Silent Sanction: A Novel

by Joseph D'Antoni

  He continued. “You guys are what we call ‘dead meat’. Whether you go to prison or work for us undercover, we have plausible deniability if anything bad happens to you. I don’t think I have to give you a lecture on what happens to young men in Angola. If you’re lucky, you’ll spend a long time as a girlfriend or wife under the protection of one of our fine inmates. If you’re not lucky, you will probably be dead within six months.”

  Langer and Hanna were now nervously looking back and forth at each other. The two young men thought the same thing without saying a word, The choice is simple: we don’t have a choice.

  Pisano looked at each of them and said, “I’m not going to kid you about undercover work; it’s dangerous. One wrong move and you’re gone, as in dead. I can tell you from my point of view, you are worth more alive than dead. If you’re dead, you just become another crime statistic for us to file.” Pisano continued, “I can tell you both I spent many years undercover. If you listen to me carefully and follow my instructions, both of you will probably get through this. If you’re good at undercover work, you’ll develop a feeling, a sixth sense about a problem before it happens. It’s like a mystical sense or warning system you develop when you know something bad is going to happen. You need to let me know when you get that feeling. It’s saved my life many times.”

  There was silence for a moment. Then Pisano asked, “So, what’s it going to be?”

  Hanna and Langer looked at each other and nodded yes.

  Pisano didn’t accept their weak responses. “That’s not good enough. I need to know whether you are in or out.”

  They nodded more vigorously and said, “We’re in.”

  Langer spoke up then. “What do we do now?”

  Pisano pointed his finger at him, “For you, I want you to go back and do exactly what you were doing, reporting to the same people, selling stolen parts and doing transactions just like before. I want you to continue selling Hanna and your other customers parts the same way you’ve been doing it.”

  Pisano told Hanna, “For right now, I want you going back doing what you did before also. Attending school, working at your garage, racing cars, and buying parts from your buddy here. I want to meet again in two weeks. I’ll call you both to set up that meeting.”

  “The key is for you both now is to act like nothing has happened.” Looking at Langer, he instructed, “If they ask you how you got beat up, say that you had a fight with a rival gang over parts.”

  “Contact your regular customers and get parts flowing again starting tomorrow. You can continue to help Hanna at the races and keep those track contacts flowing, because everything gets back to Coletta.”

  Hanna, oddly felt he had been left out and asked, “Do you want me to join their gang?”

  “Absolutely not,” Pisano answered. “They‘d sniff you out in a minute, and you’d be dead in a week. I haven’t got a plan for you right now, except for you to stick to your normal routine. Keep working at the garage, going to school, racing on the weekends, buying parts from Langer, and whoever else you buy parts from. I’m still working on your role. Don’t worry your role will happen.”

  Pisano concluded the meeting by saying, “I’ve got to get to another meeting now.”

  “How do we contact you if we need to?” Langer asked.

  Pisano replied “The same number. Nobody picks up that line except me or a member of my team. Any other questions?”

  Langer and Hanna shook their heads.

  Pisano got up from the table. He said hello to the waitress on the way out.

  It seemed he knew her.

  Hanna and Langer each took a deep breath as they looked at each other. Langer said, “I’ll contact you in a few days about the carb manifold you need.”

  Hanna looked down, trying to hide the fact that he felt betrayed by Ed. He had no knowledge of Ed’s crime involvement and was waiting for the courtesy of an explanation from his friend. He was now in the servitude of the NOPD with his life at stake. Wade looked up acknowledging Ed with a short nod as they both left the table.

  Two weeks passed, and a second meeting with Pisano was scheduled at a different restaurant on a Saturday afternoon. Both Hanna and Langer were there on time. Pisano seemed rushed but wanted to cover a couple of things quickly before he skirted to another meeting.

  He started with, “I see both of you are following my instructions.” Turning to Hanna, he said, “I see you won a trophy at the track last weekend.” Turning to Langer, he said, “I see the parts are flowing again. Have you had any problems with your regular contacts in the gang or gotten any questions which seem unusual?”

  Langer replied, “Things went back to just like they were before.”

  Pisano replied, “Good.” He paused before continuing, “You can’t ever repeat any of the information I’m about to give you. If any information I’m going to tell you gets back to the syndicate you’ll be in real danger. Is that understood?”

  Both Langer and Hanna responded at once. “I understand.”

  “We have pretty good indication that the Coletta mob now totals around 75 members and is divided into operational divisions. Each division has several isolated groups reporting to separate bosses within the division. As the crime organization has grown, it has become more difficult for them to coordinate the internal activities between separate divisions. When parts are exchanged between divisions, there is a double accounting that takes place to keep track of the divisional parts and revenue. With more and larger orders being placed, parts are being exchanged and travelling between too many different hands within the organization. This is creating inefficiency and tension. We want to exploit this inefficiency. By exploiting the inefficiency we will cause more inventory problems and distrust among members.” Pointing to Langer Pisano continued, “I assume you know the head of your organization?”

  “I’m not sure I do.”

  “T.J. Coletta.”

  “I’ve heard the name T.J. before, but it wasn’t used in connection with him being the head of the organization.”

  Pisano turned to Hanna, “Have you heard the name before?”

  “No.”

  Pisano continued, still pointing to Hanna, “I still don’t have your undercover area defined, but I want you to keep winning at the track.”

  Turning back to Langer Pisano asked, “What if you went to your Coletta people and said you heard someone wanted to buy, say, five engine assemblies. How would they respond?”

  “I think that would be good.”

  Pisano said, “Make it three engines so it doesn’t raise suspicions.” He looked at Langer to emphasize the next point, “But I don’t want you in the deal. You just heard the comment. It was not directly from one of your customers. You just heard it in passing in a conversation between your customer and a person you didn’t know. I don’t want you asking for any part of the deal financially. You’re just passing along information like a good soldier.”

  “Find out if they want you to get more information on the interested party. That’s all I want you to do. Play dumb about all of the details. If they bite, we may want to set up a meeting with a guy from our group. I want to know if there are any questions or suspicions raised when you tell them. Remember, you just heard this from a guy when you were selling a part. You know nothing else.”

  Langer said he understood. “I’ll just mention it passing the next time I pick up parts from them.”

  Pisano was looking at his watch and getting ready to end the meeting when Langer asked, “You said the head of the gang is T.J. Coletta?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I now remember where I heard the name, T.J. I now think it might be T.J. Coletta. Does T.J. have a wife named Linda?”

  “Yes, that’s correct”.

  Langer continued, “My sister has a school friend Sara and Sara has a friend who is a beautician that does Linda’s hair every week. When the girls were talking, they mentioned that Linda was the wife of a mob boss out at the lake
front.”

  Pisano replied, “That’s good. Let me think about the connection for a while.” Turning to Hanna, Pisano said, “That may be how you get into the organization, but I need to think about it.” With that, Pisano got up, and the meeting ended.

  14

  As Pisano left the meeting Wade looked Ed right in the eye.

  “I didn’t appreciate you bringing up the connection with Coletta’s wife. That now brings me right into the picture.”

  Ed thought about the connection Wade was making, “I thought I was doing you a favor. How dangerous can hanging out at a beauty salon be? Every day my ass is hanging out. Other than racing you’ve not been given any real assignment here.”

  Wade replied in frustration and anger, “As I recall you were the one that got me into this crap in the first place.” Wade turned and headed for the door before Ed could reply.

  Pisano indicated it would probably be two weeks before they would meet again. That was enough time for Wade to take a few days off and think. He was caught up on school work and had enough time to get back to the swamp and clear his head. He was upset with Ed and knew that he couldn’t let anger get in the way of them on this assignment. Wade thought it was time to regain some spiritual connection for what he might experience as his undercover assignment began to take shape. Wade had a swamp ritual in mind. If he was about to enter the den of the mob boss he’d better consult with another beast he knew only as “Master”.

  The backyard of Wade’s family camp sixty miles southwest of New Orleans is surrounded on three sides by primordial swamp. Wade loved nature and he has miles upon square mile to experience its wonders and mystery. He spent most of his youthful days hunting, fishing and exploring this swamp.

  Wade was glad to be headed back to the swamp. He wasn’t sure what was drawing him. He just had the feeling he needed special quiet time in the domain he understood and took comfort in as a child.

  Wade was familiar with spiritual rituals practiced by a few local residents who had lived in the area for many generations. During long summer days in the swamp Wade sometimes performed his own rituals.

  One of his favorite fishing spots was a pond that was well hidden and difficult to reach behind a tall stand of Cyprus trees several miles into the swamp. Wade discovered the pond while exploring several years ago. He called his special place, “Lost Lagoon”.

  Wade chose the name because the pond was well hidden and appeared lost in time from eons past. Lost Lagoon was surrounded by beautiful Cyprus trees draped in Spanish moss. Parts of the pond were covered with a tightly interwoven mat of small green water plants combined with lighter shades of green algae. The matting of plants and algae formed a lace over the water. The hue reflected a muted green pastel haze above the surface broken only by sharp narrow rays of sunlight. The pond was also home to a large eighteen foot male alligator. Wade called the alligator, “Master” and considered the reptile his friend.

  Wade usually found Master in one of the corners of the Lost Lagoon suspended just below the surface with eyes, brow and small nostrils barely protruding above the waterline. With keen senses the gator knew of Wade’s pending arrival from the sound of his motor long before he approached the entrance to the pond. Upon entering the pond Wade always acknowledged Master’s dominance by thanking him in advance for allowing Wade to fish.

  Wade knew several favorite places his gator friend liked to observe his surroundings. Wade saw Master in one of his favorite spots and slowly maneuvered his boat closer to his massive body. During this process the beast remained motionless as Wade approached. Wade aligned his boat parallel to Master about 6 feet away. Wade put his ice chest and safety cushions between the two bench seats so he could lay longwise in his twelve foot aluminum flat boat. Stretching out between the seats Wade lowered himself to eye level with the beast, his head resting on the boat’s gunwale suspended just a few inches above the water line. From this position Wade and Master looked eye to eye at each other quietly and intently with wonderment and thought.

  Wade spoke to his friend in what he called “Gator Thoughts.” Wade believed he could converse telepathically by sending and receiving thoughts as the two focused on each other’s eyes. Wade knew he and his reptile friend spoke different languages and had a different way of seeing the world. In Wade’s current undercover predicament he thought perhaps each saw the world more alike than differently. Wade knew that different thoughts could be translated by each other’s brain to a language each would understand.

  Wade read that the Russians were experimenting on thought transfer between humans. He intended to do more reading and research on this topic but Wade didn’t need convincing. He knew the process worked right here in the swamp between he and his friend, Master.

  The reptile’s enormous girth and deep scars along the aged skin of his back told its own story. Master was not lacking for food or territory and yet his stillness in Wade’s close presence seemed incongruent with the beast’s dominant physical appearance.

  Wade drew spiritual energy from his exchange with and felt Master had a similar experience. As Wade approached Master, a spiritual calmness settled any apprehension Wade had from his close precarious position. He felt at ease with Master and believed Master would have the same calmness towards him.

  Wade was not a stranger to the power of large alligators. He once observed one rise over six feet above the water’s surface straight in the air to grab a snake resting on a branch. Wade knew his small aluminum boat would be no match for the beast’s huge 18 foot length and over 2,000 pound weight if Master chose to become aggressive.

  Wade knew how fiercely territorial male alligators could be. He had seen the ferocious quickness of Master’s attack when another male alligator came into the pond. Wade knew that if his friend wanted he could easily topple Wade’s small craft and kill him in seconds with a single powerful grip of his jaws.

  Wade had many silent sessions with the gator before and felt the same calmness come over both of them. Wade’s heart rate slowed as he settled into a prone position parallel to Master looking directly into the reptile’s eye. Both Wade and Master remained motionless frozen in constant eye contact and time. The occasional blink of Master’s red eye reminded Wade that the mind of a beast was working just a few feet away. His expressionless stare and artificial smile were no guarantee that Master wouldn’t bolt towards him without warning at any second.

  Wade remained calm maintaining a single spiritual focus at being one with Master as the sun’s rays danced along the pond surface on a beautiful quiet afternoon. It meant a lot to Wade that the reptile chose not to disappear below the surface or swipe his powerful tail in anger, or show any aggression to the nearness of Wade or his boat. In Wade’s view Master was acknowledging a boundary as well as the connection between them. Oddly, it seemed Master was enjoying Wade’s company.

  Wade would certainly have understood the gator’s anger at him fishing in his pond. Fishing took food right out of Master’s large mouth. If his friend had objected he could have easily made a quick sweep below the surface scaring off any fish who might consider taking Wade’s bait. However, Master didn’t take that approach. Instead, he had given permission for Wade to fish in his pond and liked Wade being around ever since their first encounter several years ago.

  Wade considered it an honor being allowed to share Master’s pond and conveyed his appreciation for that opportunity in thoughts during their silent sessions. Wade’s fishing practice was always to return smaller fish he caught to the pond. His returned fish were always alive and unharmed. Wade thought his practice was not only good conservation but also served as a special offering of thanks helping to insure that his return presence would be welcomed. Wade felt his friend understood his fishing practice and appreciated his gesture.

  During his silent sessions, Wade laid in his boat at eye level with Master for a long period. Both minds were exchanging thoughts through some primitive mechanism using only eye contact and thought. Wade r
easoned, perhaps this is how communication occurred before there was language or the ability to hear sound. During this silent exchange Wade asked himself; Why did Master allow such close boundaries between them? How could Master trust another human after 300 years of humans hunting alligators in this swamp? Was there some special connection just between them? Wade wondered if Master distinguished between quiet times with him and Master’s calm approach to a predatory stalk just before a fierce attack.

  Wade believed he received thoughts from Master which his brain converted into silent but understandable thoughts. In turn Wade felt he could send thoughts to Master and the gator’s brain would convent Wade’s thoughts into language he understood.

  One of the conversations between the two dealt with alligator hunters in the swamp. Wade wanted to know how Master had survived for so many years of predators without being killed by alligator hunters. Wade received a thought in return that his friend was over fifty years old and had survived on a simple principle; “If the meal looks too enticing and easy to obtain it was probably set with a hook that would mean his death.” His reptile rule meant Master had to search out and kill live prey. He could not be tempted by an easy lifeless meal. At that point Wade felt the need to protect his reptile friend from the human race but knew he didn’t have that power. Wade simply let Master know he never hunted alligator and wished his friend well during the coming alligator hunting season.

  Wade accepted the realism that if he accidently fell in the water his beastly friend would kill him. He also knew that if he got another foot closer the gator would either flee under his boat or attack him. He wondered why this particular boundary distance was acceptable to Master. Wade sensed the fine line between wanting to see Wade up close and a little closer being too much of a threat. He wondered how Master determined that distance and made that decision.