Page 23 of A Game of Secrets

"All good so far?" I ask him.

"No problems so far Boss. I'll get Dario to alert you if there are any issues but don't worry, I'm sure we won't need to. I'll handle it if I can," Quinton answers. I nod and with that, me and Linc head upstairs into the back meeting room.

Dario is waiting at the door. "Boss," he nods. I smile as he opens the door. I notice the new gray and black décor, there is a large black, round table with six high back chairs around it. One for each of us, sitting in the room waiting are our Capos; Theo Rossi, Rocco Costa and Dimitri Romano. The three remaining chairs for myself, Cole my brother and underboss and Lincoln, my consigliere.

Cole has already taken the seat to the left hand side of mine and he breaks the silence across the room "Fratello, Capo, bentornato a casa."

"Thank you brother, men, this is a warm welcome." I applaud, taking my seat with Linc taking the remaining seat to my right.

"So let's get straight down to business shall we? Who is going to tell me why the shipment of Beretta 92's received three weeks ago are still in our cargo bay?" I glare at Theo Rossi, he is in charge of shipping our firearms out to various ports for collection by various syndicates. He may be Lincs father, and like an uncle to me, but I've never truly trusted him. Anyone as close as he was to mine and Cole's father has a few skeletons and he has a cupboard full of them that he has never explained.

Theo Rossi is a tall man, slightly round around the stomach area but he still has a lot of muscle behind him and can hold his own, he also has valuable knowledge about the business. This is why I keep him at this position, but now I'm waiting for him to give me a reason not to bury him.

"I can explain, one of our syndicates from New York got searched and we haven't received their payment for this cargo, so I refused to send it." Theo begins. It's plausible but it doesn't explain why he hasn't shifted it to another syndicate and not told Cole or Linc about it in my absence.

"Interesting, but why hide it Theo? Why not make us profit elsewhere? We all know any of the syndicates would have gladly taken the cargo," I ask with an icy tone.

"I thought that I would give them 4 weeks to clean-house and then I'd charge extra for delayed payment." Theo says confidently. He's a smart man, I'll give him that but do I believe him? I'm not sure, for Lincs sake though, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, on a few conditions.

"See to it that by the end of the week it is moved and sold for a substantial amount, Rossi. Don't test my patience on this or you will have my wrath." I snap at him. I am almost certain he was hoping we wouldn't notice the money missing and he was going to make profit for himself but I have no proof, so I will let it rest for now.

Theo nods "Of course, Boss." Now that's sorted we have a bigger rat to sort out.

I clear my throat, regaining all of their attention, "Is there anything else that you all feel should be brought to my attention?" A unanimous no comes from my Capos but Linc and Cole look to each other.

Cole speaks first, "Actually brother, we've got a little surprise for our Capos," he says, smirking at Linc.

Linc stands from his chair and straightens his shoulders "Men, I think our boss needs to be made aware when a rat has infiltrated our ranks, don't you?" The three men look to one another, unsure of what Linc means as Cole walks around the table, his knife in his hand like it magically appeared.

Dimitri gulps. "Who is this rat? If he is one of my men, I'll gut him myself."

Cole is like a shark circling the water around these men, I can't help but laugh at their faces as he stops behind Dimitri.

"Cole, we shouldn't play with our food. Put them out of their misery." I bark.

"But what fun is that when they squirm so nicely?'' he grins, playing with his knife.

I notice Theo is like Dimitri, both looking rather pale. Rocco is looking confident for a man who might have his neck slit in a moment, but he was trained and initiated by Cole to have this seat, so I shouldn't expect any different.

Linc laughs and says, "Theo, Father, you do not have a rat in your group." Then he turns to Rocco, "Neither do you, Rocco." Rocco nods and glares at Dimitri. Theo looks relieved, that's interesting, can he trust his men?

Dimitri gasps, "Who is it? I will clean-house myself!" Will he when we reveal the traitor? Will he be able to end his own cousin's life? I highly doubt it.

Cole brings his blade to Dimitri's throat, smiles, then whispers into his ear, "Would you really? I find that hard to believe when the rat is.."

I cut him off saying, "Cole let's not ruin the surprise for Dimitri.'' I nod to Linc, who steps out of the room and moments later brings in a man who is gagged, bound, beaten and bruised.

Dimitri cries out, "No cugino! What have you done!?" He goes to move from his seat as Linc throws his cousin Ricky on to the floor, but is stopped by Coles blade piercing his skin.

"I'd stay sat if I were you Dimitri," Cole spits.

Tears prickle Dimitris' eyes and I can’t help but wonder if he knew it was him all along, "So now tell me Dimitri, could you clear him from your house?"

Dimitri is shaking but musters up the courage to respond, "Boss what has he done?"

I smirk, at least he's not bargaining for his cousin's life. It shows he respects our decision.

I walk over to where Ricky is on the floor and kick him, he grunts out in pain, "Wakey, wakey Ricky. Do you want to tell your cousin and the rest of us how you have betrayed us? Or shall I? Neither choice will spare your life but maybe I'll tell Cole to go easy on you when we start the whipping." I call to him, he stinks of piss and blood. Cole and Linc tracked him down earlier, and we could already see the beating he’d received which led to him admitting his transgressions.

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