by Mike Ryan
Nowak’s planning with a couple of her underlings was interrupted by a small commotion outside. It sounded like her guards were raising their voices. It could only mean they had an unexpected visitor. She started going to the door to see what was happening, but was stopped by Milton and Teasley, who didn’t want her to expose herself in case something violent went down.
“We’ll check it out,” Milton said.
Nowak stayed in the background as Milton and Teasley went out the door. There was a man trying to approach the room, who was now face-planted on the ground, courtesy of the guards.
“What are you doing here?” Milton asked.
“Like I was trying to tell these thugs, I got a message for your boss.”
“Which is who?” Teasley asked, not wanting to give away her name in case it was a trick.
“Stefania Nowak.”
Milton nodded toward the two guards, one of whom had his knee on the back of the man’s head. They got the man to his feet and patted him down to check for weapons.
“He’s clean,” a guard said.
The man, who was dressed in a suit, readjusted his clothes as he gave a nasty look to the guards who had tackled him.
“So, what are you doing here?” Milton asked.
“Like I said, I got a message for your boss.”
“What is it?”
“I was told to give it to her.”
“Nothing gets to her until it goes through me first.”
The man shrugged, being told in advance it was likely to go down this exact way. The man then reached inside his suit jacket and removed a note, handing it over to Milton. As Milton went to grab it, the man pulled it back.
“I was told this was only to be read by Ms. Nowak.”
Milton looked at Teasley, then back at the man, skeptical of what was happening. “This note isn’t getting to her unless I know who it’s from.”
The man smiled. “It’s from Vincent. He sends his regards.”
Milton’s face took a more concerned tone to it. “Agreed,” he finally said.
The man then handed the note over again, this time letting Milton take it from him. “Be seein’ ya soon.” The man put his hands up to the top of his head as if he was tipping his hat, even though he wasn’t wearing one, then turned around and started leaving. Milton and company stayed there for a minute and watched the man as he got on the elevator.
“A little strange,” Teasley said.
“Strange ain’t the word for it,” Milton replied. “Well, might as well let her see whatever this is.”
“Can’t be good.”
“We’ll see.”
The guards retook their stations by the door as Milton and Teasley went inside. They saw Nowak coming out her bedroom, not seemingly concerned about was happening outside. When she saw the looks on their faces though, she had a feeling something was up.
“What was all that about?” Nowak asked.
Milton walked over to her and handed her the note. “Looks like business is about to pick up faster than we expected.”
A great deal of concern overtook Nowak’s face as she looked at Milton and took the note from him. “What’s this?”
Milton didn’t respond except for a head shake and a shrug. Nowak eagerly unfolded the paper and her eyes were immediately drawn to who the note was from rather than its contents. Once she saw it was from Vincent, the hairs on her arms stood out of nervousness as she wondered what he wanted, alarmed he already knew where she was.
Ms. Nowak,
I believe it is time for us to meet. We have a great many things to discuss. As soon as you are ready, I am at your service. At first, I thought it would be wise to have an introductory meeting at a neutral site, but then I thought, it would be better if I just came to you. Therefore, you may simply walk down to the lobby. I am waiting in the hotel restaurant.
Regards,
Vincent
Nowak’s eyes widened, and, for the first time since she arrived in Philadelphia, looked nervous. This was completely unexpected and out of the blue.
“Are you OK?” Milton asked, noticing his boss’ expression.
Nowak handed him the note. “He’s here.”
Milton read the note, looking as nervous as his boss. “What do you think he wants?”
“I don’t know. It seems unlikely he would choose here as a place to hit us if that’s what he had in mind. If that were the case, I’m sure he’d pick a neutral place.”
“What would he have to talk about?”
“Maybe he’s just here to give you a warning or threaten you,” Teasley said.
“Could be,” Nowak said.
“You know, you don’t have to go down there,” Milton said. “You’re under no obligation to meet him right now. We can wait until you’re ready, under your terms. This is too soon. We can sneak you out the back.”
“He’s sure to have men in the lobby as well as in the back. Don’t believe for a second he hasn’t planned for every possible reaction on our part.”
“We can wait a while. Let me call the rest of the boys and have them come over.”
“And turn this hotel into a bloodbath? That doesn’t help us a bit if we’re all led away in handcuffs.”
“So, what’s the play?”
“We’ll go down and meet him,” Nowak answered.
“You sure? What if he tries something down there? He could have us outnumbered. Or he could try to surprise us with something.”
“Maybe. But, like I said, I don’t think this would be the ideal time for him to do that. If that was his goal, I doubt he’d give us the courtesy of announcing his visit first. He could have just stormed this room if that was his intent, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Let’s think positively for a moment,” Nowak said. “Maybe he’s terrified of what we’re doing and wants to join forces.”
“I think that’s wishful thinking.”
13
Within five minutes, Nowak was ready to meet her opponent. But she wasn’t going alone. Milton and Teasley would accompany her, at least into the restaurant, until she saw what the setup was. Once they were all ready, they stepped out of the room into the hallway. Before leaving, she had last-minute instructions for the guards at the door, in case someone tried to sneak into the room while she was gone.
“We’ll be in the restaurant,” Nowak said. “Nobody is allowed to be up here.”
“Right.”
Nowak, along with her assistants, went to the elevator and down to the first floor. They slowly walked through the lobby, carefully looking at their surroundings to see if they thought any of Vincent’s men were staked out there. They couldn’t be sure, though. It was a busy night and there seemed to be a lot of people coming and going. A few people looked like they might have been lookouts, but nothing they could definitely determine.
Other than the uncertainty of the meeting, Nowak was relatively sure it would be a peaceful gathering. Going on that assumption, taking her subordinate’s suggestion of leaving was not a preferable option. She knew Vincent would have people watching in back of the building. Because that’s what she would do if the roles were reversed. The best option they had was listening to what he had to say.
When they finally got to the hotel restaurant, Nowak stopped in the entrance area and looked around for her host. The restaurant was packed with customers, but she found him without too much trouble. She then made a beeline for the table, her second-in-commands closely following her along the way. Vincent did have people watching in the lobby and they had already given him the heads-up Nowak was on the way, so he was aware she was coming. He kept his eyes focused on her as she approached the table.
“May I sit?” Nowak asked, almost a glow on her face as if she was meeting a date.
“Please do,” Vincent replied with a smile, also sounding pleasantly happy with her presence. Based on their initial encounter, one would never know they were enemies.
Afte
r helping their boss with her seat, Milton and Teasley began to sit down. Before they reached their seats though, Vincent made sure to let them know they weren’t welcome.
“This is a private meeting,” Vincent told them. “There are other tables available.”
They didn’t really like it and looked to Nowak for guidance, who nodded at them, so they knew it was OK to leave. Once they were out of listening range, Vincent spoke.
“Thank you for meeting me on such short notice.”
“I didn’t think I really had much choice considering you probably have the building surrounded with your people,” Nowak said.
Vincent knew that was an accurate statement but didn’t want to throw it in her face he had the upper hand. “Well, you still could have chosen an alternate path than this one.” He pointed at the glass in front of her. “I took the liberty of ordering a glass of wine for us. I hope it’s an acceptable choice.”
Nowak smiled, a little surprised at how gracious her host was being. She took a sip of the wine. “Not too bad.”
“I’m sure I took you a little off-guard with me coming here.”
“Just a little. I did not anticipate being found out so quickly. You must have good sources.”
“You cannot get to the top and stay there without having good intelligence. If you’re here much longer, you’ll find out mine is second to none.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Before we get down to any business discussion, I’d like to pay my respects on the loss of your husband last year. I was sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you.”
“Now that’s out of the way, I’d like to get down to why you’re here in this city and why you’ve attacked me specifically.”
“You certainly don’t beat around the bush, do you?” Nowak asked. “Right to the point.”
“It depends on the circumstances.”
“As for why I’m here, it’s strictly business. You’re the only game in town and I believe there is a financial opportunity here.”
“And it’s as simple as that?” Vincent asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“Then why have you attacked my men on two different occasions lately?”
“Well, if you’re going to move in to a new city, what better way to establish yourself than by taking on the biggest and the baddest to let everyone know who you are?”
“And you think you can just come in here, try to take me on, and bully me, and think there won’t be repercussions? That I’ll just take it lying down and let you operate?”
“Well I don’t see any guns pointed at me,” Nowak said with a smile, feeling very sure of herself.
“I think you’re playing a very dangerous game here. One which you may not understand the full value of what you’re up against.”
“That’s very disappointing.”
“What is?”
“That you think of me as an ordinary woman who’s in over her head,” Nowak answered. “That I’m someone who couldn’t possibly understand the inner workings of business. You see, I was very much involved with my husband’s dealings. I watched, I learned, I listened, I attended meetings, I asked questions… I wasn’t the trophy wife who was only there to brighten up the room.”
“My intention was not to downgrade your capabilities, but to emphasize I am not a man to play games with.”
“Oh, I’m fully aware of your reputation, Vincent. Everyone on the east coast knows who you are and recognizes your achievements. Especially how you’ve managed to rid this city of your enemies in the last few years. Very impressive.”
“But not impressive enough to scare you away.”
“Not when there’s an opportunity such as this one,” Nowak said.
“And you think you’ll fare differently than my past enemies?”
“Well, I think I might if that’s the route I chose to go. But I don’t. We can work equally with one another, you know.”
“You mean a partnership?” Vincent asked.
“No, nothing that extreme. Something where we acknowledge each other and peacefully coexist.”
Vincent put his hand over his face and rubbed his chin as he looked at her. “Perhaps you could tell me why I’d be willing to hand over part of what I’ve worked so hard to achieve?”
“Because I’ve already shown you what I’m capable of. If it’s a war you want, you can have it.”
“It seems to me you’ve already made the first volley in that direction,” Vincent said.
“Oh, come now, that was just merely me announcing my arrival,” she said, flashing an innocent smile at him. “There was no harm meant to you behind it. I figured you could lose a few insignificant men at some low-level business dealings. I mean, how much could that cost you?”
Vincent had moved his hand up to his lips as his finger moved back and forth across them. He intently listened and hung on every word his guest was saying. And with each passing sentence that came out of her mouth, the more he found himself disliking her. Nowak could tell Vincent seemed to be having problems with her story and sought to help him understand.
“Listen, I don’t want to have a war with you,” Nowak said. “I believe it’s unnecessary and wouldn’t be good for either of us. My intention was not to shoot the opening salvo in a conflict with you. My only intention for this whole charade was to prove to you I am your equal.”
“Then why not set up some type of meeting with me and explain your intentions?”
Nowak laughed, thinking how ridiculous it sounded. “Oh, please. Like you would have even given me the time of day if I walked into your office and we had this conversation. You would have waved me off, thinking I couldn’t possibly do some of the things I say I can.”
“Perhaps.”
“There is enough room in this city for the two of us. For both of us to make money. That is the end goal, is it not?”
“Money is only a small part of it,” Vincent answered.
“How about you tell me what you’re into and I’ll make sure I stay out of it? I’ll only operate in things that you’re not.”
“Very gracious of you.”
“Like I said, there’s enough here for the both of us to work with; we don’t have to be enemies.”
“You and I both know the only way to truly operate in cities like this is to have power. And I have it. Drugs, guns, blackmail, laundering, counterfeiting, extortion, you name it; it all runs through me.”
Nowak smiled, thinking he still didn’t see the big picture. “There are other things to get involved in, you know.”
“Even if there were, there’s only so long you can operate without wanting a bigger slice of the pie. Eventually, you want more. It’s human nature. I once operated in this city with two others, not because of choice, but because that’s what I came into. Then there were two. Then there was one. No one is satisfied in sharing with others.”
“I get the feeling you’re not interested in my proposal.”
“Nothing personal,” Vincent said. “You seem like a very charming woman. And in another city, I’d wish you much success.”
“But not this one?”
To diffuse the tension, Vincent sat for a moment, thinking of other options at their disposal. “I’ll tell you what I can do for you. I’ll overlook the two occasions you threw down on me.”
“Very generous of you,” Nowak said.
“You pack up and move to another city, start up your operations elsewhere, and I’ll even give you a hand. Give you a loan, with a nice interest rate on my end, loan you men, information, resources, whatever you need to successfully get off the ground.”
“Well, that is a kind offer. I’m kind of partial to mine though.”
“You see, that’s where you have to learn your place in the pecking order. I’m on top here. And I’m not about to let someone come in here and blast away at me then dictate terms to me with the hopes I’ll just lie down and take it.”
“So, my plan is being rejected?” Now
ak asked, still a pleasant look on her face, not really expecting him to throw in with her.
“Rejected, torn up, and stomped on. But I do hope you’ll take my offer under consideration. And because I’m a generous man, I’ll give you three days to accept my terms.”
“And if I choose to stay?”
“Then I’ll make you wish you hadn’t.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Let’s just call it a very stern warning,” Vincent replied. He then looked at the time and excused himself. “I’m sorry for leaving so quickly, but I have other matters to attend to.”
“I understand. So, how will I get in touch with you in the next few days if I decide to accept your offer?”
“Just put the word out on the street like you did your last trick. I’ll hear it.”
“And if you don’t hear from me?”
“Then I would suggest you start traveling with more than two guards.”
Vincent then stood and walked away from the table. As he walked away, about ten other men placed at various spots throughout the room also stood and soon joined him. Nowak watched as he exited the room, followed by his group of men. Milton and Teasley then joined her table.
“How’d it go?” Milton asked.
“About how we expected,” Nowak answered.
“What’d he have to say?”
“Gave us a deadline of three days to get out of here. He’s even willing to help us set up in another city.”
“Kind of him,” Teasley said.
“More than generous.”
“Are we taking it?” Milton asked.
“Of course not. We’re staying here. Mr. Vincent will just have to deal with it.”
“Should I get Gabe to bring up the rest of the men?”
“Yes,” Nowak said. “We will be needing them in short order.”
“What about that other thing?”
“What other thing?”
“You know, that other guy you were talking about. That Silencer guy.”
“Oh yes. He’s got a big reputation around here and I wanna meet with him.”