184

Icame up with a plan. Antonio and I discuss it with Daniel and Christian. I tell them no one else can know, and we have to keep everything inside the immediate circle—so none of the other capos or soldiers.

As Christian once said to me—our thing—it’s a sewing-circle. People talk. We couldn’t take any chances.

Although…there wasoneother person I knew I could trust.

I don’t tell Vincent anything…lately I’ve been keeping him out of the loop. Often his council it to object or advise caution and I don’t want him to put doubt in anyone’s minds.

I’mthe boss of this family.

At 9pm the call comes in. Our location will be the old abandoned steel mill.Perfect—but…for them or for us?

We head out and when we get to the mill, we find a series of square, dilapidated, concrete buildings sitting in middle of a muddy field, made worse by the thunderstorm currently in full swing.

They’re all at least four-stories high with big factory windows—All shattered.

The place is overgrown with weeds. There’s are no lights. This place has been taken back by nature. It’s a ghost town.

I wouldn’t be able to find my own ass in this weather with three hands, a flashlight and a map, so I tell Antonio to call Josh.

He answers on the first ring and says—We’re parked inside the first building; you can’t miss us.

Before we can pass through the cavernous entrance, I stop Antonio to give him a deep kiss, “Good luck.”

He nods, “You too,” he gives me a quick peck and drives onwards.

Two months ago, I was a nobody, staring down the barrel of a future going nowhere with a lifetime of misery as the only proof I’d ever been here.

Tonight…I’m going to make things right…one way or the other—I’m going to have my revenge or die trying.

We spot Josh’s maroon Cadillac pointed at us, headlights on. On either side of us are massive steel vats, broken machinery, work benches, weeds, containers and tons of other broken junk too big to steal.

Antonio parks our Escalade nose to nose and I see Josh helping old man Cassaduchi onto his wheelchair as we get out. We’re illuminated only from the headlights of both cars.

There are shadows everywhere and a million places to hide. The sound of the rain on the metal roof is enough camouflage for the clumsiest of assassins.Icould be walking into to a trap just as easily asheis—Time to see how well laid my plans really are.

Josh starts, “Now we’re all here—”

Don Cassaduchi cuts him off, “Let’s skip the preamble, huh? I’m old. I shouldn’t be out of the house in this fucking weather. The fucking cold gets into my,”cough, cough, cough, oxygen…two breaths,“fucking bones. You have a number in mind? Let’s hear it.”

I take a few steps toward the old man, “There’s no number, you old bastard. Joshua de Soto is here to hand you over to me.”

“What the fuck?” He looks at Josh, who’s suddenly speechless and looking panicked.

“It’s a lie, Michael,” Josh puts his hand on the Don, “I should have known they’d pull something like this.”

“The time for bullshit is over,” I tell Josh, then look at the Don. “Your favorite captain is screwing you over to save his own skin. He says he’s next in line.”

Josh points at Antonio and barks, “You gave me your word, you cocksucker!”

Antonio shrugs, “I don’t remember any such thing.”

I look at Antonio and smile, “That’s loyalty for you.” I can’t help shaking my head at how easy this was.

I turn to Don Cassaduchi, “When you fuckers open the books, do you even take a blood oath with the card of a saint in flames…or do you have guysmadelike burgers at McDonald’s?”

De Soto draws his gun—before he can point it at me, Antonio is pointing a 9mm at him instead.

“What the fuck is this bullshit?!” de Soto takes a step back. “Don’t you have any honor? I came here in good faith, Antonio. If you’re not going to do it, I’ll whack this old prick myself and tell the whole world it washer!”

As Josh takes aim at Don Cassaduchi, Leo steps out of the shadows and calmly puts a gun to his head, saying, “I think I’ve heard all I need to hear.”

Josh turns to stone as Leo takes the weapon from his hand…then two more of their captains emerge from the darkness— Dickie and Paulie—they both take Josh’s arms and hold him in place.

Josh struggles, “You cocksuckers! You set me up!”

Two older captains walk towards us from the rear of the factory—Mitch and Sonny.Mitch says, “You set yourself up, you murdering fuck.”

Sonny adds, “Now you’re going to get what’s been coming to you…sixteen years too late.”

Don Cassaduchi sits there in stunned silence, watching everything unfold.

My phone has been on a conference call to Daniel and Christina the whole time, I take it from my top pocket and say, “Come,” then hang up.

I walk over to de Soto, “Like the man said,” I point to Mitch, “you set yourself up. I only told Leo where we’d be.Youdid the rest.”

Right then, we all turn to see another escalade pull into the factory from the left—It’s Daniel…in a hurry!

Next, Christian runs in out of the rain holding a shotgun.

Things went a lot better than I could’ve hoped for—but you have to plan for the worst.

Joshua is still silent. He’s been exposed in front of everybody.

Don Cassaduchi is quiet as well. All he does is stare at me.

Christian nods at the other capos in greeting as he makes his way to Joshua and—without breaking his stride—winds up and delivers a face crushing right hand that puts de Soto to sleep.

Dickie and Paulie drop the dead weight on the ground and step back.

Leo looks at me and speaks solemnly, “I expect that certain things are going to happen now.”

“They are,” I nod.

“Well, I want you to know that I speak for all of us in this room,” he gestures to himself and the four other captains, “when I say—We won’t hold a grudge—if you know what I mean?”

“Thank you, Leo,” I nod to him.

“They were wrong for what they did. It’s been a long time coming. So—you do what you gotta do.”

There’s that line again. This time I’m on the other end of it.

The five capos take one last look around, but none of them even glance at Don Cassaduchi, then they nod, turn their backs to us and head towards the exit at the rear.

The Don shouts, “Cocksuckers! I’m the boss of this family!” Then he starts coughing and hacking his lungs up.

I wait till the five capos of the Cassaduchi family are gone, then I say to Christian, “Giftwrap that, please,” pointing at Joshua.

Chris nods and gets to work with a roll of duct-tape.

The Don says, “I was always jealous of your father, you know?”

I don’t respond. I put my hand out to Daniel in a—Bring—gesture.

“That he had sons. I was older, you see? I’d missed my opportunity. I had no sons. I knew his sons would come for me. I’m glad I killed them,” he laughs like a psycho and coughs from the effort.

Daniel hands me my katana and I fasten the belt it hangs on around me.

“Bernardo is not a gangster. He wasn’t a leader. A consigliere is cautious by nature.” He coughs up a storm.

Between his quickened breathing borne of fear and his legitimate ailments, I’m afraid he’s going to die before I can kill him!

“His kind would rather negotiate. They try to keep a cool head. He wanted to protect his sons. He was afraid to go to war.” He coughs again and takes some oxygen.

I nod to Antonio. He grabs the Don roughly, pulls him out of the chair and forces him to his knees, then the three brothers stand behind me.

“You know, Lombardo would have won if went to war,” the Don looks me in the eyes, “but I whispered in Bernardo’s earover and over that his own sons would surely die in the struggle. No man wants to lose his sons.”

I unsheathe my sword. “Daughters are better. Now, let’s see if we can’t do something about that cough.”

His eyes widen. His right hand comes up halfway, “Wa—"

I’ve been practicing on trees and watermelons.

With one swift and powerful stroke, I cleave his head from his shoulders and it lands true.

Well, that’s what they say in old manuscripts…they say if the head lands just right, you can see your own headless body before you die.

I hope this sick fuck saw his…and I hope he still has that fucking cough when they set up him up with his new condo in hell.

When his body hits the floor, Joshua starts screaming, “HELP! HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP!”

He’s wrapped with tape around his ankles, knees, torso, there’s tape around his arms and his wrists as well. All he can do is wriggle like a fish.

I look at all three of my handsome, powerful captains…the men who fought for me and gave me back my life.

I feel a sense of pride, and I’ve never been more grateful. I love them all equally.We’re a family.

Josh keeps screaming damnit! He’s spoiling the moment!

“Can someone shut him up?”

I chop off the Don’s hands too. We put the head and hands in a little backpack and take them with us.

It won’t betoohard for the cops to ID him, but I’m sure as hell not going to make iteasy.

Without the prints from his fingers and the lack of face, they’re going to have to look for identifying marks on the body—like tattoos.

Who knows if they’ll even bother? That place probably doubles as a crack-den in the sunshine.

He’s just another dead guy that no one is looking for.

We don’t leave any of our own prints behind and between the rain and the rats and a location no one ever goes to…it could be months till anyone even finds what’s left of him.

I’m hoping the rats go to work on that son of a bitch.

We throw the bag into the river as we cross the bridge on the way to the next destination.

One of the businesses we protect is a full-service funeral parlor. We’ve got the embalming room for the morticians, the chapel, viewing area…you name it.

I’m driving with Christian in his Maserati. Antonio and Daniel are following in their Escalades with Joshua in Antonio’s trunk.

We get where we’re going and we all get out of our cars, then meet at the trunk with Joshua.

Antonio pops it and I’m glad to see that Joshua hasn’t shit himself yet. He’s got tape over his mouth, so I’m sure the ride was nice and quiet.

Josh looks at us, his eyes wide with fear…wondering what comes next.

“Get his ass out of there.”

“Allow me,” Christian, being the biggest of the three, grabs Josh and throws him over his shoulder.

We all file in to the funeral home, Daniel leads ahead of us to do the unlocking, I’m next, then Christian and finally Antonio brings up the rear.

It’s smooth sailing—No one’s around.

We go down a ramp at the back, through a set of double-doors which Daniel unlocks and locks behind us, then walk down a short linoleum corridor till we get where we’re going.

I can hear Joshua huffing and puffing like an asshole.

His car is still at the steel mill with the keys in the ignition.

If the cops find it, they’ll run the plates, then known associates, then they’ll link Joshua to Michael. When they can’t find Josh, they’ll pin Michael Cassaduchi’s dead body on him.

Crime is a stats game. The police want this open and shut more than anyone else—No one likes unsolved cases.

Looking for what they can’t find isn’t the only reason we’re here though…someone could always steal the car—that’s why I left the keys in it.

I’m here for something extra special.

I want the punishment to fit the crime.

Daniel opens the door to Joshua’s final stop, then he’s opens the oven door before Christian dumps de Soto on the metal rollers.

Even a pine box is too good for this motherfucker.

Joshua’s eyes are wide as saucers. He’s breathing heavy through his nose. His chest rises and falls like a rabbit caught in the crosshairs…or like a guy who knows his end won’t be a happy one.

His eyes dart to look at our faces in turn while we stand over him…unmoved and expressionless.

“Do you know where you are?” I jerk my head at Antonio and he rips the tape off de Soto’s mouth so he can answer.

He licks his lips and blinks the sweat out of his eyes, “Chelsea, please. Not like this.”He can plead all he wants, butthis was only ever going to end one way. “We can work something out, there’s always something we can—”

I give Christian a look and he punches Josh in the face.

When he recovers from the blow, I grab his shirt, “Aside from begging like a bitch, any last words?”

“It was never personal, Chelsea, you have to believe that, it was just busine—”

I let go and Christian hits him again on my cue, shutting him the fuck up.

I grab Josh’s collar and look him in the eyes,“Everything is personal.”

I push him into the cold furnace and he rolls with the ease of an ice cube on a hot tray.

“Wait! WAIT! Chelsea! PLEASE!”

“What?”

He cranes his neck to speak from inside the furnace, “Don’t do this to me! Please! I don’t want to die like this. Show some mercy. I’m begging you. Just give me a bullet! The result is the same!”

“Not to me it’s not, this is your preview of hell. Let them know I’m coming, I’m taking over when I get there.”

I shut the door and hit the big red button to the start the incinerator.

The sounds of Joshua’s screams are a symphony—That’s the kind of suffering I’ve dreamed of…and now he’s living it.I savor it all, knowing that each shriek of soul shredding agony and melted flesh helps Mikey, Daniel, my mother and my father…smile…somewhere in heaven.

Now, we’re done.