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“I knew you had your reasons. The media didn’t report any additional casualties from that robbery. You’re the Clan Chief now and have some huge shoes to fill. This conversation was inevitable, so I was willing to wait.”
I watch his fists clench as I share the sordid details of that night and what our father made me promise. “I haven’t figured out who he was referring to,” I admit. “It could be the Italians, the Russians, or even the other Irish Clan. Fuck, it can be some of our own clan. He said it’s not who I think. I don’t know what to believe. I can think of motives for every single one of those motherfuckers.”
“So until we know, they’re all the enemy,” he surmises.
“Exactly!” I signal the server to bring us both a pint of Guinness.
He bangs his fist on the table. I don’t question my brother’s loyalty, but I do question his readiness for all of this. Like the Italians, we have a hierarchy of rank within our clan, but unlike them, we don’t have the same structure or expectations. Two weeks ago, I moved up in rank to chief, which is equivalent to an Italian boss or don. Kai move up to the Clan Captain, similar to their underboss. Before now, my siblings were given minimum expectations in their roles other than to know what the individual roles of our clan were. Kai and I entered the military at the age of eighteen and progressed through special forces. This path was meant for all of my brothers, but in the end, our father decided not to force them to enlist. In addition to my military training and my added Krav Maga training, I have been groomed since the age of twelve to take over one day. I just never thought that day would come so soon. Our twin brothers, Flynn and Fergus, have been allowed to live a regular life above ground whereas Kai has contributed to our businesses without actually being on the dirtier side of the underworld. Aisling has been sheltered much like Aurora, and Callum has been allowed to focus on college. Our father relied on other Irish made men and his adviser to allow our family to have autonomy over their own lives as long as he could. Shite has to change now, and I know Kai realizes this too. We can’t trust anyone that’s not our immediate family.
“Have you spoken to Fergus, Flynn, or Callum?” Kai inquires.
“No. Not until we figure out our next move.” I wait until the server places our pints in front of us and walks off before I continue. “This is way bigger than you think, Kai. Whoever was behind this hit is responsible for Mom’s death too.” I was almost ten years old when my father sat me down and told me our mother had died in a car crash. Kai was almost nine. That was eighteen years ago, but we’re the only two of our siblings who were old enough to really remember her and our brief life in Dublin before we moved here to the US.
“Goddammit,” he swears. “Dad has been lenient with us as far as our clan duties, and they know it. How long had he suspected foul play? The sons in the Italian families are more prepared for this life than we are. We should have been brought in earlier and assumed our roles in more than just name. Dad had enforcers and button men, to name a goddamn few, to do everything. Where does that leave us now that we can’t trust any of them?”
“Fuck, Kai. Don’t you think this has been weighing on me? You and the others have been allowed to put your head in the sand on most of this shite that our clan is involved in. You can’t fault our father for wanting to shield his children from this shite as long as he could. Tell me, brother, what is it exactly that you think we do because I can tell you that extortion, drugs, and firearms isn’t the extent of it,” I retort.
“Enlighten me, then. I’m done putting my head in the sand.”
Kai knows all about the extortion aspect. He’s been a bodyguard to some of the most elite politicians and celebrities to gather intel for our clan that could be used as extortion. He’s been keeping a file of these secrets until their value would be most optimized. That time is near.
“I have something to show you first.” I purposely leave out that thissomethingis a test. I have to ensure that he is ready to take on all that comes with this role as the Clan Captain. I finish my beer and then stand. He follows suit.
“Why are you driving yourself and not using Dad’s caddie?” he asks as we approach my car. “Now that you’re chief, it’s probably not the best idea to go anywhere without reinforcements if the goal is to weaken us further,” he points out. I’m sure Oisín would agree with him.
I know he has a valid point. “Yeah, probably the same reason it was just Father and me that night without backup. He had some reservations about the people in our own clan—some of the soldiers. I hate that I didn’t question it then, but we never should have gone there without some sort of security. I thought he was just taking another opportunity for me to take lead … a lesson, you know.”
I grunt at my own stupidity. I don’t know what I could have said to make things play out differently for that decision, but I can’t help but still feel that I aided in getting my father killed. I keep that revelation to myself, though. We drive several miles until we’re outside the city at a warehouse I now own. I recently purchased it using untraceable means, including hiding it from our own clan.
“What is this place?” Kai asks as he follows me inside.
“A little piece of property I bought this week. Nobody knows it exists, not even our other clan members.”
The smell of fresh paint and waxed tiles permeate the air. This place has never been occupied and looks like any other commercial real estate with above board practices. Too bad this is not what this building will be used for. It’s meant to be an illusion —to blend in with the norm. It has the best biometric security installed that money can buy and synchronized with my phone. Kai follows me into one of the isolated rooms where a man hangs from the ceiling with his wrists tightly bound by rope. The guy stirs when we enter, his blood already dried in puddles on my new floor. I had to rough him up a bit before hanging him here. He’s lucky I had to get to a meeting with my brother.
I watch as Kai’s jaw go slack. He’s no stranger to violence given his occupation, but this is vastly different. I slide my handgun from the hidden holster on my hip and pass it to him. “Make him talk. This is one of the guys who have been trying to sell firearms in the local neighborhoods in our turf, yet he refuses to give up his source.”
Kai takes the gun, and I feel the hesitation. It’s small, but it’s there. “Who do you work for?” he asks, aiming his gun at the man, but he only spits on Kai as a response. That would have landed him a shot to the knee from me, but I let my brother play this out.
“Fuck you, arsehole. I’m not telling ya shite.”
“He’s fucking Irish,” Kai says after hearing the man’s accent. “You already tried to beat it out of him, didn’t you? He’s not going to give us shite.”
My siblings and I don’t have as strong of an accent as my father did or speak much of the language due to spending most of our years here in the US. We still managed to pick up bits of slang from our father, though—especially when we were mad.
I confirm with a nod. He’s finally catching on. His purpose here is clear. This piece of shite isn’t going to give us anything. Kai’s cleansing breath is audible around the enclosed empty room. This is his test. He walks up to the now squirming man, probably no older than twenty-five. Kai forces his mouth open with the gun and pushes it as far as it can go. The guy’s eyes widen as my brother pulls the trigger. The back of his head explodes as blood and brain matter splatters on everything in its surrounding. The echo is deafening. I wasn’t sure if my brother had it in him, but thank fuck he does.
“I know it’s quite different to take a life in order to protect one, but you ended that motherfucker without him being an immediate threat,” I surmise.
“He was a threat,” he rebuts. “Everyone that isn’t us is a threat until we find out who is with us and who’s against us. He was Irish, Lennon. That can’t be a coincidence. I never wanted to be part of the dirtier side of the business, so Dad relied heavily on you, but you don’t have to do this alone anymore. I’m here now, and I’m all in.”
“That’s all I needed to hear, little brother. Your gut and instinct have prepared you for this life more than you know, but I had to be sure. Fergus, Flynn, and Callum are a different story. Let’s not bring them into this underworld until we absolutely have to.”
“We have to tell them something, though. They need to be on alert that we’re being tested. We need to put a personal bodyguard with them.”
“I agree. I’ll call a house meeting and share that our parents were both murdered and that we suspect a play for power here. It’s important that they carry on with their normal lives so that our next moves are silent.”
We have the advantage since whoever is behind this thinks we’re oblivious. I’ve carried out murders that have been warranted in relation to our businesses, and I’ve checked on every operation. To anyone who may be looking, it’s business status quo. It appears as if I’ve assumed my father’s role and taken my rightful place as chief. Nothing amiss.
