The day of reckoning.
The family boss and consigliere were the first to move.
Forces led by Elena and Salmo began pouring through the territory of Vanella and Viola Carmen into the heart of the city.
The city, already in disarray after my father’s death, received quite a shock. Small and large gunfights were starting in the city center, not in the outskirts or the west.
I was at the union office in the academy checking the newspapers that had just come out.
While they weren’t filled exclusively with stories about our family, there was hardly a paper without an article or column about us.
There was a newspaper with the headline, <The Return of the Wolf, the Emergence of the She-Wolf>, and another article titled <Huge Funds Delivered to the Felini Family, Who's Behind Them?>.
In this case, it seemed that the information came straight from the rat hole. It had that unmistakable scent of it.
Another paper had a feature story titled <The Wolf Strikes at the City Center!>.
“Luke, what are you looking at so intently?”
As I flipped through the newspapers silently, Sarina came over and asked.
“The news. With this much coverage, Elena must be doing really well.”
Given that we had been cooped up in the east, I understood why there would be such a explosive reaction.
“Well… Brother, I don’t think it’s a good thing for us to be the center of attention.”
“True. But what can the authorities really do? The acting mayor is on our side too.”
“Luke’s right. There are worse guys than us spread out in the west.”
Sarina referred to the Carmen and Sanchez families. Those two were still engaged in fierce battles in the western part of the city.
“And didn’t I say before that some of the attention should shift towards Elena?”
“Yes, you did. The Russo family should be focusing on the lady, not us.”
“Right, we won’t be moving for the time being.”
Elena, who had become a hot potato, needed to attract more attention.
Besides, if we just held our ground, the Russos would start reconsidering. They’d think we weren’t gathering to attack them, but rather to defend against enemy incursions while Elena moved into the city center.
“Sarina, everything’s going smoothly on Viola’s side, right?”
“Yes, Giovanni says he has figured out exactly where to hit in the Russo territories.”
“Already?”
Theory and reality are different. So, I needed to tell Sarina to pass it on to Giovanni not to get cocky and to prepare thoroughly.
“Well, the guy can be a bit careless, but the lady’s underlings are with him, so I doubt there’s much to worry about.”
Sarina referred to Fabio Carini, and the woman was Viola Carmen.
“Just in case. Besides, Giovanni’s not some dolt who can’t understand my orders.”
Meanwhile, I unfurled the map on my desk again.
Our battleground would be the northeast and north of the city.
First, Giovanni, Viola, and Carini would start from River West, cross the bridge through Beverly, and launch an attack on the Russo family territory in Haywoods.
On the other hand, Sarina, Armo, Lumini, and I would split into two groups heading for Beverly and Hayden Park. Sarina and I were assigned to Beverly, while Armo and Lumini would take care of Hayden Park.
“Sarina, Beverly South is in that guy’s territory, right?”
“Yes, the Mad Hatter.”
The Mad Hatter, Albert Kario.
A former caporegime of our family. He had been ruling Beverly South long before our family even emerged.
He has a quirky habit of killing people just when he throws his hat and it hits the ground. Hence, his nickname, the Mad Hatter.
When my father became the Godfather, he was one of many who played it cool.
“So what should we do about him?”
“We’ll have to send someone to check it out.”
Now that the Godfather’s children had returned, it was time to renegotiate our relationship.
“Why not just deal with him directly?”
“He’s a cautious one. Of course, Elena and I aren’t my father, but the same thing could happen.”
“Hmmm…”
Sarina seemed to have a different opinion, but she didn’t raise any further objections.
After that, we merely watched time pass. Two days after Elena started her offensive into the central region, I received word from Financial King Hagen.
However, this time it was regarding Elena, not me. The consigliere, Salmo, immediately relayed the news to me.
“Hagen?”
“Yes, Luke. He mentioned there are some buildings he wants us to avoid.”
“So what’s Elena going to do about it?”
“For now, she thinks it’s wise to comply.”
“…I think Elena’s right about that. Make sure to convey that.”
“Yes.”
I didn’t know exactly which buildings they were, but clearly, they were causing unwarranted adverse effects to Hagen’s business.
“Financial King is quite impatient, isn’t he?”
“Excuse me?”
“Hagen couldn’t wait and contacted us.”
The gunfight patterns happening in the city center wouldn’t last long. In fact, it was impossible for them to do so in the first place.
Given the concentration of law enforcement, the bustling district downtown was different compared to other areas.
On top of that, those down in the city center, like Lumini, were former caporegimes of our family, while others had taken the chance to rush in from the outskirts.
While the former didn’t fear us, we needed to show the latter our might. Violence directed at them could help reinforce our persuasion towards the former.
“Luke, so when are we planning to start?”
“Just hold on for a bit longer. Let’s watch as the attention stays on Elena for about a week.”
“It’s not just me; my underlings are eager to move too.”
[To reap the fruits of innovation, patience and time are required.]
For some reason, an apt quote caught my eye. Without hesitation, I responded to Sarina with those words.
“What?”
“I think I understand the meaning. Aah!”
Before Kambara could finish speaking, Sarina’s fist collided with him.
“Hey, if you think you understand, you better explain it instead of just accepting it.”
“It’s literally what it says, what’s there to explain?!”
“Is that so?”
Sarina began pummeling Kambara. The sound of her fists hitting his alligator skin felt like a dull percussion.
“Oh, Sarina. By the way, how are those guys doing?”
“Who?”
“The Metal Man and the Hole Man, of course.”
“Oh, the Metal Man is adapting well.”
“…And the Hole Man?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure. He follows orders without a word, but since his face is just three holes, I can’t read his expressions.”
In simpler terms, it meant I couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all. But I had heard that hole guys were like that by nature.
“Well, it should be fine. Sarina, it’s not like you haven’t handled such characters before.”
“…”
Sarina seemed a bit pleased with my trust in her.
*
While we waited, suddenly the phone on my desk rang loudly. I was about to answer since it was my phone, but Kambara, who was right beside me, got to it first.
“Brother, it’s Salmo.”
It was easy to get confused about whether it was the father or the son. Most likely, it was the son.
“Luke.”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
It was indeed Salmo, the son.
“Dom Solomon has gotten back to us.”
“Really? Has it become easier for him to make a choice since we’re moving into the central part of the city?”
“Maybe. Anyway, he said he accepts the lady’s proposal.”
“Just accepts, huh?”
“He mentioned they would like to help us suppress the central area.”
Though it was newly formed, the Solomon Family indeed constituted a part of the Five Families. It was as if two families out of the five were already cooperating with us.
“Well, then it should speed up the capture of the central area.”
“It seems the lady thinks so too.”
“Salmo, what’s your take on it?”
“We’ll have to make them pay a price for their bloodshed, but… I think it’s not a bad deal.”
With the boss, underboss, and consigliere all in agreement, such occurrences weren’t entirely unusual.
“Oh, and don’t trust the Solomons too much. Of course, Elena and you will handle it well, but still.”
“Yes, we aren’t fool enough.”
I was glad that Salmo, who was as smart as he was loyal, was by our side. Typically, high loyalty meant they were too dumb to be reliable, and intelligence often meant low loyalty, causing issues.
But Anthony Salmo was crucial in displaying unwavering loyalty to his father, the Godfather, and his children.
Moreover, it seemed he relished in twisting the law while defending us.
‘In a way, isn’t he also a bit abnormal?’
Ever since the Solomon Family responded to Elena’s call and took action, it appeared the Russo Family was beginning to focus more on her than on us.
All the other Five Families seemed to be the same, but they dared not challenge us.
Particularly, Sanchez had acknowledged our ownership of the central area while being the mastermind behind releasing the Solomon Family into the center.
“Sarina, send some wolves over to the Mad Hatter.”
“Yes.”
The wolves Sarina dispatched weren’t sent to pick a fight.
They were sent to invite the power player of Beverly South, Albert Kario, to come under us.
However, the response I received didn’t meet my expectations.
“…”
“This seems to be their answer.”
All the wolves sent toward Kario returned alive. But they came back disheveled, looking like they’d had a run-in with Sarina.
“Should I go?”
“No, I’ll go myself.”
My caporegimes and I hadn’t just been wasting time. We already had enough information on Kario.
But since he responded this way, I had no choice but to take more aggressive action.
First, I captured a family member of the one responsible for Kario’s security… someone like Armo in our family.
“…What do I need to do?”
The voice of the security head echoed through the receiver, filled with anxiety.
Naturally, it made sense; with his family being held hostage, his voice wasn’t only trembling but also seemed to be on the verge of tears.
“Tell me where Kario is going and what he’s planning to do there.”
As the security head answered my questions, I noticed a suitable opportunity emerging.
It seemed Kario planned to go to a barber shop in his territory tomorrow for a haircut.
A barber shop, huh… not the worst place for someone to get killed.
