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“Sure, boss.” Antony furrows his brow as he glances from me to Twos.
“Of course I am,” Twos replies. “That’s why I offered.”
I ignore her look of confusion. Pops has never cared for Twos, and I realize she’s used to ignoring his misogynistic remarks. I’m certain he only puts up with her presence because Threes is willing to do things no one else will.
I breathe slowly, trying to keep my agitation with my father’s interjections invisible to the others. I might have been in this business since I was old enough to understand what my family is all about, but I’m still the new guy in this position. I can’t show any weakness.
“Twos drives, but just Antony and Threes go inside. Antony does the talking. If they’re reasonable, then call it a day. If not, Threes will let them know the consequences of fucking with us.”
“You got it,” Threes says.
I nod back at Kate, and she runs through a bunch of numbers. Though I keep my eyes on her and try to absorb what she’s saying, I’m inside my head more than not.
I really am the head of the family empire now. Even though I’m not the one who is supposed to be sitting in this chair, even though Dad doesn’t believe I can do this, everyone has accepted me as the guy in charge.
Kate reports on legal complications, speaking partially in code about bribes to the police force and government officials to keep them from snooping around our businesses. She neglects to mention a crucial element.
“You missed an important piece there, Kate,” I say.
“What’s that?”
“Our mole in D.C.”
“Oh…yes.” She flips to another page in her notepad. “Antony has been keeping up with her.”
“Well?” I tap my fingers on the arm of the chair, realize it’s something my father often does, and force myself to stop.
“She says someone’s been snooping around the documentation business,” Antony says. “Looks like a formal investigation might happen if evidence is found.”
“The feds have tried that before. Our local cops always take care of it.”
“This time they have something.”
“What?” I ask.
“Not sure.”
“Well, fucking find out then! In the meantime, move production to the warehouse behind the lodge. Close up the office in town for renovations or something. Better keep all that shit closer to the edge of town and the highway in case we need to move it to Cincinnati.”
“You want to expand physical business to Cincinnati?” Antony asks tentatively.
“Not expand, no. Not now anyway. Just a precautionary step. The property we bought down there can serve as a backup production site if we need it. I want to make sure what we have set up down there is profitable before we push it, but it’s a good countermeasure if some fed shows up here.”
“You got it, boss.” Antony gives me a quick nod. “I’ll get that local fed to figure out what it is and bury it.”
“Fine.” I breathe slowly and turn back to Kate. “You can go now.”
Kate closes up her notepad, and Antony politely holds the door for her as she exits.
“Antony, hang a minute.”
Twos grabs Threes by the hand and leads him out, and Antony leans against the back of the couch.
“We have to do something about Jack.”
“I was wondering when you were going to mention it.”
“I didn’t want anyone else talking to Nora. He needs to be dealt with and soon.”
