Page 69 of Princess's Revenge

Yes, ma’am.

CHAPTER 20

Ihear my phone ringing as I get back from my morning run—It’s my dad.

He says to come to the house in fifteen minutes for a family meeting.

I shower, shave, dress and I’m there in thirteen. Charles tells me that everyone is waiting in the office. When I get there, the door is open and I find Andrea behind my father’s desk with her feet up and a cigar in her hand.

Anthony, Christopher and my father are there too.

I say, “What the hell,” before I know the words have even left my mouth.

Andrea laughs, “I just wanted to know what the appeal was. I don’t think it suits me.” She sits up and hands the cigar to my father.

He smiles and takes his chair.

“So, we were just telling Vincenzo and Anthony how Christopher and I shoved a big, donkey-sized dildo up de Soto’s ass last night with his drug shipment.”

Anthony takes over, “With his suppliers scared and his logistics compromised, he’s going to be shitting himself right now.”

“But he can’t,” Christopher laughs, “because of the dildo of course.”

“That’s why,” Andrea taps away at her MacBook and a map shows up on the big LED display she’s had installed, “we’re going to turn up the heat.”

She walks over to the screen and pulls out a small laser pointer from her pocket, testing it on the display.

“Right then,” Andrea says, “this is a map of our territory as it was under your father’s leadership.” She turns to Anthony, “Would you mind?”

He nods and goes over to the computer to hit the space bar.

The image changes, “This is our territory now.”

Six sections of the map are overlaid in red.

“With your father’s help, we’ve identified thirty businesses that used to pay us protection in the old days. More have probably sprung up in these sections, but since none of you have been there in some time, today we’re going to split into three teams and do some meeting and greeting.”

I ask, “What are we going to tell them?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Christopher says, “We’re going to tell them we’re taking over and the money comes to us now.”

“Won’t they have a problem with that?”

“No,” Andrea says, “according to your father, there was some hesitation at first, sixteen years ago, but when they called to confirm and your father gave them the okay, things went smoothly.”

“But Don Cassaduchi didn’t agree to your terms.”

“That’s why we’re doing this now,” Andrea raises an eyebrow, “his drugs are gone, when we start picking up his envelopes, he’s going to think his whole world is coming to an end and then he’s going to react.”

“But we don’t even know whose territory that is, we don’t know whose money that is.”

My father speaks up, “Joshua de Soto was a young hothead and brought the drug trade to Don Cassaduchi, his reward for bringing in that much money was those territories. Every red section you see on the map will have collections for no other captain. All of it goes to de Soto.”

“Everybody happy?” Andrea smiles.

We all nod.

“Great, you’ll be driving me Francis, it sounds like you haven’t wrapped your brain around this just yet.”

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