Page 26 of Owned Bratva Bride
“Craig is running for governor. The current governor, Henry Plum, has many supporters. The thing is, Craig only has this opportunity to serve as governor so he can run for the presidency in the next six years. We need your society’s support to gather the numbers we need. Your influence could sway many other smaller organizations if they see you supporting us.”
“I need to get something straight. Do you need my influence or the support of the cartel?”
“Actually,” he started with another chuckle. “We were hoping we could get both. We’d be glad to get both. Of course, we don’t intend to ask you for something you won’t get anything out of.”
“So, what is it that you’re putting on the table?”
“The ports you operate through…we have laid down plans to relax the measures to make them less restrictive for your business.”
“The existing measures never disturbed my business,” I mentioned, shrugging.
“Yes, but what we’re proposing is a much wider wiggle space. You’ll be able to move five times what you usually move through the ports. Because we know you don’t deal with terrorists or retailers who just sell guns to anybody, we can vouch for you. And that’s why we can rearrange the process to ensure your shipments are listed alongside the army’s shipments. Yours will simply be listed as private. That means no need to avoid checks or pay so much for passage.”
“As much as that sounds good, you can’t have both. Here is how it works,” I started, sitting up straight. “Having the support of the cartel as a whole means mobilizing members of the Bratva and other Mafia in and around New Jersey to vote. Iwon’t have to ask them to vote for your brother; it’s just about spreading the word about helping an affiliate get higher on the political ladder for the benefit of our cartels.”
He nodded in understanding as I went on.
“But, my support, on the other hand, isn’t that simple. It’s personal. I’m at the top of the Mafia hierarchy, and that means many people are bound to follow my example because they trust my judgment. That’s exactly why I stay away from publicly declaring my political stance. I don’t trust any of you.”
“I can assure you that we won’t make you regret choosing us.”
“This is not about regret. You guys can’t evoke such a feeling from me,” I answered. “It’s about my motivation and the reputation that follows it. I always ask my men to support whoever they believe in. Telling them I believe in someone would make them all follow me, and that would mean they are not just looking up to that person; they are expecting me to make that person deliver. I’m not that interested in government dealings.”
“I totally understand,” he replied. “We’ll opt for the support of the cartel as a whole. After all, the organized crime society in the state is larger than some industries.”
“We have a deal, then,” I confirmed.
Greg had barely left my office when I called Leonid to bring the guys we met at the warehouse to my office.
The three of them stood by the door as Leonid walked over to my desk.
“Boss, the guys counting just finished, so I went over to confirm the quantities. We’re all set for tomorrow,” he informed.
I nodded, getting up from my seat and shedding my suit jacket. I stalked to the back of my leather chair, my hands on the headrest.
“Which of them did Leonid call to inform of my coming this evening?” I asked the three of them.
The other two looked at the one standing in the middle.
“He called me, Boss,” he confessed.
“Right. Where were you when the call came in?”
“I was with the guys sorting the delivery in the back,” he answered, his voice cautious.
“Then you came all the way to the entrance to announce to your colleagues. You were in a hurry to stretch your vocal chords, am I wrong?”
“Uh…Boss, I didn’t…I just told them you were coming, as Leonid said,” he uttered, looking from Leonid to his colleagues.
I walked to my desk, taking a pistol out of the drawer.
Manipulating the gun in my fingers, I casually moved past Leonid to the other side of the desk, facing them.
The fear written all over them told me they were now catching on to what they were in trouble for.
“It’s either one or the other,” I stated, leaning against the desk. “Either you talked so loudly that Greg Morales heard, or you two directly told Greg I was coming.”
The silence that ensued could be cut with a knife.
