The sex meant nothing, but it relieved the boredom and it got her out of that tiny apartment. Of course, all she did was spend a few brief hours in someone else‘s cramped home with her legs apart and the tingles flowing if she was lucky. Most of the time she‘d jump into the shower as soon as she got back to wash away the dried spunk and a sense of being dirty generated by the couplings. No matter who was trying to make her orgasm, she felt so painfully alone.
She spent the last six months with an S&M freak in the hope that the different experience might help her feel something but handcuffs, nipple clamps and the like left her sore and just as empty as any other way of fucking she tried during those long years away from Frank.
The only solace she found was watching the late evening chat show with a bowl of cereal for company. Vodka instead of milk and the constant sound of crunching inside her skull to mask the canned laughter from the TV.
THE FIRST NIGHT Frank was out of jail, Mary Lou had tried to be as understanding as she could. It had been years since he‘d been with a woman and her expectations had been low, even though she longed to be intimate with the man. After he‘d fallen asleep and she‘d finished herself off, Mary Lou went into the bathroom to take stock. She stared at herself in the mirror, assessing every blemish of her skin and freckle on her face.
At one point, she poked at her breasts as though they were bearing the weight of her ennui. Then her attention returned to her nose and she leaned in to get the best look. The coldness of the basin dug itself in against her rose as she moved her head one way, then the other, to assess the damage done despite the paucity of her years on this planet.
Every so often, she heard Frank talk to himself as he slept and an occasional vehicle zoomed past. This was the last time she would be by herself. Her moments of solitude were over now Frank had returned.
Mary Lou pulled down the lower lids of her eyes and let the skin flip back into place. A childish game she repeated two more times. Then she blinked to get her sight to return to normal.
She opened her eyes and knew exactly where she was: Oakcrest Drive. The crow‘s feet in the corners of her eyes were a clear demonstration of how much time she had allowed to pass in her life. Mary Lou knew she had to stop this malaise. She couldn‘t waste her time away again like she did waiting for Frank to serve his debt to society.
On vacation, Bobby had been right: there had been too many losses of late and the moment for action had arrived. They needed to bring the fight to San Francisco.
25
MARY LOU WASN‘T going to sit around and let herself get cornered like happened with Frank when they were fleeing the heist. If she‘d learnt anything from the time spent in Burbank Airport, it was to watch your back and come out fighting. They were out to get her and so were the Russians in San Francisco. She could kneel on the ground next to the lockers, pinned down by gunfire from the hoods, or she could pick up Frank‘s piece and shoot her way to freedom.
The Markov scum must be obliterated from this world and that is what she would do. To put this plan into practice, she needed some high class muscle, so she asked Milton for his help.
“Thanks for dropping a dime. We don‘t speak nearly as much as we used to.”
“I need your assistance in a matter I wish to resolve. Can I count on you?”
“With my life, you know that. What do you need?”
She outlined her idea and Milton listened intently. When she finished, he whistled allowing his exhalation to form into a single note. He hadn‘t heard anything as bold for many years. Respect to the woman.
THE NEXT DAY, Mary Lou drove over to LA to speak with Milton in person. The Palace had faded over time, the paintwork was chipped, plasterwork crumbling, but Mary Lou didn‘t notice as she walked along the corridors to Milton‘s office. Like every other operation the man had ever touched, he had let it turn to shit. The only difference with the Palace‘s call girl racket was that it took twenty long years instead of Milton‘s usual six months to fuck it up.
“Thanks for the opportunity. I doubt if you realize how good it is to be working with you again. I‘ve missed being so close to the action.”
“Don‘t know what you‘re talking about. Let‘s get down to business, shall we?”
“Sure, I‘m listening.”
“You need to source at least ten reliable men, who can handle themselves. Get me?”
“It‘ll take a short while as I‘m not in that line at the moment, but it can be done. Just a function of time and money.”
“Once we‘ve all met up to go through the details then we‘ll take the place when it‘s full.”
“When all the Markovs are in one building?”
“Yes, that‘s what I said.”
“How many vehicles do you want for the hit? Everyone in their own or as few as possible for a fast getaway?”
“There‘s no point doing it if we can‘t get safely away.“
“Right...”
Milton tilted his head and looked at Mary Lou. He couldn‘t decide if his hesitation was caused by not concentrating on what Mary Lou had just said or if there was a disconnect between her words now and what she‘d told him on the phone yesterday.
“You got a problem with this?”
“Not at all. I won‘t lose any sleep over a few dead Russians. From what little Bobby said to me, sounds like it‘s payback time.”
“Shoot ‘em in the knee and get the hell out of Dodge.”
“The knee? I thought we‘re killing them.”
“Yep.”
“Murder, not maim.”
“Homicide is the name of the game.”
“Good. You lost me there for a second.”
“We send one fella in early to stake the place out and then the rest of the crew swoops in, does the job and gets out before any law enforcement can grab us.”
“Shall we use Naldo?”
“Whoever you think is best. There‘ll be big bonuses for everyone when we get back.”
“I‘d advise you and Bobby to stay at home - or rather book and go to a restaurant that night. You must have a watertight alibi.”
“Bobby?”
Mary Lou looked straight at Milton, who returned the gesture. There was his confusion coming right at him again.
“You don‘t want him there, do you?”
“Use the best you can get.”
“And Bobby?”
“You decide - I told you.”
Milton‘s mouth went dry as a sense of anxiety welled up inside. Was this an elaborate ruse by Mary Lou to put Bobby in the line of fire? More likely he was being oversensitive and needed to keep his head in the game, but his instinct to double-check with the man might place a target on his skull.
Over the years, Mary Lou handled treachery the way a surgeon dealt with a malignant tumor. She smiled at him and relaxed back into her chair as though the main order of business had been taken care of.
“How‘s the Palace doing?”
“So-so. The Hollywood parties are fewer: the stars prefer a more private space for their booze, narcotics and fucking nowadays. It‘s the control of the studios: they want their product to be wholesome and clean. But our regulars still pass through although the cops are getting harder to pay off because we look more like a cathouse than somewhere for the rich and powerful to come. And play.”
“Times are tough, Milton. Every year, it gets more difficult to make money out of the things on which we could always rely: prostitution, narcotics. Even gambling.”
“For real? I thought the casinos were doing great guns.”
“They are today, but look what‘s happened in Vegas. Entertainment companies now own mob venues. Crazy. And the only reason gaming has been permitted outside Vegas is so states can get their grubby hands on hard-working people‘s money. So that means they‘ll over-regulate the fuck out of it and we‘ll be pushed to one side. Not now or tomorrow, but eventually.”
ELEVEN MEN AND one woman sat in a large disused room at the top of t
he Palace. Mary Lou, Milton, Naldo and nine other guys who you‘d be a fool to mess with even on a bright day in the middle of summer. Each had found a chair and they‘d formed a loose circle like they were attending a group therapy session.
Milton made some cursory introductions so everyone more or less knew each other. Most of the crew had worked with at least some others before but in the heat of the moment, it paid to know who your friends were.
“When we go in, we enter hard. The best we can hope is that they aren‘t expecting us. Once the first shot rings out then they‘ll draw their guns and fire back. We need to be slick, fast and ruthless. If we leave one Markov alive, they will come and destroy us.”
The men murmured to each other - not because the job was too difficult but because their adrenalin was already pumping and they weren‘t even in the right city yet. Mary Lou ran through the family tree and took pains to make it clear she wanted them to identify each body so she could keep an accurate tally of who they still had to whack.
“Is there anything you want to add, Milton?”
“Not really. You covered the important points.”
He glanced at his watch and a bead of sweat dropped onto his wrist. Then his eyes darted to the corridor and flitted back to Mary Lou. Almost on cue, the door opened and Bobby walked in and the entire room fell to an eerie hush.
“What‘re we doing here, people?”
“I‘ve instigated an operation to clear up the Markov problem.”
He nodded and took Mary Lou off to one side so they wouldn‘t have to talk in front of the fellas.
“What are you doing?”
“Cutting out a tumor.”
“We have a peace agreement with them. We shouldn't move on them unless they become an irritant or they break their word.”
“They can‘t be trusted and we need to preempt their inevitable attack.”
“No, it is to our advantage to get them to build on their San Francisco empire. That way, when we take over, we‘ll have something significant to own.”
Bobby turned round to face the guys.
“Thanks for coming but there‘s been a change of plan. You can step down for now. Of course, we‘ll cover your costs with a bonus for any inconvenience. Milton, will you get things organized?”
“Sure, Bobby. Always happy to help.”
Mary Lou fumed where she stood. Arms folded, she said nothing and couldn‘t understand why Bobby was treating her this way. The betrayal of it all. In contrast, he could not wrap his head around why she believed now was the time to take out the Markovs. They didn‘t utter a single word to each other all the miles back to Palm Springs.
The next day Mary Lou woke up as though nothing had happened, but Bobby knew and remembered.
26
BOBBY CHOSE TO pop over to Alice‘s apartment rather than spend time in her cramped and crummy office. A heap of Chinese food had just arrived and they spread all the boxes out on the dining room table.
“I think we‘ve over ordered.”
“You reckon?”
They sat down and pecked at the noodles, chicken, veg and rice until they thought they would burst. Half the food remained untouched: Alice‘s prediction was right. Then she poured two more beers and they moved over to the couches to settle in for the evening.
“We nearly went to war a few days ago.”
“What was the Bay of Pigs moment?”
“Don‘t joke. We were damn close.”
Beat.
“For reasons that escape me, she wanted to take absolute revenge on the Markovs.”
“From San Francisco?”
“The same. She got Milton to put a crew together for a St Valentine‘s Day massacre. Good news is that even Milton, who‘s as craven as hell, knew it was wrong and dropped me a dime.”
Alice sat and stared, mind racing, trying to process the implications of what Bobby just said. She had never heard of Mama be countermanded before. The idea of Milton and Bobby conspiring against Mama was shocking. The fact they felt they needed to do that was jaw-dropping.
“We walked onto their turf and tried to muscle them out, right?”
“More or less. There were poor choices on both sides which led to the bad blood. Didn‘t take long to resolve, which shows it wasn‘t that big a deal.”
Alice accepted what he said but his response showed there were other situations not yet mentioned. Once he‘d filled in the gaps, Alice had her head in her hands.
“This is the end.”
He raised his eyebrows and sipped his beer.
“Not for a long time, but we need to make changes. Mary Lou needs more of a rear seat role - whether or not she wants it.”
“You‘re not talking about ousting her.”
“Encourage her to take a more consultative role.”
“Get her to step down, you mean.”
Alice‘s words hung in the air and the two soaked in the idea that someone else must take over. Neither wanted to engage with what that meant or talk about what was to happen next. They sidestepped the whole topic for ten minutes as they lapsed back into general conversation.
ALICE SPENT THE next day ruminating on her conversation with Bobby. They had discussed whether Bobby should run the business but he was insistent that he was not up for the job, claiming age and not wanting to tread on Mary Lou‘s toes. He was careful not to express an opinion who it should be even though there were only two contenders.
Did his silence on the matter imply he was in favor of Frank? Bobby rarely had any desire to stand in the center of a family squabble. He always ensured he was in a different room whenever the twins argued as kids. This left Alice with a simple thought: how could she make her mark as the leader of the new family? She didn‘t entertain the notion Frank should run the show for even a second.
Her analysis was quick and honest: Mama had worked out they needed to diversify and expand. The best way to grow was to form an alliance with another gang. A partnership forged out of strength would last the test of time because both parties would gain something significant from the other. The Lagotti family had large multi-state gaming and narcotics operations, and owned a string of call girl rings. They even had some stretch on the east coast and had the occasional Senator in their back pocket. These were assets other gangs would dream of having.
Alice knew the family‘s weaknesses too. They had insufficient hired hands to attack new territories: San Francisco showed that to be all too painfully true. And they‘d been stumbling around desperate to find the Next Big Thing they could seize for their own but nothing had appeared on the horizon.
Another issue was that their call girl operation hadn‘t moved with the times or expanded for as long as Alice could remember. Milton might be an old associate of Mama‘s but hadn‘t been pulling his weight. The Palace had always been a disgusting venue, but it was poorly managed too. Even Frank had worked out to split the Nugget into gambling and lap dancing.
When Milton saw the parties were going off the boil, he should have converted the first floor into something else: lap dancing for sure, but a gentleman‘s club, maybe, to attract a better quality of john who‘d pay just for a cocktail with a whore on his knee, before he walking upstairs to pop a pill and fuck her.
No matter. What they needed to do was find a partner: one who had muscle but little reach. Someone with the desire to grow but would cooperate and not just screw them over. Somebody with imagination. The interesting thing about the Markovs was that Nikolay still came to the table even though a nephew lay in the morgue. That showed he was serious about his business and believed the Lagottis could do him harm if the fighting had continued. These traits were what she was looking for although Alice was aware that many would see him as an enemy.
ALICE REACHED OUT to Nikolay Markov, who agreed to meet for a coffee. He was surprised to receive a phone call from the Lagotti girl and was intrigued to know what she had to say. Her mother and stepfather had acted like mooks a few months ago but it never hurt to tal
k. Nikolay might have been aggressive when negotiating with Mary Lou and Bobby, but despite appearances his ego was under control.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet up.”
“I was surprised you called. Does your mother know what you are up to?”
“I‘m not up to anything. The last time you met with members of my family, matters came to a head somewhat violently. Now the dust has settled, I thought we should at least have a conversation or two. There is an agreement operating in San Francisco.”
“The truce is holding - for the time being. What makes you think there is anything to discuss?”
“Our shared operations in...”
Alice stumbled over the venue's name.
“... the Red Stocking. You should do your homework better.”
“The name is less important than the fact that profits are up ever since we worked together.”
“True. We have all benefitted in the short-term. Doesn‘t mean the place will make money in a year or two.”
“But I‘d like to think that if revenues were to go south, we‘d either figure out how to fix things or use our brains and shut it down.”
Nikolay stirred the sugar he‘d dropped into his coffee. His eyes focused on his cup and then he stared at Alice without responding. He was keeping his cards close to his chest, but she expected him to play things cautiously.
“I heard your men were fierce fighters. They handled themselves very effectively against us.”
“Your people are Americans. They have grown soft over the generations since they stepped off the boats from Italy. My guys are fresh arrivals with the blood of Cossacks coursing through their veins. Of course they are tough. If they show any weakness then I kill them.”
The Lagotti Family Series Page 80
