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Yuri, the other guy, is a Brigadier, like Salvatore is capo to me. The structure is different though to the way we are in the Italian mafia. My family is Sicilian, and we tend to be old school La Cosa Nostra. Born and bred. The first thing we know to do is to go with gut instinct. Mine is on high alert right now.
“Good morning, gentlemen.” I beam, becoming the leader I’m supposed to portray.
“Good morning,” Dmitri says to me. His accent is thick. He makes his way right over to me with Yuri. Both shake my hand. “Great to meet you. I hear congratulations will soon be in order.”
Although I smile at him, I get that uneasy feeling again. He’s talking about Pa’s retirement and my ascension to be the new Boss. News travels fast in the underworld.
“Thank you. I appreciate it. Please sit.”
They sit on the opposite side of the table, and Salvatore and Christian sit to my left, leaving me at the head. I quickly glance at them, grateful they’re here. Yesterday, I had Gabe on the phone asking me if I needed help. I couldn’t tell him that I felt like I needed all the help I could get.
I certainly can’t look like that now in front of these men. They’re like sharks. I don’t need to know them to know that if they get a whiff of blood, they’ll eat me alive in one gulp.
I straighten up but rest back against my chair, casual and cool, crossing one leg over the other. “So… my father has told me the basics. I’d like you to tell me more about what you’re hoping to get from an alliance with us.”
Dmitri nods his head and runs a hand over his beard. “Of course. The idea came about because we have a new business venture and we’re looking to be aligned with the best people to make the most money.”
To my knowledge, most Bratva guys are into drug trafficking—heroin. We don’t get our hands dirty like that. If it’s that, we’re out because if we get caught, we’ll be well and truly fucked.
“And what is this new business venture of yours?” He doesn’t like the way I say that. I wonder if he expected me not to ask.
Dmitri shuffles in his seat, sitting forward so he can rest his elbow on the table. “I hope you understand me asking you to keep this under wraps.”
“That goes without saying. Don’t worry. I didn’t think you needed us to ship daisies.” I smirk.
He smiles at me. “I like that. I must use that one. We're into diamonds. Mining in Africa. We need them shipped to various parts of the world.”
Diamonds.That is definitely a new one for us, and from Africa?
Jesus Christ, it has illegal written all over it. Africa has extremely strict laws with regard to their diamonds. Of course, they would. It’s their countries wealth.
This agreement here means we’d be smuggling those diamonds, and I’m sure as fuck they’re not going to be any old diamonds.
“What kind?” I ask. “What kind of diamonds are they?”
Dmitri smiles wider. “I see you are a man of taste. They are the kind that would draw a lot of attention if discovered we had them. We have a very sophisticated setup we’re proud of.”
I look at him and think about it all. Pa told me they’re offering a contract for one billion dollars. That’s to secure our services for five years, after which there will be an increase. It all sounds good, and we could do it.
The thing about our company that everybody wants is, they know we can bypass certain people and laws. We’re like pirates, and to say we own the seas is no underestimation. We actually do.
What gets me though is, sure we’re powerful in the sense of what we can do, but we’re the little guys in comparison to these people.
“Why us?” I ask. “You could pick anyone. We’re just humble criminals who’re good at making a buck.” Like fuck, I make us sound like we’re more honorable than we are. In actual fact though, we’re probably a lot more honorable than these guys.
In the Bratva, it’s always about who has the most money. It’s a different kind of greed. It’s heightened right here and now with me questioning a billion-dollar contract.
“You guys have the ability to smuggle any shit without being seen. We need efficiency, and sometimes small is good. Looks more legit. Especially when the feds have their eyes turned to prior alliances.”
Ah. There we go. That’s it. Makes sense now. “Didn’t work out with your other associates?”
“No. You and I both know that feds are not the best people to have on your ass.”
“Hear, hear,” I agree.
“So, what do you think?”
I draw in a breath. “Sounds like something we can help you with.”
