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I didn’t say anything –
But I was thinking about how I’d killed Hans Solner and his bodyguard in Norway.
I’ve killed at least two men I WASN’T at war with, and who never did anything to me.
Dario continued talking. “Make no mistake, the Camorra is at war with the Cosa Nostra, which means that Aristide Caproni was at war with me. If he or his men had lived, they would have told their superiors what happened, and I would have to fight even MORE Camorra thugs. Next time, I might not have been so lucky. What I did was brutal, yes – but it was necessary.”
“You’re still going to have to fight the Camorra in the future, though – right?”
“Yes, but not against Aristide. Any future clashes between me and the Camorra will hopefully be at reduced levels of conflict – more like the Cold War than World War II. But if I had let any of those men walk away, it would have become a full-blown war for revenge.”
I considered what he’d said for a moment… and finally decided he was right.
I didn’t like that he was right – but it didn’t change the fact that he was.
When your own survival is on the line, the rules change.
Especially when you didn’t start the fight, but you know it will go on forever unless you finish it.
“You still didn’t say why you told me all that.”
“What,” he said in amusement, “owing you my life isn’t good enough?”
“You went to prison for your family,” I said. “It sounds like you’d do anything for them. But you just admitted to me that they’re criminals and – ”
“We’re not criminals,” Dario interrupted with an edge of irritation in his voice. “We’re businessmen.”
“And your business is breaking the law,” I snarled. “You can lie to yourself, but don’t try to get me to swallow your bullshit.”
Dario’s eyes narrowed in anger –
And then he relaxed, like he was giving me a pass on insulting his family.
“By your standards, yes… we’re criminals.”
“And yet you just admitted everything to me. Why?”
Dario seemed to stare into the depths of my soul before he answered.
“I pride myself on being an excellent judge of character. Many times, I knew that men would betray my family, even though I couldn’t logically explain why.” He looked off to the side as though he couldn’t bear to look me in the eyes as he said the next part. “It pains me to say this, but I don’t entirely trust my uncle. He’s my father’s consigliere. His counselor and right-hand man. My uncle is supposed to be the last link in the chain – the firewall protecting my father against the authorities. A good consigliere will fall on his sword to protect his don… but I have my doubts. I volunteered to take the deal because I was afraid if the cops put pressure on my uncle, he might sell my father out. I can’t prove it… and my father would be horrified if I told him… but it was something I felt very strongly, deep in my gut.”
Dario looked back at me. “When I look at you… I don’t know why, exactly, but I feel I can trust you no matter what. With my life, and with my family’s lives. I see the same loyalty in you that I see in my brothers, but there’s a sense of honor in you that I’m not sure even they possess. Not all of them, anyway. But you… you’re a soldier. And you’re the best friend – the most trusted friend – I’ve ever had.”
I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a swell of emotion inside my chest.
“When I get out of here,” Dario continued, “I won’t take over my family’s operations for many years, God willing. Not until my father dies or is incapable of leading us anymore. I hope that day is decades away. But when I do take over, I desperately need someone like you. Someone I can trust with my life. I need a soldier beside me. And so I’m telling you all these things now… hoping that one day you might agree to be that man. To be that soldier… to be that friend. To stand by my side and help me protect my family.”
I stared at him for a long time.
He waited for some kind of a reaction.
When I finally spoke, it wasn’t to give him an answer –
At least not the kind of answer he was probably expecting.
“Over a year ago, a highly placed operative in MI6 – British Intelligence – offered me a deal. He wanted me to work for him as an assassin and kill enemies of the United Kingdom and NATO. In return, he would get me out of the two years I still had left with the Swedish military.
“I wanted out because I wanted to be with Rachel in London. I was going to be deployed back to Afghanistan, and I was afraid I wouldn’t see her for a year. Even worse, I might be killed or wounded. So I took the deal.
