Sons of War

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

  Antonio stood at the window, enjoying the solitude and watching the first halting recovery efforts in Los Angeles. City trucks with plows were already busy pushing the radioactive ash off the streets, piling it up like drifts of deadly snow.

  This was just the first step. Over the next few months, every habitable area of the city would have to be decontaminated. In the meantime, a lot of people would die from poisoning, starvation, dehydration, and waterborne disease.

  The bloody fighting was coming to an end for the government, but for the average citizen, the fight to survive was a war all its own.

  Not for the Moretti family.

  He had invested a lot of resources into preparing for something just like this, and the former hotel was stocked with enough food and water to last them months. The problem would be in defending this place if his enemies found them.

  Movement below pulled Antonio closer to the window.

  One of his soldiers, in a CBRN suit, walked outside the front entrance. Four others joined him and got into a vehicle. They were heading to check on several Moretti properties, including their drug cutting and packaging facility.

  Antonio had decided to limit their next shipment with the González family to just opiates and marijuana. With Vito still behind bars, they would focus on the drugs that would be in high demand for civilians suffering from acute radiation poisoning.

  Painkillers would be gold.

  A knock on the door turned him from the city view.

  “Antonio …”

  Lucia walked inside wearing a black dress with a V-shaped gold collar. A necklace of huge pink pearls hung over her cleavage. She gave him a kiss and then looked at the scab on his forehead—one of many wounds he had gotten over the past month.

  “That might end up turning into a scar,” she said. “I may have to agree with what Yellowtail was saying to Marco about that.”

  “So, it’s true? Chicks really do like scars?”

  She chuckled and followed him to his new desk, where she ran her fingers over the inlaid mahogany.

  “I like it,” she said. “We’ll need to get you some new artwork, though—maybe hire our own painter, like a proper king would.”

  “I have something in mind if I can find someone,” he said.

  She walked over to the glass cases displaying some of the ancient weapons he had taken from the Sarcone property in Bel Air.

  The double-bladed haladie, a knife used by the Rajput warrior class in India, was one of his favorites. He also treasured the fourteenth-century Japanese katana, but perhaps the most precious was a Spartan kopis from the Bronze Age. He picked up the ancient weapon, admiring the curved blade and the gold decoration on the hilt, and tried to imagine the Greek warrior who once held the relic.

  “So, tell me,” she said. “How long will we stay here?”

  “This is our home for the indefinite future,” he said, putting the sword back in its place. “In time, it will become a compound with walls and beautiful gardens. You’ll see, my love.”

  She was leaning in to kiss him when another knock on the thick wooden doors interrupted the moment. Christopher opened them both and walked in wearing a suit that matched the silver streaks in his goatee.

  “Are you ready for us, Don Antonio?” he asked.

  Antonio kissed his wife. She started to leave, but he reached out. It wasn’t traditional for a don’s wife to sit in on these gatherings, but she was an essential part of the Morettis’ future.

  “I want you in this meeting,” he said.

  Frankie and Carmine followed Christopher into the office. Next came Raff, wearing a bandage around his head, and Vinny, who watched him like a hawk to make sure he was okay. Finally, Yellowtail limped in on crutches. The guy had taken a real beating over the past few months.

  “Have a seat,” Antonio said, gesturing toward the long table near the window. “How’s Lino?”

  “Hanging on like a warrior,” Christopher said. “He’ll pull through.”

  Antonio sat down beside his wife. “Good,” he said. “We’ll need his leadership in the days to come, which is why I have called you all here this afternoon.” He turned on the radio to hear the news that had the entire world listening.

  “AMP and the rebels have finished meeting and have agreed to terms,” said the announcer. “An Executive Council has been formed to figure out next steps in creating a new government.”

  “The war is really over,” Christopher said.

  “Not our war,” Antonio said. “And not our peace.”

  “We have to be strong,” Frankie said. “We need to go after Esteban Vega, his piccolo stronzo brother Miguel, and his whole damn family for what they did.”

  “I agree,” Carmine said. “It’s time to end those pricks.”

  “I’m all for going after them,” Yellowtail said, “but we don’t know much about the operation yet—how many men they have, what areas they control. All we know is that they’re narcos and they tried to hit us.”

  “That’s what makes your job so important,” Antonio said, looking at Vinny. “You will find out who my enemies are, and feed the right info to the right cops.”

  “And make friends,” Christopher said. “We want to know every crooked cop on the force so we can add them to our payroll.”

  “I met with Captain Brian Stone before the nuke hit the marine base,” Vinny said, “but I’m not sure he trusts me yet, even after all the questions.”

  “You’re not in jail with Vito, so that tells me you’ll be fine,” Antonio said. “You will provide a service to Stone, gain his trust, and feed him information that will benefit your family.”

  “I’m at your disposal, Don Antonio,” Vinny replied.

  “I don’t like this at all,” Frankie said. A wooden match bobbed up and down between his lips as he spoke. “No offense, Don Antonio, but since when did we become rats?”

  Antonio narrowed his eyes at the soldier. Such blatant disrespect, especially in front of Lucia, made his blood boil. He wanted to light the match in Frankie’s mouth, but the gratification he felt would be only temporarily.

  “Got to agree with Frankie again,” Carmine chimed in. “We worked with the cops in Naples, but we never had one of our own join them. What if Vinny screws up? What if he leads them back to us?”

  Antonio walked over to the window, seething with anger. “As much as Los Angeles is starting to look like Naples, it is not Naples and never will be,” he said. “The soldiers and police in the city will stop worrying about finding AMP soldiers and divert all their attention to the gangs, which makes it more dangerous for us. We have to have someone on the inside, and Vinny is right for this job.”

  Raff, who normally didn’t say much, nodded. “I think this will give us a great advantage, Don Antonio. I’m with you.”

  “Vinny isn’t the brightest star in the sky,” Yellowtail muttered. Then he grinned and thumbed his chest. “That would be me, of course. But he’s better for this job since I’ve been shot five times.”

  Some of the men chuckled, and even Lucia smiled, but Carmine and Frankie sulked in disapproval of the plan.

  “I’ve made up my mind, and this is the route we’re taking forward. Vinny will join the police. In the meantime, since we obviously can’t sell until the streets are cleaned, I want everyone focused on finding Esteban Vega and his brother. Can you handle that?” Antonio said, looking at Carmine and then Frankie.

  Both men nodded.

  “Good. Then make yourselves useful and get out of my sight.” Antonio gestured toward the door, his gaze on the two brooding assassins. “Vin, Christopher, I want you to stay a few more minutes.”

  Carmine, Frankie, Raff, and Yellowtail left the room, and the doors clicked shut.

  “You want to tell him, or should I?” Antonio said to Christopher.

  “What?” Vinn
y asked.

  “You can’t live here anymore,” Christopher said. “We can’t let the cops link you to the family. Once it’s safe to go outside, you’re going to have find another place. We’ve already talked to Doberman. He’s going with you.”

  Vinny scratched his dark five o’clock shadow. “Like I said, I’m at your disposal, Don Antonio.”

  “Now, on to other business,” Antonio said. “I don’t like how Carmine and Frankie spoke to me. Their disrespect is getting worse.”

  “They’re stuck in the old way of doing things,” Lucia said. “That’s not how it works here. You have shown that to all of us.”

  “She’s right,” Christopher said. “I’m sorry for ever doubting you, brother. You’ve done a hell of a job getting us to where we are now.”

  “Maybe you should replace Carmine as captain with one of the younger men, like Lino,” Vinny said. He raised a hand. “Just a suggestion, Don Antonio. You’re the king and you know best.”

  Antonio turned back to the window, considering the suggestion from his nephew. Vinny was still young, and he was wrong about one detail.

  “Not a king yet,” Antonio said.

  As, he looked out over the city, Antonio recalled Esteban Vega’s words during the highway ambush.

  “There can be only one king in the City of Angels,” Antonio said. “His name will be Moretti.”

  -20-

  “Los Angeles County residents have been given the all clear to leave their shelters!”

  The crowded high school gymnasium filled with applause. Hundreds of displaced people had gathered to hear the news from a battery-powered radio an electrician had rigged up to the school loudspeakers.

  Dom let out a sigh of relief and hugged his mom and Monica.

  “Everyone, please quiet down!” Gunny Marks shouted over the crowd.

  The noise tapered off, and the person with the radio tuned to a different channel. This time, a monotone prerecorded voice from the emergency broadcast alert system listed counties in California and rated their nuclear contamination levels.

  The crowd fell silent when Santa Barbara County was listed at the highest levels of radiation exposure. A cough here and there broke the silence, and finally, the monotone voice confirmed what the newscaster had said a few minutes earlier.

  Almost two weeks after the nuclear detonation ninety miles away, radiation levels in Los Angeles had diminished to the point that it was safe to go outside.

  “Does this mean I get to go back to school?” Monica asked.

  “Soon,” Elena said. She put an arm around each of her children and gave the first smile Dom had seen in the two weeks they had been holed up here.

  Families embraced, cried, and laughed as the crowd dispersed.

  “We’re going to be okay,” Elena said. “Everything is going to be okay now.”

  “Promise?” Monica asked.

  Elena looked to Dom, who nodded. It was good to hear his mom being optimistic and to see her smile. Maybe she would finally come out of her depression and be back to her old self. He saw strength in her today—a good sign.

  “All right, everyone,” Marks said. “You’re free to go home now. But don’t forget, you still need to wear protective masks to keep the dust out of your lungs. The threat of radiation is low, but it isn’t gone. We have cases of N95 dust masks by the exits. Take one, and only one, for each member of your family. Supplies are short.”

  “Thank you!” someone shouted.

  A single clap sounded. Then multiple claps. More people joined in, and within a few seconds, most of the crowd was clapping and cheering.

  Dom looked for the other heroes who had made sure these people had the supplies to survive while sheltering in place.

  Bettis, Tooth, and Ronaldo stood near the exit door, shying away from the applause. They had risked their lives because it was their duty.

  As the gymnasium emptied, the refugees patted the marines on the shoulder, shook their hands, and thanked them.

  Dom, Elena, and Monica were the last out of the room.

  “You guys ready to go home?” Ronaldo asked.

  “So ready,” Monica said. “I need a new book.”

  “Library doesn’t have enough?” Tooth asked.

  Monica put a hand on her hip. “The next one on my TBR list is in my room, and I don’t read out of order.”

  “TBR?” Tooth asked.

  Monica rolled her eyes. “To be read.”

  Tooth fussed with his spiked hair and grinned. “Oh, right. I got an extensive one of those.”

  “Yeah,” Bettis deadpanned. “Only yours is more of a TBC list—to be colored.”

  Ronaldo grinned at the gibe. “I have to talk to Marks,” he said. “Meet you guys at the exit.”

  Elena put her hand on Monica’s back. “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”

  Dutifully putting on their dust masks, the hundreds of refugees began filing out of the school. Dom was glad to see people honoring the rule of one mask per person. He helped Monica with hers.

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “I got a bandanna; don’t worry.” He tied it around the back of his head. “See?”

  They moved into the corridor, where the tarps had been pulled away from windows and exit doors. Carrying their bags, Dom walked out the open doors, into the first rays of sunshine he had felt in weeks.

  Sirens whooped in the distance, and a dog barked.

  While most of the people headed down the sidewalks toward home, the Salvatore family waited for Ronaldo.

  He showed up a few minutes later, and from the look on his face, Dom could tell that Marks finally had new orders for the Desert Snakes, and they weren’t good.

  “What’s wrong?” Elena asked.

  Ronaldo ran a hand along the salt-and-pepper beard he had grown over the past two weeks.

  “Our new CO has ordered us to patrol along the border,” he said.

  “So you’re being deployed?” Elena glared. “Do you know how dangerous it is out there?”

  “You have to leave the city, Dad?” Monica asked.

  Ronaldo squatted down in front of her. “I have to work on the border they’re building. But we won’t be gone long, so don’t worry, kiddo.”

  “When?” Elena asked.

  “ASAP,” Ronaldo said. “We’re moving out as soon as we can clear out the high school.”

  Elena sighed. “I’ll see you at home, Ronnie,” she said in an annoyed tone. And grabbing Monica’s hand, she led her away from the school. Dom stayed put, halfway between his mom and dad, torn again.

  Ronaldo said, “Watch after them, okay?”

  “Yeah, no problem. Be safe out there, Dad.”

  Dom ran to catch up with his mom and sister, who were already on the sidewalk and about to cross the street. Two squad cars drove by toward the Downey Police Station. Dom squinted to make out the driver of one of the vehicles.

  “Hold here a second,” he said.

  Elena and Monica waited while he waved the car down. The officer parked and got out wearing a dust mask, gloves, and a hat over her short-cropped brown hair.

  “Cam?” Dom said. “Is that you?”

  She pulled down her mask and flashed a smile that he had missed more than he realized.

  He hurried over to her and gave her a fierce hug.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I sheltered at the high school with my family and the marines,” he said. “We just got the all clear, so I’m walking my mom and sis home.”

  “No, you aren’t.” Camilla waved at Elena. “Mrs. Salvatore, bring Monica. I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” Dom said.

  “I insist,” Camilla said. “Besides, it’s not exactly safe out here right now, and I’m not
talking about radiation.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “The bangers and dirtbags came out of their holes not long after the fallout stopped, and have been tearing up the city. Looting, burning down buildings, killing each other over street corners—it’s insane.”

  Dom saw the bruises and cuts still on her face, but he didn’t bring up the attack that almost left her dead. She had proved she wasn’t tough only on the basketball courts. She was also a hell of a cop.

  He gave her another fierce hug. “I missed you, Cam.”

  She hugged him harder this time. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you again.”

  “Same, but then again, I know it would take a lot to kill you.”

  She laughed at that as he pulled away.

  “How’s Moose doing?” he asked.

  Camilla bit her lip.

  “What?” Dom said. “He’s okay, isn’t he?”

  “He’s fine, but his parents aren’t.” Camilla forced a smile as Elena and Monica approached.

  “Hi, Mrs. Salvatore. Good to see you.”

  “Good to see you too. How are you doing?’

  “I’m alive, which is better than some can say.” She held up a hand for Monica to slap. “And how are you, kiddo?”

  “I’m not a kid,” Monica said.

  “We better get off the streets,” Dom suggested.

  “Right.” Camilla opened the back door of the squad car.

  “Cool,” Monica said. “I’ve never ridden in one of these. “Dom said he’s going to take me to the Griffith Observatory when he gets his own police car—right, Dom?

  Camilla looked over at him. “Maybe I’ll let him drive once he gets his badge,” she said.

  “Moose said he has me covered, but thanks.”

  Camilla got back into the car, picked up the radio transmitter, and relayed a message to the dispatcher.

  “Moose is on the clock right now too,” she said, pulling away from the curb. “After we drop your mom and sis off, we can go meet up with him if you want.”