Page 8 of Devious Lies

I’m thirty-eight years old, got my law degree from Princeton. I even passed the BAR exam.

But I don’t work for a law firm. I don’t need to. I have one client.

Viper Enterprises.

My expertise is corporate law. I know criminal law is what most people expect, and while I have experience and knowledge there, it isn’t my specialty.

And you see, that’s what makes people so fucking predictable.

I don’t need to know how to defend the Vipers. We have another guy who does that should the odd criminal charge be filed against one of us.

No, what I need to know is how to win against the elite. The guys in Forbes magazine. The corrupt politicians skimming from their own campaigns and taking handouts under the guise of being lobbied.

They’re the real bad guys. The politicians. The lobbyists. Both of them.

Corporations are the biggest fucking criminals, and New Jersey is ripe with them.

Developers from out of town and overseas are always coming in and trying to muscle locals out of their land and businesses, making it hard for people to simply live.

The Vipers don’t like that. In fact, we fucking hate it.

New Jersey is full of people who immigrated to this country with hopes for a better life. We’ve even got a big fucking statue sitting right in the Hudson River. That great lady constantly holding her torch, symbolizing freedom, never wavering.

I believe in that lady. And I believe in giving the little guys a chance. So fuck anyone who tries to come here and muscle us out under the guise of beautifying the state or whatever the fuck.

With Viper Enterprises buying up land and taking over mortgages, we have the power to turn those assholes out on their ear.

And it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. Power. Influence. The ability to right wrongs.

No different really than kicking some fucking peddler off a street corner I’ve already claimed.

There are drugs, then there are drugs.

Money.

Power.

Control.

Those can be drugs, too.

On paper, I’m the lawyer representing our legitimate business. Yeah, I wear a suit and tie and everything.

Custom fucking tailored.

Behind the scenes, though, that’s where my true colors really shine. Because that is where I’m Council.

My job is to know every fucking thing there is to know about a situation and to report back to the man himself.

There can be only one king. One head to control the Vipers.

Nico Fury is our king and he has my unwavering loyalty.

The bond I have with him, and with Angel, his cousin, our Enforcer, is unbreakable.

Forged on the streets when we were young, hungry, and maybe a little stupid.

There isn’t a damn thing in the whole fucking world I wouldn’t do for my two blood brothers.

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