by Stone, M. T.
“She does it so that people will underestimate her. It gives her an unfair advantage,” he says with a true look of pride.
“So, what’s my role?” I ask, not wanting our conversation to wander off course.
“To help her take control from Victor and Eduardo,” he says with nothing but determination in his eyes. “If you two can get Victor to turn control over to her, I’ll give her the keys to this place. Lock, stock, and barrel.”
“So, you wouldn’t allow Victor to have total control, but you would allow us?” I ask, not really understanding why he would make an exception for us.
He bites his top lip and looks out at the green coca fields on the horizon. After a long moment, he begins to speak. “I’d always intended for my son to take over for me and hoped that Victoria would take over The Syndicate. But that dream was stolen from me.”
“What happened?” I ask, wanting to know how he was killed.
“He always insisted on trying to prove himself to me.” He shakes his head and his eyelids begin to quiver as if it’s taking every ounce of strength to hold back the tears. “I always told him that this was all his. All he had to do was learn the trade and follow my example. Surround yourself with the best protection and keep your eye on the ball. That’s what I always drilled into him.” He pauses to collect himself, so I sit back and wait, not wanting to interrupt him. After a lengthy pause, he takes a deep breath and continues. “He threatened the wrong man and never made it out of town. He called me, scared out of his mind. Trapped and alone. I tried to get to him, but we were too late. It was a foolish move. We didn’t need any more territory, but he wanted to prove to me that he could expand the family business. It cost him his life and it cost me my heir to the throne. Now, my only goal is to make sure that the future belongs to Victoria and not that other punk. It’s an all or nothing proposition.”
“All or nothing?” I ask, looking for clarification.
“If Vicki doesn’t gain control of The Syndicate, I’m burning this place to the ground and turning it over to the authorities,” he replies with an emotionless expression. “I have more money than I’ll ever need, but without my wife and kids, it really doesn’t mean much. After Val dies, I’ll be leaving Colombia. I’ll have no reason to stay.”
“How do you propose we sway Victor to give Victoria control?” I ask, not understanding exactly what we’re supposed to do to change things.
“You need to talk to him about the things you learned from Papa Joe,” he advises, a light coming back into his eyes. “He needs to know that you can be a leader like he was, that you have it in you.” He pauses, his expression growing darker once again. “If that doesn’t work, then you can let him know that I won’t work with his bastard son.”
“You haven’t told him?” I ask, thinking that it would be much better coming from him.
“Not yet. I’ve told him that I want Vicki to be in charge, but I was going to keep those consequences as a surprise. He won’t find out until it’s all over the news. Otherwise, he’ll attempt a coup.” He takes another long drag from his cigar before throwing it off the porch and into the damp grass. “He’s not going to take losing his supplier without a fight. That’s why my only option will be to burn the place to the ground and turn it over to the authorities.”
“You would actually do that?” I can’t comprehend someone destroying billions of dollars’ worth of potential sales. “Why not just sell out to someone else?”
“Because the supply will keep going to The Syndicate regardless of whom I sell it to. Victor will make sure of it.” He rubs his face with his hands and lets out a long sigh. “He ruined my daughter’s life, which in turn ruined ours. I would’ve killed him long ago, but we both needed each other. I no longer have a need for him.” He pauses again as if he’s holding something back. I sit patiently, giving him time to work through his thoughts. He is revealing everything, so I don’t want to disrupt the natural flow. “Or you can do what I did to my business partner in the mid-nineties,” he finally discloses.
“What are you two talking about?” Victoria asks as she swings open the door and steps out onto the porch. “I don’t like that look on your face.” She walks up to Antonio and places a hand on his shoulder. “By the way, I’m sorry about Grandma,” she says with tears springing from the corners of her eyes as she leans down to give him a hug. “What are you going to do?”
“That’s what we were just talking about, sweetie,” he replies, giving her a sad smile. “Somehow, we have to convince that father of yours to turn over the reins to you and Devon here. Then I’ll turn over this place to you as well.”
“Really?” Her jaw drops open as she pulls back and looks him directly in the eyes. “You would do that?”
“Only if you have control over The Syndicate,” he replies sternly. “Otherwise, I told Devon that I’ll burn this place down and turn the keys over to the DAS. I’m not going to make that fucking half-brother of yours rich. He represents too much pain.”
Victoria crouches down, continuing to look him straight in the eyes. “I will kill him with my bare hands before I let you burn this place down.” Her lip quivers just slightly, adding extra punch to her words. “I have no problem with taking him out myself.”
“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I don’t want him dead.” Antonio grabs hold of the arms of the rocking chair, pushing himself to his feet. “I would rather have him watching your success from the outside. I’ve had to watch Victor thrive for years after killing my daughter. So I want to return the favor. Besides, that young man is a bigger prick than your father ever was.”
“How do you propose we do that?” she asks, keeping him intensely within her line of vision.
“I was about to tell Devon how I handled my old partner,” he says, turning to go inside. “We’ll go over it after dinner.”
“Yeah, we’d better go help Grandma get things ready.” Victoria takes Antonio by the hand as they move through the doorway.
I’m not much help in the kitchen. It’s never been my thing. I reach over and pick up the box of wooden matches, taking one from the box and striking it against the side of the chair. As I relight my cigar, I look off into the distance and there’s nothing but coca plants for as far as the eye can see. It’s amazing to sit here and look at something so vast and so illicit. It would never be possible to grow anything like this in the U.S. no matter how remote you were. My thoughts turn to how amazing it would be if Victoria and I were not only in charge of The Syndicate, but also the entire supply chain. We would suddenly be the two most powerful people in all the underworld. Devon City suddenly seems like a kid’s playground in comparison. I look up at the billowing clouds against the deep blue sky. Papa Joe, I just might make you proud one day.
Chapter 15
Victoria
Having dinner with family feels great for a change. My only family meals in the past few years have been when my father takes me out for a fancy meal around the holidays or whenever he wants to discuss my career path. Now that I’ve done everything just the way he wanted, it still doesn’t seem to be enough to get me into his inner circle. Grandpa, on the other hand, seems more than willing to turn the business over to me. But then there is still the condition that we must gain control of The Syndicate or it’s no deal. Dad is not someone who changes his mind, so I’m not sure how this will possibly work out for us. Fuck my life.
“I’m sorry, but I need to go rest,” Grandma tells us immediately following a nice meal. “You can just leave the dishes. Emma will be back shortly,” she adds, referring to the housekeeper. Grandpa immediately rises to help her to the bedroom.
“I’m sorry she’s so sick,” Devon whispers as a hush falls over the room. “But I’m glad you are getting to spend some time with her.”
“Me too. I hadn’t heard from them since Christmas. I had no idea anything was wrong,” I reply, a little frustrated that they hadn’t called me. “I suppose they would’ve eventually told me.”
“I would’ve been crushed if she would’ve died and I hadn’t even known that she was sick.” I glare at him as he takes the chair next to me. “You two are the only family I have left.”
“I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry.” He clears his throat and rubs his hand along my shoulders. “That’s why I want to make sure you end up with everything.”
“Unfortunately, if it hinges on Dad changing his mind, I don’t think any of it will work out,” I tell him with anger rising in my throat. “He made it clear the other day that he has made his choice and it wasn’t in my favor. That’s why we’re here. We thought maybe we could cut a deal with you outside of The Syndicate.”
Grandpa rakes his hands over his face before sitting back and letting out a deep breath. “The only way I kept complete ownership of this place was by signing a one-hundred-year deal with The Syndicate. The only escape clause is if the place is ever shut down by the Colombian National Police or the DAS. That’s why my only choice is to turn the place over to them if that half-brother of yours takes over.”
“What about the DEA? Aren’t they pretty well-established down here?” I ask, having heard Dad talk about them as if they were more of a threat.
Grandpa laughs out loud and slaps his hand to the table. “They send a cowboy down here every once in awhile who tries to shake things up, but they don’t have any real power. All we do is supply them with free booze and prostitutes. That usually keeps them distracted.”
“Yeah, those are the stories I’ve heard,” Devon says with a smirk. “There were several forced retirements just a couple of years ago.”
“Yeah, they don’t bother us. But I will definitely throw them a bone if I decide to burn the place down.” He narrows his eyes, looking back and forth between the two of us. “I’ll turn the whole thing over to them lock, stock, and barrel in exchange for complete amnesty. Then I’ll spend my final years in a penthouse suite on South Beach.”
“Well, I’m not going to let you take this place down,” I counter, slamming my fist to the table. “I’ll go to the annual meeting and plant a bomb under the conference room table if I have to,” I tell him, knowing that simply taking out Eduardo won’t be enough. There is so much loyalty within the ranks that unless everyone was completely convinced that it was an accident, they would never allow me to take over Dad’s position.
“There are a few ways to change your father’s mind,” Grandpa says in a low voice. “I used one of them on my partner back in ninety-three when he wouldn’t sell out to me at a fair price. He was playing Victor and me off each other, looking for the highest price, but I wasn’t having any of it.”
“What did you do?” both Devon and I ask simultaneously.
“I poisoned him and wouldn’t give him the antidote until he signed the papers,” he says with a stone cold look on his face. “Unfortunately, the antidote didn’t work the way the chemist told me it would, so he died shortly after that.”
“So you killed your partner?” I ask, surprised by the outcome of his story.
“No. Like I said, the antidote didn’t work, so the chemist killed him and he paid the price for it. He just got out of prison a few years ago.” A look of regret suddenly crosses Grandpa’s face. He probably just regrets telling me the story.
“So did he come after you when he got out?” Devon asks, giving him an inquisitive look.
“No. He knew that he was lucky to still be alive.” His dark, steely eyes dart back and forth a few times, obviously thinking back to the events of that day. “Ricin poisoning is a terrible way to die,” he adds dryly. “He hung on for two days, but then he was a tough son of a bitch. After that incident, I hired a true biochemist to work with a variety of neurotoxins. We’ve come up with a couple of reliable ones that will work well for tough negotiations.”
“Most contracts aren’t valid if they’re signed under duress,” I inform him. “Otherwise, everyone would be doing things like that.”
Both men turn to me as if I’ve just landed from another planet and stepped out of my spaceship. “You’re hilarious!” Devon bursts out laughing.
“Yeah, it’s not like anyone is going to take one of these deals to court,” Grandpa adds with a hearty laugh. “You’re so cute. One minute, you’re talking about killing everyone in the room and the next, you’re worried about signing a contract under duress.”
“I was just joking,” I reply, rolling my eyes. Every once in awhile, something pops out of my mouth before my brain has a chance to filter it. I was forced to learn thousands of facts in law school that don’t apply to the world that my family operates in. That’s why I’ve been relegated to real estate transactions, where we have to actually play by the rules most of the time. “I have no problem with poisoning my father. He’s been slowly poisoning me for years. Mentally, at least.”
“He did the same to your mother and I’ve never forgiven him for that. That’s why this all has to play out in your favor and not his.” Grandpa gets up from the table and goes to a cabinet, pulling out the gold-colored box. “Join me for another cigar?” he asks Devon.
“Don’t I get one?” I ask, not wanting to be left out of the remainder of the conversation.
“Of course.” Grandpa smiles, handing one of them to me. “I’ve just never seen a woman smoke a cigar before.”
“I don’t see any reason I shouldn’t be a first,” I reply, removing the wrapper and holding out my hand for the cigar cutter.
“Val doesn’t let anyone smoke in the house,” he replies, nodding toward the door. “These are a blend of Colombian, Dominican, and Puerto Rican tobacco,” he informs me as he lights mine before lighting his own. “I like them better than anything else I’ve tried.”
“They are very smooth,” I agree as I blow a big cloud of smoke into the air. Sitting out on the porch and having a cigar with my grandfather seems like a rite of passage. Our conversation immediately turns more personal since Devon stayed back in the kitchen, giving us some space to talk about things that wouldn’t interest him. Much of it revolves around my mother and what went down between her and my father. I always knew that it was some type of an arranged marriage, but I never realized that it was at my father’s request. I had always assumed that he had been forced into the marriage since he had strayed when given a chance. Learning that he was the one who insisted upon her coming back to the states leaves me even more frustrated and confused than ever.
“I obviously wouldn’t have given your father an exclusive contract if he hadn’t been married to my daughter,” Grandpa concedes. “Especially not a lifetime deal. But in hindsight, it has worked out for both of us, but your mother paid the ultimate price. I’ll take that to my grave.”
“Well, at least you got me out of the deal,” I tell him, reaching out to rub the top of his arm. “How else would someone as feisty as me have come into this world?” I smile and take another puff of the cigar. “I could get used to these.” I flick the ash into the ashtray that sits between us and sit back, enjoying the silence and the company of my grandfather. “It’s beautiful out here.”
“Your grandmother loves it, but with her sick, it’s getting awfully quiet for me,” he confides. “I can only spend so much time talking to Emma and the other hired hands. I’ve wanted to move to Miami for years, but I knew Val would hate it there.”
“I can just imagine you rolling down Atlantic Way in a Bentley,” I tease. “You would have all the sugar babies stalking you.”
Grandpa chuckles and gives me a wink before taking another drag of his cigar. “Val and I have had a good life together, but without any family around, things are just too quiet.”
“Well, if things work out, I’ll come back and help you take care of Grandma,” I assure him. Since they are the only two people on the planet whom I count as real family, I would really like to spend
some quality time with them. “I promise I’ll liven things up quite a bit.”
He simply nods his head and returns a smile. It’s obvious that he wishes he were passing this on to his son, but I’ll do my best to be a suitable substitute. In fact, when it comes to negotiating with my father, I want to be the one who does it. I know he doubts me because of the fact that I’m his daughter and not a son, but nothing pisses me off more than being treated differently because of being female. I’ll show him a thing or two and he will rue the day that he betrayed me. Rue the day . . . I’ve always loved that phrase. It’s about the only thing I picked up from reading Shakespeare in high school.
Devon
I decide to give Victoria and her grandfather a chance to connect, so I hang back to check in with Tiny. He’s at the club, so he puts me on speaker and I’m able to catch up with all the events of the day. Things are pretty quiet since it’s a Saturday, so the call is pretty much just a bullshit session. After ten minutes of going around in circles, Tiny picks up the phone and takes it off speaker. I can tell by the change in his tone that he’s going to give me some more hell about leaving him behind.
“I’m still pissed,” he huffs as he walks away from the other guys. I can tell by the way he’s breathing that he still isn’t one hundred percent. “You shouldn’t be someplace like that without protection.”
“Believe me, I’ve got more protection than I could possibly afford. He actually has sniper towers almost every mile coming up his driveway. Like Antonio said, if someone comes up his driveway uninvited, they’d better be driving an M1 tank,” I say, wanting him to understand the level of security here. “In fact, I’m learning a few things from him about security. He’s a lot more concerned about it than I’ve ever been, but then he’s been attacked a few more times. His son was killed a few years back.”