With This Ring

By

Retta Michaels

Preface

Notes From Retta:

Dear Reader,

In a lot of my writing, I've never felt the need to write a preface. With this story, I want you to know what to expect. For me, the story is a mixture of a whole lot of truth and a whole lot of fiction.

For me to explain it, I must sit and tell you what my conceptual plans were for the novel

IN LIFE, we are not given a set list of directions and plans how to complete it. Some people don't like the unknown, so they don't take any foreign steps into different territories. With others, they know no structure.

Rather than having a nameless character out there who could sue the fuck out of me for even inferring they're a member of the mafia, I chose to go personal and use my own name. It's a lot less messy and a lot more friendly for my lawyer.

I am not a member of the mafia. I will not say I do not know a lot of the family members from several cities, but I am not a member myself.

I will state at one time I was with a man named Gino who headed a crime family. He's since passed and this story has been released with permission and editing done by his son who is still a dear friend of mine. (Thanks Dave.)

The names I've used in the story besides my own are fictitious. The names have been changed to protect everyone. Where names weren't important, I have not used them.

I have given enough references to who the person is so if you can read between the lines, you can see who they are. With that said, I will not say more about the characters.

The story is made up. It is totally fictitious. None of the incidents happened, and nothing of the sort ever occurred. If you choose to believe it did happen, and if you choose to believe it's true, then that's on you. I will state now if I receive an email asking me if such and such part is true, I'll be polite and refer you to the Preface and leave it at that.

The reason I'm writing this preface is because I want people to know when I write, I write fiction with an air of the style of writing used by the National Enquirer or the Sun. There's an air of truth in there someplace, but it's actually fiction. If you choose to believe it's truth, then do so...I've got about twenty acres of swamp land I'll sell you and someplace on that land is a complimentary Iphone. If you can find it, it's yours.

With that said, I'll now state the characters of this story will probably be used time and time again. I think I've found a niche in this style of writing. I'll tell you now, it's done in the style of Mack Bolan “The Executioner”, James Bond, or Scarface.

“With This Ring” is the first book of the saga. It shows how someone can go from leading a normal life wanting to lead a normal life to being thrown into a complex cast of characters which require him to be more and more of what he doesn't want to be.

I hope you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer:

If you are dumb enough to believe this story is true, please stop, shut off your computer, and go to the nearest mirror to repeatedly slap yourself back into reality. You'll thank yourself afterward, I assure you.

IF you are below the age of 18, please don't read the stories on here. Your presence jeopardizes those of us who do so legally.

Personal Disclaimer:

People, places, events, and locations in this story are fictitious. If you believe them to be true, please go to the first paragraph up under the disclaimer section and do so thrice.

Now, please enjoy.

With This Ring

Chapter Eleven:

When all my guys got up in the elevator, I told them there was food in the kitchen and to be sure to save some for the St. Louis people.

In the wink of an eye, fifteen pounds of chicken salad and five loaves of rye disappeared.

Beck took one look at everything disappeared and sent John on another food run to get the same amount for the next arrival.

As they ate, I came in and said, “Guys, here's what I want. When the guys from St. Louis get here. I want at least four of you close to me at all times. All of you are to have your weapons displayed and be ready to use them. Whatever you do, don't hit me!”

Some chuckling was heard, and then I said, “Miami guys. Those of you who have weaponry, have them displayed. Those of you who don't, I want you to be seen in the background and not seen...do you catch my drift?”

I heard affirmative replies and then said, “Those of you who do not know, this woman here is Beck. She's in with us. Her husband is in with us. Treat her with the respect you do any other guy because we're going co-ed. If you don't like that, then fuck you. If you don't like gays in our organization, double fuck you and bend over because I can guarantee you there are a bunch of you already who are gay.

One thing you will learn about me is I am and when my guy is here, he's to be given as much respect as you give me and none less. If you don't, well...let's just say it's not a healthy choice.”

Someone asked. “Does that mean we're going to be going into gay bars?”

“If we're not there already, yes. They're a business just like any other and they'll need our protection just the same. What I will do is I'll be discrete and I'll give you the choice if you want to go or not. Personally, I don't give a damn if you're gay, straight, or whatever. If you're doing a job, I expect you to be courteous to whomever. If I catch word anything's happened in a gay bar which is abusive to patrons, I will guarantee you what happens will happen to you when you're brought to trial.”

“What's trial?”

“Trial is what happens when you blatantly disregard the rules I set forth. Trial is what happens if you're disloyal and think you can run it better than me.

I'll tell you now. IF you think you can run it better than me, then I'll listen to your comments and if they're good and I see you're management potential, you'll be management.

If you're full of shit, I'll give you reasons as to why it won't work. If you think I'm full of shit, then tell me and I'll listen, but you better be prepared to call me on it and prove I am because it's going to piss me off hearing it.

In regards to trial. Ask some of the older Kansas City guys what happens in trials they've attended. If they've been around that long, they're going to tell you I can be pretty vicious to those facing judgement.”

“We've never had a trial here. People die.”

“Well, that's what happened under those guys. They died.

Rather than wasting the time to take them to trial, the choice was made to get rid of them. Now we're on a new day and we're under new management. One thing I will say is I'll be holding trials if you're slinging dope because I won't allow it.

If you're slinging, stop. If your income is such you think you've got to supplement, you come to me and we'll run numbers. I'd rather help someone instead of publicly embarrassing them.

I will, so don't cross me. If you think I'm not vicious, ask Beck here. Ask any of the old timers. They'll tell you I'm one who will come up with shit nightmares are made of. That trick with the freezer was mine. The trick with the sauna, and jacuzzi. That was someone else's. It involved cattle prods and a lot more devious shit.

What I've learned in regards to torture, I'll tell you now is some wicked shit. I've seen it all done and I've done a whole lot of it. It's not fun and it's pretty fucking messy. What I will say is somewhere in this body is a heart, but it's not present when I have to pull the shit.

At that moment, my whole concentration is on making sure whomever it is gets as much pain as they've got coming.”

Several of the guys said, “Rhette, from what I heard earlier, I'm not fucking with you. That's some sick shit.”

“It's got to be. This isn't Romper Room. The bullshit stopped when you pledged loyalty. I'm not going to ask you to do something I won't do personally. The problem is most of you real men don't have the guts to do it. I do.”

Beck came up and said, “Guys, Rhette here is a real sweetheart. I've met him and I like him to the point I'll probably name my first born after him.

What I heard come from him when he was dealing with that guy a moment ago is just beyond me it could be done to another human being. I'll tell you've I've read books and those things are what Indian (Native Americans) did to the settlers when our west was wild. I don't want to see it, but I'll probably help him if I see any one of you cross the line to where it's warranted. I think you probably will because you're going to love working under him.”

The phone rang telling me the St. Louis guys were getting on the elevator.

“Action stations. This is not a drill. Those guys that are coming up now are going to see a side of me they don't want to see. If you're ordered to shoot, then do so and I mean aim at heads. These people don't fuck around and I don't want to be seen as someone who will either.

If I say the phrase “I've got to make a point”, everyone pull your weapons and I want one thrown to me. I'll probably blow the fuckers head off myself in front of you.

What I don't want is thirty guns thrown at me. So, you there. If I say it, you throw yours. I'll catch it, but don't use a major league pitch.”

He smiled.

The door chimed telling me the elevator doors opened.

“Ok, here we go.”

I went to the door and opened it. There stood Michael. I greeted him and he held me close.

“What's going on?”

“You're about to find out.”

“Don't pull my city.”

“It's already decided, but none of them are going to get it.”

“Who is?”

“Someone no one knows.”

“What's to happen to me. You going to kill me?”

“Michael. Let's go to the library.”

As I moved, four of the guys moved with me.

“Guys, stand at the door. Little David. Jimmy. Have a stand. As you can see, this place was just opened today. There are no seats. We had to make a sudden departure from where our headquarters were.”

Michael and I went into the library. I told the guards. “If you hear a scuffle, you come in and kill him. I doubt if I'll live long enough to get a word out.”

Michael looked at me and said, “Not happening.”

“Never underestimate anyone.” I said to him with an icy stare.

He stepped inside and I did too. I shut the door and he turned. “Let's greet each other like we know we should.” he said.

“Michael. I'll greet you, but you know and I know our weaknesses. I'll fill you in, but don't attempt to pull any shit. I'm over you now and by the time we're through, I'll be asking for your pledge.”

“Holy fuck!”

“Yeah, so what we're going to do is because I've got Florida and Missouri and am soon to have Ohio, Texas, and Arkansas, I've got to put people in spots I know I can trust people.”

“You can't trust me in St. Louis?”

“Loaded question. I can trust you anywhere, but where do I need you is the question I had to ask myself. That answer unfortunately was Tampa.”

“Why?”

“Because it's undeveloped. The guy who was running it was disloyal and had to die. And, I need you down here.”

“Where are those fucks going?”

“Jimmy could go to hell along with his family and it'd not be a drop of sweat off my nuts. You know and I know what his family did to Gino and I'll not entertain the thought of giving them a speck of authority in this organization.”

“What happened to little John?”

“The way it's going is little John is setting things up so when he retires, I'm stepping in.”

“Why you?”

“Let's see. To be honest, I don't have a clue. What I will say is what he told me is if he appoints someone else, everyone gets jealous and they start wars.

Why not you? You can't even manage St. Louis! Why the fuck would he give you a country!”

“They don't make it easy.”

“No, but here's the difference between you and me. You never took the war far enough. Fuck, you never even went to war!

In regards to little David, there's only one fucking reason I entertain the thought of having him and it's because his dad saved my ex's life. In doing so, his dad indirectly saved my life. Because of it, I'm going to show him kindness. It's up to him to fuck it up, or it's up to him to make me proud of him.

In regards to his whole family, I'll tell you now I'm going to tell them to retire. If they don't, they'll die. It's that simple.

If they think they can take me on, I'll tell them like I'll tell you. Today, in my coffers I just brought in a hundred million for ordinance. Can you do that? Does St. Louis even have those funds at it's disposal? No. You know the truth and I do too.

Will I use them on St. Louis? IN a heartbeat. I'll kill back to babies and raise them all up to be loyal to me if need be.”

“What do you need from me?”

“Business wise, I need you to be in Tampa. I'll give you the city and I'll get you started. I'll give you the power to get things going but I want a growth rate of 40% each year for the first five years. For the next five years, I want a growth rate of a hundred percent. At that point, I'll step off your nuts.”

“Rhette, you've changed.”

“Life changed me. There was a time I was weak. Now, you don't know the weakness.”

“I knew Gino was your weakness. Is it your man?”

“Kill him and die, but I'll go on with nary a tear shed. You'll not get the privilege.”

He looked down and said, “I knew you felt for me once.”

“I did. You're an attractive man. There was a time I would have gladly licked your nuts to just get the honor. Will I now? You're beneath me! To do so would to give you the authority over me! I'm not going to fuck up in that manner.

What we could have had would have been if it had been different. There can't be nothing now because you're a family man and I'm not a home wrecker.”

“So there's not a chance.”

“No.”

“You know, there was only ever one guy who entered my mind to cause me to cross over and it was you. You're so fucking beautiful it's caused me to wonder if I was gay. I know I'm not. And, I know you're a weakness of mine. I'll move to Tampa if you'll assure me there will be no more moves.”

“I can do that.”

“Ok, now what are my guidelines?”

“You can not take anyone from St. Louis. If you attempt to do so, you'll be brought to trial. Your family can visit, but there are to be no extended visits. If there are, you'll see me at trial.”

“That's pretty restraining. You're going to deny me from giving my own sick mama care?”

“Parents can come. Your papa is dead, but your mama can come. Your brothers can not longer than a week at holidays, but three days at most per month.”

His eyes flared. My arms crossed. “Michael. Work with me on this. I'll work with you, but I'm not going to allow you to build up a support which isn't in your city to attempt to overthrow me. Don't look at it as you, but look at it as something I've got to do to everyone.”

“Ok, what else do you want from me?”

“Nothing business wise. Personally, I've got to ask a favor.”

“What is it. It's yours.”

“Your sister.”

“You can have her.”

“Fuck no!”

He chuckled. “Rhette, you could have me so fucking easily.”

“I can't and, I won't.”

“Not even for a moment?”

My anger surged forth. “Ok. Let's do it. You pull in your mama. You pull in your wife. And, you pull in your children and you put them as an audience and I'll do it. Then, you explain to them why you'd do it.”

“Oh”

“Yeah, it's what Gino faced. He had to face either it being me, or it being the whole fucking city. You know as well as I do it took up all his time. For it to work, I would have had to live it as sharing and never get the private time, or I had to stand firm and get the private time. He chose the city.”

“Oh Rhette, I'm so sorry.”

“Michael. You never knew. I never let it out and neither did he. They viewed him weak for letting me go, but I made it so it wasn't an embarrassment to him. For that, we held onto friendship.”

“I never knew.”

“No one did. Now you do and I'm stronger. What I'm asking for in regards to your sister is a loose end to be mended.

In that city jail, she went through with a wedding ceremony to my ex, Kevin. He believes they're married because of that ceremony.

I can not find anywhere it was ever recorded. If it was, she's a bigamist because she married and had kids with someone else.

What I do know is the last I knew she was prostituting herself for someone in the city.”

“What!”

“You didn't know?!”

“Fuck!”

“Well, she was. But, for the record, the man is now deceased. The other person is in prison for the rest of his life, so there's justice served.”

“I'll kill her!”

“Michael. Making Kevin a widower isn't going to shut it down in his mind he was married to her. What it will do is it will probably fuck him up more mentally than what she's already done.”

“When did this happen?”

“The wedding?”

“Yes.”

“Sometime when Kevin was in the workhouse. The murder he did was in 1980. He didn't go to prison until April of 1982. Sometime in that time period, it happened.

What I do know is Big David and Kevin were cellies. If you study that time period and find out when Big David went down, you'll probably narrow it down.”

“Big David was involved?”

“She was visitting Big David as his niece.”

“Oh fuck. That means she was passing him information.”

“Probably. Now, Kevin met her out of the streets. They lived together.”

“What's Kevin look like?”

“Back then? He was a twig looking of a kid that was skinny as a rail with black hair and gray eyes.”

“Cute?”

“To die for cute.”

“Looks like Emilio Estevez?”

“I've heard it more than once, but I never saw it. Yes.”

“Ok, I know where they lived. She was way older than him.”

“Yes, but I know what she saw in him.”

“What?”

“His personality is one that draws people to him more than your looks. For a lover, what keeps them is the way he treats them. I always knew he could break me into pieces, but he treated me like fine china.”

“Oh, so he's a Casanova.”

“Mixed with Valentino and delivered better than anyone could imagine.”

“You're still in love with him!”

“I always will be! It's not that which caused me to end things.”

“What caused it?”

“It's personal. Read my fucking books if you want to know.”

“You write!”

“RettaMichaels look it up on the internet. You'll probably see yourself in there someplace.”

“Don't.”

“Too fucking late. You meant something to me once but it couldn't be. I can write fantasy and I have.”

“Oh.”

“Michael. In regards to your sister prostituting herself, don't hold it against her. You threw her away so she had to live life as she could.”

“She was a crack whore!”

“And?.....She's your blood for chrissake! You treat your blood better! Well, I treat my blood better, but you throw them away. They go out and sell your secrets to your enemies and then, they marry boys who are going to prison and fuck with their heads. While they're in prison, they get married, have kids, lose those kids, and then prostitute themselves because they're your blood.

BUT, I'll tell you this. The whole time I shared an apartment with her, I never touched her. She was treated well and believe me, she tried to bed me.”

“What stopped you?”

“She wasn't YOU!”

He stepped forward and hugged me.”

“At that time Michael. I needed you. At that time, I was so fucking weak I could have been whatever to you just to be a part of your life. I'm stronger now. I've got purpose.”

“Rhette. I would have given it up for you. Don't you see?!”

“You say that, but the first time your kids would have said 'Daddy come home”, I would have been the bitch who fucked your world up.”

“The fantasies I had about you ruled my world. You don't know it, but I drove to see you....just to get a glimpse of you. You were in college and I'd go there just to see you from a distance.”

“I knew. I was told. I had it in my mind if you wanted me, you were going to have to stand in front of me and say it. NOW you're saying it and it can't be.”

“FUCK!”

The door opened and I yelled, “SHUT IT! ONLY ENTER UNLESS I SAY SO!”

He smiled and said, “Sorry.”

“This is personal. It's sad, but it can't be. Maybe some day, but not today. You were the weakness I had. Right now, you're a weakness I have, but I've got to be more. I've got to build an organization and I've got to have people where I need them.”

“Who'd going to be over Miami”

“Dave”

“Dave! He's here!”

“He's in the hospital.”

“What's happened to him!”

“An assassin tried to take him out.”

“Is he ok?”

“Not right now, but I have to hope.”

“Who's with him?”

“Little John”

“Oh Christ. You don't think twice about pulling out the big guns do you!”

“He's a friend.”

“Don't trust him. He's got more people in my city than I even know.”

“Eighty people.”

“That many? Fuck!”

“Michael. It could have been managed better.”

“No it couldn't!”

“I would have done it differently. You chose to grow your flowers with weeds. I would have used weed killer.”

“Is that what you're going to do?”

“If need be, yes. In a heartbeat. They'll be ordered to retire and if they don't, they'll be brought to trial. When it happens, I'll do what I intend and I'll kill them all.”

“What about the Michaels?”

I gave him a look like he should already know that answer. “Jimmy is the only one I'm going to have near me.”

“Why him?”

“Two reasons now. One, little John thinks he can be trusted. Two, the man is queer as a belle. When he just walked in, my gaydar went off the chart. You couldn't tell?”

“I don't like him. You're gorgeous. He's nothing in your realm. Where you're a ten, he's a fraction.”

“Thank you.”

“Rhette, when I was having the thoughts about you. I'd see you and I felt like a volcano was within me. Even now, I see you and there are parts of me that tell me that if I don't put the feelings to voice, I'll lose you forever and I'm tired of living like this.”

“Since I've been back in the picture, I've been told by several people the same thing. I've been told all of you were too weak to tell me what you were thinking. One of them was Gino's own man! He's now one of my leaders, but I wanted him just like I wanted you. Well, I wanted you even more so, but both of you were too weak when I needed you to step up to the plate.

Now, I don't need you in that way and you've got nine kids. The other guy is still single, but even he doesn't cause me to want to do anything with him. I'm in a relationship where I'm happy. The guy is out in the open and he's going to be there for me without making me feel guilty and making me share.

With you, the way I see it, I'm not going to take you away from your little ones. By the time they're old enough to understand, I'm going to be raising my own.

Whatever happens in this life, if one of my kids ever looks at yours like we did each other, let's not stand in their way. Let's let the blood mingle and be happy it happened even though it wasn't us.”

Tears stung my eyes and I turned around to look into the fireplace. He came up and hugged me. “Rhette, I'm sorry.”

“I'm sorry too.” Tears started and I turned around and hugged him. “It can't be, and I can't let it. All I can say is maybe someday, but if I ever need you it's going to be thing where I'm going to be really hurting because Steve's dead. With him, it's going to be 'til death do us part' and I'm going to fulfill those vows I've made to him.”

He kissed me on the lips, “Holding you like this is so many fantasies coming true.”

“Don't. Don't make it more complicated than it is.”

“I can't help myself.”

“One of us has to be strong. I'll do that.” I stepped back and said, “Michael, here's what I'm going to do. You're going to get Tampa. Go and make me proud. I need you to swear to me and I've got to have it otherwise, you're going to have to die.”

He fell to my knees and kissed my ring and my whole hand. “Babe, if you want me, I'll be there whenever, wherever, and it's not that ring which gets me there. It's the thought I'll be a part of your life and will finally be happier than I've ever been.”

“Michael. I need the pledge.”

“You have it. I put you above all others. I put you above family and all my other allegiances. I put you into my heart and I put you there with hope for the future.”

“Michael. I'll take that as your pledge, but why the fuck couldn't you do that when you were stalking me? You would have had me.

Now, here's what is going to happen. Because I'm an honorable man, I'm going to do you the favor no one else is ever going to get from me.”

“What's that?”

“How old is your first born son?”

“Fourteen, why?”

“You had daughters before him?”

“Five, why?”

“Your son is going to come forward. When I take the country, I'm going to groom him for New York. He's going to be given the best and I'm going to give you my solemn vow on it.”

“You will!”

“You've gotten more from me in this room than a lot of people have in years. That kiss broke a piece of my heart I swore you couldn't have. Our conversation is one I told myself we'd never have, but now I know what's between us.

If there comes a day, and Lord help me when that day comes, I'll give you that part of me. If you disappoint me, I'm going to kill you and leave you where you lay.”

“That's your right. I've given you my heart, my loyalty, and my pledge.”

“I want so much more than that at that time. I'll want your love.”

He nodded and said, “The thought it can possibly be is so much more than I've allowed myself to think.”

“When it happens, we're going to be pariahs. You do know that, don't you?”

“I do. I've looked at my wife and I've thought, but you know I should have never married her.”

“You've made mistakes. We all do.”

I turned and then went to the bookcase. “Give me Kevin's mind back and I'll thank you in ways you've never imagined. You don't know what it's been like to be with someone and to love him and to know he's married to someone's sister whom you'd take over him.”

“Really!”

“I loved Kevin with all of my being, but there was a part of me who knew she could come back and get that back from him what she gave.

He's like that. His word is his bond. He would have fulfilled his vows to her and I would have been history. I know it.”

“I wouldn't have let it happen. I'll do some checking. I'll find her and see what happened. IF she never filed the papers, then I'll call him and take her to him to let her tell him face to face.”

“No. Your influence will only screw with his head. You don't realize it, but he'd see you and know the feelings I had for you and do what it took to put us together. He's been told!”

“Why'd you tell him?”

“Michael. In order to give myself to him, he had to know anything I felt towards anyone.

When I told him, he acknowledged knowing you and meeting you. He acknowledged your attractiveness and your draw.”

“I don't see it.”

“I don't either, but I know I have it as do you! You use it and you've used it as a weapon. You were the one wgi could have took down Kansas City! And that was through me! NOT those motherfuckers out there! And not his family!”

“I wouldn't have done it. Gino was an honorable man.”

“Yes, but for you, I probably would have been the weakness. I know it, and as much as I know it, I had to lock it away. BUT, it's always been there.”

He looked at me and said, “Let's live life and hope it happens. The words you just spoke anger me. I know they're from your heart, but they anger me.”

“Because I told you the truth. I've had to tell you other truths and it's what we've got between us.”

“What are you going to do with little David?”

“Little David has to be watched really closely. I can tell you things and know once I tell you, you'll do them. With him, I've got to have someone guard him and even then, I've got to put surveillance on him.

What I'm doing with him is when we go into Ohio, I'm going to put him there. Why? Because although there's strength there, there's not enough ordinance to blow a block up much less fight against what I've got.

Speaking of ordinance, what does St. Louis have?”

“Nothing. We've got two houses which are safe houses and altogether, we've got about five thousand weapons in that arsenal. One is in south city and the other is out in the county.”

“West County?”

“Yeah. If they were up North, they'd've been stolen. You've got gangs there which are going to be a problem.”

“Wrong.”

“How are you going to handle them?”

“Their strength is they know their strength. Their weakness is their strength.”

“What?”

“What you don't know is I'm pulling in women. I'm pulling in color and I'm pulling in gays, straights, and I'm pulling in anyone who wants to be.”

“It will fail.”

“Bullshit. It's never been done! Everyone is too worried about what will happen to ever have given it a chance! What you don't know is those gangs have leaders who are going to be underlings when they join up.

Their code gets sworn over. Their code will have them all dying when we take them to trial. What you don't know is there are those who want to live. They'll live and I'll protect them. No one will fuck with them because my word is more than what they've been told.”

He looked at me and asked, “How are you going to make it work?”

“We're expanding in ways you have no clue. I'm going to be flying into Tampa and we're going to go out and I'm going to be speaking to your guys and you're going to be blown away at the ways we're moving.

What you don't know is we're at a point now we've got no choice but to grow. Our incomes coming in from Kansas City, Las Vegas, and Miami are such we're going to be investing in things which are going to compound that.”

“What are you going to do for St. Louis?”

“First of all, I've got to go sit down with Ford, GM, Chrysler, and tell them we're going to work together. What I'll tell them is if they want to pull those factories, then I'm going to put a factory in there which is going to become the one I will only finance through our inner bank.”

He looked shocked and said, “Man! I wish you were over it when they were hassling me.”

“You could have done it.”

“Little John doesn't give me the authority!”

“Bullshit. I asked for it and got it! Furthermore, I called Chicago and told them unless they wanted war, they were going to give me the city. Memphis got a call too, but they told me you were a bastard child to them, so good riddance!”

He smiled and said, “Memphis and I have had words. His son wants to marry my daughter. My daughter went out once with him and thought he was worse than a pig.”

“Tell her my brother is moving to Miami. He's hot and he's single and although he's a rounder, he's got a heart as good as gold. He's going to be working for a trucking company down here, but when we get the port opened up in South Carolina, he'll be over all trucking up there and will have his own company.”

“You're opening a port?”

“With my own funding. Yes.”

“You've got that much money!”

“Billion and Billions of dollars. Yes.”

“That's going to cost more than that.”

“We're self building it. No contract will be outside of my organization.”

“It sounds like it could work.”

“Don't doubt me. This is going to be so much bigger than it's ever been you're going to be amazed.”

“What are you going to do differently?”

“If I told you, you'd think me the fool because everything loses money as it is now. But, I don't have enough time to get into the explanation. As it is, you're cutting into my visit time with David and I've got to get these meetings moving.”

“Why this apartment?”

“It sucks, doesn't it.”

“Yes. I've not seen it all, but I'd not bought it.”

“It was a gift. Within the next few weeks, it'll be gutted and made presentable. We've only been in it a few hours.”

“Already there are holes in walls?”

“I put them there to see if there was anything to stop bullets. There isn't.”

“Oh man, that means it's all got to be taken out!”

“Yes.”

“Rhette, can I tell you something?”

“Yes.”

“My wife is a lesbian.”

“Huh?”

“Yes.”

“Then why all the fucking kids!”

“It's expected.”

“Michael sell that shit to someone who believes it. Two kids are plenty. Three are too many when it's that way. Nine is insanity.”

“Every time we thought we were getting scrutinized, we'd have another. Word got out I was going to see you and we had two kids because of it.”

“What a dumb ass. I'm sorry, but you want to get angered when I tell you the truth, but that's beyond not right with me. I told you things which affected our cities, not our households. You brought those problems into your house!”

“I didn't know until after my son was born. She didn't even tell me. I found her in bed with another woman!”

“What happened?”

“She begged me to give her a divorce, but I told her no.”

“Here's what we're going to do. The Cardinal is a member of your family, right?”

“Yes, you know he is.”

“Then you go speak to him. You get an annulment and you let her live her life.

You give her the freedom to choose. You're standing here talking about leaving her for me, but you are so selfish as to not give her freedom when she begs for it. You've imprisoned the woman in your household emotionally with children. You've gotten concessions from me which now have me regretting I gave you a moment's thought.

If you think you'd have had me in her position, you are nuts. Yes, I would have gladly put myself there for you, but I sure wouldn't have stayed as a prisoner under no man.

You do that because so help me Michael, I can not and will not respect a thing you are, nor ever will be until you do that. We're Italians, but we're not wardens!”

He nodded and said, “I feel bad.”

“You should feel bad. You're still committing the sacrilege. I'll not have it.

If she deems you to have the kids, then you bring them to Tampa. I'll provide a woman who will raise them. Your family can if you want, but they're not to be used to gather strength! Don't do it for me, and I'll let you have what you need.”

“I'm sorry if I've upset you.”

“I'm upset because you set a double standard. Women aren't possessions where we keep them under bonds of any sort. We don't do it to each other, and we sure as hell shouldn't do it to those we claim to love.”

“I'll get home and tell her. I'll leave the decision up to her.”

“Use this promotion as your excuse if need be. Have her and yourself tell your family that's what it is. If you want, tell the truth but at the same time, you tell the truth about yourself so you're not using her to be a martyr.”

“I'm not going to do that. I'm not gay for anyone other than you.”

“IF they know now, they'll deal with it when it happens...if it happens. What I won't settle to see is you getting remarried and then counting on you to keep your word to me.”

“So I'm to wait?”

“You'll be too busy building a city!”

“Can we have each other when you come to visit?”

“As friends. I'm not going to break my bond with Steve for you. You've been told.”

“I'll wait.”

“If you do, or you don't, it's your choice. Be happy and I'll accept it either way.”

He nodded and said, “Thank you.”

“You'll thank me when your conscience is clear.”

He left the room and I went out behind him.

“Little David”

Little David stood up and I said, “I'll need my guards in the room with me for you. I don't trust you.”

Little David gave me a look that could melt diamonds he was so pissed.

“Be pissed, you're going to be when I tell you what I've got to tell you.”

We stepped into the room and my guards took defense in between us.

“They're in here because one of my most trusted got attacked yesterday. If I can't trust someone, I'm not going to be laying in a coma for you.”

“What do you have to say?”

“I'm now over St. Louis. I was before you all got down here. The power was handed over yesterday.”

“I'm not the head, so what am I here for?”

“Because there are factions in St. Louis which you are a head. You know it as well as I do. I'm not stupid.”

“Ok, so you don't trust me and I'm here.”

“Right. The reason YOU are here is because of one person and it's not you. Your father is the reason you're here.”

“He's dead.”

“And my loyalty lies with him for what he did.”

“What was that?”

“When your father was in the county jail, he befriended my ex lover Kevin. You know as well as I do Michael's sister was selling information to the man.”

“I know no such thing.”

“Bullshit. I have the proof and I can verify it if I should ever take your ass to trial. You drove the car. You gave her the money. You took her to the places where she gathered the information. They viewed you as inconsequential, so they let you in while she gathered information. One of the places was St. Peter's Basilica, you want me to go on? Because I sure as hell have the information memorized and I've got the witness statements to nail your ass on it should I need to do it.”

“I'm denying it.”

“Ok, deny it. It's water under the bridge. Go back to St. Louis. Your use to me isn't happening, so fuck you.

Tell your family to either retire or be killed. Let them know I'll kill them all the way back to birth. Your family won't ever be a threat to me.”

He looked at me and said, “You have no clue what you're fucking with!”

“I don't? Let's see. The family you represent has five generations and all their branches in the city. I know addresses, phone numbers, names, dates of birth, social security numbers, schools, colleges, and I know the order I will begin killing.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to shut the fucking attitude down. I'm trying to give a fucking gift and all I've gotten from you was a lie.

Michael now knows and believe me, he's calling in Tammy to get the information. Should Tammy die before her information is given to him, you will be brought to trial. He's not going to be in the city, so it doesn't matter...or it shouldn't matter to him anyways, so you're safe.

He has to have my approval to take you to trial and I won't give it because it doesn't serve my purpose. “

“What do you want from me in return?”

“First of all, I want the truth. I want to know what happened and I want to know what the information was. Believe me, I've heard what it was, but I want to hear you affirm it.”

“Why?”

“Because you just received a threat that I'll kill your family. Those involved in this information will be brought to trial. You will testify and I expect it.”

“What's it matter to you?”

“What's it matter to me! Where the fuck's your brain? Don't you know who the fuck I am!?”

“I know who you are.”

“Then you also know Gino got lied to DURING A TRIAL! You hold that evidence. Tammy holds that evidence! Your father gathered it for Gino. HE'S DEAD!”

“It was Gino's war.”

“It's mine to be.”

He looked at me with fright.

“You're going to kill them!”

“Every one of them who's still alive.”

“Why?”

“Because they've lived since that trial when they should have died. Because they lied under oath and brought embarrassment to those whom they pledged loyalty...and all those above them and beneath them...to even those who have been born into your family.

They walk around with boastful pride and they want to claim heirs and titles of being in our organization of which they know would certainly get them banned if it became open.

Am I going to do that? Fuck yes! Because I am loyal to Gino's memory.”

“Gino knew!”

“Gino knew and he was too old to take up the war. He didn't want his son to die. Now, I'm picking up that war and I'm going to use my power to get them out of my organization.”

He looked at me and said, “Tammy knew Michael had talked to Big Jimmy. Big Jimmy wanted Michael to support him when he went to Kansas City. He wanted Kansas City because he knew Michael wasn't ever going to let him have St. Louis and he knew he'd never be able to win it.

For Michael's support, he thought he'd be able to subvert Gino and get the city. Michael didn't support him. He told Big Jimmy to get the fuck out of his house and he didn't want a part of it.”

“I know it and why.”

“Tammy knew Big Jimmy was bringing back tokens of what he was doing to Michael. Big Jimmy had names of people who were working with him and he had proof he'd paid the men. Back then, Super 8 film was still available and Big Jimmy had reels of film which he'd set up and filmed the pay offs and transfers of funds.

Big Jimmy had everything all the way down to guys who were the gatekeepers for those tunnels. He had a lot and it was all paid for.

“I know. If you remember, I was at the trial. I killed several of those people myself. I cut more than ten hands off and I crushed more than fifty.”

“Right, but Gino couldn't get proof Big Jimmy was involved.”

“All we had was hearsay. No one would come forward and when Gino would press people, they'd clam up and rather die than tell what they either did, or knew.”

“Right.”

“Tammy came to me and told me what proof Michael had. She got me the proof and I watched the tapes and I photocopied the checks or bank drafts.”

“I know that.”

“You sure know a lot.”

“My ex lover was your father's celly. Your father had Tammy marry him to keep him from having to testify against her. The only thing is the Marriage License wasn't ever recorded.”

“It was, it's recorded in St. Charles county.”

“Why?”

“They were in Gumbo when the marriage happened. Gumbo is in St. Charles county. Didn't you know that?”

“It's coming back to me that Kevin and your father were moved to Gumbo because they were afraid of sniper fire being able to kill your father from the roof of the Kiel Auditorium. I'm remembering now.”

“It's recorded.”

“Kevin thought it would be recorded in St.. Louis county. That's where I looked. Now I know Tammy is a bigamist.”

“She got a Mexican divorce.”

“Where?”

“Mexicali. We went out there in 1991 when she was going to marry that guy. She knew Kevin wouldn't ever agree, so she wanted to keep it quiet.”

“What month?”

“It was early June”

“Let me make a phone call. I want to get that proof.”

“It's not going to matter, so I'll agree to that.”

I dialed Kevin. “Hi!”

“I don't have long to talk, but your divorce was granted in Mexicali in June of 1991. I'm standing here with little David and he told me he took Tammy out there to get it.”

“Really!”

“Yeah, so go get the proof.”

“It'll have to be Wednesday.”

“I'll provide the plane and whatever it takes. You're free.”

“Thanks. You don't know what this means to me.”

“I do. That's why I'm asking the questions I am. Now, I've got to continue this meeting, but I had to let you know. Little David said he'd give you his word if you needed it.”

“That's fine. Tell him thanks.”

“Ok”

I snapped shut the phone and said, “Kevin said to tell you thanks.”

Little David smiled. “He's a good kid.”

“Yeah, but what pisses me off is you, Tammy, your dad, and everyone else used him and could have gotten him a lawyer to get him out of there, but it didn't serve your purpose.”

“My dad said let him be.”

“Your dad was a selfish man. He wanted a friend in prison more than he wanted another person to have their freedom.”

“Fuck you!”

“My words are the truth and you know it. So fuck you back asshole!”

“Is this why I'm down here?”

“No, the reason you're down here is to swear loyalty to me. If you don't give it, your whole family dies. I promise that.”

“What happens if I give it?”

“Then you live and I put you into management training to take over a family in Ohio when it comes open.”

“Under you?”

“Yes.”

“Why not little John?”

“One second.”

I flipped open my phone and called little John. “Hello?”

“Where are you?”

“In your elevator coming up, why?”

“Ok, well, I'll wait. I've got little David in the library with me and he wants to know why he's to pledge loyalty to me instead of to you.”

“Hold on a second. I'm at the front door now. How do I get into the library. Step forward about ten feet and the door on your left.”

“This place sucks.”

“Yes. It does that.”

“Who put the holes in the walls?”

“I did.”

He stepped through the door and I snapped shut my phone.

“I'm not talking to you on this damned thing with you in the room.”

He smiled and said, “Why'd you put the holes in the walls?”

“To see if there was anything in there which would stop a bullet. There's not.”

“I was going to tell you it needs gutted and redone.”

“Thank God because it was going to get it anyway! But sure can't be done on fifty grand.”

He laughed and turned to little David. “The reason you're swearing loyalty is because I'm retiring. It's to remain a secret, but rather than have a war happen between everyone, I'm going ahead and having everyone swear to little Gino so he has troops and so many people on his side there's not a war.”

“That doesn't normally happen, does it?”

“No, but it's not normal we pull someone in who is not thought of in line for it. They're all going to be surprised and they're going to be mad. Rather than have that, I'm doing it this way.”

He turned to me and asked, “Now, what are you going to be doing for him?”

“I was in the process of telling him. We had a little meeting before so I could get the truth about what happened with the Michaels bunch and Gino. He told me and I'm hoping he sees because I'm asking before I swear him in that I'm taking it as a matter of trust, he'll testify if need be at the trial.”

Little John nodded and said, “Little David, here's what I'll tell you from me to you. Your father to me. Your father to my father. You hold the evidence and you know as well as I it's allowing a whole bunch of people to continue in this organization rather than face what they brought on themselves.

Why you are covering for any Michaels is beyond me. Is it because you are guilty of something?”

“Fuck no!”

“Then is it some other subvert plot against Gino you had hatched?”

“NO!”

“Then why protect someone who is a thorn in your side?”

“Because my knowledge incriminates me and my dad using Tammy to steal from Michael.”

Little John said, “Is Michael here?”

“Yes, I've already spoken to him.”

“And what does he say?”

“He's more pissed at finding out about Tammy prostituting herself than he is with anything she's done to him. I think if he were guilty, he'd be upset, but everything I know, he's not guilty at all.”

“Ok, so if we brought Michael in and had him tell you this, would you agree to testify?”

“Yes.”

“Go get him!”

I opened the door and said, “Michael, we need you in here.”

Michael looked at me strangely and I said, “It's ok, we just need you to say something.”

“For him?”

Michael entered the room and I said, “Ok, when we were in here, I spoke with you about Tammy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, little David here used Tammy to get the information from you that Big Jimmy gave to you. He read it, he watched it, and he photocopied it and he got that information to his dad in jail.”

“Ok”

“Now, are you going to hold it against him if we go to trial on that information?”

Michael turned to little David and said, “Come here.”

Little David stepped forward. Michael embraced him and said, “IF it's what you've been afraid of, let it go. Give Rhette the peace he needs to avenge Gino's memory. It's only right. I'll testify myself if it's what it takes to keep harmony in this family.

What you don't know is I've just been given Tampa. He's assured me you're going to receive a city yourself, so keep him happy and work with him.”

“Really?”

“Thanks a fucking lot Michael.”

Michael smiled and said, “Rhette, carrots make better bait in front of a mule than horse shit. All they understand when they see it is yesterdays lunch.”

I laughed and said, “Little David, I'm not mentioning a thing about anything until I get your word and your pledge. Nothing gets given until I get.”

Little David said, “I'll get you the information and evidence. I have it all.”

Michael smiled and said, “Good, I was afraid it was gone.”

“Michael, that's all we needed. Stick around because you and I need to talk in a moment. While you're at it, go find a woman in there named Beck and introduce yourself to her.”

“Why?”

“Do it.”

Little John said, “Little David, this is making Rhette's day longer. What you don't know is David is in the hospital laying near death. Rhette is putting all of this before going there himself. Let him get finished so he can get there.”

Little David looked shocked and said, “What happened to David?”

Little John turned to me and said, “You're not telling people?”

“Not anyone. The less who need to know he's vulnerable the better. I'll not have anyone attempting to kill him again.”

“Ok, I'm sorry.”

“You didn't know. We'll get back on the same page, and then we'll be fine.”

“Ok, I'm going to go take a look around this place. If you ask me, it sucks.”

I chuckled and said, “Yeah. While you're at it, go meet Beck in the kitchen.”

“What's so special about her?”

“You'll be meeting the woman who's going to be our first head of a city.”

“Really!”

“Yeah, she's that good. Her husband is the fire chief, and he's nice, but she's amazing.”

“I'll go meet her then.”

He went out and little David said, “You're bringing in women?”

“Your mother wasn't afraid to spank your ass, was she?”

“No.”

“Then why assume a woman won't be afraid to kill you.”

“Oh.”

“We're bringing in women, minorities, gays, straights, and anyone who wants to be a member. We're growing in ways you won't believe and sooner than not, the hospital in your town, the insurance you use, possibly the car you drive are all going to be owned by us.”

“That's going to be big!”

“Yeah, but there's a whole lot more planned than that.”

“Ok, so you want me to pledge?”

“Yes.”

“What happens to my family.”

“I'm going to tell them all to retire. IF they don't, they'll be brought to trial and I'll kill them.”

“Why?”

“I don't want the hassle and I don't want the war which is going to happen. Your people have all got it stuck in their minds they're entitled to the city when Michael leaves. Well, he's leaving and I'm in charge.

The guy I'm putting in charge for St. Louis is of the new management style. You'll be trained in the new style, but the old days are over. We're moving forward and we can't have time to fight wars if we're going to attempt to make life better. Rather than do it, I'll go nuclear and kill everyone.”

“What if some of them are good?”

“Can I trust them?”

“Let me speak to them.”

“What I'll do is I'll let you speak to them. I'll let them make the choice, but they've got to decide and all pledge to me even down to the littlest of children have to pledge.

They've got to be raised knowing I'm their leader and they've got to be know it without question because I'll tell you now, I'll fill a grave yard before I'm secure with your brewd.”

“What caused this?”

“All the fighting, infighting, faction fighting, and little bombs in cars. It's went on since the 1940's and it's time it ended.

I've got a hundred thousand men under me. About two hundred are infighting. Does it matter to me if they disappear off the face of the planet? No, because I'm too busy with everything else.”

“We've not done anything in a long time. My dad's death. The truce with Michael. The death of my uncle and grandfather all stopped that.”

“Will you lay down your life for me based upon them?”

“Yes.”

“Then what I'll do is I'll give you Dayton. You can take them with you, and I'll move everyone, but the moment they give me an ounce of trouble, I'll be in with my people to exterminate the whole bunch of you.”

“Who's getting St. Louis?”

“No one you know.”

“I was worried. Part of me saw you put Michael in front of me and little Jimmy behind me. You could double cross me and get me out of the way and give little Jimmy the whole fucking city.

You are a Michaels.”

Anger exploded from me. “Listen up. I am not one of THOSE Michaels. Those Michaels embarrass me.

For their actions, I'm planning a trial to kill them. For what they did, I'm going to keep one and throw away the others because little John told me I could trust him. That's the only reason I'm keep ing HIM. Even then, I'm not putting the fucker in any authority because his kind don't deserve it.

What I'm doing with him is I'm killing the bunch. I'm raising the children up to hate their name and love mine. I'm sharing mine and giving them a new source of pride.

As far as a double cross, if it were within me to prove myself, to you or anyone else, I'd do it, but you're now to give your pledge and to know what I say is my honor, loyalty, and pride.

You get your family behind me and I'll be happy. If you can't, you'll know what little Jimmy will know and that's orphanship.”

“I'm sorry.”

“You pissed me off? You're forgiven. I'd not be trusting either. There are changes happening and you're only shown promises.

The mere fact we're in Miami should tell you something. I've been given this city. I've been given Tampa. Michael was just given Tampa. You're getting Dayton. That should tell you something because I'm being given Ohio. Texas, Arkansas, and I've been given all of Missouri.”

“Wow!”

“Yeah, besides that, we've got that port out in San Diego, the hotel/casinos in Las Vegas, and recently, we've been given a part of South Carolina with Charleston working as a little sister.

By the time this is over, I'll have the United States.”

“Ok, so our family will finally have a city.”

“IF you can keep it. AN ounce of trouble, none of you will have a thing except a grave yard plot.”

“You won't have any problems.”

“Here's a point I'm going to tell you.

You're all going to be outsiders in Dayton, but I'm going to give you the same demand I gave Michael for Tampa.

For the first five years, I expect 40% growth in your membership roles. For the following five years, I expect a hundred percent growth.”

“Per year!”

“No, for the whole fucking five year period.”

“Oh, ok”

“You've got a military base there. You've got a police force there which is awesome in strength. You've got a lot of problems in a city and you've got a city which has got more divisions than St. Louis.

There are interstates cutting the city into so many strips, it's pitiful. You've got a river which runs through it. You've got university police and you've got a bunch of governmental workers. All of those are well into the grain of that city. It's a fucking mine field and I know that. You've got to thread the needle and what I know is I know the chances of you messing up are going to be great.

What I'll do for you there is I'm going to be cultivating Ohio like a bunch of nuns at a Catholic convention because that's how many cherries you're going to get....none.

Rather than set you up for failure and then say “Go get'em”, I'll come in and work it with you. Believe me, it's going to take work.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Here's what we do have. We've got unions. We've got our workers, and we've got minorities, single mothers, and under privileged. All are begging to be a part of something which is growing and not going to put their kids in homes, detentions, or prisons. Things which will give those kids leadership skills, useful skills, and skills which don't take them away, but take them up.”

“Wow, that's a speech.”

“It's the fucking truth. Let me ask you this.

If you're a single mom who has five kids at home and a welfare check which has turned to workfare and it's about to shut off because the government has a cap on it, what are you going to do when it happens?”

“I don't know. Get a job?”

“Fuck no. Who are going to watch the kids?

If I'm working to pay a babysitter, then why the fuck will I work?”

“I don't know.”

“I'm not. What I'll do is I'll talk to Mary Jo down the way in the project which has a fur coat, lots of clothes, and plenty of cash how she's doing it.

When Mary Jo tells me she's selling crack, I'm going to start doing it too because obviously, she's not gotten caught and I want the same for my kids.”

“Ok, so what then?”

“Well, what happens when we go in and do the drug take downs and take away the crack? Meth? Pot? Cocaine? And heroin? What's going to happen to those people?”

“I don't know.”

“They're going to find another drug. They're going to find another way to make the money. Those kids are going to come up being raised it's ok, and they're going to do it too.

What I'm saying is not one fucking person has learned a trade. Not one person has learned a skill which gets them out of the mess. Not one person is getting ahead.

All they're getting is screwed because the government doesn't want to hear it. The caseworkers don't have the time, and the police who are arresting them aren't really interested what's happening to them after they've been booked except when they're released on bond and have to make that bond money up doing God only knows what.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We're going to buy a hospital. We're going to open our own vo-tech which will have a slower set curriculum which assures them they're going to graduate. We're going to give them good paying jobs and we're going to lift them up looking for leaders and promoting those leaders into our ranks.”

“Cool”

“Yeah it's cool because I'll tell you now if you put your ass out there next to a black mama who has something to gain and nothing to lose, she's going to grind your ass into the ground showing you she's a better mafia head than you.

She's going to use her connections to get her roles up, and she's going to lift her people and teach her sons and daughters it's all about believing in themselves. Those kids are the next leaders and what you're going to see is a whole generation coming up who put pride, honor, loyalty, and respect foremost so much your family is going to look pathetic.

So why do I think you can go? Because I know I'm going to have so many fucking leaders coming up I'm afraid for my own job!”

“Then why let them?”

“Why the fuck not! To me, it's about the money! To me, it's about the chance our organization is going to make a difference and be so powerful we're going to be the next wave in this country! To me, it's about strength. It's about the chance of having us go places where we've never been and knowing we're going to be so many more places we can only dream of being.”

“Ok, that's going to get our roles overflowing.”

“Yes, but what I'm telling you is this. The moment I see you kicking one aside, or not letting one in, I'm going to be all over your ass. To me, that person might be the leader of this country that takes my job and gets us in across the world.”

“What about the world?”

“I've got a plan for that, but it's not through the Italians. It's going to be through the Russians, the Chinese, and believe me, when we hit China, it's going to explode so fast, you're going to be amazed.”

“Why?”

“Look at us in this room. You're over there and I'm over here. Between us are four guards. Do you feel a little intimidated?”

“Yeah”

“Try living your entire life like that. Go to work and have your boss be protected like that. Go to school and see your teacher protected like that. It's their way!

They do it and no one dare better not say a thing about it! Their politicians dictate that way and whatever fucked up laws come out are only to protect the elite. Piss on anyone who sweats their ass off for twelve cents an hour, I'm making millions!

When we roll in there, we're going in and we're going to have them seeing they've suddenly got a voice. They're going to find out their little trough they get to eat out of like a fucking pig can have warm food in a bowl and not cold slop which was cooked last Sunday.

They're going to see the shoes they make for Americans can fit their feet. They're going to see the twelve cents an hour go to an income which gets them more than a five by five foot square house in a slum. They're going to see the police can't come in and beat their kid down and they're going to see a daughter has more worth than a shameful spit off to the side.”

“They do that?”

“Hon, they pull that shit off with such regularity, when an American goes over and sees it, they learn it's done everywhere so they accept it rather than questioning human rights.”

“When we go, let me go over.”

“When we go, I'm taking a whole plane load over. When we go, our pulse rifle technology is going to have to be so advanced the clothing we're wearing is not only the batteries which operating them, but what we use as bullet shields to protect ourselves against their weaponry.”

“What are you talking about pulse rifle?”

“Have you ever watched Star Wars and see those rifles they have which shoot laser pulses?”

“Yeah.”

“We've got them in development. However, what we've got is a lot smaller than that. It's the size of an ink pen, and the battery for it is the size of a pack of cigarettes. BUT, what it does is it only shoots ten shots and the way it goes right now is you might aim at me, but that pulse goes for the nearest closest thing which is warm. Your dog, your stove, your car engine, whatever.

It doesn't matter what you point it at, it goes there. That's fine if you're in a jet and you're chasing someone because it'll hit the guy, but what if you're a sniper in a room full of people?”

“Oh man.”

“Yeah, so in order to get it to shoot a more powerful and accurate beam, the battery has to be bigger. The problem is we've made the batteries bigger, but the voltage and amps required suddenly go from being a small draw to being a huge draw requiring a lot of power. My thought is they need to get some serious capacitors in there which step it up, but what happens is the more power makes the small minute beam of light really look like Star Wars and rather than being a long cigar looking thing, you have a two foot long pencil looking thing. It still kills, but it's seen by the whole room of people because it's so friggin' bright.”

“Man!”

“Yeah, what's neat about it is we're playing with all sorts of shit like it. What our hope is eventually is we can have it and have the military salivating for it to the extent we get the contract.”

“That's going to be awesome.”

“Bullets are going to be a thing of the past. Days of blowing someone's head off are going to be a thing of the past. What you get is a pencil sized hole and what you get is a bunch of cooked flesh because it cauterizes all the way through, but what it is that kills is it's so friggin hot that it instantly vaporizes your blood and the steam is what kills you.”

“Wow! What about that clothing things?”

“Bulletproof material. It's easy. You take an outfit and you spray it with this spray. It turns everything bulletproof, water proof, and wind proof. It's already developed. What we're trying to do is to make the clothes fibers be the battery so you don't have this big pack, but put on the clothes and just hook the wire up to the rifle. Then, you're bulletproof and are lethal in a business suit.”

“So you mean a guy looking like he's in a business suit is an assassin.”

“Yeah, the ink pen in his shirt pocket is the laser pulse and his clothes are the battery, but you could have a kid in a KISS t-shirt and a pair of jeans with an inkpen in his pocket and have the same thing. So, it's whatever as long as the ink pen is included in the equation.”

“Oh man, that's going to be kick ass.”

“Yeah, now get this because it will kill you. The cost to manufacture the thing is what gets me. It's about thirty cents!”

“No!”

“Yeah, the circuit board for it is about a size of a head on a pencil. The laser head is what's the biggest and it's about the size of a bb. So, really, it doesn't have to be an inkpen. It could be anything, but we use an inkpen because of the heat which is generated at the tip. It's like over six thousand degrees.”

“Whoa!”

“Yeah, so we have our hands back about six inches from the head because the burn can take off a hand.”

“And we have it in development?”

“Yeah, here's what is amazing. Ok? I'll tell you this and then I really need to get a move on.

Say the motherfucker is really in a cave over in wherever, which he's not, but let's say he is for the sake of the demonstration. With this weapon, all you have to do is get the heat up right and shoot at a hill and it's going to go in and vaporize everything in it's trajectory. It'll go through him and keep on going until it finally disipates enough of that heat it stops in a pfft.

We've shot the thing down into the ground almost twelve hudred feet off of the current in a 440 volt line. The battery was a lot bigger, but what we did was we put a marshmallow in the cave and we accurately put the location and fired the thing.

To be honest, from what I hear, we shot the thing five times and three of the times it hit the marshmallow. The other two hit the metal apparatus which held the marshmallow and melted the thing, but the key to it was they shot this thing five times in less than a second and three of them went into the marshmallow twelve hundred feet down.”

“Cool!”

“What's cool is the person who came up with this piece of technology is an eleven year old kid.”

“NO!”

“Yeah, David went to the kid and bought it from him and had the kid sign a contract which gives the kid royalties from all the uses of the thing.

Now, what I need is for you to come over and swear your loyalty oath to me so I can get on to little Jimmy out there.”

“Ok”

He came over and got on his knees. He said his oath and I said, “Before you leave, I need to speak to you and Michael together alone.”

“Ok”

He left the room and I said, “Guys, for the next one, I have no clue what to expect. To me, he looks meek, but his whole family are sworn enemies of mine, so he could be wanting to kill me, or he might be fine.”

They nodded and I said, “When he gets in here, you guys strip him nude. NO shoes, no socks, nothing. Throw them all outside and then, you handcuff him behind his back and you leg cuff him. If we had a chair, we'd have him cuffed to it, but we don't.”

“How about if I leg cuff him to me and stand next to him. That way, if he decides to charge you, he can't.”

“Ok, but I really don't want you having a dead man cuffed to you. I've been patient with the other guys, but this one I'll kill in a heart beat.”

“Ok, we'll deal with it.”

I went out and said, “Little Jimmy, go ahead and go in. I'm going to go get a diet Coke.”

I went to the kitchen and saw Beck speaking to little John rather animatedly. Michael came over and said, “Rhette, I didn't know they stole that evidence from me. I knew it was gone, but I never knew where it went.”

“You should have called Gino the moment you knew it existed.”

“I didn't want to cause an inter city war.”

“You wouldn't have, but it made you look guilty by association.”

“You don't think that of me, do you?”

“No, but I can understand why you were upset with me. You'd already dealt with the loyalty and honor thing once before and there I was saying I was the key.”

“I know what you meant.”

“Ok, before you leave, I need to see you and little David together.”

“Why?”

“I'll explain it then. I've got to get a drink and then, I'll have to make this one quick. It's already nine pm and I've not even gotten to the hospital yet. Then, I've got to go over to the Radisson to see what we've got there.”

“Why?”

“Look for a bed in this place. There aren't any. My guard is out at the airport and I told him I'd get him a room. The fucking terminal shut down an hour ago. He's still waiting and I've not kept my word to him. Let me handle that and I'll get him here.”

I flipped open my phone and called him. “Hello?”

“Rhette here. We're going to be staying. Where are you?”

“I'm in the main terminal. They wouldn't let me stay. They put down a barricade.”

“Ok, what I'm going to do is send someone for you. They'll pick you up and bring you here. Then, we'll go to the Radisson.”

“I thought we were going to the Holiday Inn. I told my partner I was going there.”

“During the course of the events today, I now have a hotel. I'm not going to pay to sleep in a place when I have a place I can stay free.”

“Ok, that's good. Do you care if I call and tell my partner?”

“As long as it doesn't get us killed, I don't.”

“It won't.”

“Ok, Well, I'll get someone to come get you. Be expecting a Ford Taurus.”

“What color.”

“Silver.”

“Ok, I'll look for it.”

“He'll toot on the horn long long short, long long short.”

“Ok, I'll look for it.”

I went over to John and asked, “This is a big favor, but I need your help.”

“Ok, no problem.”

“I need you to go to the airport and pick up my guard of my plane. He'll have a bag with a laptop and he's wearing a tan pair of pants and a Hawaiian looking shirt on which is black and tan. When you pull up in front of the terminal, toot your horn long long short and then long long short. He'll find you.”

“Ok”

“Have Beck give you my debit card and fill your tank. It's the least I can do to repay you for all the running you've done.”

“You keep your money. I'll tell you now, sitting at home watching the same old shows night after night was a nightmare. Tonight, we've gotten out, gotten jobs, and we've gotten a plan for our futures which are a lot better than either of us could ever dream. IF it cost me some gas, then that's a small price to pay.”

“No, take the gas. Your thank you means the world to me. It's not often I get a thank you which comes from the heart as you just gave. To me, that's something huge.”

He went over and kissed Beck and told her he was going. She nodded and I went over. “Have you met everyone?”

“Yeah, it's neat!”

“And?”

“We've got to talk later. My opinions are embarrassing.”

“I know what you mean.”

Little John looked at me strangely and I said, “Michael”

Beck giggled and little John smiled.

I got a can of diet Coke from the fridge and a cup with some ice. “I've got the meeting with little Jimmy and then, I'll have to head to the hospital. Could you get a helicopter to pick us up on the roof?”

“Ok, who's us?”

“My guard for the plane will be here. John just went to get him from the airport.”

“Why?”

“They shut the terminal at 8pm for the private planes.”

“Oh”

“Yeah, so he's sitting out in the main terminal.”

“Ok, you staying down here?”

“Yeah, I've got things to do tomorrow.”

“Michael said you and he were going to spend some time in Tampa.”

“I'm going to spend time with him to get him situated, I'll also be up in Dayton with little David, so it's nothing special.”

“I was worried.”

“Come here.”

“Where we going?”

“In here.”

We went into a bedroom and I closed the door. “I told him if anything happens it's to be after Steve dies. He's on board with that. I gave my word.

What I did, was I also gave my word his first born son is going to get New York, so you need to be on with that.”

“Ok, that's your decision.”

“If you have a pick of anyone, you let me know and I'll use them but not in the city they're from.”

“Why?”

“I've figured out the in fighting doesn't happen if they're taken from their element, so we're relocating people.”

“Ok, that's shrewd.”

“With Michael, I'm going to be there for him. It's doubtful his wife is going to come with him.”

“Why not?”

“She's a lesbian and wants out of the marriage. They've used each other and he's keeping her in the marriage like a prisoner.”

“That's fucked up.”

“Yeah, so I told him to let her go. Now, if he finds someone else, then he does and I let go of my hold. If not and he can wait that length of time, I'll fulfill my word.”

“What if you die before Steve?”

“Then it's one more person who's crying at my funeral. The way I see it, I might have three there. Kevin, Steve, and Michael.”

“You'll have a church full.”

“Bullshit, I'm going out to the middle of a pasture where the roof's not going to fall in on me! All I need is disfigurement after death because the roof fell in because I went to church.”

“You're religious, aren't you?”

“I'm spiritual, yes, but not religious. To me, you don't have to be a Catholic, Christian, or whatever to get in the gates. It's what you do in life. Right now, with the way I'm getting people to go before me, I think God's going to drop kick me in the face and give a hearty laugh when I slide into hell.”

“Nah, you're good deeds are what get you in.”

“Let's hope, because I'm not doing so hot.”

“How in the hell did we get from talking about Michael to church?”

“It's the Oh God's in my fantasies which got me there. I think Beck is just as weak over him as I.”

“Her husband is nothing compared to her. I can definitely see leadership with her.”

“Yeah, the woman is awesome. He's a tag along, but I'm not going to lose her by fucking him over.”

“No, just cultivate and raise her up. She's a go getter.”

“I thought so. What did Michael think?”

“I think Michael was being Michael. He was listening, being charming and seeing if he could distract her. She threw it back at him and then she turned it on him to the point she started asking questions like a defense attorney.”

“Whoa!”

“Yeah, I think it took him totally out of the water and sank him.”

“Good. I'll have to learn from her then.”

“She's good. I'll give you that. With me, she's respectful, but what's awesome is the woman is well read and knows history of the family which blew me away. She knows the lines of succession better than me!”

“Really!”

“Yeah, we got into a debate because she was talking about hits and where they happened and asked me if I ate at the places. Then, she wanted to know what they were like because all she's see is photographs from the books she's read of the crime scenes.”

“I remember seeing them when I was in prison. I've wanted to go to see them myself.”

“Isn't it funny. I go there to eat and people go there to see where people died.”

“It's fascinating.”

“I've never thought that. To me, it's history long ago forgotten, it's not something I think about.”

“Do you ever think about going to Pearl Harbor? Or to Galveston, Texas, or to Oklahoma City to see those sites?”

“Yeah”

“Well, to us, we want to go to New York to see those sites as well as the Ground Zero, and all those other sites. I bet if you ask a person from Oklahoma City if they want to go to that site, they'll go ho-hum like you do the restaurants, but it's probably the same for someone who lives out there at Pearl Harbor. It's the greener grass on the other side of the fence.”

“Ok, but she really knows the stuff.”

“Good, maybe she can teach me some history when I take her up there.”

“You're coming up?”

“Yeah, I'm going to be buying hospitals all over the place.”

“You need to tell me what your plans are there.”

“Sometime. It's a long drawn out thing. Basicly, it's a plan I have which gets us to funneling dollars into them and it gets us a lot of jobs available to our people and it's a way for us to get healthcare which is affordable we can offer it to our companies and everyone profits because it's going to be cheaper than what's offered.”

“How?”

“Because in our hospitals we're not going to jack people to get money. We're goiing to cut costs and get people first.”

“Ok, sounds complicated.”

“It is, but it's not.”

“That's you. You're complicated, but you're not.”

“I know. If I had a lot of time to tell you, I would. Can you fly to the hospital with us?”

“No. I'd love to, but to be honest, if I have to sit with Rose much longer, I'm going to be stealing Dave's woman from him. She's a dream come true for a guy because she's so fresh and lovely.”

“You old softy!”

“Who you calling old!”

“You know what I mean! I like that side of you.”

“Well, it's true. IF I could find someone like her...man!”

“I understand, I spoke with Steve earlier on the phone and fell in love all over again with him. He knows what to say and how to say it to the point I just get head over heels with him.”

“He's a good man.”

“I know. I'm not giving him up.

What I am going to say is this... As for my expenses, I'm going to start charging them to the cities. It's not fair for me to drop all this time into them and drop the dollars and not get anything back.”

“Take all the money you want. It's yours anyway.”

“Ok, but what I'm doing is I'll be taking money for things but not taking money for a lot of things.”

“What do you mean?”

“Up home, we're going to build a couple of rest areas along the interstate on Steve's land which is named after his dad. IN town there, we're going to build an aquatic center for the whole town which will probably be a complete sports complex. It'll be named after their family.

The goal there is to get goodwill for the family. Some other things we're going to do is we're going to headquarter the insurance and hospitals in South Carolina. The key there is to get the jobs in the state so even before he runs for election, he can be seen as getting the jobs he's promised.”

“I see no problem there. To me, it's your money, you can do whatever with it.”

“Well, to me, you're a mentor and advisor. If I can explain it to you and show need, you can see why I'm doing something. The last thing in the world I want is for us to do something and be accused of only doing it for personal gain.”

“I know you're not. What I like about the things you do is you're conscientious enough you show me it's not all about the drugs you can get into people and the gain you can make from people's addictions or worsening. Dave got into it with the casinos and although they're moneymakers, it's something which comes at a price and that's people's financial hardships.”

“True, but in my mind, if I can make something a win-win, I'm going about it the right way. For me, the win-win with those casinos is in our ability to use them as PR toys for our employees.

One of the things I'm looking at though is to buy an airline so we can get our people out there to use them. Yes, we'll have the ability to go all over, but to me, it's not about the private jets so much as it is the jets everyone can use.

Right now, they're having a hard time financially, but it's cyclical with them. They have about five good years of profits and then they've got about three which stink.

The goal there is to pick one up that's hurting during the down time and ride it into the good years and sock away profits to support it when it goes back down.

Because we're not a corporation and because we don't have to answer to stockholders, we can do it. Our plus side is we can write off the trips used by our own people as percs and put it on the plus side of the totals when all we're doing is filling otherwise empty seats.”

“I think what you should do is lower the cost to fill the seats and then get the planes with those number of seats to those locations.”

“Yeah, but here's what I think. Recently, I saw an article about the MD-80 and all the inspections they had. In the article, it said the airlines are phasing them out because they don't have the electronic gizmos in them the passengers crave.

For me, if I'm paying low cost on a low cost airline to go from point A to point B, then I'm not worried about what the gizmos are. I'm interested in saving several hundred dollars on that flight.

Now if John's airline who has all those planes with the gizmos has to lower his fares, then so be it. It's called competition, but for me, it's still going to be the low cost airline winning because I know John's is fucking me on other things.”

“True. The bad thing right now is the cost of the fuel. It's horrendous.”

“I believe it like I believe there are poor farmers. I'll tell you why.

It takes x dollars to fill a plane to fly from point A to point B. It doesn't really matter if it's a fancy plane or if it's a stripped model. It's still the same amount.

If Johns airline sells the tickets for the same price, he's got the potential to make profits because they're going to ride in his. However, where John's stupid is he's got a plane which costs a hundred million dollars more than mine to make the trip and get those people. It takes a lot more passengers to fly his plane to break even.

What I don't feel sorry for is John. He can buy a cheap plane and he doesn't. John's too busy telling himself he needs a Escalade when a Blazer will do. If I'm not bitching and he is, then I'm the smart one because my planes got paid for and his didn't.”

“So you want a low cost airline.”

“I want something which gets people from point A to point B for the cheapest possible fare. If it's an old plane or new, it doesn't matter to me as long as it pays for itself and isn't putting me into debt.”

“You're the smart one. You'll figure it out.”

“Yeah, but where I'm at is looking at the major airlines which are going bankrupt. Bankruptcy auctions are where the bargains are. You can buy for pennies on the dollar what you can normally.

If I can snatch up a whole airline for a hundred million dollars, then I'll do it and then take a look at the books and get the prices so they're paying for the costs of the trip and not getting into my pockets.”

“Ok, so you want an airline.”

“I want to look at them. If we get one, then we will. What I'm really looking at in the big picture is something that will advertise those casino/hotels and help us get them known internationally by being rolling billboards for them.”

“In the meanwhile burning up some of the profits.”

“Yes, but making them in those years which are going to be sure to come.”

“That makes sense. It's a shame David didn't buy up the Frontier hotel out there and redo it because Frontier airlines just went under.”

“Yes, but American is one that I could use for Steve's political affiliation.”

“Interesting”

“What doesn't have to stay the same is the company colors on those planes. They can turn into flying billboards and that's fine too.”

“Looks good to me. The plus side of it is you can put your fleet of private jets under it and sell your dead air time and make money off the little ones.”

“I'm thinking about it because cities subsidize them to have them flying in and out.”

“True.”

“Here's what's interesting is there's a local regional air company which flies in and out of an airport up home. The city pays the company a hundred grand a month to fly there.

The plane they fly is a dilapidated old ancient thing like a DC-6 from the 1960's. You know and I know they probably bought that plane for a hundred grand and that's just one month of their income from that one city. Now, they fly in and out of seventeen airports over a five state region. It's like a bus service. You get there, but it takes you a while to do it because you have to fly the circuit.”

“Interesting.”

“Yeah. Because it's like an old Greyhound bus. You get there, but you have to stop in all the other cities first. The thing about it is their fares aren't real cheap. I mean, for me to fly to St. Louis on it, it's like $200. For that, I could hire a taxicab and get there in about an hour and a half versus the six hours the plane takes.”

“Where's the convenience?”

“There isn't unless you compare it to a bus which takes forever.”

“Are you looking into doing that?”

“Partly yes. I mean if I can get subsidization moneys to pay for a plane and the customers aren't bitching because the alternative is so slow, then I'll give them something which is newer.”

“I thought regional air was the way to go.”

“For an owner, but not for a customer. What they advertise is this....Flying in and out of Ohare, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Omaha. It has you thinking it's a non-stop when it's in fact a multistop.”

“What would happen if you went non-stop?”

“I don't know. I think it'd really cut into the profits. It'd have to be checked to see how fast a little jet could get into those airports and get out. I think they do it that way because it's the most efficient of what they can afford for gate fees.”

“Ok, so it'd have to be that way.”

“Yes, but I'm wondering if it really has to be that expensive for the customers.”

“It probably is such a thing those people don't ride all the time and those planes are empty a lot.”

“Yes, probably, but I'll have to check them out. Maybe the mail contracts or DHL, or package carrier companies would like to sign on.”

“You look for all the revenues, don't you?”

“You gotta.”

“Well, let's go get you that meeting so you can go see David.”

“Ok, it's been refreshing to talk with you though. All the rest of these meetings are 'have to' things and you're a 'want to' thing...well, with the exception of Michael.”

“What happened in there with you two?”

“A whole lot of honesty came out. I found out if he'd been more of a man instead of a mouse, we could have been together a long time ago. He was stalking me and didn't have the guts to step up. Now, he's so driven by the need, he's stepped up and it's not the time.”

“Oh”

“Yeah, but I've told him when it's time, I'll gladly be with him. I just hope he can handle me when he gets me because I'll be damned if he thinks I'll stay a prisoner in a relationship with him.”

“I can't believe he did ot.”

“I can. He's pretty much not to be fucked with because he's got power. BUT, I think the thing about it is he's looking at someone who's now got more power than him and can do without him.”

“What would have happened if you'd gotten together a long time ago?”

“I'd been his dirty little secret on the side and probably still would be.”

“What would have happened if it had been possible today?”

“I would have ran his ass into the ground and not let him get up until he gave me everything I wanted and expected.”

“And in the future?”

“I hope both of us are at the point we want it so bad we'll treat each other with respect.”

“Ok, I'm getting you. It's him who's got to change, but you've got to change too.”

“Right now, all of my defenses and senses are on alert. I've got to be that way, but what I'm wisely doing is I'm now using the guys to be my security.”

“Good, but you should be using the people you're paying to do it.”

“I should, but it's stupid of me to have a twelve passenger jet full of my security flying around with me everywhere I go because rather than renting a car when I get there, I'm going to have to rent a bus.”

“What you need to do is have the cities you're going to be in pick up the tab for you having a armored limo there for your benefit.”

“In that case, they should be picking me up in one of those trucks because then they can use it on their take downs.”

He laughed and said, “Ok, be resourceful. The damned things cost a lot more, but will go a lot more places.”

“We could do take downs in limos!”

He laughed and said, “I don't think so!”

“Oh , it'd be fun! Can you imagine one of them being across the road at a road block and getting hit!”

“How many have you seen get hit?”

“Three. What's the funniest is one that we had back when we first started which was an old fire engine. They hit that damned thing and the car crumpled up into a little ball. The fucking thing had a full tank of water on it and probably weighed fifty thousand pounds. It was like hitting a brick wall.”

“Oh man!”

“Yeah, what was bad was we thought the truck was ok, but when we went down the road afterwards, we found it had bent the frame and Gino had to steer right in order to go straight.”

“So it was a waste of money.”

“No, the next time we had a road block, he put the other side of the thing towards the oncoming car with hopes it'd get hit and straighten things out. What they did though was hit the back axle and totally fucked the truck up. Gino just shrugged and we walked down the street away from it as we'd never licensed it. Gladstone was the department we'd bought it from and they had to pay to tow it away!”

He laughed and said, “That's funny”

“Gino had bought the thing under the name of D. O. Johns which is John Doe backwards. Later, one of the police who was involved with the chase became a member and he filled us in on what they had to do to the truck to get it towed away.

Because it was so heavy, they had to pump all the water out onto the side of the highway. It was in mid February and when the wrecker finally got there, it was about 3 am. All that water turned into a big sheet of ice and they had a real mess.”

“Gino was a neat guy.”

“I loved him. He was a big kid with me, but in front of his mama, he was the model son, and in front of his men, he was the astute business man. “

“So he was always having to be something to someone.”

“Yeah, but he'd fall right into the role so easily.”

“You do the same thing. Can't you see it?”

“I try to do it, but what's bad is I find I have to be more careful. In front of Beck earlier, I dealt with one of the business owners and ended up calling for his relationship with us to end.

In telling him what I'd have done to him if he thought about calling the feds, I got rather graphic to the point even the men were making ill faces. Beck handled it like a trooper though.”

“You told him about something torturous?”

“Yeah”

“Oh, well, she's not said anything.”

“She told the guys it was an old indian torture.”

“Really!”

“Yeah. I didn't know that.”

“What was it?”

“Fastening the guy down and having all of our guys go and cut off an inch strip of flesh and then using Vanish toilet bown cleaner on him.”

“Ok, they used that, but they left him there for fire ants.”

“I imagine it'd be just as painful.”

“Yours was the modern day city version!” he said chuckling.

“It's still ironic. Maybe I'm a reincarnated indian.”

“You look like an indian princess already. I bet with your hair jet black and some feathers, you'd be a perfect one.”

“That's the way my hair is natural. It's so black it's got bluishness to it. I hate it.”

“I remember it being dark, but I thought it was brown.”

“That's probably those sodium vapor lights in the warehouse when we had the trial.”

“Yes it was.”

“Under those lights, my hair picks up the yellow from the light and can even look red at times. We had the same lights in our building for the sign shop.”

“Is there really good money in that?”

“We made a good living. BUT, right now, due to the economy, advertisers are pulling in their dollars and it's going to be tight for a few years. Kevin did good to sell out while he could.”

“You did damned good!”

“Yeah, but most of my income is coming from the program.”

“True, but five years of work and a hundred million to show for it isn't much to sneeze at.”

“A hundred and twenty now and growing.”

“Excellent. Did you ever think you'd make that much from it?”

“No. Our goal was eighty grand a year for the both of us combined. We made that the first year and thought we were doing so good, but the plus side of that was it afforded us the ability to invest income into it and the next year we nearly doubled that. That's when we rolled it into the first jumbo which really took off.”

“You've done good kiddo.”

“I don't think so. If you'd ask me to give it back and have Kevin, I'd do it.”

“Well, you've got Steve, so take the money and run.”

“Yeah, but I've also got this. I'll tell you now I'm not liking it much.”

“It'll settle down.”

“When it does, I'm only working it three days a week. The other days I'm going to be home. My goal is to get the people in the cities and let them run the place.”

“You'll probably get that done so you can have that time off.”

“With me, this is the most time I've ever taken off at one time and I'm finding everything's running fine.”

“If I wasn't calling you all the time.”

“No, because I know when you're calling it's not to take care of a problem for you. You've got a genuine problem versus some of those other dumb asses.”

“Well, I'm not going to put little Jimmy in over a city. What he's going to do is work with Beck and go buy hospitals. He can run the hospitals with her help and then she'll be promoted.”

“Give him a chance. He's a good guy.”

“He's from that family.”

“You're from a family too. Punish the ones who need punishing. It wasn't him.”

“Ok, I guess you're right. I'll kill all the rest of them at trial.”

“Rhette, you need to give the trial but you need to be fair.”

“I will. I'll only kill those which need to be killed, but I'm not going to show much mercy. Their chance for mercy ended with Gino's death.”

“I have a question and you might or might not know the answer.”

“What?”

“What happened to Dominic?”

“Who's that?”

“Gino's brother.”

“I never knew he had a brother!”

“Yes, his name is Dominic.”

“I don't know. He never mentioned him to me and Dave's never said anything. I know Meemaw sure never said anything.”

“I remember him from when I was little. He was almost Gino's double. They were brothers but they could've passed as twins.”

“I don't know! Hmmm”

“That was back in the early seventies.”

“I'll do some checking and see. You'd think he was buried in the family crypt, but I definitely know there's no Dominic there.”

Little John said, “Let me do some checking. I'll see if I can find out anything about him.”

“Why this sudden interest in Dominic? You trying to drive me nuts by having someone around that looks just like Gino?”

“No, I'm trying to give David back some of his family.”

“Don't do it. IF this guy's not around, it's for a reason. You shoving the guy back in David's face isn't going to help. What if the guy molested David and you're shoving him back in David's face?”

“I never thought of that.”

“If he's alive and he's not around, I'd say he's been banished for a reason. I know Gino and it'd take something pretty awful to get the guy banished or killed.

You know people have a way of disappearing without a trace.”

“Yes, but I just have a feeling the guy's alive.”

“Well, find him and let me know where he is. I'll personally go and speak with him to see what happened. I can't imagine him being alive and Meemaw not having anything to do with him. I don't think even Gino could banish him that far because she'd tell Gino he was going to be around whether he liked it or not.”

“My reasoning for wondering is because I was sitting there staring at David and it came across my mind he's starting to look a lot like the Gino I knew. Then, it came across my mind about Dominic and wondering how much he'd look like him. That's when I began wondering where Dominic went.”

“Well, something is suspicious about it. To me, if he's in good standing, then he'd be around and them two together would have been a force to contend with. I know by the time I came on the scene there wasn't a peep or mention of him. I really think Meemaw would have mentioned him to me.”

“What if he wanted out and told them he didn't feel safe and not to mention him again to anyone?”

“Huh? That's crazy! Meemaw was the type of mother who wouldn't give a shit. She'd be in there fighting to protect her kid and for him to say he didn't feel safe would have gotten her rile up to protect him more! Obviously you didn't know her because she didn't know the word no. If she loved you, then she'd step in and make your world perfect.”

“Would she have been the problem?”

“Now you're really reaching out on a limb. Not no but fuck no.”

“You loved her, you could be biased. What if he didn't want her meddling. Some men can be horse's asses.”

“Yes, but I'll tell you now if he'd dared say such a thing to Meemaw, he'd disappeared alright because Gino would have killed him. It's disrespect which I would have killed him for daring to be so bold as to utter a syllable of it.”

“What I'll do is I'll look into it.”

“Whatever you do, don't let the man know we're looking for him. I mean if he's got a weak heart, at the age he'd be, it could put him into a stress induced heart attack or something.

But, what you haven't thought about is this. What if he's entitled to half of what Gino had. We'd be in a world of shit because he'd have a lot of things.”

“You're not curious?”

“Find him, but I'll do the foot work from there. David has a little pill which can make people tell the truth, I can use it.”

“Ok, I'll get people on it.”

“I'm surprised you don't already.”

“I've not gotten that far.”

“Ok, well, let me get in there to see little Jimmy.”

I went into the hallway to go to the meeting when I saw Michael again.

“You stripped him!”

“Yes”

“Why?”

“For my own personal safety and security if it's any of your business. I'm not putting anything beyond anyone in his family.”

“You don't know him! With him, it's the worst you could have done! He was raped repeatedly by a priest exactly like what you're doing!”

“I didn't know.” I said as tears suddenly sprung into my eyes. “I'll go get him clothed.”

“Too late. I've already done it.” he said with a bit of anger to his voice. “If there's a problem with it, you deal with me.”

“Michael, there's no problem with it, but I will not have you stepping in to do my work for me.

Yes, I'm a human being and yes, I make mistakes. I don't know everything about anyone's past, but I don't get dossiers on everyone before I have a meeting with them. Maybe we need to do it.”

He looked at me and asked, “Was it for any other reason?”

“NO!”

“Ok.”

“First of all Michael. He's a Michaels. Second of all, contrary to whatever you might think, I don't go around in some lust filled state of mind thinking of all men as sexual partners. For you to think I'd want to do anything with him is pure lunacy.”

“I wasn't alluding to that. Maybe you knew about the sexual abuse and wanted to throw him into a state of panic so you could torture him in that manner. That's what I was getting to...not something sexual.”

“Ok, but how was I to take an open ended question like that? And who are you to question and assume anything I do? Are you my equal? NO, so get the fuck where you belong and let me do my job!”

“This is getting in your head.”

“NO Michael, this is my job. If you think it's going to my head, then you know nothing. It's what I have to do to be safe. David is laying in a hospital room because someone attacked him. You, I trust. Little David, I trust but am on guard. With him, I don't know and I sure don't trust.

For your information, the only thing I know about him was he was there when David's dad did the car bombing. The only reason I know is because of all the newspaper accounts.

How is it that you know about the sexual abuse? Were you there?”

“Yes. Yes I was. I know who did it and I know who all it was done to. I know more than I care to know, but I know what was done to him because the same person did the same thing to me.”

“Your family?”

“No, but my family turned a blind eye to it. For that, I'll never forgive him.”

“I wouldn't either. Why isn't the man dead?”

“He's a man of the cloth!”

“Fuck that. He's a man and nothing more. If he can turn a blind eye and not protect family, then he's got to go in my family.”

“Your sense of family is nothing then.”

“Who are you to judge me? Do you turn a blind eye to your nephews getting molested?”

“No, nor would I ever.”

“Then my sense of family is where it should be because neither would I. BUT, I wouldn't let a family member condone, or ignore that sort of behavior either. They'd be brought on the carpet just like the person who did it because ignoring the problem is adding to it.”

“Maybe I should have done something.”

“Maybe?”

“I didn't. For that, I apologize to you.”

“For too long Michael, you've been weak in that manner. You seem to be afraid to upset the apple cart. Fuck it, when you get to Tampa, I expect to be served apple sauce, apple butter, apple pie, and just plan diced all to hell apples! You got me!”

“You're the apple of my eye. Does that count?”

“Yes, but do me the favor and get over the fear of pissing people off. Right is right and wrong is wrong. It doesn't matter who it is, but I expect you to not let things slide. What if it were your own son? What if the rapist had your daughter in the room like that?”

“They'd be dead.”

“Then look at all your future dealing in that manner and you'll get results. The problem is when you start looking at things like that, you're going to have nightmare after nightmare about what you let slide in St. Louis.”

“I imagine.”

“Well, it's what I've got to have done in that city. It's why I'm doing what I'm doing with those families. The damage has been done and it's been allowed to slide.

Personally, if I were over Kansas City and I found out a family under me had done everything the Michaels had done to Gino to you, you'd receive a photograph of their heads upon a table along with the evidence which proved you were wronged. It would be how far I'd take it.

When you get to Tampa, I'll expect you to have a clean house and all of your yards are clean. It's those sorts of things which people look at for weakness and find it. It's those sorts of things which get people overthrown. I'll tell you now, their bullets are unforgiving.”

“You've changed. You've gotten harder.”

“Prison did it. I learned more about the laws of man, the streets, and the prison in there than anyone could imagine. I use it now to survive because it's what you'd have applied to you if you went there. It'd do the same to you.”

“This isn't prison.”

“Isn't it? I can't get out, can you?”

“No.”

“I thought I was safe. I thought I could live life without it. I can't. I asked for a little favor and I got drug back in. Now, I'm here and I'll tell you what I'm doing to make this fucking thing work for me, not me for it.

THAT, is what I did in prison. In there, you can either do your time, or your time can do you. Believe me, I did my time and I let my time not have a chance of getting over on me.”

“I'm so sorry.”

“David said the same thing. It seems people always SAY they're sorry when they don't do something. YOU say you loved me so much. Where was your help in there? Where was your help out here? Where was the help letting me know you cared?

Believe me, while you were in the bathroom jacking off to your fantasies of me, I was out here getting my ass kicked. Now I'm tougher, so you think about it because the passive little bitch that snivelled and cried when he was getting raped isn't alive any longer. I killed him in order to survive. Deal with that thought.”

I walked away from him and went into the room with little Jimmy.

“Little Jimmy, first of all, I apologize for having you stripped. I had no idea.”

“It's ok”

I looked him in the eyes and he looked away.

“Listen. I'm not going to beat around the bush with you and I'm not going to even pretend I like you or your kind. The only reason you are here is because little John told me you were someone whom I could trust. I'll see if for myself, and give him a chance. NOT YOU.

What I need before we talk is you to swear your loyalty oath because I don't have much time and then, we'll get down to business.”

“That's why I'm here?”

“You're being promoted. You won't be allowed to stay in St. Louis. You'll move down here and you'll be in charge of buying hospitals and getting our insurance company up off the ground. You'll work with that woman in there and she'll be your boss. If you don't like those apples, fuck you, you can die just like everyone else in your family.”

“You're going to kill my family?”

“Listen to me now and you listen to me good. Your family was responsible for a lot of heartache, problems, and deaths of good people in Kansas City. They were protected and they were allowed to multiply like the poisonous snakes they are.

Because of it, I'm told to keep you because little John knows I'm going to go in and have a trial and this time, the evidence is going to be there. This time, your people are going to be called in and they're going to die. This time, it's going to be me instead of Gino who asks the questions. I guarantee you, I'll be killing most of your family.”

“Most of them don't know about it.”

“You say that, but I've got but one question to ask them and it's so subtle and simple you'll be amazed at what it takes to kill your family.”

“What is it?”

“I'll tell you, but the moment I do, you're not going back to St. Louis and be allowed to undermine my authority.” I paused and then looked him straight in the eye and asked. “Do you know about the attempted overthrow in Kansas City?”

“Which one, the one my people did or a different one?”

“That's the question little Jimmy. As soon as they say they know something, they're dead because them knowing anything is going to mean you've indoctrinated them into knowing the weakness of my organization and they'll be inclined to attempt to find another weakness. They'll study. They'll learn, and then they'll try again and believe me, I'm not going to let them have the chance. I'll kill all the way down until I don't find an answer and then, I'll raise those up to hating your family name.”

“Why do you hate us?”

“Your people embarrassed mine. Your people caused a trial which took my innocence. Until then, I hadn't killed. It's your families blood upon my hands and for that, I can't forgive that blood.”

“You're a Michaels too. Your great grandfather was mine.”

“Bullshit. I looked for the genealogy and I found none. Believe me, I looked because I didn't want to be associated with the name if we were related.”

“I was told.”

“You should have studied and looked further than being told. I've done it.”

I looked at him and said, “Life as you know it has just changed. Your family is no more. You are the lone survivor and you're an orphan. Hate me and I will kill you too. It's what they had coming.”

“Don't do it to the babies!”

“I'm not, but they're not going to be allowed to live knowing anything about your family. They'll be raised to hate it and spit upon the graves of their ancestors like I do.”

“May I ask for a favor?”

“You may.”

“My niece. Let her live. She's got a brilliant mind and she wants to make a change in this world. All the others, I won't make one begging for.”

“Ok, let me go get your boss and I'll check.”

I went into the kitchen and said, “Beck, I need you in here for a moment.”

“Ok dear.”

We went into the library and I said, “Beck, this is little Jimmy, he'll be your employee and you'll be his supervisor. He's made a request I have to offer to you because if it were up to me, I'd say no. It's an imposition upon you because you're the first peson I thought of when he made the request.”

“What is it hon?”

“His entire family is going to die. Starting now, he's an orphan. There's no choice in the matter, but he's asked one favor and I'll grant it if you approve. If you don't then, I've got to kill that person too.

He wants to know if his niece can live. I'll grant it as long as you raise her. I'll grant that as long as he can see her, but never teach her the history of our families. If you'll do it, I'll let her live. If not, then I'll have to see she's on that same waste pile.”

Beck looked at me and asked. “Why are you asking me?”

“Because the way this is going to go is you're going to be over a city before this is finished. You've shown leadership skills and you've got the approval of everyone who matters already.”

She looked surprised. “Me!”

“Yes, There are reasons I sent little John to speak with you. That also goes for Michael. From what I heard, you dealt with him in a manner which chewed him up and spit him back in his face.

It's what it took and it's what impressed the hell out of little John. For me, I love you and trust you. My gut instincts are so strong with you, I'm not even going to test you. You're going straight to the top and that's it.

Now, we're at this question and I'll understand it if you have to go ask John.”

“No, John will agree with me on this because he knows a child is what I want above everything. We've tried, but it's not worked.”

“Well, I'll take that as a yes. What we're going to do is we've got to have a trial. Personally, you're going to be there because all the leaders in my organization have to be there to see I handle it fairly and honestly.

What happens is evidence is given in proving someone's been disloyal, and unfaithful to my person, or organization. Little Jimmy's family was and they were taken to trial. They withheld evidence and now the evidence is being brought to light.

Those who lived have to be retried. They will die by my hand personally.

What is going to happen is you're going to see something which hasn't ever been done because of this grossly flagrant violation of our entire system. A simple question will be asked of the rest which will be answered honestly. When it's answered, it will decide the fate of that person.

“Do you know about the attempted take over of the Kansas City family?”

“No, it's not been in anything I've ever read.”

“It wasn't a question directed to you. But, that answer saved your life if you happened to be a member of their family.

The way it works is this way. Men stand around and talk. In doing so, they brag and they get to telling stories. They talk about what they should have or could have done better and different. In doing so, they're teaching the younger generation to be more studious and careful. The younger generation listens attentively because it's a rare admission their adults are vulnerable and have flaws.

What it also does is it teaches them my city up there is vulnerable and has a weakness. It teaches them if they play their cards right, they can ban together to get it taken over and present it to the adults as a trophy kill like a kitten would do with a bird. I'll not allow them to get to that point.”

“Does it have to be this way?” She asked

“Beck, we don't have prisons. Either you're lucky and you retire, or you're stupid and you get killed. The law and code we live by is if you are a good worker and you do your job, you get promoted. You're then given authority and you're allowed more power. Eventually, you get too old and you have to retire, but you're sent off to Florida with great fanfare.”

“Then what happens.”

“The younger get brought up and promoted. The old ones are never heard from again. With me, it's about to change because I'm about to go in and raid the nursing homes to get some great managers and retrain them to run things for me.”

“Good plan.”

“I try. Now, let me get him dealt with and then we'll have our day finished.”

I turned to little Jimmy and said, “Your niece can live. Give Beck here her name and we'll get her for her. You're allowed to see her grow up in the household I've provided, but you're not going to be allowed to teach her anything about the history of our two families.”

“Ok, thank you.”

“What I'm going to do is I'm going to not be nice about a damned thing when I deal with your family. They weren't honorable when we had to deal with them before, so I'm not going to be honorable when it comes to their deaths.

What I will do is I'm not going to allow you to be there. Your absence will seem suspicious to them especially in light of your coming down here, but rightfully, I don't give a damn what they think as they've been living on borrowed time.”

“Don't go to papa's house to get them. The house is rigged with explosives so as to blow if anyone gets too close.”

“Are there any tunnels?”

“No”

“Then, what we'll do is we'll wait for them to leave. They can't live in there without food and if I have the power, water, and gas shut off, they'll have to live in their own filth until they can't do anything more.”

“They have plenty of food and wine.”

“They can live on it, but without the ability to cook, clean, and bathe, they'll have a real problem. Are there any emergency provisions such as generators, gas bottles for stoves, or a well?”

“No, but they do have plenty of bottled water.”

“Well, we're about to see if they choose to flush a toilet with wine or that water. They'll be holed up there until they have to come out. If they dare fire a shot, I'll have them mown down with machine gun fire and try the pieces of them which are left.”

I looked at Beck and said, “You are sworn to me. You are going to be a boss in this family. I hope you approve because it's been decided. Now, you're about to see how I handle someone I don't trust.”

I looked over at little Jimmy and said, “I'm not asking you to pledge your loyalty to me. I am ordering you to. If you don't, then you'll die and it's not a thing to me.

I've given you my word your niece will live, but I'm not going to guarantee to you your own future. I expect you to sell me out and I expect in some way, you'll be disloyal to me. You are living on borrowed time and it's only as a favor to little John you are alive now. Get over here and pledge your loyalty to me.”

He came over and got upon his knees. He pledged his loyalty and then rose up.

“In rising, you are a new man. You are a man without a family. This guard right here is going to be your guard. He's going to be with you and he's going to be there until I can find one suitable to make it long term. Go out there and wait because you won't be going back to St. Louis until your family is gone.”

He nodded and left the room. I turned to the guard and asked, “Are you gay?”

“No”

“Is any of you in here gay?”

The one in the back corner who little Jimmy had been cuffed said, “I am.”

“Are you with anyone?”

“No”

“Would you mind being his guard?”

“Why?”

“He's gay. I want someone who is sympathetic to gays to be over him. WHAT I don't expet is you to give him an ounce of leeway.”

“Ok, is it ok if we develop more?”

“It's up to you and it's up to him. You now know the history and you know why it's happened. What has been said in this room with the others is to remain confidential and private. If you dishonor me by telling him anything, I'll hold you accountable and you'll be brought to a treasoner's trial.”

“I won't.”

“Then I'll let him know you're to be his guard. Good luck.”

“Where do you want me to keep him?”

“As you know, I just got the Radisson. If you don't want to take him home with you, then take him there. I'll get you a room. Whatever you do, don't allow him to call St. Louis. IF he attempts to use his phone without your dialing it for him, put a bullet in his brain and give me a call.”

“Ok”

“Guys, that's it for the day. Beck, I'll need you to stay in here with me while I speak to Michael and little David, but whatever happens in here has to stay in here, Ok?

“Sure”

I went to the door and asked Michael and little David in.

The came in and I said, “Ok, here's how it is going to go. You two are going back to St. Louis. Pack your things and get your affairs in order, but what we're going to do is we're going to lay siege to the Michaels family and estate.

Michael, when you get there, have a team of guys go over and shut the water, power, and gas off to the mansion. Do NOT go to the mansion as I'm told it's wired for explosives. You just lay siege to it and let them come out.”

“What about phones?”

“Tell your phone man incoming calls only from me, but none out and none in from anyone else.”

“Ok, what about cell”

“They're going to find those are shut off. If they've got a tracfone, then I'll get a signal and they'll be shut off too.”

“Anything else?”

“All the rest are to be rounded up and brought to a central location. What I'm expecting is family members all the way to new born babies are to be brought. I'll be doing a check and believe me, the check I'll be doing is going to be through so many different sources, I'll know if someone is a distant blood relative.

When you get them to a central point, take their weapons, and their cell phones, and strip them of identity. They're not going to need it where they're going.”

“Where do you want us to take them?”

“Take them to a little town in northeast Missouri called Philadelphia. When you get there, stop at a general store called A & L. Ask Laura there to get the directions to her father's farm. She'll give it to you because she's my aunt.

The farm is an old plantation house which has no lights, or telephone. It's got a six foot tall chain link fence around it because my grandpa was rather paranoid about poachers. Whatever you do, you tell your men not to shoot an animal one inside those fences because they're protected.”

“What sorts of animals are there?”

“The farm is about fifteen hundred acres. Inside the fences are deer, buffalo, elk, moose, and bear. There are turkeys, but they can fly over. The same as geese and ducks.”

“There water there?”

“The water comes from a large private lake. You'll be amazed at how the water gets to the house, but somewhere in my family must've been a roman because they use the water pressure of the lake to pump the water to the house.”

“So it's cold baths.”

“No, there's warm water. It's solar on the roof.”

“Ok, what do you want done with them there.”

“There are stores of canned goods there. Use those to feed them. Meat will be delivered. Keep track of the canned goods you use because I'll have to replace them. They can be held there for a week and then we'll have trial.”

“Do you want us to guard the fences?”

“No need. There's a high voltage line to them. If anyone touches the fence, they'll die. My grandpa wasn't an idle paranoid person, he had the place so rigged if they make it beyond the fence, they'll be killed by the booby traps which are set. All in all, the farm is on some nineteen thousand acres our family owns. No one lives there or has chosen to live there because of how crazy the old man was.

Me, I could live there because I used to go out and check the booby traps with him. What he taught me in ways of those is way beyond whatever the Vietcong could dream up. He used nature as his source of inspiration and most of the traps can't be seen unless it's too late for the person.”

“So let them go if they escape.”

“Whatever you do, don't chase them! You'll end up getting you and your men killed.”

Michael said, “So the weak spot is the main gate.”

“Yes, but most people don't think of the obvious. They think it's well fortified.”

“I'll put people on the gate.

Are you sure this woman is going to blindly give us the keys to the place?”

“She's my aunt. You'll meet her and you'll think that woman is a plain ordinary woman. When you meet her, you keep this in mind. She was raised by that man and a mother who was crazier than owl shit. She's been through hell in this life and she's trying to forget it. If I ask her for a favor, she'll do it because she knows it's something I wouldn't ask for idly.”

“Ok, I've got people like that.” said little David.

“I do too.” said Michael.

“Michael, you've began to question my authority. It's irking me for you to do it, but you're going to learn to trust if it kills you. I'm asking this favor because it's helping me to clean up that city.”

I turned to little David and said, “Alex is going to be arriving in the city soon. I want you to take him around and show him all of the things you know about Michael's set up. Show him the weaknesses and see if he can breach them.”

Michael looked outraged.

“Michael, Alex is the one who is taking over St. Louis. When he's done learning from little David, he's going to come to you.

When it happens, I want you to take him and show him all the weaknesses of the Michaels clan. They might not be around to be wary, but that doesn't mean he has to dismiss them lightly.

Then, when you've got that done, I want you to teach him the weaknesses of little David's family. I want him to know the city and I want him to be taught what has made it tick for you to run it. He'll learn and whatever you do, don't try to influence him whatsoever, the man is more loyal to me than even you.”

“Is he the one you were referring to?”

“Yes, but if you dare try to test him, think about this. He's going to have orders not to trust you. He's going to have orders to put a bullet in your brain and to kill your family should you even attempt to seduce him. You think about it because he'll certainly do it.”

Michael looked pissed and I said, “Michael, you've began to undermine me. You've got it in your head my weakness is you.

You question my authority and you've began to piss me off with it. Let me tell you to your face I'll only put up with it so long before there's need to get rid of you and to put someone else in.”

I looked at him and then for added measure I said, “Do you love your wife so much you'll let her continue to raise your children if you're not in the picture?”

“No!”

“Then don't fucking cross me because when you're gone, she's the one who gets that job.”

“Rhette, it's taking some getting used to.”

“Accept it without question. The old me and the new me are two separate people.

You knew me when I was weak. You knew me when I was vulnerable. The vulnerabilities I have now are out there for everyone to see. I use them as strengths because it's the way I've learned to adapt in prison. Knowledge is power there and without that power, they can know everything and not have a fucking clue how to get to me. You know how to get to me, but you've got to wait.”

“I'm not a patient man.”

“I'm not about to let you to fuck things up for me. The reason we're having this conversation in front of two leaders is because I'm close to taking your ass to trial. You think about it because I certainly am.

Go and run your city and think about how you're going to get over on the people who are under you. Leave me out of those plans and we'll get along great until the day comes when we eventually are able to put a relationship in order. Until then, don't let it enter your mind.”

Beck looked at me and little David looked like he'd just won the jackpot.

“Yes, in the future, Michael and I will be getting together. He wants it as do I, but there's my relationship with Steve which is in the way. I've given my word to Steve and I'll fulfill that agreement until death. If Steve dies, Michael's on deck. It's my hope Michael waits a long time.

Should Michael ever get so impatient he thinks he can get rid of Steve, I'll kill Michael and he'll have nothing. Before it happens, I'll embarrass him by bringing him to trial.”

“You've embarrassed me already.”

“By exposing your vulnerabilities! Or, were your words to me lies?”

He stepped back and I said, “Michael, if they were lies, you just pissed off the last person in the world you wanted to do it to. If they're the truth, you better speak up now because so help me, I'll strip you of any power you ever hope to gain and have.”

“They're the truth.”

“Then don't be embarrassed. The sooner people know the truth, the sooner you can be free and have a life where you can be at peace.”

“He'll use it against me.”

“Michael, there's a reason Beck is in here. She can testify against him just as you or I. With three accusations, he dies as do you and me, that's what it takes.”

He looked at little David and said, “If you ever attempt to use it against me, I'll not take it to trial. You'll be killed and I'll do it in such a way it'll be so fucking embarrassing...”

“Michael, don't threaten me. I'm surprised because I thought it years ago. About then, you came up with another kid, so I had to let those suspicions rest.”

Michael looked at me and said, “See!”

“Yes, you brought a child into this world to show what a man you were. You tightened the noose a little tighter. What a dumb ass.”

I turned to little David and said, “It doesn't matter. The future is what we've got to look toward and not the past. It doesn't matter one bit in regards to St. Louis because the management in St. Louis is changing.

Go and tell your family to retire or they'll be the next bunch I round up and have exterminated.”

“I'll tell them, but I think you'll be getting rid of a lot of people.”

“Let me know their answer. It'll have to be done at the same time I round up the Michaels otherwise the element of surprise will be gone.”

He nodded and that's when I stepped across the room to Michael and kissed him on the lips. “In our family, when a Don kisses you on the lips, it means you're going out to die. You remember it because it's the last time I'm going to let you question my authority.”

I stepped back and said, “You were witness to it. He can take it home and jack with it, or he can take it home and think I'll not kill him. The end result will Michael will be dead if I so much as get another questioned decision.”

Michael looked visibly shaken. They left and Beck stood there smiling at me.

“What!”

“You played him like a fiddle!”

“The music was sweet, wasn't it.”

“IT sounded a little strained coming from him, but you called him out and he came.”

“Well, he's got to wait.”

“I think he was playing you. I think now he's got to do what he's said otherwise you'll have him killed.”

“Yes, because the lies he told warrant it. Now, he's got to either show them to be lies, or he's got to make them the truth. The one key he had to make it happen faster just got told in front of you.”

“What's that?”

“He could have always had Steve killed and then, he would have had me sooner.”

“Would he have done that?”

“He could have. Who knows what is in the mind of a man who now sees the power I have and thinks he can manipulate it.”

“By seducing you.”

“Yes.”

“Shrewd, you called him out.”

“Yes, now he's got to go do for me and strengthen my power while giving up his.”

“You moved him so you could weaken him!”

“Yes”

“Yet, your moving John and I is strengthening us.”

“Yes, but soon, you're going to be over a city and it's going to divide your loyalty with John.”

“It'll work. We've worked with something similar in our jobs.”

“I don't want to cause a problem, but your leadership skills can't be ignored.”

“I'm honored.”

“No, it's something you do and it's the way you do them. Either you have it, or you don't.”

“And you've got it in abundance. It's the way you carry yourself. What's interesting is I don't see it at all with little David and with Michael, it's like it ebbs and flows.”

“Yes, what's his problem is his weakness. He's been told to not let it happen again, but I think it's a flaw.”

“Don't hold it against him.”

“I have to. Me having to call him and those two in is due to his flaws. If he'd been a strong leader, I'd not have had to deal with it.”

“Your problem is you're not patient enough to let people do what you expect of them.”

“No, I'll let them, but right now, I don't have time. It'd be like if I sent you home and told you I was sending a moving van to move you in an hour and it's going to roll in an hour whether you like it or not. You'd find yourself packing and you'd not give it the attention you could if you'd had a week. When things are dropped on me like this, I've got a set amount of time and that's it.”

“Why?”

“This month, I've got to get Missouri and Florida on line with things. Next month, I'm going to be given Ohio, Texas, and Arkansas. Do you think little John is testing me? I do. I happen to think if I pass the test, I'll be given a few other states the month after those.”

“Ok, so you're hurrying and you're stretched thin.”

“Yes, what I've got to do is take care of problems and perceived problems and do it so it's taken care of rather than going to come back and bite me when I'm busy with something else. If I don't, valuable time is going to have to be spent taking care of the problem the way I should have in the beginning.”

“Man, that's pressure.”

“The good thing is I know the problems of these people. I know what their history is. Where I'm going to have a problem is when I'm thrown cities and states I have no clue as to what the problem is and how to stop them.”

“Ok, so how will you handle it?”

“What I'm going to have to do is talk with the leader and listen to whom he says is his problem people. Then, I'll have to get in there and speak to them and see why they're a problem.

Most of the problems can be handled by moving people, but in cases like the Michaels, I've got to do what I'm doing.”

“I'm not up on the problem there.”

“They attempted to overthrow Gino. The fucker who was responsible took the evidence to Michael who horded it for him rather than telling Gino.

In a way, Michael became an accessory to the problem. Little David's dad was smart enough to find out and use it to gain him and his family personal esteem with Gino because he gathered it and used it. Where his problem arose was he did it from a jail cell which made everything he did suspect.

My personal opinion is he thought Gino would grant him a favor and get him out of the jamb he was in, but I don't know. What I do know is Gino didn't and he let the man get his just reward.”

“Why?”

“In our organization, if you choose to kill someone, you do so and you're guideline is to never do it in front of a child or with another family member in close proximity. That's the rule. There are no exceptions.

Big David killed someone in front of little Jimmy which is a strict no-no because little Jimmy by all rights could take it and carry the war into the future generations. Where he's got a problem is his family was at fault for the attempted take over against Gino.

Now, I'm in and I'm looking at the mess and thinking if I get rid of the Michaels, I've done the bidding of little David's family. Rather than do it, I'm giving little David amnesty and telling the rest to get out and they're not welcome. If they don't leave, then they'll be at that trial and the body count will be a lot higher.'

“So you've granted amnesty to little Jimmy and to little David.”

“Yes.”

“My question is when do they stop becoming littles and become bigs? By doing that, you're acknowledging in your new organization the ones you don't want in there.”

“You're entirely right. I'll stop it at once.”

“It's just an observation.”

“Well, you're right and I'll tell them it's now ceased. To me, they're the ones that are pledged to me and not anyone else.”

“What's the next step?”

“The next step is I order this place gutted and then stay away because this is where David and Michael both think I'm going to be. If they suspect, it'll be blown off the top of this building and they'll expect me to be here.”

“So you use this for meetings and not have it as a headquarters.”

“This is the Miami headquarters. There's no question about it. Everyone's been told David is the head of it, so he will be until we can get someone in that will be a responsible leader.”

“Can I suggest someone?”

“Yes, but I'll have to meet them and get to know them.”

“I've got a friend. He's gay, but he's the person I most want to be like. He can take a group of people and get them organized and all moving in different directions. I think once you meet him, you'll see he's an ideal candidate.”

“Ok, give him a call and tell him I'll need to meet him.”

“He's been called. It's a question of when.”

“Tomorrow. He'll have to fly with me, but I've got to do some things which need to be done. It'll be good because I've got to go shopping and make a trip to San Diego.”

“That's going to make a long day of it.”

“Yes, but there's not much choice. I've got to speak with them out there and see about running a port and docks. I need know how and I've got to get control of these, or I'll lose them. That's not going to happen.”

“Ok, I'll let him know. When?”

“Tell him to call me about 11pm tonight. I'll talk with him. Do you want to go out with me?”

“Yes, but I think John should go too so he can see how one is ran properly. Otherwise, he'll think what he's walking into down there is the way it should be done.”

“Ok, that's a point.”

“We went out of the room and I said, “I've got to go to the hospital. Thank you for everything you've done tonight.”

“No problem.”

I looked at all the guys and said, “We're done here. IF you don't have a place to stay, the Radisson is going to be open for us. That's where I'll be staying.”

I looked for my plane guard and found him in the kitchen. I flipped open my phone and called for the helicopter. “I need you on the roof.”

“I'm here.”

“Ok, we'll be up directly.”

I flipped the phone shut and prepared myself another sandwich and grabbed a can of diet Coke. I turned to the guard and said, “Come on, we've got to go to the hospital and then we'll be done for the night.”

“Ok”

I looked over at little John and said, “You coming to the hospital?”

“No, I'm going to fly back to South Carolina.”

“Ok, Give Steve my love and tell him I've got a long long day tomorrow, but I will be home tomorrow night.”

“Give me a call.”

“It'll be late if it's tonight, but I'll call.”

“I'll be up. The guys are on their way back.”

I looked over and little Jimmy was standing there looking a little uneasy.

“A few minutes ago, it was brought to my attention I'm making a mistake by calling you little Jimmy and little John because I'm giving your fathers honorary membership in my organization. From now on, that's not going to happen. I don't know how I'm going to differentiate between everyone, but I'll figure it out.”

Little John said, “Call me LJ. Call little David, LD. Little Jimmy can be himself because his father is an enemy of yours.”

Jimmy looked at me and said, “Rhette, can I ride with you?”

“We've got space, but I'm not going to let you see David as he is. If you come, you're to be a guard for me and act in that capacity.”

“Ok, it's just I don't know anyone down here.”

We went up the fire stairwell to the roof and all climbed aboard the helicopter. It seated six, but with the four of us in it, the other two would have had to be children. As soon as the door shut, we lifted off.

We flew for a short time and sat down. “I'll give you a call as to when we'll need you. Fly around and if you need to refuel, do so and we'll get you when you are back up.”

“Ok”

We went off the roof and down to where they had David. As soon as I entered the floor, the nurse intercepted me and said, “The doctor would like to speak with you.”

“Ok, tell him I'll be in the room with David.”

“He needs to speak with you before then.”

“Tell him he can speak to me in that room. No one is so powerful they can get the attention David deserves. I'm more than a bit pissed at him because I've not been getting phone calls and updates I should have been receiving.”

“I'll let him know.”

I went into the room and went over to David. I took his hand and said, “I'm here”. I felt him squeeze my hand.

“Can you hear me?”

Squeeze.

“I've been building up the organization down here. It's been busier than hell.”

Squeeze.

“My only hope is I'm not making mistakes.”

Shake

“In the room with me is a woman named Beck. You don't know her, but she's going to be our first woman leader. She'll probably go over Houston, or San Antonio.”

Shake

“Then where?”

Firm downward shake.

“Here?”

Squeeze

“Ok, are you sure?”

Squeeze

“Ok, I'll tell her.”

I looked at Beck and said, “He says here.”

She nodded and said, “He probably wants all the testosterone to be downgraded and taken down by a woman.”

Squeeze Squeeze

“That's it.”

She giggled and said, “If we have me here, it'll make them think we're weak, but it'll make the stupid ones come out into the open more where we can cut off their little heads.”

Squeeze Squeeze

“He agrees.”

“Don't wear him out.”

“David, I'm sorry I've not been here more today.”

Shake

“Well, I've been calling because the fucking doctor can't seem to put me on the call list to update me.”

Shake

“You don't want him to?”

Squeeze

“Why the hell not!”

Shake

“David, I need you.”

Shake

“Bullshit, you get out of this place and get back to me. I've got so many questions I need you with me.”

Squeeze

“You're trying?”

Squeeze

“Well, it'll happen.”

Squeeze

He opened his eyes a little and I said, “You know, if those eyes were looking at me any differently, I'd be seeing your father. Them opening would mean the world to me.

Because they're you, I'm happier than I could be any other way, but the way I love you isn't near the way I loved your dad.”

Squeeze

“I know. You love me too.”

Squeeze

The doctor entered and David shut his eyes.

“You're wearing him out!”

“Bullshit, this man has hidden reserves you have no clue.”

“We're keeping him sedated.”

“He was just awake. Obviously, if he's sedated, you're full of shit.”

“Then we're not giving him enough.”

“Shake”

“He doesn't want that.”

“How do you know?”

“He's squeezing my hand for yes, shaking for no, and when he's firmly set on something, he about rips it off.”

“Really!”

“Yes, now, if he's coming back around to lucidity, you get him so he can come back up and don't try to sedate him.”

“We have to do it so he can't be worn out.”

“Then do it so he has moments of lucidity and then put him under for his rest. Let him see Rose when he's lucid.”

Squeeze harder than hell.

“He nearly squeezed my hand off.”

“Ok, I'll make sure it happens.”

Squeeze

“Now, while I've got your ass here in front of me, I want to know why the fuck I've not been called. Why I'm not being updated on his condition. And why you lied to me.”

“When did I lie to you!?”

“Last night, you told me I'd be called.”

“I attempted to do so and got told your plane was burning out at the airport.”

“It was, but not with me in it.”

“How'd you get out?”

“Wait just a minute. Why are you so concerned? You mentioned it like you knew something about it, let me make a call and see if John made the comment to you, or if you made the comment to him about it burning.”

I flipped open the phone.

“You can't use that here!”

“Fuck you dude, I'll use it anywhere I damned well please.”

LJ answered and said, “Yeah”

“When you spoke with the doctor last night, did he mention the plane burning to you? Or, did you mention it to him?”

“HE mentioned it to me.”

“Ok, wherever you are, get me a doctor in here because this motherfucker just got taken away from David.”

“You suspect him.”

“Yes”

“Holy fuck!”

“Get down here and get him away from me and David.”

I looked up and Beck had a pistol pulled on the doctor. “Doctor, if you'll kindly leave the room and go out to the waiting room and turn yourself over to the guards there, I'll be most appreciative. If you don't, I'll be all to happy on killing you here.”

The doctor looked stunned and I said, “Beck, follow him and make sure that's what he does. If he attempts to call anyone, you get him so he can't make thae call.”

“Will do”

The doctor said, “You'll hear about this!”

“I'm sure I won't. David is under my direction. He'll agree with my decisions.”

David squeezed my hand and I asked Dave, “Was he your personal physician?”

Shake

“He said he was”

Shake

“Ok, that's a lie I've got him on. I'm glad you're with us because now we've got to get you a new team in here to work with you.”

The nurse entered and said, “I've got to give him his medicine.”

“Don't touch a thing. There's a new team down here to take over. You're relieved of your duty. I'll sit with him and guard him until they arrive.”

“But!”

“You heard me, if you move towards this man to do anything, I'll kill you myself.”

She turned around and I called after her. “Go to the guards in the waiting room and get them in here.”

She never went that direction and I got up and went out into the hall. “I believe I told you.”

She pulled up a pistol and aimed it at me. A shot rang out and her head was instantly obliterated. I turned and saw Beck standing there.

“Go get the guards and get them in here. I'll call damage control and we'll get this cleared.”

I flipped open my phone and hit speed dial #2, it was answered. “Get Damage Control to the ICU now”

No answer. All I heard was a click.

Footsteps running to my right, “Seal this place off and get me two men on David to see no one gives him meds and no one is near him. Damage Control is on their way.”

Beck walked over to me with the pistol in her hand. The look on her face told me it was her first kill. I hugged her.

“Babe, thank you.”

“She was going to kill you.”

“Yes, and you saved me.”

“I killed someone else. Oh my God!”

“Beck, things are crazy here. She would have done it. She was ordered to do it and the doctor was ordered to do something, of which I'm not sure. I'll find out in a second.”

I went over to the nurses station and got a styrofoam glass and filled it with water. I took the pill out of my pocket and opened the little zip lock bag. I went to the waiting room and told the guards, “One of you get on one side and the other on the other side. He's going to take this pill whether he likes it or not and whether he spits it out or not.”

The guards got on each side of him and I said, “Open your mouth, you son of a bitch!”

His mouth stay shut. I kicked him in the nuts with my knee. He opened his mouth and I put the pill in all the way to the back and poured the water in.

“Either swallow it, or I'll make you take it up your ass.”

He swallowed it and asked, “What was it?”

Something that will get the truth I'll be seeking.

I turned to the guards and said, “Stay with him and hold him down. He'll have about 20 minutes until it takes affect. Until then, he could still commit suicide to get out of answering my questions.”

They nodded and I went into David's room. Beck was following me around. I hugged her and took David's hand.

“Dave, the nurse just died. Beck protected me from getting shot.”

Squeeze real strong. His eyes came open and he looked at Beck. He winked at her.

She giggled and I said, “That's the seal on your promotion!”

“Who is he?”

“He's Gino's son. He's also the best friend I have. He's the smartest guy in this organization and he's going to be my father in law.”

“Oh”

David's eyes stayed open. He attempted to speak and I said, “Dave, I'll get your hand unrestrained, but you can't do anything to your IV's.”

He nodded and I unrestrained his hands.

He motioned for a pencil. I got him a pencil and pad. He wrote.

“Tell Rose I love her”

“I'll give her this paper.”

“Where is she?”

“I imagine she's at the hotel. It's late.”

“Ok”

“Can you type?”

“Yes”

“One moment, I'll get you a laptop so you can communicate better.”

“Headache”

“You've had head trauma.”

“They told me”

“Well, I'm sorry about it. The guy is dead.”

“Accounts?”

“WE got them. There's nearly a hundred billion in them.”

“Ours?”

“Every bit. I'm using them for some ordinances, but most of them are going to a plan I have.”

“Use for people”

“I am.”

“Vegas?”

“I've not checked on them.”

“Do”

“They have to be ridden that hard!”

“Always”

“Then I'll get new people in there. That's fucked up.”

“They'll revolt”

“They'll wish they had that option. They're not going to get it”

“Rhette”

“Yes”

“Do it my way”

“Who are you? Frank Sinatra!”

“Not a joke”

“Dave, it's got to change.”

Beck came running in with the guard's laptop. We hooked it up and quickly got an over the bed table adjusted so his hands could go on it. It was tough for him, but he typed away.

“Call them and give the codeword Arabian”

“Ok, I'll do it now.”

I flipped open the phone and dialed. It was answered “Arabian”

“Who are you?”

“Rhette Michaels”

“Are you who he appointed?”

“Yes”

“He still alive?”

“Yes, but he's sedated with a lot of head trauma.”

“Ok, it'll be temporary. Today's totals were a hundred and eleven.”

“Million!”

“No, thousand. I hope we never make that much.”

“Just for the hotel?”

“Yes, you'll have to call them all. Now, what do you want for me to do with this money?”

“Wire it to the account you always do.”

“It's a new account every day. In the past three years, it's been a different one every day.”

“Ok, I'll have to do it. Wire it to this account. Can you put it on debit cards?”

“I can put it anywhere.”

“Ok”

I pulled my debit card and gave him the numbers.

“Tomorrow will have to be a different account.”

“I'll get it done. Is it always around that total?”

“This was a slow weekend. Most of the time it's up about a hundred and sixty.”

“Ok, I don't know these things.”

“Learn because this is the only conversation we'll have about it. From here on out, do it business like and just give me the account number.”

“Ok, but this has to change.”

“Not for you it won't!”

“Oh believe me, you have no clue who I am.”

“I'll run a check.”

“I'll have someone call you to tell you who I am. You'll find out a lot more that way.”

“No, because I'll only deal with who I trust.”

“I'll have a swarm of people desend upon your hotel then, you'll be amazed.”

“This is the last call I'll have with you. Good Bye”

I hung up and David typed. “You pissed him off.”

“Who is he?”

“Jack”

“Jack who.”

“Jack Nehoff”

“Real funny. That's a fake name. The guys an asshole”

I flipped open my phone and called LJ.

“Yes”

“Get a whole team of guys out to Las Vegas and get them to swarming that hotel. Get a guy by the name of Jack Nehoff and put him in a bin of an ice maker and lock the fucker in there. Turn it on and let him see his eminent demise coming with each load it drops on him.”

“What'd he do?”

“He's our money man out there. He's nothing but attitude and he needs to know I'll not put up with it.”

“Hang on, I'm getting a call.”

“Ok”

I heard him in the background tell the guy, “Yes, you just pissed him off. He's ordering me to kill you. Yes. It will be done. Yes, I'd say you should call him back and apologize your ass off and show a lot less attitude. The man is running this country now. I'm not joking. I turned it over to him. Good bye”

“Rhette”

“Yes”

“He'll be calling you. Give him another chance.”

“I will, but that's bullshit. We should never have to kiss an ass to work with someone.”

“I know”

My phone beeped. “He's calling now.”

“Talk to him.”

“OK”

I flipped over to Jack

“I'm sorry.”

“Last fuck up. From now on, we're not going to do it that way. If the feds are that tight on you, then I'll get them off of you. From now on, the work is for you to do. If you want a new account, you put the money into a new account and you send it to me in a text message on this phone. I'll call you if there are no problems. If there's a problem, I'll be on your ass like you won't believe.”

“Ok”

“Now, do you have the suite David requested?”

“None was requested here.”

“Well, from now on, you keep a suite available at all times for my use. Should my family come in to use it, they'll have the suite number and they'll be expecting full comps. If the person comes to the desk to request the suite, then they're not to receive comps. IS that clear?”

“It'll be made available.”

“Ok, now, when I'm out there Jack, I expect to meet you and there not to be any attitude from here on out.”

“You're asking for things we don't normally give.”

“Well, who built that motherfucker and who paid for it?”

“David did.”

“With my money! Now, from here on out, there are going to be things changing. If you can not or will not accept that change, I'll get someone in there who will.

From your voice, I'd say you're not the head of that motherfucker and I have no idea why David would even entertain the thought of putting up with bullshit.”

“I am the head of it.”

“And you speak to everyone like this? He's your fucking boss!”

“This is something which can't be messed up. It's not our city!”

“Bullshit, it is our city! I'll be out there to wake them up if they think otherwise!”

“I wasn't told that.”

“You were told I'm over the United States. Until someone tells me otherwise, Las Vegas is a part of the US.”

“Ok, well, I wasn't made aware you were over us.”

“But you were in that conversation. I was on the line with him when you spoke to him. I heard it.”

“He did say you were over him now.”

“Yes, but he's also one of my most trusted, so don't diminish his power.”

“I'd never do that”

“I know if you have his number, you're trusted, so I'll keep it in mind. Do me a favor and you call the other hotels and you pass along the message.”

“It has to be done by you. They'll not tell me a thing.”

“Ok, but I'll refer them to you. This is as I've said....bullshit.”

He chuckled and said, “You cut through it nicely.”

“And it won't return when David's back up to speed?”

“No”

“Good, then we understand each other. I'll ring off now.”

“All will be made as you've asked it.”

“Thank you.”

I hung up and saw David typing away. The list was long and the code words were all different.

“David, I'm cutting through the noise once and for all. You've been putting up with it and for God knows why.”

“They're not patient people.”

“Well, little John let him know I'm now over the United States. I guess I just got promoted!”

David typed, “He had no choi....” and then began giggling and coughing.

Beck stepped forward and began grabbing a suctioning machine from the wall. She took off the ventilator tube and started suctioning out the airway. David's coughing spell subsided and she said, “That tube's not needed. It needs to come out. He obviously can breathe on his own.”

Dave, she's going to take out the breathing tube.

He nodded.

She said, “I didn't say that.”

“Do you know how to do it?”

“Yeah”

“Ok, then go ahead. The other doctor will ok it if it's not needed.”

“I could lose my license by doing it.”

“Or not.”

She smiled. “Or not”

She looked at Dave and said, “I'm going to leave that machine off you. We'll have to wean you to regular air. It'll take a bit, we'll get it done in the next two hours.”

He nodded and then winked at her.

“If his eyes are like his dad's I can see why you fell for him.”

“They are. Gino's eyes were the windows to his soul. They told me everything.

His grandma's eyes were the same way. That's why I loved her so much. If you'd met her, you'd see why I want you in our organization and believe me, she would have approved of us getting a woman head!”

Dave nodded and smiled

“Does Rose know you're awake?”

He typed in, “I squeezed her hand”

“You squeezed mine yesterday.”

“No today”

“Ok, I just wanted to know. Maybe you can speak to her tomorrow and tell her how much you love her.”

He nodded his head vigorously.

Beck said, “Your voice needs to rest after the tube is pulled. This tube is irritating your vocal cords, you'll have a lot of coughing which will happen.”

She said, “Dave, I'm going to go ahead and pull the tube. You're numbers up there tell me you're doing excellent on room air, so I'll pull it.”

He nodded and then she said, “For an hour after it's pulled, you can't speak. Rhette isn't going to make you speak and you're going to cooperate with me, ok?”

He nodded and she went to get a shringe. She put it to the tube in his mouth and pulled a shringe full of air out of the tube.

“When I pull this, you're going to cough. I'll try to pull this fast enough so it's not in the airway.”

He nodded and she took another shringe of air off of it.

She pulled and it came out. He began coughing and his face got really read.

She massaged his back and he made motions with his hand.

“No, no water. Not until you're done coughing. You'll put it into your lungs and then you'll have pneumonia.”

The coughing continued and then subsided. He looked at me with a look like, 'that was hell' and I nodded.

I got him a water cup and while I was out, I asked a guard, “Why isn't she covered? And, do you have it so anyone could walk in and see her like that?”

“I never thought about it.”

“Part of damage control is making sure we help our team help us. Block it off and make sure she's not seen. Do NOT let anyone in this ICU until they've got the mess cleaned up.”

“Where are all the other nurses?”

“Dave's the only person in this unit. Because of our guards, we're paying for all those other beds to be down.”

“Ok, so she was the only nurse?”

“And he's the only doctor.”

“I think he's ready. His eyes are glazed.”

“OK, I'll be in there in a moment.”

I took the water in to David and said, “I need to go speak with the doctor. I gave him that pill you gave me to get answers.”

He nodded.

I went to the waiting room and said, “Doctor?”

“Yes”

“Who do you work for?”

“I work for your organization.”

“And who are you taking orders from?”

“A man in Tampa.”

“The man is now dead. All of the orders you were given, you're to ignore.”

“Ok”

“From now on, your allegiance will only be to me, or David. You'll be our doctor and you'll preside over our hospitals. Ok?”

“Yes”

“Ok, now you'll remember it, but you're not going to remember the man from Tampa, or ever wanting to hurt David. Am I understood?”

“Yes”

“IF you make a move towards him in any manner, you'll be killed.”

“Ok”

I left the room and went back to David. “He was under orders from Tampa to kill you.”

Dave looked perplexed.

“The guy which was over Tampa was upset because we took over down here. He thought it should have went to him. He ordered the hit upon you and then, last night, he ordered a hit upon me by making it so your plane caught fire with me in it.

When it didn't work, he tried doing the same thing to one of the new helicopters. Fortunately, I saw it had been moved, so I never flew it.”

David typed away madly. “What about my plane?”

“Looks like a bad piece of toast.”

“The engines?”

“I ordered them removed and they're going to be put on a new Citation X so we'll have a fast plane.”

He nodded.

“The company was kind enough to get us new planes. Little John got my family a new 737 for their use, so they'll have it to fly all over the place.”

He typed “New!”

“Still had the wrapping on the seats. Mom took it off.”

“That was fast” he typed.

“Little John got them Rolls Royces in less than a day. Rose's is special ordered and it's going to only take a month.”

“Why special order?”

“She wanted a baby blue one with a lot of special stuff.”

“Have Miami pay for it.”

“It's already paid for.”

“Get reimbursed.”

“I'll be reimbursed, but I've got to buy my brother a place to live down here so he can come.”

“Down here?”

“He's going to work for Burton trucking. They're paying him a good figure plus full benefits.”

“They've got problems.”

“They're corrected.”

“Bad management”

“It's taken care of. I left the owner in, but my brother is going to take over the maintenance for them.”

“Your brother in now?”

“No, he's closer, he's family.”

“Talk to him.”

“Either, or, it doesn't matter.”

He nodded and said, “He can't testify at a trial if he's not in and there's a lot of problems there.”

“OK, I'll talk with him.”

“There are other problem places.”

“I know, I took over the Radisson today because the owner was a dick and we're no longer associated with a place called the Bismark.”

“What happened?”

“The guy had his workers locked out of the employee bathroom. He got lippy with me and thought he was God. Well, I had him brought to me and the attitude didn't lessen. He wanted to try getting brilliant with me and I ordered the place ruined and a lot of health code violations to happen. What I'm doing is tomorrow, the health inspector will visit and a food editor from the Herald will be there to do a review which will be a smeer job.”

He nodded

“I've pulled all of our workers and they're now going to the Radisson until they get reassigned.”

“What about the docks.”

“No much yet. I've put Beck's husband in as a fire chief, but he'll be taught how the security runs so when we get the docks built up home, he'll be over them.”

He typed. “What if she's over Miami?”

“We'll cross the bridges as they come. We might promote who's over security to up there and advance John over Miami.”

He nodded.

“San Diego?”

“I'm going out there tomorrow to introduce Beck and to take John there to show him how it should look. I think I'll have Jimmy go with me so if things go bad we can advance Jimmy up, but right now Jimmy is going to be over buying hospitals for us.”

“Jimmy?”

“Little Jimmy from St. Louis”

Dave looked at me strange. “Have you lost your mind!”

“Little John wants him in. He's fine with things and knows I'm going to exterminate his whole family. His only request was a niece which Beck is going to raise.”

“He's ok?”

“From what I can tell, he's fine. We'll see where we can trust him, but for the most part, St. Louis is a non-issue for us now.”

“How so?”

“Michael is getting transferred to Tampa. I've got him where I want him emotionally, so that will be fine. Little David is going to go to Dayton, Ohio and he's going to be allowed to take his whole family there, but he's to tell them all of them are expected to retire out. If not, then I'll exterminate them.”

“Save Pete”

“Who is Pete?”

“Pete is Little David's brother. I own him lots of favors.”

“OK, should I give him a call?”

“I would. You can trust him with your life.”

“Can I trust him with a bunch of casinos?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, he'll get that call. Will he move?”

“I think so.”

“Ok, then he'll appreciate the move.”

“Pete's wife....”

“Yes”

“Make sure she's gone.”

“I'll do that.”

“Play the hard ass and tell Pete you've got evidence she's been unfaithful to him, his family, and our organization.”

“Ok”

“I've got the proof if you need it, but if you play the hard ass, you shouldn't need it.”

“Ok”

“Anything else?”

“We shut down the warehouse and moved to a penthouse. The penthouse sucks, but we'll get it remodelled and then it'll be somewhat acceptable.”

“I've bought one.”

“Where is it?”

“It's overlooking the docks. It's called the Port Mansion.”

“Ok, I'll look at it. The one we have is at the Clock Tower.”

“That place sucks!”

“Yes it sucks. That's why I said it has to be totally redone.”

“I looked at it and found it full of flaws.”

“Yes, but little John bought it and gave it to us as a gift. It's going to be where the guys meet, but not the head offices.”

“Use the Port Mansion. It's beautiful.”

“Ok, I wish I knew.”

“That's ok”

“Are there any other places available at the Port Mansion?”

“The top three floors I have options on. The top two are bought. The next three is what I mean.”

“Can we put my brother in one?”

“Clock Tower not good enough?” he smiled.

“For a pimp maybe but not my brother! We don't want to give him any ideas.”

Beck laughed.

“How's everything else?”

“The blast went off without a hitch. Steve's a big star on CNN and we're putting a lot of things into action there.”

“Good”

“My mom and the whole family came in. Kevin met JT, but my brother thinks Kevin has eyes for Steve.”

“May be. You'll have to be careful.”

“I will be, but Kevin and I have had a talk.”

“He couldn't mind you when you were together, what makes you think he'll do so now?”

“Don't tell me that. I've got enough worries.”

“Steve is a good man. Trust him, but don't trust Kevin.”

“Ok, I will.”

“IF anything happens, don't blame them. Do what you want, but know it was meant to be.”

“That's easier said than done.”

“Ok, but if it happens, I've got a fall back plan.”

“What?”

“Michael”

“Huh?”

“Michael and I had a talk today. He's committed himself to me. He's going to get a divorce.”

“And wait?”

“Yes.”

“Who's witness to this?”

“Beck and Jimmy.”

“How did he act?”

“When we were alone in a room together, he was all attention on me. Then, he was the flirtative self he is outside of it. When I put us four in a room together and spoke about the promise, he got pissed and I fronted him out and asked for him to let me know if I needed to take him to trial. He backed off and admitted everything.”

“Good, then he'll have to do it.”

“Or face trial.”

“He'll manipulate you to try taking power.”

“I'm aware of that. He's got Tampa and et's all he'll have. My job is mine and he's been told.”

“He'll still try to manipulate for more power.”

“David, let me worry about it if it ever comes to pass. Hopefully, it will be until death do us part with Steve and we'll have a lot of years to live before anything happens.”

“And Michael will wait?”

“He'll either wait, or he'll be known as a liar and his power will be replaced by someone who will be loyal.”

“Oooh, you're going to use it over him, aren't you!”

“I can't help but do it that way. He'd do it to me.”

David cleared his throat and tried to speak.

Beck stood up and said, “David, don't speak. If you do, you're voice will probably not get better. You'll have a sandpaper voice forever.”

“Water”

I gave him the water.

About then, the damage control guys got there.

“Take her away and make her disappear.”

“We'll have it cleaned up in a short time.”

“Thanks.”

The doctor came in and seemed like his old self.

“Doctor, run your meds by me before you administer them. I'll make a call and see if they're fine.”

“That's fine.”

“From now on, you're not to administer meds unless someone is in the room to double make sure it's what you're giving him.”

Beck said, “Rhette, if you don't mind, I'll see what they are.”

She looked at the doctor and said, “I'm a Registered Nurse.”

He said, “I'm giving him something to make his pain better.”

She looked at it and asked, “How much?”

He showed her and she nodded. “It's what he said it is and a dose which is going to alleviate the pain but not put him under.”

David looked tense.

“Dave, it's alright. I used that pill you gave me the other day to make things better.”

“Ok” he said

The doctor stood back and looked at him and said, “You have the tube out.”

“I told her to take it out. He didn't need it. He's not going to be heavily sedated any longer whether you like it or not.”

“That's fine. It looks like he's doing well.”

Beck said, “His numbers were looking good so I took it out.”

“That's fine. What happened to my nurse?”

“She had an accident. She accidentally aimed a gun at me and my people accidentally blew her head off.”

“Ok”

Dave looked at me and smiled. He made a motion with his finger and I said, “That pill is amazing. Total reprogram.”

He typed. “That's the plan. I want it in one of those dissolve strips so it'll work faster.”

“I told some of the people about some of our developments when we were pledging them in. I hope it's ok”

Dave nodded.

“They're as fascinated as I am about them.”

His hands flew on the keyboard again. “A lot of money goes into that project.”

“As it should. What's the funding looking like?”

“One of the casinos money goes directly to that fund.”

“Ok, that's a sound plan. Who's overseeing the expenditures?”

“Me”

“You need to put me on that list.”

“Ok”

“David, you scared me with this. There are so many things I don't know about our organization and it really bugged me to think I probably wouldn't have the chance.”

“I'm sorry.”

“No, it wasn't your fault. The secrecy is there for a reason, but we've got to trust each other.”

Beck said, “Dave, you don't know me, but I'll tell you how he introduced you to me when we were discussing you. He said you were Gino's son first. Then, he said you were his best friend second. Then, he said you were the nicest and most brilliant man he ever knew and your management style was what made your city and made everyone envious of you.”

He smiled and a tear rolled down his cheek.”

I leaned up and hugged him. “I said I loved you too.”

“Yes, he did say that” said Beck, “But, he didn't have to. As soon as he spoke about you, his eyes light up. It's like when he talks about Steve.”

“How's Steve” David said.

“He's doing well. The problem we now have is I dressed in drag to come down here and all of the new media outlets now think I'm his fiance' rather than his boyfriend. Since CNN is spotlighting him, I'm not going to out him, or refute everyone's thought.”

He nodded and said, “He running?”

“He's going to let it out tomorrow and is going to publicly propose to me on Wednesday up at the light house.”

Beck said, “You'll have the heart strings of the nation pulled.”

“If we could run him for the White House, I think I could get it for him the way we're going. But, the tightrope we're walking is really going to be a long one.”

Dave nodded and Beck said, “How long do you have to go for this?”

“He's just got elected to his last term as Sheriff. He'll have to walk that down, but the election for Governor is in 2010. From what I understand, if he gets elected to being Governor, the county will go ahead and grant his retirement since he's so close.”

“So you have to walk down an election and a campaign.”

“Yes. Right now, we're getting him positioned to look favorably in the eyes of the voters of South Carolina. We just had a big explosion up there, but we're choreographing the thing so it will last at least six or seven days.”

“Why?”

“Because a hurricane will last that long. If it's bad, it'll last a lot longer, but the full build up and aftermath is what takes that long.”

“How are you choreographing it?”

“That explosion didn't just happen. We made it happen.

The way it went was Steve and I were wanting David to come in to do some drug sweeps to get the drugs out. Then, during a fly over, our infrared scopes spotted a massive hot spot under the ground. We found out it was the lab and that the people from Miami weren't out like they said they'd be.”

“So Miami said they'd leave the lab?”

“No, the whole area. We went in and asked permission from Charleston and got it. David called Miami and told them to get gone. Then, we found out they never left. So, we blew the thing.”

“Ok, so you created a disaster with no victims.”

“The victims we have are the people in the lab. None other.”

“Ok”

“Then, what we did was we had Steve there right on it. The feds rolled in, but little John got them to defer to Steve and any press conferences, Steve is talked about favorably.

Then, yesterday, I went out and did some spots.”

“I know who you are now. You're damned good in drag because I thought you were a woman!”

“Yeah. But we did those puff pieces and they got a whole lot of pieces making us look like the ideal couple.”

“You are. He's a real looker.”

“He is, isn't he!”

She smiled and said, “See, those eyes light up and you're blooming like a rose when you talk about him.”

“Well, he's that sweet of a guy.”

“You two look good together. With you in drag, you look like the ideal young couple who's in politics.”

“Steve said we're being referred to as the Southern John and Jackie.”

“I can see that” she said. “You're prettier, but I can see it. With your hair blonde, it's ironic because he looks like John and you look like Marilyn.”

“Well, my hair goes black later this week, so you'll see me dark then.”

“You dye your hair routinely?”

“Why I did it was because I didn't want the Miami guys knowing who I was. The original plan was for me to come down, but not to get this whole area. Then, we got it and I had to get David down here. That's when he got attacked and I had to come back down.”

“So when you were doing those pieces up there, you knew about him being hurt down here?”

“No. What happened was I got the word right after those pieces were filmed. Then, I had to high tail it back down here rather than be there for Steve.”

“Ok, that's a hard call. Your husband's career or your best friend.”

“I made the right call. Steve understands. I don't think David would have understood if I hadn't came down and put him second.”

David said, “He made the right call.”

I held his hand and said, “Our strength is our respect for each other. The amount of time we've known each other is a long time and it's what helps.”

Dave said, “I wasn't always kind to him.”

Beck gave me a look and I said, “What he's referring to was me going to prison. I had probation bargained for and the judge went ahead and sentenced me.”

Beck looked stunned. “And you forgave him?”

“I didn't know it at the time. Afterwards, I looked at it as a life saving experience.

If I hadn't gone, I'd continued my alcoholism and probably would be dead. If I hadn't gone, I'd probably fucked around with someone who had AIDS and would be dead. Or, If I hadn't gone, I'd probably be dead from a whole wide variety of things.

But, I went and I met Kevin, so I don't have a thing to be upset over. The Lord grants us angels when we need them and I really think the decision saved me from myself.”

She smiled and said, “You two are friends now, right?”

Dave's “Yes” beat mine.

“What changed?”

Dave said, “He grew up”

I said, “Dave realized I really did love his dad and his dad loved me.”

“True” nodded Dave.

He took a sip of water and said, “My voice is coming back better.”

Beck looked at the clock and said, “You know, this is the fastest time has flown back for me visitting in a hospital. Usually, when I visit, it drags by.”

“Does it do it when you're at work?”

“No, when I'm at work, time flies.”

“Mine drug by today, but it's strange because parts of it really sped by, but others really drug by.”

She nodded and said, “When you were in those meetings with the guys, it really drug by. No one was talking out there.”

“Really?”

“It was quiet and no one spoke. When little John got there and came up and spoke to me, I was so surprised.”

“He's a nice guy.”

“Michael is gorgeous, but he knows it...which irks me in a man.”

“He does know it and he uses it to get people to get him things.”

“I think he was playing you until you called him on it. The way you did that was so cold hearted, I was impressed.”

“Well, he wasn't going to be pulling it change up routine on me. I decided to get it made public knowledge for that reason.”

“If I were you, I'd look for every flaw you can find down there because I think he's going to try a lot of sneaky things.”

David said, “Make sure you're on the bank accounts and you make sure the accountant is ours.”

“Ok”

“I'll also make him take me around for a week sometime as a surprise visit. If he attempts to get secretive on me, I'll call him out on it so fast you won't believe” said Dave. He coughed and then looked at me.

“Dave, don't talk so much.”

“The man pisses me off.”

“I know, but me knowing he had the evidence when your dad was taking them to trial is what has me irked.”

“When you take them to trial. Take him to trial on it. You don't have to do anything, but I think it'd be good to have it public knowledge so it can show he was pulling it.”

“Ok, but I forgave him of it.”

“No, you publicly censure him and make sure everyone knows it's by the grace of God he's walking out of there.”

“Ok”

“One thing I'm going to do is I'm going to publicly walk up and slug him when the evidence comes out.”

“Little David is getting me the evidence.”

“How'd he get it.”

“Michael's sister Tammy stole it and sold it to him.”

“Ok, so where's she at in all this?”

“If you really want to know how small of a world it is, Tammy is Kevin's ex wife.”

“Your Kevin?”

“Yes.”

“How'd that happen?”

“Kevin was Big David's cell mate. Kevin knew all the secrets so Big David knew he had to get Kevin and her married so they'd not testify against each other. The reason for it was because Big David was going to the death chamber and could afford to tell any investigators to go fuck themselves. He knew they'd not pull him in to testify on their behalf.”

“Ok, I'm seeing the picture clearer.” nodded David.

“Well, somehow, little David had a close tie with Tammy for a long time. I don't know what it was, but without him saying it, I know he knows where she is even nowadays.”

David asked, “Are you going to pull her in on charges?”

“What would I charge her with?”

“Obstruction”

“Do we have it?”

“Yes, it's the same as perjury. She knew the evidence was there and she didn't use it to help anyone in little John's organization.”

“Ok, I'll do that. Won't she be surprised when I'm there bringing up the charges and she finds out I'm Kevin's ex.”

“Would it help her, or hurt her?”Asked Beck.

“Her actions won't help her because it was Gino he ended up hurting by failing to turn things over.”

“Ok, so you admit there are times it would help her too.”

“Yeah, I do know her and I do like her.”

“So you knew her and didn't know she was the one?”

“No, because the girl I knew was younger than Kevin let on and had been married to someone else and had kids.”

“Ok, so it was a lot of things which didn't add up which had you thrown.”

“Yeah, but what was nice is I knew her and liked her. Then, when I started putting the pieces together, it was strange because the person by the name I knew and the one he mentioned was all adding up to being the same person. The only difference is we knew her at different times and so much had changed.”

“Is she happy now?”

“I don't know. She was prostituting herself at the time, but was coming off drugs and building a relationship with a guy named Everett.”

“So you don't know if she's ok now, or not.”

“No, but I'm sure little David would know.”

Dave said, “Ask him. Get the whereabouts so you know where to go get her because if Michael knows she'll testify against him, he'll probably make her disappear.”

“Oh fuck, I'm having him talk to her.”

“You better get that changed and get possession of her before he does.”

“What I'll do is I'll pull him back down here tomorrow and get Alex over there to get her.”

“It'd be smart.”

I flipped open my phone and dialed Michael.

“Hello?”

“It's me.”

“Don't you ever sleep?”

“Very little”

“What'd you call for?”

“First thing in the morning, I need you back down here.”

“When?”

“As soon as possible, we're going to fly to San Diego.”

“I have some business engagements.”

“Michael, don't refuse me. It's not an option.”

“What do you want Rhette?”

“Truth be known, I want you to bring your sister down here.”

“That's not possible.”

“Why?”

“I'm going to be having a conversation with her.”

“So you deny me again.”

“For it, I'll have to.”

“Prepare yourself for trial. We'll hold it tomorrow. I'll have some guys go up there to apprehend you. If you aren't at your house, I'll take possession of your house and all your children.”

“You'd do that to me?”

“You've been throwing attitude since we left that room. I want her down here and I want you to provide her for me.”

“Not possible.”

“Say it one more time and I'll apprehend your body with your brains blown out. You're pissing me off and I'll let you know it now.”

“Rhette, I've got to get off the phone.”

“Don't you dare.

Until I get her, your future is in jeopardy. When I get her, you better hope she's alive and she's willing to talk to me. If she's been harmed, I'll throw your ass in court so fucking fast you wouldn't even begin how fast I can convene a hearing.”

“Stop threatening me.”

“Ok, the threats just ended. I'll see you in about three hours and we'll hold trial.”

I snapped shut the phone and opened it. The first person I dialed was little John. “Hello”

“Throw your clothes on, we're going to St. Louis to have a trial.”

“Why?”

“Several reasons. The first is Michael thinks I won't do it. Second is he's attempting to get rid of his sister to stop her from testifying against him when I take him to trial. Third is insubordination, and as I get there, I'll find out more of the charges.”

“So you want me to come?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, but this is a goose chase.”

“What would you do if you told someone to produce someone for you and they refused you directly.”

“Blow their head off and let them know it meant that much to me.”

“Well, he's going to know I'm going to strip him of everything”

“So you want me there for that?”

“You're there because I respect you and plenty of people respect you.”

“I'm not a part of your organization.”

“And, you said I was over the entire US, so is everyone now under me?”

“You caught it, did you!”

“Yes”

“I said it because it's on my mind a lot more now.”

“Well, work with me on this.”

“I'll be there. Get everyone there.”

I called little David. “Hello?”

“We're going to take Michael to trial. I'm on my way now.”

“Now?”

“Yes. So if you know where Tammy is, get her and keep her safe for me until I get there.”

“He just called asking for her.”

“He knows I want her and he refused to bring her down here for me. I strongly suspect he knows I'm about to pull him into that trial for the Michaels and have you and her testify against him.”

“You'd do that?”

“If anything, I'd do it to demonstrate what he did so everyone knew.”

“Man!”

“Yeah, so if you're friends with her, do her a favor and keep her alive.”

“He's closer to her than I am. He'd already have her dead.”

“Where's she located?”

“U City.”

“Give her a call and tell her to get to Forest Park at the parking lot across from the entrance to the zoo.”

“That parking lot closes at night.”

“The street parking doesn't. I parked there a lot because at night time, it's a cruising area.”

“Ok, you want me to get there and pick her up?”

“Yes!”

“Ok, I'll call her.”

“Tell her Retta said to get there and if need be, tell her to take you where Kevin used to go all the time.”

“Where was that?”

“If you don't know and she takes you there, it it's a good hiding place. This is to save her life and I don't know if you're working with him, or not.”

“I'm not. When he called, I told him I was under you and didn't owe him a damned thing anymore.”

“How'd he take that?”

“He made some threats against you and said I'd see how long you were in power.”

“Ok, that was his death warrant which just got signed. Will you testify to that?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, now, have you spoken to your people?”

“My father wants to know if you're paying retirement benefits.”

“Tell him and everyone else, I'll pay the benefits and I'll pay for relocation.”

“Ok”

“One other things. I'm supposed to have you tell Pete I want him.”

“Pete?”

“Your brother”

“Ok, I've not talked to him yet.”

“Good, call him and get him to do this run with you and talk to him because he very well might get his own city real fast.”

“OK”

I hung up and said, “One more call.”

“Who to?” Asked Dave.

“Watch and see.”

“Alex?”

“Yeah”

“Get to a jet and fly to St. Louis. We're holding trial there at six am.”

“What!”

“You heard me. I need you there because it's your fucking city. Now get there because time is of the essence.”

“What's going on?”

“Are you walking AND talking?”

“No, I'm laying in bed.”

“Maybe I picked the wrong man for the job because everyone chooses to not listen and do as they damned well please. Get your ass up and get to grabbing clothes before you're added to the court docket!”

“What the fuck man!”

“You're over a city now asshole. It means even though I'm your boss, and you're over the city, it's you who's supposed to host the trial.”

“Okay.....”

“So get your ass on a plane because I'm going to be holding it with you or without you at six am sharp central time.”

“You're going to explain it then?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, I'm moving. Where we going to meet?”

“We'll meet at the airport in front of the main entrance. Call and rent a limo. They'll let it sit in front waiting.”

“Ok, so I'm going to be introduced to everyone?”

“Yes, they were told here today you're now over the city, so you're going to have to be there.”

“Damn, you move fast.”

“Michael is really acting stupid, but what I just heard signed his death warrant, so be prepared for an execution.”

“He did what?”

“He's making threats against me to little David about taking over when he gets me out.”

“He's insane!”

“He's jealous. He thinks he's entitled to it and I'll just let him fuck me and let him have it.”

“Oh man, you're kidding right?”

“I wish I was, but since I told him things tonight, he's treated me like shit.”

“Ok, well, it's time to let him know you're boss and to be taken seriously.”

“You didn't just say I'm boss.”

“You know what I mean.”

“You've not paused to get your shirt on yet. You dressed already or are you going in your birthday suit?”

“I'm going out front right now carrying my boots, and my shirt.”

“No jacket? It's cold back home.”

“Wait a moment. Let me go get a jacket.”

“Ok, hang up because I'm going to make one more call.”

“Ok”

I hung up. “Alex is so brain dead sometimes.”

“He's a good man.” Dave said.

“Yes, and if things were different, I would have been with him too.”

Dave said, “I knew about him wanting you.”

“Really? Why the fuck didn't you say something?”

“I thought my dad would come to his senses.”

“You knew when I went out that door and he didn't follow the decision had been made.”

“Rhette, the way he looked when you left was terrible.”

“Yeah, and he let me go.”

“You know my m\Meemaw gave him six kinds of shit, didn't you?”

“I knew. I could hear her yelling at him clear out at the street.”

He laughed and said, “There are three times in my life I ever heard her yell and that was one of them.”

“Only three?”

“Yeah, the other two were at me. Once was when I rode my bicycle in the house and skidded my back tire on the wood parquet.”

“You didn't!”

“Yeah. You forget I was raised in the house and thought it was a big old house not worth anything.”

“When did you change your mind about it?”

“When I got home from college. Until then, I thought it was embarrassing to live in it.

When I was in college, I realized all the big old houses like it were disappearing and the ones that were around were being donated to charities or whatever so corporations or non profits ran them.”

“Yeah, but you're fortunate to have one of the nicest in the Midwest.”

“Me?”

“It's yours.”

“No, it's yours. I have the will that says so and I've got the deed that proves Meemaw's is yours too.”

“Well, you're going to take one because Steve and I's kids have to have someplace to be raised.”

“Your raising them in South Carolina.”

“No, Steve's job is in South Carolina. I want my kids raised out of the public's eye and away so they're not treated any different than other people's kids.”

“Oh yeah, you take them away to a house which is worth probably more than Steve's whole plantation and call it normal!”

“What's normal about it is my kids aren't going to have a bunch of kids and people all giving them special treatment because their daddy is the Governor.”

“What's so bad about that?”

“Nothing if you want to raise spoiled and pretentious kids, but I want kids who are going to have level heads.”

“What about Steve seeing the kids?”

“WE have jets and both of us realize we're going to be commuters and away from each other for our jobs.”

“Ok, but commuting across four states to go to work?”

“Not all the time, but for the midweek, we can live in South Carolina, but weekends can be spent up there.”

Beck's head was going back and forth like she was watching tennis.

“Beck, where would your raise your kid?”

“I don't know. How old is she?”

“I don't know. Probably 11 or 12 I'd say.”

Beck thought for a moment and said, “I'd put her in a school which is going to get her classes advanced enough so she's assured to do well on her SAT's and ACT's so she can get into a good college.”

David said, “Don't worry about the college, she's going to get in wherever she wants.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because she'll be able to afford going without any sort of financial aid and loans. When you can do that, they tend to make sure you get in.” Dave said.

“I don't have that kind of money!”

David smiled and asked me, “I thought you said you were putting her over Miami?”

“Yes”

“And the bank account for Miami has what in it?”

“Nearly a hundred billion dollars.”

“How much does a full ride at Harvard cost now, do you think?”

“Probably a hundred grand a year. By the time her child goes, I'd say it's going to be about a hundred and eighty. So, let's say the four years costs a million.”

“How many million in a billion? A thousand?”

“So you could afford to send a kid to school a hundred thousand times if it were Harvard with the account.”

“Yes.”

“Beck, I'd say you can afford it.” Dave smiled.

“The money's not mine!”

I said, “Beck, let me give you a good clue how things go here. When I need money, I pull it from an account because they're paying for my time.

If I'm flying to a city, the host city is paying for my time. They're going to be paying for my hotel, my fuel for the jet, and if the jet burns on the runway, they're going to pay for my jet too.

When my people get hurt in the city, I'm going to use the account to pay for their hospital bills. SO believe me you can use the money as yours!”

She smiled and said, “I'd feel bad doing it.”

Dave said, “Beck, look at it this way. In Kansas City, I go through the money in the account like it's mine. It's Rhette's, but I figure I'm helping to make it so I'm entitled to using the money as my own.”

I said, “Even more so because he's the one that's been investing it so we can make more money.”

I looked at Dave and said, “If I'm over Kansas City and you're not going to be over Miami, where are you going to be?”

“What I'm going to do for the next few years is get that port built and get things operating you want.”

“Well, I'll tell you now we're going to be buying hospitals and getting an insurance company going.”

“Care to tell me why?”

“Because I think I have a good plan to make it work.”

“Ok, we'll discuss it.”

“I want an airline too.”

Dave looked at me and said, “While I've been under, how many more have went bankrupt?”

“None that I know.”

“Nine!”

“NONE”

“I'm surprised. There's a reason they're all in bankruptcy, Rhette. It's because they're NOT MAKING ANY MONEY.”

“They've got shareholders and we don't. We're not about the almighty buck and can afford to do things right. We can afford to keep an older plane and make a little more money from it rather than feeling compelled to go into debt.”

“Ok, those are valid points, now how are you going to make money?”

“First of all, the casinos are going to pay them to be painted and use them as flying billboards.”

“Ok, that's a thought.”

“Then, what we'll do is we'll fly like a regional airline, but we'll do it short and sweet.”

“What do you mean?”

“If someone wants direct non stop, we'll have those flights, but if they want a low cost no frills ticket, we'll have one which will guarantee our planes are full.”

“How?”

“In a regional, they fly from city to city in a region. What I think is we can fly a circuit and do just as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“A circuit would be like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, New York, Boston, Miami, and Hoston.”

“All on one plane?”

“Yes, if you want to get from New York to Chicago, you're going to have to ride the plane for a while, but you'll get there.”

“That's going to clog up a plane's passenger list.”

“Hon, I figure if the fares are low enough, they'll not mind”

“Ok, but we'll have to look into it more.”

“You didn't say no.”

“No, I didn't because I know with all those airlines going bankrupt, we're going to be getting a lot of good deals and can afford to buy a few and throw them together to make a major airline which will pull a lot of customers in.”

“Ok, plus we'll have a lot of planes.”

“Yes, and we'll be able to write off our own jets.”

“True. I've already thought of that.”

“What about the campaign advertising on the planes?”

“He's not running for President! He's running for a state's Governor!”

“Ok, I guess that'd be right.”

“We could use one of the planes for our campaign.”

“No because a lot of the airports are too small for a big jet.”

“Our little jets can land there.”

“Yeah, that's true.”

“If we have the little jets painted in corporate colors, then we can write them off right?”

“Yeah, but what I'm thinking is our planes being vanity.”

“What?”

“Look at it this way. If a star will pay a lot for a walk on the Walk out there in Hollywood, then they'd probably pay a lot to advertise on the plane. We could have planes for like the Mae West, Dolly Parton, etc...etc...etc... like the old war planes only they'd be paid for by the stars.”

“That's a neat thought. Kids would request to ride on a plane because of the star and the stars would look at it as publicity. I'd say it's a go.”

Beck said, “How would you do the advertising?”

“We'd have packages. For fifteen grand, they could have a pin up painted on a plane like the old war planes had. For fifty grand, they could have the plane painted with the star's name on it real huge. But for a hundred grand, they could have all sorts of silk screened photos painted on the plane and it'd be like those buses with the advertising on it.”

Dave said, “Rhette, you're not thinking expensive enough. Add a zero on the end of the price list you've got and you'll have a sponsorship which would be great and add to the profit line of the company.”

“Do you think we could get them to do it?”

“Yeah, there are stars now who are paying just to say people are searching for them on the internet. I think they'd pay a fee to keep the paint job on the plane for another year.”

I looked at Dave and said, “You'd charge them that a year!”

“Hon, you're not seriously going to fill up the fleet and not ever have another chance to sell the advertising, are you?”

“Well, I was thinking that?”

“No, the star only gets to advertise a year on that plane.”

“Ok, that's a plan, but what about the kid that wants to ride on the Arnold Shwartzenegger plane?”

“I'm sure some of those popular stars would be happy to take advantage of our lifetime plan for the advertising upon the plane.”

“How much is that?”

“Let's say it's going to be seven and a half million.”

“For what!”

“The premium paint job is going to be ten.” Dave smiled.

“That's crazy!”

“Hon, you're going to be amazed at how many are going to do it because no one else is doing it. I imagine some movie studios will pay for the plane as a part of the star's percs.”

“This is interesting. I'm in advertising and you're doing a whole lot better at it than me!”

“The difference is these companies know your sign isn't going to move from place to place all over the world. That plane will.

They also know planes generate interest and when you're at an airport, you look at the planes. It's going to be like those planes will be a magnet for everyone's eyeballs.”

“Ok, so we charge a premium for the advertising and then we use it to defray the cost of fuel?”

“No, we use the revenue to put it back into our coffers to use towards the purchase, or for buying the assets of another airline. I figure if they will ok the merger of two, then they'll ok the merger of a bunch we purchase into a super airline.”

“Ok, so we do that and then what?”

“We take the biggest and the best and we put those on to be used for the long flights. The older ones, we use for regionals. We change up the flight patterns to do what you said....regional which fly in patterns pulling in, but not in a pattern that big.

What I'm thinking if if we put a few planes in a set rotation over the west California skies, then we can move the passengers from one big city to another. My hope there is we get the commuters along with it by offering a set standard low cost rate for them, but for the once a year passenger, they'd pay a different fare.”

“Ok, so it's a go?”

“Wait and see what we can get. Ask around and find out what it will cost us to buy up those assets.”

“Who?”

“Let me make a few calls.”

“Ok”

He smiled and said, “You're a slave driver. I'm not conscious for two hours and you've got me on mergers and acquisitions.”

Beck giggled and said, “You appear to love it. The ideas are flowing like water from you and I hear an excitement in your voice which is infectious.”

Dave smiled and said, “I know why you got her. You need someone on your side!”

He giggled and said, “Seriously Beck, you're a great gal. You're going to get my approval.”

She smiled and I said, “It's unanimous. Everyone loves her.”

Dave asked, “Do you think you could find Rose. I'd hate to go back unconscious and not have seen her to tell her I love her.”

“I'll get her.”

I flipped open my phone and made a call. “Yeah”

“I need to know where Rose's guards are.”

“They're at the Super 8 downtown.”

“Ok, call them and tell them to contact Rose and tell her that David's awake and is as onry as ever.”

“Hey!”

“IS that him!”

“Yeah.”

“Oh thank God!”

“Yeah, I'm thinking that too.”

“I'll get her there on the double. You'll probably have a whole hospital full wanting to see it for themselves.”

“Only a few at a time.”

“Ok, we'll arrange it.”

I hung up and said, “Dave, they're getting here on the double. All of the guys want to come up and see the miracle for themselves. You apparently have a huge fan club for some reason.”

He smiled and I could see tears in his eyes.

Beck smiled and said, “You big old softy! You've got me blubbering!”

I looked up and tears were coursing down her cheeks. She smiled and said, “I don't know you Dave, but you're like a big brother already.”

He smiled and said, “That's what your name will be. Little Sister.”

She said, “I'll carry if with honor if you're my big brother.”

“I'll carry the name for you.”

Dave sighed and said, “Whatever they're giving me for pain is wearing off.”

“I'll get the doctor in here.”

I went out and got the doctor. “He needs something for pain.”

“Ok. I just gave him something. If I give him much more, it'll probably put him out.”

He went to David's room and asked, “Where's your pain stemming from?”

“My head.”

“You'll probably have that. The medicines you've had as well as all the medicines in your system from the times we coded you are going to give you a headache. That's a reason we keep people under.”

“I don't want that!” Dave said. “I'll deal with the headache.”

“I'll turn down some of the lights and get you a cold wash cloth to put on your head. It's what works for me.”

Beck asked, “When was the last time you ate something?”

Dave said, “I don't know.”

“They've got an NG tube in which is giving you nourishment, but it sounds like they need to up it. If you're not getting enough nutrition, you'll get a headache too.”

The doctor said, “We need to get you some liquids. The Lasix probably is dehydrating you.”

“What's it for?”

“To get the swelling down. It pulls liquid from everything in his system.”

“Ok, we'll get him hydrated.”

Beck said, “I'll get him ice chips.”

Dave said, “Only if it's got some Seagrams over them.”

She giggled and said, “Not for a while yet.”

The doctor smiled and said, “Good girl.”

The damage control team wheeled out the body of the nurse. My thought was it was a waste because she was a nice lady.

I looked over and saw several guys cleaning up the blood spill and spatter. The team was fast and efficient. In no time at all, I knew they'd have it looking like nothing was amiss.

I turned around and said, “Little Sister, we've got to get you a pistol with a silencer on it. My ears are still ringing from that shot.”

She blanched and said, “I hope never to have to use it again.”

“You probably won't. We'll have you a team of guards which will be your protection. You're over a city now, we'll have you protected.”

“Is this all for real?”

“Yes it is. It's strange isn't it, but it's how I feel. One day, you're normal and the next you're over a city or a country.”

“It's like it's all a dream.”

“Yes, and that's how it's went for me. The good thing for Miami is you've got a heart and you're not afraid to use it. My job will be a lot easier knowing you're on the job.”

“What does this mean for me?”

“We'll have to find you a different place to live. Someplace which is easy to fortify and protect.”

She nodded and said, “I'll need to let John know.”

“Yes. We'll let him know.”

She said, “I really need to get some sleep.”

“Give him a call and decide if you want to go to St. Louis with me.”

“I'm going. I'll sleep on the plane.”

“Ok, but it's your decision.”

Dave said, “I'd tell you to use my plane, but it's gone. We really need to get planes with those engines.”

“They're ordered.”

“Ok, I just hope they don't take forever.”

“They shouldn't. The guy who's running the company was really nice.”

“He is. He's someone that knows the value of what we do for him.”

“Good. I need to meet these people.”

Dave nodded and said, “We'll make the rounds when I'm out of here.”

My cell phone buzzed. I answered it. “Hello?”

“He's awake!” It was Rose.

“Yes, we've got the ventilator pulled and he's speaking. He's got a headache, but all else is well.”

“Tell him I'm on my way.”

“Ok, I'll wait here for you. I've got to fly to St. Louis and then we're going to go on out to San Diego from there, so it's another long day for me.”

“Have you been to sleep?”

“No, but I'll grab some sometime.”

“You poor dear.”

“It's like that. I probably couldn't sleep anyway since I'm not there with Steve.”

“I understand. I seem to sleep better there holding his hand than here.”

“Well, he's sure anxious to see you.”

“Tell him I'll be there in no time.”

“Ok”

I got off the phone and said, “Rose told me to tell you she'll be here in no time.”

“Good.”

“She couldn't sleep. She says she sleeps better when she's here with you.”

“Maybe that's why I woke up....she wasn't here. I've got to propose to her and think about what I'm going to do the rest of my life with her.”

I smiled and said, “It's so good to hear you talk about that.”

“She's special.”

I looked at Beck and said, “Sometime today, we've got to get me a black dress, gloves, hose, gloves, and a hat which has a veil.”

“A funeral?”

“Yeah, Steve's dad.”

“Rose's husband?”

“Yeah, he died, and we've got to have the funeral tomorrow. I've got to be back in time tomorrow for the visitation.”

Dave nodded and said, “You've got to get Rose up there for that.”

“Yeah, it's making a long day more compact.”

“That's why I wish we had my jet. It could cut the flight time by hours. Do you absolutely have to go to San Diego?”

“No, but I really need to and this week's schedule dictated it either be tomorrow or Friday because the rest is full.”

“Then schedule it Friday and don't put anything else there. What else is this week?”

“Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are working for the organization. Tuesday is up with Steve because of the funeral and Thursday, he's proposing to me.”

“You need to have a knockout dress for that too.” said Beck.

“Yes, but I've got something at home in Missouri I can use for it.”

Dave said, “You need to get someone up there to get it for you.”

“I'll have Kevin get it for me and then get my brother to bring it down to the city with him.”

“If your brother is going to come in, get him a better spot than that.”

“That's what he wants.”

“It's a waste.”

“Yes, but we're getting back to being a family, so that's good.”

“How's your mom?”

“Great. She met Rose and they like each other. She really likes Steve.”

“Good. I was worried about that.”

“Everyone likes him.”

“Not that, but his position. After what happened to you in Missouri, I was worried how your family would handle law enforcement.”

“She knows it's one man and not law enforcement in general.”

“If it were my kid, I'd be snapping at everyone.” he said.

Beck asked, “What happened?”

“The police chief up there ordered a hit on me. All the scars on my face are due to the beating which was done at his direction.”

“A police chief ordered it?”

“Yes.”

“You never mentioned it.”

“I'm trying to let it go.”

Dave said, “Don't let it go. Let it be commonly known what's going to happen to the man.”

“Dave, give it time.”

“I'll take care of it then.” he said with venom.

“Dave.”

“Rhette, don't let it go.”

He turned to Beck and said, “Whatever you do if anything happens to me, you order that hit on the man and you tell the people doing it an eye for an eye and make sure that man's face is equally as fucked up as Rhette's.”

He turned to me and said, “As soon as you can, you show her those photos. I just bet you'll see her madder than a wet hen.”

Beck said, “Where are the photos?”

Dave handed me the laptop and said, “I know you can access them with this. Pull them up.”

“Ok, but this isn't a pity party here.”

“Rhette!”

I logged in to the web and accessed the server up home. The photo albums came up and I turned it around for her. There's the album of me before.”

She looked through the album and said, “You look totally different. You were damned good looking, but your looks now are more feminine.”

Dave said, “Rhette, show her the ones at the crime scene and then show her the ones of the surgeries.”

I backed out and then pulled up the “During” album. She took a look and said, “Oh my God!”. She looked through them and then went to the bathroom and got sick.

Dave said, “Rhette, you're calloused to the photos and what happened. A normal person takes a look at them and that's what happens. Let it serve as inspiration for others to do the job if you're not.”

“You've done saw to it. She'll kill them herself.”

“She's smart enough to order it.”

She came back in and there were tears streaming down her face. She came over to me and said, “I'm so sorry.”

“Nothing to worry about. You now know.”

“That's inhuman.”

“WE do the same when we're pissed. Now you know what I went through and why I'll unload on someone else.”

She nodded and went back to look at the photos. “How many surgeries?”

“Seventeen, but there were a lot of minor ones they did during the big ones. I still need three.”

She looked up at me and said, “Your voice. Is that because of your sinuses?”

“Yes.”

“How much do you have to deal with it every day?”

“Artificial tears and a lot of maintenance to my face in order to feel like I'm fit to be seen out in this world.”

“IS that the reason for the make up?”

“Yeah, under these florescent lights, it really shows. For me to know I can't be someone's concentration when I'm under those lights, I have to put make up on.”

“I thought it was because you were doing drag all the time. I'm sorry.”

“No, there's no choice in it.”

Dave said, “When he's comfortable with someone, he goes without makeup. The scars are evident, but what you see is him being really conscious of it.”

“I bet. I'm so sorry.”

She looked at David and said, “You asked me to order it if you weren't able. I'll give you my word it will be worse than an eye for an eye. That man probably will have a lot he can't repair.”

Her voice was cold as steel. She looked at me and said, “Rhette, as much as you don't want it, this has to be. Don't stop us and let us have our vengeance as your friends.”

I nodded and tears came to my eye. “Don't let me know when it happens. You might let Steve know because he wants that same thing, but don't let me know.”

She nodded and the look on her face was sympathetic. “It's cost you a lot.”

David said, “It cost him the best relationship he had in this life. It's different when things happen within your control, but when outside influences ruin it, it's a robbery which can't be helped.”

She nodded and asked, “Nothing can put you two back together?”

“No”

Dave said, “Kevin hit him. After what Rhette's been through, more physical abuse isn't what Kevin should have given.”

She nodded and said, “That dumb ass!”

“My thoughts exactly” said Dave.

“He was angry.” I said.

“I don't care! People who love each other don't do it!” She said.

“It was over anyways. My telling him to leave was the one thing he couldn't handle. I think all that bubbled up and came out in the one punch.”

She nodded and said, “It's just as well you have someone new.”

Rose came into the room in a whirl of activity. I stepped back and she nearly threw herself at David over the railing of the bed. He kissed her and said, “I love you. Will you marry me?”

“Yes...yes...yes!”

“Good. Now I can die a happy man.”

“Don't you ever think about dying again David Giovanni!” she said.

“I won't, but it wasn't my choice this time.”

“Well, it's going to change.”

“It is. I'm pulling myself back and this lovely girl here is going to be over Miami now.”

She looked at Beck and held out her hand. “I'm Rose.”

“My name's Becky. Everyone calls me Beck.”

I looked at Dave and he said, “Rose, she's a great girl. She just saved Rhette's life and didn't think a second about doing it.”

“Huh?”

I casually attempted to dismiss it. “The doctor's secretary pulled a pistol on me and Beck took care of it.”

“What!”

Dave said, “The doctor was paid by the man in Tampa to get rid of me, or something.”

“Oh my!”

I said, “He's reprogrammed.”

“But I thought he was yours!”

“He was, but that doesn't mean someone can't get in and offer him more money, or a better position. Just the same, it's taken care of now and we've got the situation taken care of.”

Rose wasn't listening to the dismissal I was attempting to give. “You've got to get your security down here and get them to guarding you!”

“Rose, thing's are better now.”

“Have you told Steve about this!”

“No, there's nothing to tell.”

She pulled out her cell phone and said, “If you're not, I will. Where's little John?”

“He's aware.”

She spoke into her phone. “Steve, someone just attempted to kill Rhette and he's not listening to me about getting his guards.”

Dave smiled and said, “Rhette, your ass is on the hot seat now.”

“I guess I'll have to have some security.”

“You think? I bet she's got a bunch of them running for the plane now.”

“They'll have to meet me in St. Louis because I've got to get there.”

He smiled and said, “You might want to get a 737 because I think you're going to need it now.”

She handed me the phone and I went out into the hallway. “Hello”

“Babe?”

“Yes”

“What's mom saying?”

“The nurse who was working with Dave pulled a pistol on me. Something went down and the guy over Tampa was paying the doctor.

Rather than let them do anything further to him, I pulled everyone off him and called in another team. She pulled a pistol and Beck blew her head off.”

“Oh man.”

“Steve, it's not a problem.”

“You've got security up here who is sitting on their asses! I'm going to get them down there.”

“Ok, but send them to St. Louis because I'm heading out there.”

“Why?”

“I've got to go there to put Michael up on trial. There's some issues which we're not agreeing on and he's attempted to do some things which have him in some trouble.”

“Another attempt on your life?”

“Maybe, but I got told before hand.”

“Rhette, this is getting out of control.”

“I know, but so far I'm doing fine.”

“How long until they succeed?”

“Steve, I'll take the security, but please let me run things as I've got to.”

“Ok, but you've got to take the security.”

“Ok”

“I'm getting off the phone now. I'll see you tomorrow?”

“Sometime. I've got to get an outfit for the visitation and the funeral. I”m not sure if your mom needs one, but we'll be going shopping.”

“Ok, but get home.”

“I will.”

“Hon, I love you. She loves you too. That's why you're in trouble. I'm surprised she's not called your mom yet.”

“She's probably going to do it when we get off the phone.”

He chuckled and said, “Be aware of who really runs things.”

“Yeah, our mamas.”

“Well, don't dismiss it so easily the next time. Just think of what would have happened if she'd been there because it would have been worse.”

“I know, but Beck saved the day.”

“Where was the security down there?”

“I didn't think we'd need it at the hospital. I was wrong.”

“Is David ok enough to come home?”

“I'm pretty sure he can, but we'll check.”

“Ok, get him home.”

“I will.”

“I love you.”

“I'll call you in the morning.”

“You've got a trial. Will you have time?”

“Yeah, I'll make time.”

“Rhette, are things good?”

“Yeah, it's called growing pains. I thought I could trust him, but it's becoming clear I can't.”

“Ok, I'll ring off.”

“I love you.”

“I know. I'll be having your security meet you in St. Louis.”

“Ok”

“You're not putting up an argument. I know it was scarier than you're letting on.”

“Steve, it's not often you have to watch someone's head get blown off who has a pistol aimed at you.”

“It seems you get enough pistols aimed at you.”

“Be thankful Beck wasn't there when Homer had the gun pointed at me. He'd be a few more cents shyer than the load he needs to make a nickel.”

He laughed and said, “Ok, but you need that security.”

I rung off and handed the phone back to Rose. “The security men are going to meet me in St. Louis.”

“What's this about?”

“I've got to go to St. Louis to take some people to trial.”

“Ok, you'll be safe?”

“I'm taking a plane load with me. Now, do you have some outfits for the visitation and the funeral?”

“Yes, why?”

“Until Steve and I spoke earlier, I'd forgotten I was expected to do it in drag because all the politicians are going to be there. It means I've got to get some clothes.”

She smiled and said, “You're trapped in a box, aren't you.”

“Yeah, but I'll do it for him.”

“I'm sorry hon.”

“It's not a problem. It just took me by surprise. As it looks, I'm going to have to have two wardrobes.”

“What sort of outfit are you going to get?”

“For the visitation, I'm thinking about a black pantsuit. For the funeral, I'll try to find something which is a black skirt suit.”

“Remember they do funerals here with the black gloves and a veil.”

“I was told. It's interesting how things are different.”

“Yes, but I thought I'd let you know.”

“I'll try to find something.”

She nodded and said, “You're not fighting me too hard on the security.”

“No, I'm not. There are reasons I need them, but I really don't need that many. It'd be fine with four...not ten.”

“Use the ten. The more eyes the better.”

“Well, I'm up to eleven now because I've got to have a guard for the jet. We've only got a twelve passenger jet, so I've got to get a bigger one.”

“You're worth it.”

We went back into the room and Dave smiled.

“I'll need the 737. Where do I get one fast?”

“Call little John.”

“I imagine he'll be calling me. I think Steve's going to be calling him.”

Dave nodded and chuckled. “Make that a boyfriend and mamas.”

I laughed and said, “Well, you're in good hands. I'll get going.”

My cell phone rang and I answered it. Little John's voice came through. “I'll have your security men down there. I'm getting you a 737.”

“Send them to St. Louis. I'll be there before they can catch up.”

“Rhette, you didn't tell me it was that bad.”

“It wasn't. Everyone's panicking.”

“It sounds to me like it's needed.”

“I've got people I can count on.”

“Well, count on that list growing by ten more. Don't leave the airport without them. I'll be flying in myself, so we'll have an army there.”

I laughed and said, “Ok, I promise.”

“This is serious!”

“I know, it's just funny all this protection is for me.”

“Rhette, you may not think you're that high profile, but what I'm seeing is they're coming at you from all sides. It's safer if you take on the protection.”

“I'm not arguing. It's just funny.”

“Ok, what are you doing now?”

“I was just saying goodbye to David and getting ready to head to the airport.”

“How may are flying with you?”

“Four, I think.”

“Ok, take a couple extra men.”

“Did we suddenly gain a bigger helicopter?”

“Fuck. I'll get one down there.”

“I'll be in St. Louis and then back up there before I'm down there. Can a 737 land on that airstrip?”

“I think so. I'll ask.”

“If not, I'll have to land it in Savannah or Charleston and fly in by helicopter.”

“Let me check.”

“I'm not landing a plane by stepping on the brakes and running full reverse thrusters.”

“I don't want you to, but what I'm seeing is you've outgrown a normal jet.”

“We'll talk about this.”

“I'll talk, but you're not listening.”

“It's more than I need.”

“Don't argue.”

“We'll talk when we're in St. Louis. If you have some connections, I need a black pantsuit and a black skirt suit with all the accessories.”

“Oh fuck. Where am I going to get that?”

“I don't know. Vera Wang? Armani? Luis Vitton?”

“I'll call around.”

I chuckled and said, “Thanks.”

He laughed and said, “Only for you!”

“I know.”

I rung off and said, “Ok, you ready to go Beck?”

“Yeah.”

I gave Dave and Rose a kiss and then went out to the hallway. I called for the helicopter and told him we were heading to the roof. On the way past the waiting room, I picked up little Jimmy and the guard for the plane.”

“You two getting along fine?”

“Yeah”

“Good, it's going to be a long night. You can sleep on the jet.”

They gave me a look and I told them, “I'll fill you in on the way.”

With This Ring

ab

Notes From Retta:

“From My Keyboard To Your Heart”,

Retta

RettaMichaels@Gmail.com

Copyright Notice – Copyright 2008 by RettaMichaels

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“From My Keyboard To Your Heart”, “ 'Retta”, “RettaMichaels”, “Retta”, “Rhett”, “Rhette”, “Vonn Michaels”, “VonnMichaels”, and “Vonn Michael's Stud Service Night Club” are all trademarks of the RettaVonnMichaels L.L.C.. None of these trademarks may be used, or authorized without consent.

Disclaimer: All individuals depicted in this story are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, characters, locations, or incidents is purely coincidental.