Page 35 of Forbidden Property
“Marco Corsini, eldest son from Carmine’s first marriage. An informer for our family gave us solid information that he flew into Pittsburgh from Italy two weeks ago and he’s been raising hell in Pennsylvania ever since.”
“I don’t know Marco,” Gino says. “I might have met him at the big Doukas wedding.”
“Which one?”
“The old one.”
I nod, although I don’t remember which wedding that might have been. I didn’t bother flying over to Italy for all those weddings of distant cousins. I prefer working while the family plays so I can keep building my personal wealth portfolio. Unlike Mikey, I don’t want to be in the mob forever.
I continue explaining the situation to Gino, hoping that he doesn’t need much motivation to get off his ass. The situation has the possibility of becoming urgent the way family business almost always does. “He wants to take over the entire mob over there and here too. Mikey thinks they sent out scouts and I need to track them.”
“Are we getting paid for this?” Gino asks. It’s not a “no”. If Gino wanted to back out, now would be the perfect time.
“$400,000 tax free. The job might take a week or two.”
“I’ve got time. My brother has been stuck up at the house while Nicki plays God with his life.”
“What does that mean?”
“My sister’s a psycho bitch.”
“Join the club,” I mutter. Flora has been getting on my nerves lately. In his new role as underboss, Michael has forgotten what it feels like to have every detail of your life dictated by the needs of our mafia family. Flora moved in with me one week ago andshe’s beginning to act like I captured her when I’m really doing her a favor.
“Seriously. Where is Renzo? I know you don’t like work that involves staying up all night.”
Gino shrugs. “I need the money. Renzo can’t come until the baby arrives.”
“Baby?” I mutter. “What baby?”
I knew everything over there was a dramatic mess, but I keep myself away from gossip like the plague. In a family like mine, you end up playing a confusing game of telephone that could end up getting you killed. But Iamsurprised nobody mentioned a baby. I can’t imagine Renzo being a father.
“Doesn’t matter,” Gino says, even if it definitely matters. “Do you think that bartender has an Instagram?”
I don’t think she’s interested in the kid, but I give him whatever encouragement he needs to go over and ask her, giving him a strong verbal reminder about the beer. Gino returns, crestfallen but armed with three pints.
“She has a boyfriend.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“Am I the only single motherfucker in this city?”
“Keep hitting the gym and hanging out with me, and all your problems will be solved.”
“Youdon’t have a girl tonight,” Gino mutters, staring into his beer like he’s looking at a mug of warm piss and not delicious nectar of tranquility.
“Watch your mouth,” I grunt. “We’re here to drink and enjoy each other’s company. You don’t need pussy every day of the week to feel something. Grow up.”
I’m happy to be the role model Gino needs. He sullenly shrugs and starts drinking, forgetting all about girls when I ask him about baseball betting and our plans for the summer. See? You can get along just fine in life without women…
My night with my cousin ends after midnight when most of the bars close thanks to our authoritarian governor’s laws for the “good of the people”. Our people are all connected, so I don’t have to worry about operating underground after hours or running an illegal casino.
You can’t own casinos out here outside of Indian territory, but I have a friend out in Texas by the name of Deacon Hollingsworth who runs a few underground poker tables that net him somewhere in the ballpark of $370,000 amonth.
That’s big money and we certainly have the means to defend and protect that kind of money out here in Buffalo. Following Deacon’s model, I started a similar business. There’s a front-end portion of the business that’s a basic upstate New York dive bar except for the door at the back coated in black velvet with a security guard.
We send our big spenders the passcode, security validates their identity, and then our customers enter our speakeasy casino with a full service bar with top shelf liquor, topless waitstaff and a required initial buy-in of $20,000.
I was right to take Deacon’s advice, it’s good business, even if I hate how quickly I have to turn around the staff. My current arrangement involves Danny and Paulie as bouncers with three chicks working the tables. I manage everything, but it’s a huge pain and eventually, I’ll need someone to take over the small details. Deacon warned this would happen if I grew too fast.
