looking for an excuse to end our arrangement and go with someone else. Still, I’m going to need something to keep this from turning into some very bad shit for both of us.”

  “Okay, you’re right. How about I send one of my people to L.A. to keep the lines of communication open until we get this sorted out?”

  “Agreed. But I don’t want it to be some flunky. I want it to be someone high up in your organization who you value. One of your family members.”

  “Fine,” I answered. As long as we held Miguel, I had to assume that Alejandro would never be stupid enough to harm my family. “I’ll send one of my sons.”

  “Fair enough. There is a flight that leaves Kennedy in two hours. I will expect your son to be on it. We will speak again soon.”

  I ended the call and sat back in my chair, rubbing my eyes to relieve the throbbing pain behind them. My blood pressure must have been at an all-time high.

  “Can this get any worse?” Harris blurted out.

  “I sure hope not,” I replied.

  “You’re not really going to send one of the boys out west, are you?”

  I turned my head to look him directly in the eye. That was enough to let him know his question was a stupid one. What choice did I have but to send someone?

  Harris continued. “I mean, now that we know Miguel’s his son, why not give him back to Alejandro? Or at least let him speak to him. We don’t war with these people, LC.”

  “Harris, we’re blind right now. Someone’s gunning for us, and we don’t know if it’s Alejandro or someone else. Miguel is our only hope to get to the bottom of all of this. Let’s just hope Orlando can get what we need out of Miguel without hurting him worse than he already is.”

  “I hate to say this, but maybe this is a sign that it’s time to get out of all this. Look at it as an opportunity. We’ve got some pretty successful legitimate businesses.”

  This wasn’t the first time Harris had suggested this, and once again, it was the wrong time. “I appreciate your idealism, but our legit businesses don’t bring in a tenth of what the dope money does. With our overhead and expenses, things would not be as pretty as they might seem. Besides, there would be blood on the streets if we suddenly left the game. Nature abhors a vacuum. All our lieutenants and their crews would be fair game for every fool wanting to make a name for himself. I go back too far with some of those men to abandon them like that.”

  “Look around, LC. There’s blood on the streets already. Alejandro’s people are dead, and Miguel’s damn lucky we didn’t pop him. And just how loyal are your lieutenants, anyway? We still don’t know if Pablo was working with someone against our interests when he got popped.”

  “Your arguments aside, we’re staying in the business, and I’m still sending somebody to L.A.”

  “Okay. I tried,” Harris said with a shrug. “But you’re not really gonna send one of the boys to L.A., are you?”

  “Yes, I am. We have to show a sign of good faith,” I said, shaking my head. “It’ll be okay. We’ll send Rio.”

  “Rio?” Harris snapped back. “Rio doesn’t have anything to do with this. He runs a club and distributes designer drugs. You don’t even think of him as an executive.”

  “Exactly,” I responded. “He’s not essential to our operations.”

  “Damn, LC. That’s cruel.”

  “It’s a cold, hard fact. We can still function while Rio gets a little vacation out west.”

  “But it could be dangerous. He could get killed.”

  “That’s life. Everything we do is dangerous and comes with risk. Do you think peddling club drugs all over Manhattan is safe? Sometimes celebrities and entertainers are more irrational and unpredictable than the criminals we deal with day in and day out. And besides, Rio’s never shied away from wanting to prove himself. Now’s his opportunity.”

  “But he’s your son,” Harris said. “How are you going to tell him you’re sending him to his possible death?”

  “I’m not. You are,” I stated flatly. “I want you to make arrangements right away for him to be on that flight.”

  Harris stared at me for a moment, his face twisting and contorting as he mulled over a response. I could’ve sworn real concern flickered in his eyes for a nanosecond.

  “That is, unless you plan on taking Rio�
��s place. Otherwise, I suggest you get moving so he doesn’t miss his flight.” I sat back and folded my arms.

  “Nah, I’m good.” He stepped toward the door. Now that he knew his own ass could be on the line, he was all business, no more protecting his brothers-in-law. “You don’t have to worry about it. He’ll be on that plane if I have to carry him on myself. Should I send a security detail to keep an eye on him out there?”

  I shook my head. “No, Alejandro and his people are too smart for that. Our people will stick out like a sore thumb out there among those Mexicans. Rio’s going to have to be on his own on this one.”

  Harris

  30

  I pulled up to the family residence and got out of the car. It was about a thirty-minute ride to the house, but it felt like forever with all the anxiety building up inside me. I loved being LC’s right-hand man and lawyer, but telling my brother-in-law he was being exchanged for that scumbag Miguel was not something I was looking forward to. I just hoped Rio was awake so I could tell him what he needed to know, get him on a plane, and put this whole ordeal behind me.

  As I entered the house, I ran into London, with purse and keys in hand, getting ready to exit.

  “Oh, honey, you’re home,” she said with such a lack of emotion that I couldn’t tell if she was happy or disappointed to see me. For some reason, my wife was very hard to read as of late. Perhaps it was because my mind was so preoccupied with the task at hand.

  “And you’re leaving,” I replied. “Where are you headed?”

  “Oh, well, uh, just out to grab some lunch. Maybe go over to Roosevelt Field and do some shopping.” She kept her eyes focused on some point behind me, and the lack of eye contact made me suspicious. I was about to accuse her of something when she offered, “Would you like to join me? I could use the company, and we do need to talk.”

  “I wish I could, but I have to do something for your father. Is your mother home?”

  “No, she went to a doctor’s appointment.”

  I nodded, thankful. I had been dreading the possibility that Chippy would be in the house to ask a million questions about where Rio was going.