Chapter 100
100
The riot was eventually put down.
Guards stormed the cellblocks with shields and nightsticks. Anyone foolish enough to stand up to them got their brains bashed in.
By that point, I was already back in my cell. I listened to the shrieks of pain out in the prison –
And then Dario walked in.
He calmly sat down on the chair opposite me as though he hadn’t just cut three men’s throats in cold blood.
As screams echoed all around us, I asked, “Is it done p>
“There will be no reprisals,” he answered.
We looked at each other in silence until he finally sighed. “I said I would give you an explanation for what just happened. I owe you that much.
“As I’m sure you’ve guessed all along, I’m not just a business associate of the Cosa Nostra; I belong to it. My father rules Tuscany, and we share control of Florence with another family. I’m in San Vittore because our main source of income is political influence. We control hundreds of politicians and even more judges and cops.
“Recently, a bunch of police detectives not on our payroll came after us for bribing judges. The cops weren’t going to be satisfied with a bunch of lower-level go-betweens. They were out for blood, so someone in the family had to take the fall. As the oldest son and the heir apparent, it was my duty to protect my father and my brothers – so I volunteered p>
I stared at Dario as I remembered something my lawyer had said.
There was recently a scandal where a member of the Cosa Nostra pled guilty to bribing judges…
“It was you,” I said, stunned.
“What was me p>
“My lawyer said somebody in the Cosa Nostra was bribing judges. Was that you p>
“Yes,” Dario said with an amused smile.
“So you bribed a judge p>
“No p>
I frowned. “But – ”
“One of our employees did. He was following orders that went through a chain of command originating with my father and uncle. When the police caught one of the judges in a sting operation, he gave up the man who had given him the money – our employee. The cops basically tortured him into confessing.
“We have protections in place to prevent our people from ratting us out, but it became clear the police were going to rip through all of that and take down our entire operation if the damage was not contained. So I stepped forward and agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence.
“There were highly-placed people who didn’t want the prosecutor to cut me a deal, and they fought hard against it – but most of the politicians and judges just wanted to go back to how things used to be. After all, they made a lot of money from the prior arrangement. If they pursued the court case, it would be a long, protracted legal battle costing both my family and the taxpayers tens of millions in legal fees… not to mention millions more that otherwise would have gone directly into their pockets. It was in everyone’s best interest that the matter be handled as quickly as possible. So… I pled guilty, and here I am p>
“Even though you had nothing to do with it,” I said in amazement.
“Not directly, no. But it would be inaccurate to say I had nothing to do with it since my family controls the judges p>
“Why didn’t you just let your father and uncle take the fall? They were the ones responsible p>
Dario looked at me like I was insane. “My father and uncle are in their 50s. The chances they would survive a prison sentence in here are much, much lower than mine p>
“So p>
He looked at me with even more disbelief. “Would you let your father die in a place like this, knowing you could have saved him p>
“I haven’t seen my father since I was four years old, and he was beating up my mother,” I said.
Dario nodded like he understood. “Then what about her? Wouldn’t you take the fall for your mother so she wouldn’t have to endure this place p>
“…yes,” I admitted. “If she were still alive p>
“Now you understand why I did it p>
“…yes,” I said grudgingly. “But why are you telling me all of this? You didn’t need to. You could’ve just said you were a member of the Cosa Nostra and that the Camorra want you dead. So why did you tell me all that p>
Dario looked at me for a long time before answering.
I felt like he was not only weighing whether he should tell me…
But that he was weighing me, as well.
“You saved my life,” Dario said. “You were a complete stranger when you yelled at me that day out in the yard, yet you inserted yourself into a fight you knew nothing about. From that moment forward, I owed you – as a matter of honor.
“Since then, I’ve come to regard you as a good friend. A close friend – someone I trust. I don’t have many people like that in my life. Besides my brothers and my father, there’s no one I trust with my life… except you. I don’t even trust my uncle and cousin the way I trust you, and they’re family.
“You stood by me today, shoulder to shoulder, when Aristide’s men attacked us. Not only that, you turned down a large amount of money to betray me p>
I scoffed. “What, that bullshit about millions of euros p>
Dario looked at me as though he was waiting for me to figure something out.
I stared at him in shock. “…he was serious?! He would have really paid that much if I killed you p>
“Beginning to rethink your answer?” Dario asked coolly.
I looked him straight in the eye. “No. I don’t sell out my friends p>
“Is that what we are?” Dario asked softly. “Friends p>
“You just spent the last 60 seconds telling me that’s what we are,” I snapped.
“That’s what I believe. What I want to know is what you believe p>
I sighed. “You’re my friend. You are. I just… I’m a little afraid of who I’ve befriended, that’s all p>
“A monster,” Dario suggested.
“A murderer, at the very least p>
“You were in the Special Forces. Haven’t you killed men in times of war p>
I didn’t say anything –
But I was thinking about how I’d killed Hans Solner and his bodyguard in Norway.
I’ve killed at least two men I WASN’T at war with, and who never did anything to me.
Dario continued talking. “Make no mistake, the Camorra is at war with the Cosa Nostra, which means that Aristide Caproni was at war with me. If he or his men had lived, they would have told their superiors what happened, and I would have to fight even MORE Camorra thugs. Next time, I might not have been so lucky. What I did was brutal, yes – but it was necessary p>
“You’re still going to have to fight the Camorra in the future, though – right p>
“Yes, but not against Aristide. Any future clashes between me and the Camorra will hopefully be at reduced levels of conflict – more like the Cold War than World War II. But if I had let any of those men walk away, it would have become a full-blown war for revenge p>
I considered what he’d said for a moment… and finally decided he was right.
I didn’t like that he was right – but it didn’t change the fact that he was.
When your own survival is on the line, the rules change.
Especially when you didn’t start the fight, but you know it will go on forever unless you finish it.
“You still didn’t say why you told me all that p>
“What,” he said in amusement, “owing you my life isn’t good enough p>
“You went to prison for your family,” I said. “It sounds like you’d do anything for them. But you just admitted to me that they’re criminals and – ”
“We’re not criminals,” Dario interrupted with an edge of irritation in his voice. “We’re businessmen p>
“And your business is breaking the law,” I snarled. “You can lie to yourself, but don’t try to get me to swallow your bullshit p>
Dario’s eyes narrowed in anger –
And then he relaxed, like he was giving me a pass on insulting his family.
“By your standards, yes… we’re criminals p>
“And yet you just admitted everything to me. Why p>
Dario seemed to stare into the depths of my soul before he answered.
“I pride myself on being an excellent judge of character. Many times, I knew that men would betray my family, even though I couldn’t logically explain why.” He looked off to the side as though he couldn’t bear to look me in the eyes as he said the next part. “It pains me to say this, but I don’t entirely trust my uncle. He’s my father’s consigliere. His counselor and right-hand man. My uncle is supposed to be the last link in the chain – the firewall protecting my father against the authorities. A good consigliere will fall on his sword to protect his don… but I have my doubts. I volunteered to take the deal because I was afraid if the cops put pressure on my uncle, he might sell my father out. I can’t prove it… and my father would be horrified if I told him… but it was something I felt very strongly, deep in my gut p>
Dario looked back at me. “When I look at you… I don’t know why, exactly, but I feel I can trust you no matter what. With my life, and with my family’s lives. I see the same loyalty in you that I see in my brothers, but there’s a sense of honor in you that I’m not sure even they possess. Not all of them, anyway. But you… you’re a soldier. And you’re the best friend – the most trusted friend – I’ve ever had p>
I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a swell of emotion inside my chest.
“When I get out of here,” Dario continued, “I won’t take over my family’s operations for many years, God willing. Not until my father dies or is incapable of leading us anymore. I hope that day is decades away. But when I do take over, I desperately need someone like you. Someone I can trust with my life. I need a soldier beside me. And so I’m telling you all these things now… hoping that one day you might agree to be that man. To be that soldier… to be that friend. To stand by my side and help me protect my family p>
I stared at him for a long time.
He waited for some kind of a reaction.
When I finally spoke, it wasn’t to give him an answer –
At least not the kind of answer he was probably expecting.
“Over a year ago, a highly placed operative in MI6 – British Intelligence – offered me a deal. He wanted me to work for him as an assassin and kill enemies of the United Kingdom and NATO. In return, he would get me out of the two years I still had left with the Swedish military.
“I wanted out because I wanted to be with Rachel in London. I was going to be deployed back to Afghanistan, and I was afraid I wouldn’t see her for a year. Even worse, I might be killed or wounded. So I took the deal.
“I killed two men on my first mission. One was a traitor who sold secrets to the Chinese. The second guy was his bodyguard, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was on my second mission here in Italy when I got stopped by the police and they found guns in my car. And here I am p>
Dario frowned. “MI6 knows you’re here p>
“The guy who hired me does p>
“And he didn’t do anything to get you out p>
“That was part of the deal: plausible deniability. If I got caught, I was on my own p>
“And you held up your end of the bargain,” Dario said in amazement.
“I knew the rules when I took the mission. And I keep my word.” I leaned forward. “What I just told you about MI6 has to stay between you and me. You can tell anybody you want about Special Forces, but my involvement with MI6 has to remain a secret p>
Dario nodded. “I swear on my father’s life that I will never tell anyone without your permission p>
“Your father’s life?” I asked, confused.
“In the Cosa Nostra, when we make a promise, we swear on things that are holy to us. There is nothing more precious to me than my father’s life. I will never tell anyone, I promise you p>
I nodded, deeply touched. “Thank you p>
Dario looked at me searchingly. “Why are you telling me all of this? You didn’t need to, and yet you did p>
He was repeating what I’d asked him just a few minutes earlier.
“You were honest with me,” I replied. “About everything. I figured it was only right for me to be honest with you p>
He nodded like he approved. “So you have some familiarity with the role I’m offering you p>
“Yes… but it’s not the same thing p>
“How is it not the same thing p>
“I only agreed to the deal with MI6 because I was going to kill traitors and rogue arms dealers p>
Dario looked unconvinced. “No… you agreed to it because you wanted to be with the woman you loved. The rest was merely justification so you could sleep better at night p>
That made me angry. “No – ”
Dario barely suppressed a smile as he said, “A perceptive man once said to me, ‘You can lie to yourself, but don’t try to get me to swallow your bullshit.’ I ask you the same courtesy p>
I glared at him –
And then burst out laughing.
He’d nailed me.
“Yes, okay,” I admitted. “I agreed to work for them because I wanted to be with the woman I loved… and the rest was just to make it easier for me to stomach p>
“That I can understand. By the way, doing something for the woman you love is a very good reason – one of the best. Maybe the best. But I think you left something out about why you told me all of this p>
“And what’s that p>
“I think you wanted to let me down gently p>
I frowned. “What do you mean p>
“I think you were trying to tell me that when you get out of here, you’ll have no need of my offer because you’ll be going back to Rachel p>
“I don’t even know if she’ll – ” I said, then stopped in despair. “She could have moved on by then p>
Dario shook his head. “No. If it was meant to be, it will happen. As much as I want you to work with me and my family, I tell you this, honestly and truthfully: Rachel is far more important. You must go to her. You must get her back. That should be your only goal when you leave San Vittore. BUT… if it doesn’t work out, God forbid… remember my offer. It will always be open to you p>
“Dario p>
I really appreciated what he was trying to do for me, but I’d only agreed to Alistair’s offer because I would be taking out bad guys.
There was no way in hell I was going to join the mafia so I could go around telling shop owners, Nice little business you have here. Be a shame if something happened to it.
Dario put a hand up to stop me. “No – we don’t need to talk about it anymore today. Just keep it in the back of your mind p>
I sighed and nodded.
He stood up and walked towards me, his arms wide open. “Thank you for what you did. For fighting alongside me… for trusting me enough to walk away, even though I know it hurt you to do so… and for telling me everything you did. Again, I am in your debt for the rest of my life p>
When I stood up, he hugged me fiercely and slapped me on my back.
When he pulled back, he was smiling. “Come – let’s have a little wine while we wait out the end of the world p>
And that was how we spent the final hours of the riot: drinking wine as he told me everything he hoped to accomplish when he eventually took over the family business.
In Dario’s version of things, his family was a force for order and stability in Tuscany. There would always be illegal activities; it would be better for them to be conducted by level-headed businessmen instead of brutes who would prey on the community like vampires.
But Dario wanted to change the way things were done – to do away with some of the darker sides of the family business. He wanted to end the family’s involvement in drugs, sex trafficking, and prostitution. He’d fought with his father and uncle repeatedly over those issues, to no avail. The older men saw them as business, nothing more. But once Dario took over, he planned to outlaw them completely within his organization.
Women who wanted to be sex workers could do so on their own, but they wouldn’t owe a cut of their earnings to the Rosolinis. Dario would also discourage – and, if need be, forcibly ‘remove’ – any pimps who tried to exploit those women through violence.
It all sounded admirable… if you could call men who made themselves rich through crime ‘admirable p>
But I didn’t care about Dario’s plans other than admitting he had some good ideas.
I only had one priority: to survive San Vittore so I could get back to Rachel. That was all I cared about.
Little did I know, I would be sorely tempted to betray Dario in the days ahead – and they would do it by offering me the only things I cared about.
My freedom…
And Rachel.