Page 34 of Kingpin
Dominic
“Alright, we all here? Where’s Skinny?”
“He’s in the bathroom. Skinny, hurry the fuck up! Dominic’s here and we got business to discuss!” Tommy screams, even though the bathroom is only a few feet away.
We’re in the conference room of River City Casino & Hotel. “Skinny” Joe Cuzamano flushes the toilet and comes stumbling out of the bathroom as he struggles to get his zipper up. He’s the newest and youngest of all of us at twenty-four, so he’s always under a lot of pressure. The guy’s six-foot two but only weighs a buck sixty, so he’s got long and lanky limbs that look stretched out and creepy. He’s been with me for three years though, and he’s always been a stand-up guy. He’s not quite ready to be made yet, but he’s a good associate who has no problem setting up a score. He also doesn’t mind killing anybody. Skinny Joe’s a little quick on the trigger because he’s short tempered, so if we don’t watch him, he can cause some unwanted attention, but he’s a good guy, nonetheless. He’s just still learning the business side of Our Thing. The blemishes on his face aren’t from acne, they’re from fights he’s gotten himself into from blowing a gasket when he shouldn’t have. He’s taken a few too many punches and kicks to the face, but it usually takes two or three guys to get Skinny Joe down. Stringy arms or not, Joe Cuzamano can fist fight with the best of them.
Skinny Joe takes a seat at the end of the table next to Charlie Mannello. Charlie’s the same age as me, and he’s not made either, but he’s getting there. He’s done a ton of robbing on the streets and he’s starting to do some decent earning of his own via illegal gambling and loan sharking, so the capos are taking notice. I put in a good word for my guys every chance I get, because This Thing of Ours needs to keep growing, and we need guys like Charlie and Skinny Joe to keep The Family going in the right direction. Charlie’s less of a killer and more of a money-maker. He’s a thinker. It’s not often I need to think of ways to earn fast cash because my three casinos do plenty of that, but when the occasion arises, Charlie’s my guy. You need a diamond sold or some evidence to be “misplaced,” you talk to Charlie. You want to get information about a guy, you call Charlie. You want to find someone, put Charlie on it. He’ll clip a guy if he has to, but he’s more the type to find the guy that needs to be killed and watch you do it. He’s the smart one of the crew, and he looks the part with thick glasses resting on a thin nose.
Once Joe takes his seat, I take mine. To my right is Tommy “Two Nines” Caprio. Tommy’s the oldest of the crew, at twenty-seven, and he’s a made guy. Tommy’s a captain’s dream. When things get hot and need to be handled “aggressively”, Tommy’s the one who’s going to handle it. He got his name from the obvious fact that wherever Tommy goes, he’s got two nine millimeter pistols stashed somewhere on him. Sometimes they’re in a double holster under each armpit, sometimes they’re tucked under his belt, sometimes they’re tucked in his socks. It doesn’t matter where they are, just know that they’re always there, and he’s ready and willing to use them. One nod from me and Tommy will put three bullets in your chin just to prove a point. Tommy used to work for Big Sal, but when I got upped to captain, Big Sal gave him up to me as a show of respect, so Tommy belongs to me now. I trust all my guys, but I don’t trust anybody more than I trust Tommy Two Nines. He takes no shit, he makes good money from loan sharking and extortion, and he’s as loyal as they come.
“Hey, when Dominic shows up, you hold your fucking piss until he says what he has to say,” Tommy scolds Skinny Joe just as he’s getting comfortable. Joe tightens up with nervousness. “I don’t care if he talks so long you end up pissing your pants. You wait for Dominic to finish saying his business, you don’t leave.”
“I’m sorry, Tommy,” Joe says. “I didn’t know he came in.”
“Did I ask what you fucking knew?” Tommy snaps. The room goes quiet as Tommy stares at Joe like he’s ready to slit his throat. Joe doesn’t move, and he looks like he isn’t even breathing. Suddenly, Tommy smiles. “Ah I’m just breaking your balls! Relax, kid. I’m just kidding.”
Everybody in the room busts out laughing.
“That’s not funny, Tommy. Why you gotta mess with me like that?” Joe asks as he laughs. I can see the relief on his face, though. Tommy’s five-ten and over two hundred twenty pounds. Not only is he crazy enough to kill you, he actually looks the part, with a mean scowl that seems to never fade away. He’s either smiling or scowling, there’s no in between. This guy never lifted a weight in his life, but you wouldn’t know it from how stocky he is. It doesn’t matter how short a temper Skinny Joe has either, because Tommy’s a made guy and Skinny isn’t, so Joe can’t lay a finger on him.
“Alright, alright, listen up,” I interrupt with a wave of my hand. “We just had a meeting with all the captains, and I’ve got some news. So, turns out Danny Ramano decided to flip on Leo and Jimmy. Leo got the word that the cops are getting warrants sometime in the near future, so things are gonna be changing in The Family. Leo says there will be an acting boss temporarily, but then he’ll choose a new permanent boss with the advice of The Commission. We all expect it to be Frankie, but Leo didn’t say anything about who it’d be. So, we’ll just wait and see I guess. Nothing has changed for the moment, but it will. That’s what came out of the meeting.”
The three of them look just as stunned as the capos did when we first heard.
“I always knew Danny was a sneaky little bitch,” Tommy snips. “I don’t know how he became consigliere anyway. Fucking rat.”
“I swear, a rat has always been the downfall of Our Thing,” Charlie chips in. “Fucking rats. There’s no way to get rid of ’em. Even when things are going good and everybody’s happy, there’s always a rat lurking in the shadows ready to ruin it to save his own ass. So, when are we making an example out of this cock sucker?”
“Leo doesn’t want that,” I answer to the annoyance of everyone. “I know it’s fucked up, but Leo doesn’t want his family touched. What’s done is done. So, we’re not gonna dwell on it. We’re gonna move forward with business as usual until we hear something from Leo or Jimmy. That’s it. Understand?” They nod along together, and we move on to the next topic. “Alright, so where are we with Lumiere Place, Tommy?”
“We’re in the same place we were before. The fucking guy isn’t budging, Dominic. I mean, he’s a fucking multi-millionaire for Christ’s sake. He could go buy another casino, but he’s making life difficult.”
“Ugh, fucking Russians,” I complain. “This hotel is right off of Highway 44, and if we own it, it’ll go a long way towards partnering up with Frankie, who has already taxed the trucks on that road anyway. We can stash merchandise and money right in the building without even having to travel a mile off the highway. The Lumiere Place Casino & Hotel would be a goldmine, and it’d give us control over everything coming through St. Louis. So, I don’t give a fuck what that little Russian prick wants, I want that hotel. You tell him to name his price.”
“I know, Dominic, but the guy says he’s not selling. I mean, there’s a way we can get him out, but it might get messy, and you know how Leo is about attracting heat nowadays,” Tommy explains.
I know he’s right. Leo’s been picky about hits the past few years because the Feds are always on our asses, so we have to tread very lightly with this kind of thing. That’s why I love having Tommy around. He knows what to say to keep me from flying off the hinges without thinking things through. He’s like my own personal consigliere.
“No,” I say quietly, thinking out loud. “I don’t want to take it there just yet. We’ve got enough trouble with the Feds and St. Louis PD coming after Leo and Jimmy. Just let me think for a second.”
I have to weigh my options here. I know I could send Tommy in there with his two nines to put an end to this Russian asshole in a snap, but then I’d have to worry about the body and the questions coming from the guy’s family and friends, which would lead to questions from the cops. I also don’t want to let it go. If Frankie actually becomes the boss, it’d be a big deal to be able to help him out through that hotel, not to mention how much money the place makes legitimately. It’s good for The Family, and it’s good for me personally. I can’t let it go.
“Alright, this is what we’re gonna do,” I start, the imaginary light bulb above my head shining bright. I light another Cuban and inhale deeply. “Tommy, I want you to arrange a sit down with thiscoglione. Somewhere public, so he feels safe. Charlie, I want you do some digging for me. Before this sit down, I want to know absolutely everything there is to know about Abram Baskov.”
