Frank stared through Nikolay and Mikhailov adjusted position to her right to get a better take on Frank‘s state of mind. Alice looked to Frank, then to Nikolay and finally on Mikhailov - in case she tried a move against Frank. No-one needed to resort to violence given they were sat around a table talking.
“LET US BE clear. You admit you are blocking our supply lines, so the first thing you must do is to open our access to our own narcotics.”
“Of course, we can do that but you get nothing for nothing in this life. What will you offer in return?”
Nikolay smiled again and glanced out the window as a boat motored across the view. Then his attention floated back inside the room and he focused on Frank and his challenge.
“What could I possibly give you that you don‘t already possess?”
“Someone in your position should have the imagination to make an offer and, even if you can‘t, you should be aware enough of your gang‘s actions to name something within your largesse. If you are the man you think you are.”
“Don‘t goad me, boy.”
“Stop acting like the cheerleader who got fucked by the jock at the end of the prom and didn‘t expect anything to happen. You are here to negotiate and all you‘ve done so far is to piss and moan.”
Nikolay remained silent and drummed his fingers on the table. The annoyance seeped out of his fingertips until he regained his composure. Hard to tell if it was because Frank had called him on his behavior or because Markov was going to be forced to give something up. Frank remembered never to put out any number first in a negotiation, so was desperate to force Nikolay‘s hand, but the Russian didn‘t want to play ball. Maybe he‘d received the same advice.
“PROSTITUTION. I CAN offer you a percentage of that San Francisco racket, if it was something of interest.”
“Always into making money out of fucking. We could open the supply lines for fifty per cent of your prostitution revenues and leave you to run San Francisco. Or we could accept only twenty cents on the dollar, but you would cease interfering with any of our whorehouses in town.”
“A fifth for doing nothing. That‘s quite an offer.”
“The revenue keeps your skanks alive and the smack flowing. Don‘t make yourself seem foolish: you understand the value of what I‘m offering - and it‘s insulting for you to pretend otherwise.”
“You forget why you are here, boy. Our biting at your heels so much has impacted your operations. Not just in this city, but your lottery racket is within our reach. So don‘t talk to me like a pimp to one of your whores. I am at least your equal and achieved more than you as I started with nothing while you were gifted your success by your mother.”
Now it was Frank‘s turn to fall into silence and suck in the air until his pulse stopped racing. So far, all the two men had succeeded in doing was to goad each other, and they were no closer to any agreement than when they arrived. Alice was not impressed. If Frank wanted to preen his feathers, so be it, but they needed to bring Nikolay‘s plane safely in to land: no bumps, no bruises and no crashes.
“WHAT MY BROTHER is trying to say is that we respect all your achievements in the Tenderloin - and beyond. And what we agree here will have significant consequences for all concerned. I expect you would like to devote your energies into making more money and we want to do the same. So we need to draw a line under what has happened and figure out the best way to live side by side either by not elbowing each other or by working together, sharing risks and the rewards.”
“My biggest concern is to get access to my heroin. The rest is just cheap words.”
“If tens of millions of dollars are of no matter to you then I underestimate the respect you deserve. For the Lagotti family that is a considerable amount of money that is at stake if we can‘t agree a reasonable resolution to our difficulties.”
Nikolay raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes a fraction. Clearly he wanted to get his hands on that kind of green.
“Our lottery operation in California is the beginning of the adventure, not the endgame. As more states create legalized gambling, we shall take advantage with our fake tickets: the numbers racket reborn for modern times. There will be enough profit in the venture to allow others to dip their beaks in the trough. If you work with us - supplying drivers, protection and boots on the ground - we could give you five per cent of the gross.”
Beat.
“But if you harm our people or our assets then you will have nothing and can peck on the floor with the rest of the hens. The choice is yours. The time to decide your future is now. Before we leave the Palladium either you are working with us or against our interests.”
Nikolay‘s cheeks reddened and he sipped his long gone cold coffee. Mikhailov tried to refill his mug, but he told her not to fuss around him.
“Let us take a break for a short while and stretch our legs.”
44
NIKOLAY STOOD UP, put his hands in his pants pockets and took two steps to stand to look out of the window. The sky was blue and Alcatraz was easy to spot. Alice poured fresh coffees, walked over and handed one to him. The others hovered near the drinks table, murmuring and chewing on cookies.
“You need to cut a deal with us and I understand that you may not think much of my brother - or me.”
“He thinks he is somebody because he can get girls to fuck for money. That just means he‘s a pimp. He has ideas far above his ability and doesn‘t realize how small a man he is.”
“Not everyone in my family shares Frank’s view of you and you should remember that.”
“That may be the case but when we last met, you showed me tremendous disrespect.”
Alice‘s pupils dilated as she recalled that moment in her hotel room.
“There is a world of difference between wanting to do business with you and wanting to fuck. You failed to distinguish those two things. That‘s not about respect; it‘s a question of your judgment.”
“You chastise me like your brother did.”
“No, he believes the best method to get his way is to strong-arm a person. I operate by letting people understand their options and leaving them to decide which consequences they prefer. You are free to do whatever you want - within reason - but accept what happens next.”
“Are you really willing to let me share in your numbers racket? How do I know you aren‘t dangling a juicy worm in front of me now just to squeeze a truce out of me?”
“Bottom line is that you don‘t, but my word counts for something and the offer is genuine. We want to work with people and you have shown your mettle. All these matters boil down to trust. You have met me and seen me operate. And now you must decide if what I say matches what I do.”
“YOU TALK OF consequences and you threaten me with extinction. Those are not the words of a business partner. You make it hard for me to trust you when your family reneged on our last detail.”
“Did I return to the Tenderloin?”
“I don‘t believe so.”
“I did not. And if you are serious about joining us with the numbers racket then you need to get past being offended by Frank. There are many people who take issue with his manners and you‘re at the back of the line.”
Beat.
“Instead focus on what it would mean to run the operation in California or beyond. That‘s the offer on the table - and to free up your narcotics pipeline in the short term. Keep your eyes on the prize, Nikolay.”
Markov sipped and stared out the window some more while Alice continued to stand next to him. He was mesmerized by the sheer scale of the honey pot and that was central to their plan. If Frank had been in the summerhouse with the rest of the family and spent less time in Sam‘s condo, he would have known this too.
“Chuck the boy a bone and he‘ll stop yapping at your ankles. He wants to show what a great fella he is and I want a deal.”
“AND WHAT MAKES your words more important than his in your family?”
“I‘m older by four minutes...”
“... and I have the backing of the rest of my outfit. Don‘t underestimate me because I am a woman. Underestimate me because you only see a fraction of what I can do.”
More silence and staring. If Nikolay had been more observant of his surroundings and less wrapped up in himself, he would have noticed that Alice had undone an extra blouse button before she went over to the window to talk to him. She understood how easy it was to play this chump and his eyes betrayed where his real focus lay. Sometimes all you needed was an attractive decolletage. Other times you had to threaten a man with death or poverty. Alice chose both options to hedge her bets.
“Your mother was more vocal at the last peace talks.”
“She is doing her best to let others take the reins. Mama has worked hard all her life and deserves to enjoy the time she has.”
“And who will take over from her?”
Alice smiled and shook her head.
“That‘s the kind of information we share with friends. When we agree a deal today then I‘ll be happy to fill you in on our plans.”
“Frank is a boy and Bobby is too old. Enough said already.”
A grin ripped across Alice‘s face.
“If you know that, you appear to be a friend even now.”
“Congratulations are in order and if this is true then I apologize for my earlier behavior.”
“Accepted, but not forgotten: not yet, anyway. Show me the man you can be at this table and then we shall discuss other matters further some other time.”
She watched his eyes flit to her breasts and look at her face. Alice walked back to fill up her mug once more with gritted teeth and everyone shuffled to their seats.
45
“SO HAVE YOU decided whether you will play ball?“
“Fuck you. I‘ll speak to the girl but not to a mook like you.”
“What the hell did you say to him, Alice?”
“Nothing, Frank. Cool it.”
“Don‘t you talk to me like that. You two are cooking something up between the pair of you.”
Alice looked askance at Bobby, who stared back as confused as she was. Mary Lou continued to stare into space while Frank fumed. He stood up so quickly that his chair fell backwards onto the floor with a thud. Everyone watched as he muttered under his breath and stormed out of the room. Naldo picked up the seat and placed it without any fuss out of the way by a wall.
“My apologies, Nikolay.”
“Sometimes children are best allowed out to play while the adults speak.”
Markov cast a glance to Mikhailov who returned his look with a slight nod. All was good with everybody who remained, although Alice shifted her chair into the center with Mama to her left near the window and Bobby to her right nearer the coffee and cookie table. Once they had all settled down Nikolay waited a few seconds and then carried on.
“We were trying to agree how we can work together once you‘ve opened up my narcotics supply.”
“Indeed. We will do that, but you have yet to say what you offer us in exchange.”
“I will open up the Tenderloin to prostitution for you if you enable me to join in your numbers racket.”
“When we start in San Francisco then you shall have fifty per cent of all the revenues you generate. For simplicity, we will keep our reps out of the city for the first twelve months. This gives your people ample chance to corner the market and means we can mop up any independent retailers who might have slipped through the net later on. The aim is to get every store on board: we are less concerned about who makes the sale as much as the product is sold.”
“This is agreeable to us. And what about opportunities beyond the confines of the city?”
“Let‘s take one step at a time. Do well here and we will be happy to offer you other territories. If you need help with any other ventures we ask - but don‘t demand - that you speak to us first. The more we work together, the greater the bond between us and that can only strengthen all here today.”
Nikolay nodded and offered his open hand across the table. Alice stood up and reached over to seal the deal. And that was the point when the glass of the window was punctured by a bullet from who knows where.
THE SLUG WHIZZED through the air and into Mary Lou‘s orbit. She‘d turned her head to stare out the window and the force of the bullet twisted her body round, whipping the blood departing the wound into an arc that caught Alice‘s cheek, shoulder and arm.
What was left of the shell spat out the other side Of her skull and into the wall. Mama‘s body tilted off the chair and headed down to the carpeted floor. The crack of the glass and the red-burst in the room caused Alice to hit the deck on pure instinct. Out of the corner of her eye, Alice caught the color scarlet near her Mama and saw a leg twitch.
Two more slugs entered the place. One landed in the mirror, next to the coffees and cookies, which shattered, shards of glass spraying out over Mikhailov and Bobby. The other bullet ricocheted off the coffee pot and pinged up into the ceiling. Alice kept her hands over her head as though that might protect her from a high caliber round.
Bobby wriggled over from his position past Alice and tried to cover Mary Lou‘s body in a vain attempt to shield her corpse from the sniper. While trying to sink into the carpet, Alice swiveled around to survey the scene in the room and see who remained alive. In between table and chair legs, only Mama was lying still.
“Anyone else hurt?”
Naldo‘s voice of calm reason floated over the survivors. Without noticing herself do it, Alice grabbed the gun from her handbag, now nestling under a seat. Bobby‘s arms surrounded his wife, and he rocked her left-to-right with the first agony of her loss. His pain transformed him into a gripping, crying blob.
Beat.
Alice glanced out of the window frame as though that would help her see the marksman. Then she stole another look around to see each of them holding weapons trained on the world outside the meeting room. Mikhailov had somehow got to the window and was bobbing and weaving, hoping to catch sight of the attacker. Alice saw Nikolay‘s lips move but she couldn‘t hear a word he said. She could tell by his expression he was getting increasingly frustrated. She swallowed and a wall of sound burst into her eardrums.
“What just happened?”
“We know nothing of this. My mother’s been killed. You think I’d do that? To my Mama?
NIKOLAY SHOOK HIS head and stared out the window while barking instructions to Mikhailov in Russian. They glared at each other then both turned in Alice‘s direction. A grim menace took over their demeanors - no mean feat given what had just happened to her Mama.
Alice looked to Bobby who had grown silent and now had a piece in his hand, finger on the trigger. For one brief second, Alice tasted hate in her mouth and she blinked at Bobby, his expression exactly the same as when he‘d torture someone. They both understood what to do next.
Bobby planted two slugs into Nikolay: first the heart and then the head. As he squeezed the trigger to take out Markov, Alice sent a bullet in the back of Lara Mikhailov‘s knee who screamed with agony and rolled over to face Alice. That gave her the opportunity to slam two cartridges into Mikhailov‘s torso.
Sirens wailed in the distance and Naldo was the first to react.
“We gotta get outa here.”
Insistence in his tone, he crawled to the window and stared outside.
“I‘ll cover you but we have to leave right now.”
He shot aimlessly out the window to give Alice and Bobby a chance to crawl to the door and make their escape. No-one returned fire and he figured it would be safe to exit himself. With Bobby and Alice no longer in the room, Naldo first went over to Mary Lou‘s body to check she wasn‘t carrying any incriminating documents. Then he emptied the contents of her bag and did the same. He stuffed papers and a gun into his jacket and fled the scene.
THIRTY MINUTES LATER, the three survivors sat in Naldo‘s car near the edge of town, traveling at five miles an hour below
the speed limit, heading back to Palm Springs.
“Who d‘you think ordered the hit?”
“It‘s down to who wanted Mary Lou dead. Nikolay?”
“He looked as surprised as we were. Perhaps New York got impatient.”
“No. If the mob called for the hit, they‘d have whacked the lot of us to give Markov a free run of the city.”
“Then who? Some rival gang we don‘t even know?”
“Unlikely. It will be somebody known. Someone close. Usually, very close.”
Alice stared at Naldo who appeared to think more than he was saying.
“Do you have a name?”
“Can't say for certain, but who is among us yet not here?”
“Frank?”
The word left Alice‘s mouth as the quietest whisper ever uttered by a human being.
“Anyone seen Isaak today?”
Silence.
“Doesn‘t mean he was gunning for your mother. He could have had Markov in his sights and plain missed. Worse shit has happened in my lifetime.”
Despite wanting to cling to the wafer-thin possibility that Nikolay was the target, Alice realized deep in her heart that it looked like Frank had murdered her darling Mama.
46
THE REMAINING PART of the day of the attack comprised bribing hotel staff and cops, constructing alibis and early thoughts about the morgue and a funeral. At home, Bobby and Alice sat in the living room trying to come to terms with the day‘s events but neither of them found that the least bit simple. Bobby was better at hiding his feelings, but even he would break down and cry regularly.
Naldo remained behind the wheel all the way to Oakcrest Drive and had done his best to leave the two alone since they got back indoors three hours earlier. But now the doorbell rang, which Naldo answered - Irma was in her room finding solace in prayer. He popped his head round the door to announce that Isaak was here.
Mama’s Gone Page 25