Confronted

*Joseph*

I stood as tall and strong as I could with the holes still healing in my body. When the man walked in, I noticed he was a bit older than me. Silver was like confetti in his hair and beard. He smiled without teeth as he shook my hand which told me the smile was severely forced. "Hello, Smoke, I am Tommasso. I have come to speak with you about your clan here killing my cousin." He squeezed a little harder than with a normal handshake, the word "clan" coming out with disgust. I didn't smile. "Well, you and I could go into my office. I will allow your guards to look for weapons if you allow me the same courtesy." Again with the smile. "Of course. I come in peace." I heard Sandra almost giggling in my ear. I assume it was the famous alien quote he just spat out. I try hard not to react, making eye contact with the others to ensure that they follow suit. As his guards search me, I watch as Jay glares at all of them making me discreetly nod at him to let him know it was okay. The others walked into my office followed by Zeus to ensure there were no weapons inside. There was, but they wouldn't find it. The pistol was hidden in a fingerprint opening that was hidden in the inside of my desk. It had an unpenetrable led vault around it, and wouldn't react to anything other than my print. When Zeus walked back out with the guards there were more discreet looks. We were all well-versed in inaudible signals. Zeus was telling me they didn't look very well. This tells me their worry for this man's safety was not as strong as it should be. Jay would have turned that office upside down, and he is just one man. After everyone was cleared, I welcomed him to follow me into the office and shut the door. "Listen, I do not want war," I said as I walked towards my desk. He didn't respond. "Would you like a drink? Scotch? Bourbon?" I was trying to keep things friendly. He nodded but walked to the bar pouring himself a glass of my Mcallan Black Scotch. I didn't react as he wanted. I just stood there pouring my Bourbon. Afterwards disregarded his presence and walked straight to my desk. If he could pour his drink then he could find his seat. He was still mostly quiet, aside from commenting on my expensive taste in whiskey. "If one is going to buy it, it should at least have good taste," I said with a slight confident chuckle. Again, he didn't respond. What was he waiting for? Did he come here just to stare at the floor? Maybe walking into an intimidating army of broken soldiers has intimidated him.

We sat there in silence for about 20 minutes just sipping our drinks. "I know why you killed Luca." He said suddenly, startling me with his loud voice. "I killed him because he was a monster. I killed him because he took my young brother, Henry. I killed him because he was going to kill me." I said not backing down. He shook his head. "I said I know why you killed him." This is infuriating, and it is getting hard to ignore my irritation. "Why are you here?" I asked bluntly feeling the edge in my voice come out like razors. "Non essere rude." I don't speak Italian but I assume he told me not to be rude. "It's a question, Tom. Can I call you Tom?" I said smiling, "I just want to know why you have come here. I was kind, I allowed you to walk into my home without cutting your throat. So the least you can do is tell me why you have shown up, is it not? Maybe you are the one being rude?" I said looking directly into his eyes. He froze for a moment, obviously trying to keep his composure, and then he started nodding at me. "You are right Smoke. I am being rude. I came to tell you we do not need a war. I do want only two things from you, and then you will not need to deal with the Peak Crew anymore." I knew already what he wanted, he wanted Takara. Henry will not allow that to happen. I looked at my computer monitor knowing my men could see me in their security apps, hoping someone was watching. I needed someone to control the hot potato because he would walk around burning all of them. As for the other thing, I am not sure. I have no idea what else he could want from me. I stood up slowly and walked to the bar to pour another glass. When I turned to look at him, he was staring at the bookcases. "Are you a reader Tom? You want two books?" I knew my sarcasm was unnecessary, but the balls on this guy to walk in and demand things from me were unnerving. I was trying to break the tension. The darkness was getting harder to keep at bay. "I am an avid reader Smoke, but I am afraid a book just won't do." His sarcasm was thickening as well. "Boss, this is slowly getting more tense. Please return to your camera areas, I cannot see you at the bar." I didn't react, just slowly walked back toward my desk. "Got you." When I knew they could see me, I started to speak again. "What is it you think I owe you, Tom? You aren't even the Boss of the Peak are ya? Isn't that your baby brother?" I knew this would dig in, but at this point, my patience was too thin to care. At the same time, I still didn't want to cause a shoot-out remembering my sweet Sandra was still in the building. He tensed up instantly when I mentioned his brother. "Santino is a baby. He does not know how to lead. I will be in his spot by the end of the week." He said smiling again. I would have to say I was impressed with his English. I assumed he would speak Italian like his brother. I would have to make a mental note to warn Santino. It sounds like he may be in danger. I can't imagine a brother killing a brother, but I know Tommasso isn't like most men.

"I am losing my patience Tommasso. I have things to do today. Can you just get to the damn point?" I was done playing his game. I was in control and I was going to show him as much. "The girl. She belongs to me. I want her within 3 days. I will also take a pound for a pound." What the fuck? Does he want to take flesh for flesh? He thinks I am going to sacrifice my men to him, to replace the men we killed. This prick has lost his mind. "I don't know who you are talking about. I have no girl. I will not be giving you any of my men. What the fuck is wrong with you? The men you see out there, are few to how many I have in my family. The peak will be demolished in war. Your crew will be completely erased. It is time for you to leave." The shaking in my body was uncontrollable. The urge I had to shoot this man in the head was getting stronger each second. He stood up, but moved with intent, to show me he wasn't afraid of me. "You have the slut. The peak cameras cut off as your men burned down the house, not before. She belongs to me. I will get her Smoke. The men will die, all of them if this is what you want. The peak is bigger than this gracile clan of yours. You will see. You will regret it." He huffed and puffed as he walked towards the door. "We shall see friend," I said as I unlocked it for him. When it opened I could see the indifference outside. Some could hear, some couldn't. "We will meet again King," Tommasso said as he walked out the front door rolling his eyes with the last word. "I am counting on it, Tom," I yelled after him, this time smiling big, before hearing laughter and howling behind me. When I turned around everyone was laughing except Jay. He knew we were headed for war as I did, but the others I think were only releasing the tension in themselves. "Can I come down now?" I heard the sweet sultry voice in my ear. I looked at Jay who was watching the cameras. "Coast is clear sis." He said walking back into the office I assume to start planning. I looked in the direction she was supposed to be coming from and she jumped into my arms. I flinched because it hurt like hell, but she felt so good close to me that I barely felt it. "I was scared. What are we going to do boss?" I could see the worry all over her face making me want to just reach down his throat and rip out his lungs. The fact that she said "we" though, made me feel warm inside. "It will be okay Sunshine, I promise. I will handle it. I love you." I leaned down and kissed her. It wasn't often that I showed my affection in front of my men, especially not those outside of the circle, but I needed to feel her lips on mine right now. I needed to refocus.

I grabbed her hand and followed Zeus and Henry back into the office to join Jay. I shut the door after thanking the others from around the territories for being here. I told them they needed to stay around and that they were welcome to do anything in the house. When we walked in, we had to all get quiet, Jay was already on the phone with Santino. "He wants the girl, and he wants out men. It won't fucking happen. I hope you understand that shit." I walked over to the speaker to ensure Santino could hear me. "Santino, it's Smoke. Can you hear me?" I wanted to make sure I only had to speak once. "I do." He said sounding confused. "Tommasso is planning to take your position away. I think he is plotting to kill you, take the first spot, and then come after us." I said loudly. "Why not shoot the bitch?" Santino asked more furious than confused now. "Wasn't a good time." I was trying to use simplified English to help him understand. "Okay, smoke. My plan is easy...." He paused, "We work together, kill Tommasso and his followers. Get New York back to business as usual."