Elena and Felicita didn’t leave Greenbug right away.
They were planning to wait until Luca and Zakaya finished their negotiations. That was the limit of the mediation between the two caporegimes.
And one more thing. They needed to decide how to handle it in case such a situation occurred again.
“What will we do if the same thing happens again?”
“If it wasn’t Zakaya’s intention and the Gollymen just came over on their own, then we’ll handle it the same way as this time.”
“And if it was Zakaya’s intention?”
“Then, of course, we return the guys who came over and also pay compensation in cash.”
“Alright, that sounds fair enough.”
Felicita shared the conversation with her younger brother as well.
At the same time, she confirmed the amount that Luca and Zakaya had discussed.
“What do you think? Doesn’t this seem reasonable?”
“…It seems a bit high.”
“What? Felicita, he took my men. My power had a loss, so he should have to pay a corresponding amount.”
Felicita fully understood what her younger brother was implying.
But now was not the time to judge the Felini Family from that perspective. Of course, the grudge between the two factions wouldn’t just disappear easily.
“Luca, the Wolves are our allies. Moreover, they’re providing us with the most benefits in terms of drug supply.”
“….”
“You know as well as anyone that we have to deal with that crocodile for better or worse, right?”
Felicita was very accustomed to handling her younger brothers.
It was only natural since she had taken over that role when their father had been too out of it to manage the organization properly.
“Let’s try doing it this way for now.”
“…What?”
Felicita conveyed her thoughts to Luca, who responded with a bewildered look.
A moment later, the four of them gathered back in the same place.
The sight of the Felini Family and Marinelli Family members lined up was familiar to the four of them.
“….”
Luca looked at his sister before mentioning the amount he had originally thought of.
“Alright, let’s go with that.”
“Wait a minute.”
Zakaya didn’t hesitate at all. But Elena, his boss, raised an objection.
“That seems a bit expensive.”
Elena’s words were directed at Luca, but they were simultaneously aimed at Felicita.
However, she wouldn’t openly disregard Luca in front of others or question Felicita. There was nothing to be gained by embarrassing Luca.
“Elena, we have experienced a power gap because of this. Shouldn’t we give a little more?”
“By that reasoning, Zakaya lost two of his men due to your attack. This wasn’t something done intentionally by us from the start.”
“…Fine, then let’s reduce it a little.”
Luca intervened before their conversation could go any further.
If the amount Luca initially proposed was 100, they agreed on lowering it to around 85.
Elena confirmed the proposed amount with Zakaya, who replied that he could pay and thanked them for stepping in for him.
“Alright, let’s go with that.”
The location and timing for the payment would be discussed further between Luca and Zakaya later on.
“….”
“See, Luca? This way, you can save face and it’s better for everyone, right?”
As the distance between Felicita and the other two grew, she spoke to her younger brother. She had fully anticipated that Elena would play hardball.
If they had just started with 85 from the beginning, it wouldn’t have given Luca the chance to feel like he made a concession.
Moreover, thanks to Elena, Zakaya ended up securing a deal at an even lower price, creating an obligation on the boss to the caporegime.
“…Thanks. I thought ever since you got married you’ve completely become a Wolf.”
“Really? But you’re half right and half wrong.”
“What?”
“I’m on the side of my little Wolf, not the Wolves.”
Luca stifled a laugh at his sister’s witty response. It was so quintessentially Felicita.
“Well, I’ll be on my way now. There’s a lot going on right now that I need to keep track of.”
Luca nodded in agreement with his sister’s words.
Lately, the Five Families were in an uproar due to the hearing featuring Martin Borges, an operative from the Five Families as a witness.
Known as the Borges Hearing, it was causing quite the stir within either the old Five Families or the newly formed ones led by the Felini Family.
On top of that, the committee chair, Senator Porter, and his colleague, Congressman Pharaoh, were doing an excellent job with their work.
The boss of the Sanchez Family, Eddie Sanchez, was facing personal audits due to his failure to respond to the committee’s questions.
In the meantime, Sanchez found himself imprisoned rather than a free man. His seat was taken by Gata Melata, the family’s underboss.
To the west stood the Carmen Family, and to the east, the Solomon Family, marking the new Five Families.
In such circumstances, even a strong charismatic boss had been neutralized.
Gata Melata wasn’t a pushover, but his fate seemed as if he had sold his nation in a past life.
“Felicita!”
“I’m coming,” she replied.
Elena called out loudly to Felicita before she got into the car.
Finally, the two got back into the vehicle and headed toward Lupus Carlton Hotel.
*
The issues in Greenbug had been settled for the time being.
Meanwhile, I had departed from Viola Carmen’s social club and had reached the Academy.
“Brother, we have arrived.”
“Hey, how much longer are you going to call me brother? You should be saying Godfather.”
The wolf sitting in the passenger seat responded to the driver.
“No, you guys should keep calling me brother. There’s no need to publicly announce who I am.”
“…Understood.”
Even calling each other brother in the Academy or outside could draw attention.
But to go so far as to call me Godfather? I could hardly bear to imagine that.
As I stepped out of the armored vehicle, the members surrounding me began to resemble walking bulletproof vests.
They were my Wolves and members disguised as Academy Staff Union Members.
“Brother, have things wrapped up with Carmen?”
Kambara, who had approached, asked among the others.
“Not yet. They promised to contact us directly if anything comes up.”
“I see.”
“By the way, is Veronica inside?”
“Yes, she’s inside right now.”
Just as I had been promoted to Boss, Veronica and Kambara had also been elevated in ranks.
Nominally, Kambara was the Vice Chairman of the Academy Union, but in reality, Veronica held the power.
With tight security, Kambara and I safely entered the Union Office.
“Luke, good morning!”
“It’s already lunchtime, isn’t it?”
“Hahaha! That’s true.”
Some of the union members greeted me warmly as soon as I appeared. I played along casually.
“Veronica.”
“Brother! I heard you went to see Viola. You returned quickly.”
As I called out to Veronica upon entering the Vice Chairman’s office, her reaction was quite entertaining.
“What about that dead broker? Did anything come out of it?”
“Ah…”
Veronica greeted me warmly but quickly fell silent regarding the topic that came out of my mouth.
“Brother, it’s still under investigation.”
“Really?”
According to Kambara, the investigation was still ongoing.
“Unfortunately, there were no witnesses. It seems the one who killed the broker deliberately called him over when there would be no one around.”
“Then there’s nothing we can do.”
Listening to Veronica, it sounded like they were making efforts, but with the situation being nearly a perfect crime, there didn’t seem to be much they could do.
By the way, I couldn’t help but wonder if the deceased broker was not a spy who was passing our information to the killer.
Whatever had transpired between the broker and the killer, it seemed that relationship could no longer be sustained, leading to this conclusion.
“Veronica, Kambara, then let’s do this.”
“Yes?”
“Stop the investigation. Instead, use the guys you had assigned there to provide security for other brokers.”
It would involve security while also keeping a watchful eye. They might not move immediately after committing such acts, but there was certainly a possibility that other brokers could get stirred up due to this incident.
This measure would not only be for the safety of the brokers but also would allow us to monitor whether they were up to anything suspicious.
“Understood. Kambara.”
“Yes.”
Veronica quickly accepted my proposal, and Kambara left the office to implement it.
“Truly, you’re amazing, Brother.”
“Eh, it’s nothing much. By the way, have you eaten yet?”
“No, not yet.”
Oh, I thought that was perfect timing. I intended to suggest we have lunch together.
At that moment, the phone in the office rang loudly.
“Is that Viola?”
“Wait a moment.”
I thought it might be a call from Viola Carmen. Veronica picked up the receiver before me to check the caller.
“Yes, sister. He’s right here next to me.”
Sister. Veronica would refer to two people that way. But seeing her expression not completely cheerful, it was highly likely to be Elena.
“Brother, it’s a call from Elena.”
“Got it. Hey, Elena. What’s up?”
“Luke, I just got back from Greenbug.”
Elena and Felicita were involved in something worth hearing about, so I was quite curious.
I listened eagerly to Elena as my anticipation grew.
“….”
However, it wasn’t as big of a deal as I had thought. Of course, it could still lead to a significant dispute between the two families.
“I’m glad to hear it was resolved well.”
“Yeah, especially during such a busy time.”
After we chatted a bit about her moving to downtown, I ended the call.
“….”
Immediately, I called Felicita’s room.
“…Luke?”
“Yeah, Felicita. It’s me.”
When she picked up the phone, Felicita’s voice trembled slightly. But upon realizing who it was, her tone became noticeably brighter.
“I heard everything that happened from Elena.”
“So?”
I told Felicita about my plan to send about six members from the Gollymen stationed at the Academy to Luca.
“You don’t have to do that, Luke.”
“But he’s still my brother-in-law.”
I had already asked Samia Zakaya for some Gollymen members to be stationed at the Academy, so I had a bit of a surplus.
Meanwhile, Felicita shared with me what she had done during this mediation.
“I really can’t keep up with your cleverness.”
“Luke, at times like this, it’s about having brains, not just being clever.”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
Even while Felicita laughed at my joke, she insisted it wasn’t necessary, but I assured her it was fine.
After ending the call, I instructed Veronica to send around six Gollymen members to Luca.
