Acting boss of the Sanchez Family, Gata Melata.
The big escape he orchestrated ended up being a complete failure. Because of Melata, our Five Families were in pretty rough shape.
Of course, there were clashes between the Solomon Family and Lumini’s crew, and things got deadly when I opened fire with a machine gun at a Marinelli Family member.
“Let’s just get out of here!”
Manfredi shouted to everyone who had come looking for Melata.
At the same time, he began to retract the golden scales covering his face and body.
It was an appearance not surprising for the golden dragon’s offspring, much like how my wife, Felicita, would reveal and then hide her horn.
I think I heard that rumor has it his skin is harder than a Golem’s stone.
Although Melata looked like he was in bad shape, a Golem is a Golem. Just bleeding a bit doesn’t mean he’s weak enough to die.
“Luke, let’s retreat for now, just like he said.”
“Yeah.”
This was no ordinary chase.
The police’s ability to ignore things has its limits, especially since we’ve been firing a machine gun in the middle of the city.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the police showed up. Meanwhile, the Marinelli Family was just loitering at the scene like nothing happened.
“Brother, those guys over there. They seem to be collecting their own corpses.”
“Not as much as Sanchez’s side, but they must have taken some hits.”
I instructed Wolf, our driver, not to worry about those guys and to hurry up and get us out of here.
“Yes, brother.”
“Step on it. Hurry up!”
Sarina urged the driver as he responded.
“I’m doing that.”
The driver was responding appropriately to Sarina’s urging while driving the armored car.
Getting away from this position was important. I looked out the backseat window at the people receding from view.
Just like me, the crew from the Solomon Family and Lumini were backing off, and the Marinelli Family began hastily retreating once they finished collecting their bodies.
What remained at the scene were the tragically mangled bodies of the Sanchez Family members.
“Brother, I’m heading toward the casino first.”
“Right. Let’s go there for now.”
I needed to inform Elena and Felicita about what happened.
Although the trap devised by me and Solomon would go unused, we managed to catch Gata Melata as he tried to flee into the Dragovich Family’s territory.
Moreover, a significant number of his loyal crew members were taken out. With the situation like this, negotiating with those who were still holding on would be easier.
“Luke.”
I turned my head towards the sound of a voice.
Sarina asked, looking bewildered.
“Are you really going to hand Melata over to them?”
“Marinelli?”
“Yeah.”
“Sarina, this is just my guess, but I don’t think they will dispose of Melata right away.”
Unless Melata’s in serious shape, that is. I told Sarina that she should contact Elena and Felicita first.
“….”
Sarina fell silent for a brief moment.
“Are you planning on asking them for Melata through Felicita?”
Then, she changed her tone regarding Felicita, unlike before.
“Yeah. Little Dom is likely eager to get his hands on Melata too. He probably has his reasons, even if they aren’t as bad as Sanchez’s.”
Those two who ordered my father’s death: Eddie Sanchez and Mikhail Dragovich.
That’s why I couldn’t let Sanchez go, but handing over Melata was an option.
To sum it up, I planned to take Melata from Manfredi and hand him over to Solomon again. I intended to attach some conditions and get something in return from Solomon during the process.
“….”
I was taking a detour on purpose to regain the territory in the city center held by the Solomon Family.
After that, we arrived at Balis Casino.
Veronica, Paula, and Little Dom Solomon came out to welcome Sarina at the entrance of the casino.
“Welcome! Big brother.”
“…!”
My sister’s bold name shift.
Come to think of it, when I heard Melata supposedly ran away pretending to negotiate and left the casino, Veronica called me big brother then too.
Meanwhile, Sarina looked at me like, “What the hell is going on?” The sharp change in her expression in that instant was quite impressive.
“Where are Manfredi and the others? Haven’t they come yet?”
“Yeah. Russo’s side seems to have their own issues and can’t make it.”
“Well, we can’t do anything about that.”
I hoped the Vipers would get dealt with properly this time.
I was relieved that I managed to get past the Sanchez Family, but I wanted to be in a position to exert my strength in the war against the Dragovich Family if possible.
I didn’t want things to remain as a two-front war forever.
“Godfather.”
“What?”
While following Veronica and Paula into the casino, Solomon approached.
“Are we taking Melata from Marinelli?”
“…You have Sanchez’s daughter, don’t you?”
Solomon didn’t deny my statement.
But he mentioned that I needed to keep Sanchez’s mouth shut or threaten him to keep him alive, implying that he wasn’t a suitable candidate for venting rage.
“I caught him in the first place.”
“Oh really? I’d guess Lumini would say the same thing.”
Thanks to the conflict between Solomon’s crew and Lumini over Melata, the Marinelli Family gained.
I had already figured that part out. When I mentioned it, Solomon had no words and reluctantly grumbled.
I reached the fourth floor as soon as I got on the elevator and immediately tried to contact Elena.
While Solomon waited outside, only Veronica, Sarina, and I entered Veronica’s office.
Paula and Solomon stayed outside, likely because Paula had to prepare for the upcoming events anyway.
“Veronica? What…?”
“Elena, it’s me.”
“Luke.”
Elena’s voice was very calm.
It might just be my perception, but I thought her state was fine as I shared the results of this incident.
The carefully laid trap was never even attempted. But we did manage to catch Melata, so ultimately it was a success.
“Now that we’ve removed both the boss and the acting boss, the Sanchez Family is finished.”
Just as Elena said, the focal point for uniting the Sanchez Family had disappeared.
*
“For now, I’ll hold a committee meeting here.”
“Then should I head over there too?”
“No, that’s not necessary.”
Even though the Sanchez Family had been defeated, I couldn’t guarantee what would happen if Elena had the chance to pass through their territory.
I quickly shared my plans with her as well.
“…Okay, let’s proceed like that for now.”
“Right, I’ll hang up then.”
“Luke.”
I was about to hang up the receiver.
“Good job.”
“Good job? I just caught those Marinelli guys.”
Now that I think about it, I wanted to give Manfredi a heads-up through Felicita. But I don’t think I had time for that.
Manfredi and his two brothers would probably be heading here directly.
“Anyway, it’s still good work. And don’t do it like that again.”
“Huh? What?”
Praise immediately followed by a scolding.
“Don’t jump into dangerous situations directly.”
A warning mixed with worry for me and concern about potential issues that could arise.
“Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”
The Godfather’s right-hand man, the underboss. It was a role I was familiar with, but now I was the Godfather. Elena was right in this regard, and I accepted it gladly.
In the midst of it all, I faintly heard Felicita’s voice searching for me.
Whether Elena successfully blocked her approach this time or not, the sound wasn’t loud, and thus my call with Elena ended.
‘I can only imagine what Felicita will say now.’
It was obvious just by looking.
After the call ended, I left the office with Veronica and Sarina.
“Sister, is the meeting room ready?”
“All done.”
Paula answered Veronica respectfully.
If it were just the two sisters and me, it probably wouldn’t be such a big deal, but since Solomon and Sarina were there, it couldn’t be helped.
So we headed to the meeting room Paula had prepared. It was a spacious room on the same fourth floor, with no need to use the elevator.
It was plenty spacious enough for a committee meeting.
“Godfather, your seat is this way.”
The prominent seat was mine, and Veronica and Solomon sat nearby along the large square table.
Paula sat near Veronica, and Sarina initially stood behind me, watching the others. I wondered if it was necessary to do that so early, given I didn’t know when the Marinelli side would arrive.
“Godfather, why don’t we discuss amongst ourselves for now?”
“Let’s wait a bit. It shouldn’t take too long.”
Veronica agreed with my opinion, and Solomon quietly nodded.
After a few minutes, a member of the Carmen Family appeared in the meeting room to report to Veronica and Paula about the arrival of the Marinelli side.
“Looks like they finally arrived.”
It was very good news. Not only me but Solomon had a lot he wanted to say to the Marinelli side.
It was probably due to their grievances over having Melata snatched away.
The Marinelli Triplets. They came into the meeting room instantly after I realized they had arrived at the casino.
“Apologies for being late, Godfather.”
“Did you get stuck in traffic?”
“….”
While Solomon seemed to have complaints against the Marinelli side, the youngest of the Marinelli siblings, Luca, had a disgruntled look directed at me.
“It was because we had to collect the bodies of our fallen.”
Ah.
“I’m sorry about that.”
Manfredi and Lia nodded as if accepting my apology.
“Well, if that attack hadn’t happened, our side might have taken more damage.”
A sudden barrage from the machine gun fired from a flank or rear. Damage was one thing, but it likely also had a significant effect on their morale.
I intended to target only the Sanchez Family, but due to the heavy machine gun’s recoil and the two families clashing at close range, the Marinelli Family also sustained some losses.
“….”
The Marinelli Triplets took their seats at the vacant spots that belonged to them.
With that, four out of the five families, excluding the Russo Family, had gathered in one place.
