by Nees, David
“That’s the highlight of the evening?”
Ears gave him a condescending look. “What else?”
They walked over to the food table.
“Ears, how long did you compete?” Jason asked, wanting to deepen his relationship with the man.
“I started when I was a teenager, amateur bouts. Did some Golden Gloves. I was pretty good, won a lot of fights, so I moved to the pros.”
“That go well?”
“At first. My manager kept pushing me forward, more fights with better and better boxers.”
“Why’d you quit?”
Ears looked contemplative. His eyes wandered across the room as if recalling some past scenes. “I got to a level where the guys I fought moved too fast.”
He turned back to Jason.
“I’m a brawler.” He made a fist and put it in Jason’s face. It was huge.
“I got a big fist and hit hard. But I reached a point where the heavyweights moved too fast. They had good footwork, something I never quite got right. It made it hard for me to land punches and they’d keep peppering me with jabs and counter punches.”
He shook his head.
“Takes a toll after a while.”
“So you figured better to get out and try another career? That what brought you to the organization?”
Ears shook his head.
“My manager started putting me up against the up and coming stars. I realized I was being used as a punching bag…and not getting paid enough.”
“That brought you to the mob.”
Ears gave him a sharp look.
“Don’t use that word. The bosses don’t like it. And, yes, I quit and wound up here. The pay’s better and the punks I have to deal with don’t stand a chance with me.”
“Hey Ears,” someone called over to him. “Who’s the punk with you? Ain’t seen him around before.”
Ears turned to the man.
“He works for Vincent and he’s with me. He ain’t no punk and if you think so, I’ll let him kick your ass.”
The man came up to them with a lopsided grin on his face. He appeared to Jason have had too many drinks. He stared at Jason.
“He don’t look so tough.”
“Luca, you dumb shit. You’re so drunk I could take you with one hand tied behind my back,” Ears said with a grin.
“Think so?” Luca swayed on his feet. Why don’t we go outside now and find out. Better yet, let’s find out how tough this new guy is. He looks like a pussy to me.”
Ears looked around at a couple of men who had joined them. He shoved Luca into one of the men.
“Get him out of here. He ain’t worth me spoiling my evening teaching him a lesson.”
They hustled Luca across the room with the man still loudly proclaiming how he was going to mop the floor with both of them.
“Don’t worry about him. He’s generally okay when he’s not drunk.”
Ears gave Jason an appraising look.
“You probably could handle him just fine without my help.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence…and thanks for covering for me.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Ears winked at him.
“You probably don’t want to drink too much. You may have to drive back.”
Chapter 14
___________________________________
T hree hours later the meeting broke up. It was now 10:30 in the evening. The bosses filed out of the meeting room and the crews connected up with them. Jason followed Ears as he homed in on Vincent and Tony. Together the four of them walked along with the crowd of men to the nightclub which was located off the lobby of the hotel.
Once settled at a table, drinks were ordered. The girls came onto the stage to do their acrobatic pole dance routines. Jason marveled at the atmosphere that had been established. If one didn’t go outside, this evening would seem to be set in the pre-attack days. It was as though the mob was reinforcing the idea that they were the ones able to recreate the world like it was before.
It was an illusion, made possible by spending an enormous amount of resources, food, booze, energy in the form of electricity, and assembling a large group of men and women to play their parts. He doubted all of the strippers and wait staff could support themselves doing only what they were doing this night. Still, the effect was powerful.
Vincent looked over at Jason. “Come with me. We’ll go talk to Mr. Nicoletti.” He stood up. Jason nodded and followed him. They maneuvered through the tables until they came to a large one with six men seated at it. Vincent approached the group.
“Mr. Nicoletti, this is the guy I told you about. He’s spent some time in Hillsboro. I thought you might want to talk with him.”
Joe Nicoletti was in the middle of telling a joke. He finished his story and then turned to Vincent. His gaze swept over to Jason standing next to him. He gave him an appraising once over and nodded.
“Pull up a couple of chairs,” he said to Vincent.
When the two men were seated, Joe turned to Jason.
“You come from Hillsboro?”
“No sir,” Jason replied. “But I did spend a little time there recently.”
“You got a last name?”
Jason hesitated. Giving him his last name exposed him just that much more to the risk of being discovered. He wanted to be cautious even if he didn’t expect anyone in Charlotte to know of him.
“My last name’s Rich. I ain’t, so I stopped using it and just go by Jason.”
Joe smiled. “One name, like Madonna or, what’s that guy’s name who plays that schmaltzy music?”
“Yanni,” someone at the table said. “He’s Greek, I think.”
“Seemed like a fag to me. My wife used to love it. Put me to sleep.”
The men chuckled.
“Okay Jason Rich, tell me about Hillsboro.”
Jason paused for a moment. “I’m not sure what I can tell you. I didn’t stay long.”
“Tell me what you know, what you saw. For example, how is the city defended?”
“They have a rubble wall surrounding the town. Not as secure as what I saw protecting the downtown here. There’s a couple of manned entry points but I’m not sure how many.”
“The wall go all the way around?”
“There’s a river passing south of the town, so it stops there.”
“They got a military?”
“I saw men in uniforms, so I assume they do.”
Jason could see Nicoletti getting a bit impatient with the sparse information he was giving out. He’d have to divulge more if he was going to keep this conversation going and possibly learn more.
“You don’t seem to be know much. What were you doing in Hillsboro?”
Jason went into the story he had told Tony and then Vincent about Knoxville and moving on.
“You didn’t join the militia?”
“No. I got enough of that in the army. Plus, I was looking for an organization that could use my skills as a persuader.”
“Like what you’re doing now?”
“Yeah. Hillsboro is run by a civilian government. They’re pretty well organized from what I could tell.”
Joe seemed to be pondering what Jason had said.
“What do they use for power?”
“They have limited electricity. It’s generated by a water mill. I don’t think they get enough power out of it to run the whole town. Nothing like here. I heard you got a coal-fired plant going?”
“You heard right. Makes local water mill projects look puny by comparison.”
“Where do you get the coal?”
Joe ran his gaze over Jason, sizing him up again. “That interest you?”
“I’m just interested in understanding how things work.”
“You a fucking engineer or an enforcer?”
Jason chuckled and shook his head. “Not an engineer. But it is impressive what you’ve accomplished here compared to other cities.”
“And wha
t do you know of other cities besides Knoxville and Hillsboro?”
“Not much but I passed through some other towns in southern Virginia before I wound up in Knoxville.”
“Speaking of Knoxville, how do they generate electricity?”
“They’re also using water power.”
“Don’t they know they’ve got a coal mine not far to the south of them?”
Jason shrugged. “Mr. Bonocchi asked me that question. I told him I didn’t know. Didn’t hear anyone talk about it.”
“The Chairman’s a dumbass if he don’t know that,” Nicoletti muttered.
“Someone told me you get the coal from stalled trains. What will you do when that runs out?”
“You are inquisitive, aren’t you?” Nicoletti said. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Jason.
“We have plans, options.”
Jason decided to risk another question. “Can I ask why you’re interested in Hillsboro? I mean enough to talk to me about it?”
Nicoletti seemed to think for a moment. “Let’s just say Hillsboro owes us something and we may need to go there to collect it.”
There it was. More confirmation. But what were their capabilities? He needed more. He considered another question, but Joe had already turned back to the others at the table. One of the pole dancers had approached the table and was tempting the men into going to the back of the room for some lap dances.
“Thanks for your time, Mr. Nicoletti,” Vincent said. He got up and motioned Jason to follow.
“You weren’t much help,” he said as they walked back to their table.
“I told him what I knew. I didn’t want to make anything up just to impress him.”
“Don’t get smart. There’s still some odd parts to your story. I like to know more about the people that work for me. We’ll have to talk more.”
When they got back to the table, Vincent turned his attention to the dancers on the stage and called out for a round of drinks.
As the evening went on, the men got louder and raunchier; the liquor flowed freely. Even though it was hard to keep his attention, Jason started to work on Tony for information.
“Are we going to go to Hillsboro and try to take them over?”
Tony looked at Jason with a boozy stare.
“Hell no. We ain’t the military. We got a militia to do that for us. We stay here and keep the town quiet and under control. Let those army types march off.” He leaned towards Jason, “Tell you what, though. If Mr. Tagliani decides to send them, they’ll kick Hillsboro’s ass.”
“Why the interest in Hillsboro?”
“They owe us some money. A shit load from what I hear.” Tony turned towards the girl on a pole nearest them. “Man, she’s hot. I want a piece of that. How ‘bout you?” He turned back to Jason.
“I’m okay. Never did get into that lap dance thing. It’s just a tease.”
“You’re a strange one for sure. Maybe Vincent’s right about you.”
Jason felt his stomach turn. What did Tony mean by that?
“’Course it’s a tease,” Tony said as he turned back to the stage. “That’s the point. Get the real thing later if you’re lucky…and got enough money.” He called out some encouragement and got a smile from the dancer. Ears whistled through his teeth.
When Jason noticed Joe Nicoletti leaving for the restroom, he got up. “I gotta take a piss,” he said, his voice purposely slurred, and headed off with a slight stagger.
Inside the bathroom, he took a urinal a few places down from Joe. “Nice party you’re putting on. I never saw anything like this since the EMP attack.”
Joe looked over at Jason as if trying to place him. Jason could see recognition appear in his face.
“We’re getting things back to normal. This is just the start.”
“Anything I can do to help, Mr. Nicoletti. I appreciate being given the opportunity.”
Joe nodded. “I’m told you can handle yourself, that you’re a serious guy with good people skills. We’ll see as things progress.”
“I appreciate it,” Jason said looking at his urinal. Then he turned back to Joe. “I gotta ask, Charlotte seems so advanced, why go after Hillsboro? I mean I understand they owe us, you, something but they’re a pretty small town.”
“Vincent was right, you do have a lot of questions. And some of them aren’t your business.” He paused for a moment. “Let’s say, just to satisfy you curiosity, they’re important in ways you might not realize.”
Joe finished and zipped up his fly. When he reached the door, he turned back towards Jason.
“Remember that saying about curiosity and the cat.” And he walked through the door.
The drive home was uneventful. As Ears had predicted, Tony told Jason to drive and started to fall asleep. He and Vincent sat comfortably in the back as Ears quietly gave Jason directions when he was not sure of the way to go.
Chapter 15
___________________________________
J ason needed more information. It had been a week since the party. None of the crew members knew much and Gino was openly hostile. He was working alone now, as were the others. Spreading the men out enabled Tony to cover more territory in a shorter amount of time, giving everyone some extra time off.
This day he went down to Frank Russo’s meat shop. Ramona glared at him from the counter when he entered. She still had not forgiven him for hitting her father.
“Hi Ramona, is you father around?”
“It’s not payday, if you’re looking for money.”
“No, I stopped by to talk with him.”
Just then Frank came out from the back room.
“What do you want to talk about?”
Jason pointed to the back. “Can we go back there?”
Frank shrugged and turned back the way he had come. Jason followed.
“Frank, I’ve apologized for hitting you a couple of weeks ago. But you know that was for your own good.”
“It still hurt.”
“I’m sure it did. And Ramona is still mad at me for it.” Jason paused for a moment. “You know I’m not really a part of the mob. I’ve sort of been grafted on to them.”
“You’ve been polite since that confrontation. I’ll give you that. And you don’t seem like the others that work for Tony.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. I run interference for you with Tony and the other crew members. You’re getting along since that day, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. But I’m not saving much since I got to pay up in full each week.”
“What you did was dangerous. What are you trying to save for that’s so important to risk getting Tony mad at you?”
“I want to get out of here. Take Ramona somewhere that’s not controlled by the mob, somewhere with real civilian control. You see how beautiful she is. It’s only a matter of time before someone goes after her.”
Jason shook his head. “That’s a hard situation.”
Frank continued. “They don’t have any morals, inhibitions. It’s only family for them. Everyone outside of their group can be used by them, for money, power, sex, whatever.”
“Frank, I think I can help you. I don’t want to see anything happen to Ramona either. But to help both of you, I need you to keep whatever I tell you a secret. I can be your ally, but only if we work together.”
Frank gave Jason a wary look. “What are you saying?”
“Just that you can help me to help you. First by keeping what we talk about secret, even from Ramona and, secondly, giving me information.”
Frank continued to look wary but agreed. “All right.”
“Good. Now tell me what you know about the civilian leadership in town.”
“There’s not much to tell. The mayor is a figure head. There’s no town council. He comes out and gives speeches when there’s a big meeting or rally. He’ll write something in the newsletter that’s sent out. I’m guessing it’s just what that guy, Big Al, tells him to write. Big Al s the boss.”
/> “Do you know anything about the FEMA guy in town?”
Frank shook his head. “He also writes something for the newsletter, but I’ve never seen him. Why the questions? What do you plan to do?”
“That’s not for you to know. It wouldn’t be safe for you. But I think it will help you in the end.”
“Nothing much will help me except enough money to get some supplies and get out of here.”
“Where will you go?”
“I’m still working on that. I ask around about what nearby towns are like and where the federal government is in charge, but there’s not much good news. Most of the nearby towns are under Charlotte’s thumb. The feds are in Wilmington, but word is they’ve closed it off in order to maintain control over the port. It’s just used to try to get relief supplies into the country.”
“There’s a city north of here, Hillsboro. It has a civilian government and you and Ramona could find a place to fit in. You should consider it.”
Jason turned to go.
“Thanks for the tip,” Frank called after him.
The conversation didn’t add much information to what Jason already knew. He needed to work higher up the chain, even if that meant increased danger. He started working on Tony.
“I heard there’s a FEMA guy in town. Does he run anything?”
“Not really. He’s a wimpy little guy.
“What’s his name?”
“Michael Daniels”
“Did he get sent here after the attack?”
“No. I think he was here all along. Probably worked a desk before the attack, directing resources around the state after floods and things like that. When the attack happened, he was out of his element.”
“So, what did he do?”
“That’s just it. Nothing.”
“Joe and Big Al had a talk with him and told him the role he was to play. He turned the city’s resources over to us and now just sits around. If we get any visitors, we haul him out to let them know he’s got everything under control.”
“He just hangs out downtown?”
“That’s about it. City hall.”
