21. The Black Crowes - Hard To Handle
"Would you please hold the line."
"Of course." I couldn't hold back the light tapping of my foot, which revealed my nervousness lurking just beneath the surface to anybody that cared to look a little bit closer.
"And?" Franky, still wide-eyed, asked from the sidelines to which I just held up my finger desperate not to miss my cue.
"William…Panessa." A male voice suddenly said into my ear, and I had the feeling the man on the other end had zero intention to ever forget my name. "From the East End, I presume?" He asked, looking for confirmation.
"That's correct." I simply answered before I began to elaborate. "However, I act as…an independent entrepreneur, trying to spread my wings if you will."
"Very well, before we proceed, however, I wish to know how you got this number." Now the voice gained a noticeable edge.
"Well, I'm currently standing in Edmund Dorrance's office while he's out and was in the process of going through his paperwork when I stumbled over a little slip of paper with your name on it." I hid my little lie behind the cover of an audacious truth. The short silence in my ear was pure music and I couldn't help but smile at my captivated audience in front of me.
"And you decided to call…" The question of why was left in the open and obviously for me to pick up.
"When you are good at something you don't do it for free, do you?" I asked in return, desperately hoping he would ask the right question.
"…" A short silence again told me he knew what I wanted, which made this a tiny smidge sweeter. "Very well, what are you good at?" He finally asked and a ginormous grin spread across my face.
"Killing King Snake and his lady friend." I answered, the confidence in my voice impossible to miss.
"Hypothetically speaking…If I were to grow tired of this little game and hung up, what would happen?" The voice asked instead and all I could hear was curiosity. A reminder, that I wasn't dealing with an amateur and that things could turn very ugly very fast.
Despite that, I felt I still held all the cards to steal the pot at the end.
"Hypothetically speaking…I would call the second number in front of me and speak with the good General. He obviously wouldn't be as pleasant as a business partner, but the growing tension between The Ghost Dragons and the Shan Triad is hard to overlook, making him significantly easier to convince." I almost patted myself on the back for that one, I even sounded perfectly calm and collected.
"Indeed."
"Now, as entertaining as this back and forth is I would like to get to the point from my side." I made myself comfortable on top of the counter next to the phone. Intent to cut to the chase before I slipped up in any kind of form because I lost my concentration somehow.
"Please." Thankfully, the voice on the other end had lost some of its edge, giving me the impression that he would like to end things sooner rather than later as well.
"My plans after I dealt with King Snake are rather straightforward." I began, feeling the need to give the impression, that the guy was still alive and kicking, and not, in fact, riddled with bullets just a couple of feet away. "I want to help you archive and keep absolute control of Chinatown and its surrounding dock areas. Ghost Dragons and Shan Triad dead and gone." I continued knowing that it was a long shot, but fully believing, that it was within our means.
"What I want in return is simple. My Dockyard Dogs will handle the complete distribution of your wares for a fair percentage of the profits. Your input and concerns will always be taken into account, of course. Second, prostitution and human trafficking are off the table,…indefinitely." I finished in a no-nonsense voice, deadly serious for the first time during this whole phone call.
"Ambitious…" His response was blank, his opinion indiscernible. "but very intriguing, very well, deal with Mr. Dorrance and his second in command and we can finalize certain aspects of this arrangement face to face at a later date." He finished now all business, perhaps sensing the conclusion of our first talk.
"Fantastic, do you still get your heroin at pier 13?" I asked innocently, already knowing the answer.
"…Yes." Maybe I shouldn't push my luck, but…whatever.
"Great, in…let's say in an hour you can expect the bodies of King Snake and Lynx in the back of a van." I told him like I was delivering a pizza instead of the corpses of two dangerous criminals.
"You seem very confident Mr. Panessa." He paused and I was about to reply when Ekin Tzu continued "A word of advice for the future, I do not appreciate games or jokes." The clear warning in his tone made me pause for a second and was thankfully a good reminder, that I was playing with fire here.
"I will keep that in mind, Mr. Tzu, and thank you for your time." I finished, intent to end things from my side with a respectful note.
Hand-set back in its place I closed my eyes for a moment, took a single breath, and clapped my hands once.
"That went way better than expected." I casually admitted to Franky and Paulie with a shrug.
"Say what?" Frankie apparently was still a bit overwhelmed while Paulie calmy lit himself a cigarette.
He took a languid drag and casually exhaled the smoke through his nose, and I had to give it to him, he made the whole show look infinitely cooler than I ever could.
"Things are going to get mighty complicated in your family, sonny." He finally spoke his mind and casually addressed the elephant in the room.
"I'll be honest, it's entirely up to them if they want to make things complicated." I said and hopped down from the counter. "You can tell them everything, you can even quote me now, if they let me do my thing without interfering, we can carry on business as usual, and when they feel ready to listen to my words with an open mind, we will do that, too." I told him calmly.
"However," I carried on, just as relaxed, "if they decide to mess with me, I'm going to push back, simple as that. Long-term, they need me more than I need them."
"You are dead-set on going that route, aren't you?" Paulie asked one final time and I eyed him for a second, various thoughts racing through my mind.
"I said I would use my family for the paperwork, didn't I?" I asked out loud to no one in particular before my thoughts slowly solidified and I came to a decision. "Scratch that! I…, we" I corrected myself and threw Franky a glance, reminding him, that we would be partners. "will handle everything ourselves. It will be more expensive and more effort, but our independents will be worth it."
Having said my piece, I saw Franky and Paulie nodding. Paulie apparently taking my answer as a yes and Franky agreeing with my sentiment.
"Now," I began and walked around the table while Paulie stood up, sensing that it was time to wrap things up, until I stood in front of him. "listen, Paulie, I know I made things difficult recently and I want to apologize to you." I couldn't hide the small grimace, being honest about stuff like that especially in front of others was always difficult for me, but this was worth the discomfort. "I want you to know, that I'm still the same kid you thought how to shoot in the woods all those years ago. I'm still the same kid you took under your wing and showed the ropes." To his surprise, I gave him a quick and awkward hug, which he answered with an easy smirk and an affectionate pat on my shoulder.
"I wanted you to know that, and please give Bobby my regards." I finished, still with an embarrassed air around me, which Paulie apparently found hilarious, because he couldn't wipe the grin off his face.
"Will do, sonny." That said, he gave me a lazy wave, the tiniest nods to Franky, which he returned despite his surprise, and then he was on his way.
Finally, I turned my gaze on Franky.
"We have still some work to do."