Chapter 36

About a month later

"Boss!" Max howled as he stormed into the office.

Sonny lifted his hand, "We are in a meeting Max, you will have to wait."

Max hesitated and looked at Jason then at Diane sitting in front of Sonny's desk. "But I thought you should know, a freighter was blown up last night, it was about ten miles out…"

Sonny's pen dropped on the desk and his eyes flashed to meet Jason's, "One of our old lanes?" he asked.

Max nodded, "The route we used for our South American cargo."

"Well Diane, it seems that you were correct." Sonny nodded and wiped his fingertips across his chin. "Do you think that is what happened here?" he asked, looking over at Jason again.

Jason shrugged then nodded, "Our former lane, very possible."

"Like I said, a woman scorned." Diane looked between Sonny and Jason who appeared to be having a silent conversation just by looking at each other. "I think I should leave for the rest of this conversation because it will probably include information that I don't want to know." Diane packed her folders into her briefcase. "We will finish our meeting later." As she walked out the door she winked at Max, "Gentleman" she nodded then left the men to business.

Max closed the door then turned and folded his arms over his chest, "What should we do?"

"Nothing yet." Sonny directed. "It could be an attack on the organization we sold the shipping lane to. There has been no contact yet by them to find those responsible. I'm sure I will receive word soon though. Now there were two lanes that you said that Sam had the knowledge of and that was one of them, which we sold mere weeks ago. If she is working with Alcazar I would bet that the second lane will be attacked as well."

"And if it is?" Max asked.

Sonny smiled, "If it is then we will contact our friends in New York that we sold it to and notify them who is responsible for the attacks. We need to do this right and cover all of our tracks, there is another organization involved and we don't need a mob war on our hands."

"We need to get a tail on Sam, we need to be sure she is the one giving Alcazar the information." Jason added and stood from is chair then began pacing the office.

"Wha-what are you thinking?" Sonny asked.

"I'm thinking it is Sam and if I know Alcazar another attack is coming if it hasn't already." Jason answered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"So you guys think Alcazar is trying to start a war with us but has incorrect intel and is, in fact, starting one with a family from New York?"

"Not incorrect intel, just old." Sonny clarified. "And not just any family, the Zacharra's."

"As in Anthony Zacharra?" Max asked, his mouth hanging open after he spoke.

Sonny nodded, "The one and only."

Max's eyes widened, "You sold it to him, he is insane, like literally insane."

"And Alcazar will have him to deal with." Jason mumbled. Never had he thought Sam would go this far. When Diane suggested that he search deep for any information Sam had on the business and change it, he thought she was being a little extreme. Sure Sam was angry but never did he think she would give information that could possibly start a mob war. 'A woman scorned…' Diane had said something about a woman scorned and strongly made her recommendation. Sonny agreed and it was decided, they'd sell the two shipping lanes Sam knew about as well as numerous safe houses.

Jason was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a cell phone ringing.

Max quickly drew his phone from his pocket, "Yea." He paused and listened for a few seconds. "Are you sure?" Another pause and a nod. "When?"

Sonny and Jason intently hung onto every word and when Max closed his phone they pretty much already knew what he would say. "The second lane was attacked just over an hour ago. Two freighters with full loads were taken out along with the entire crew of both of them."

"Coincidence?" Sonny thought out loud.

"Not a chance." Jason said confidently.

Sonny nodded, "Max, I need you to arrange a meeting with the heads of the families, as soon as possible." He picked up the phone on his desk, "I need to call the Zacharras and personally inform them that they need to be there."

"Sure thing boss. Anything else?" Max asked.

Sonny looked at Jason then spoke, "Get extra guards on Elizabeth, Carly and the boys just in case."

Jason and Sonny handed their cell phones to Max before they entered the door to the meeting. There were strict rules on these types of meetings and electronic devices were number one on the list. Jason pulled at his tie one last time before walking through the door.

In the last month he had pretty much been living at Elizabeth's house. He hadn't spent a night in the Penthouse since before they were married and hoped he never would again. When he had stopped at the house to change into his suit, Elizabeth knew it was for business. He could see the worry in her eyes but he assured her that everything would be fine. She was very close to her due date and moving slow but that didn't stop her from helping him dress in his suit and promise him certain sexual favors if he didn't get injured. He had all intentions of collecting when he got home.

Jason and Sonny were the final two to arrive, joining four other families including Anthony Zacharra. Sonny sat at the table with Jason taking his position and standing behind him, folding his hands in front of him. After exchanging pleasantries it was Anthony Zacharra that called the meeting to order, "Well Corinthos, you are the one that wanted this so please don't waste our time." He mumbled in his lethargic sounding voice.

Sonny leaned back in his chair and smiled his dimply smile before letting his face fall to a serious expression. "We wanted everyone to come together to discuss a problem. There have been two attacks on cargo ships, I believe you are familiar with the situation Anthony."

"Yes." Anthony said rolling his wrist in the air for Sonny to continue.

"It turns out that the attacks were coordinated by Lorenzo Alcazar. The attacks were based on old intel he received about shipping lanes which he believed to belong to our organization. Unfortunately for you Anthony they now belong to you." Sonny plainly stated. He continued, "So I thought it best to come together as a collective group and inform everyone of possible future attacks. There have been some other business dealings between our organizations in past months and would like everyone to be on alert for further breaches."

"So you are saying that you think he will attack again?" a portly man, the head of a family in Boston, asked.

"There is no way of knowing. What we do know is the source he received the intel from on the shipping lanes but beyond shipping lanes that source is a dead end. Also, what it proves is that he is not verifying the information he is receiving, he is acting on impulse, which in our business could be hazardous to everyone in this room." Jason added.

"And has this source been handled?" Another family head asked.

"They are being handled." Sonny answered.

Anthony Zacharra laughed, "And we are supposed to take your word on this Corinthos?"

Sonny nodded.

"We have no reason to believe that Mr. Corinthos would not follow through. What we need to decide here is how Mr. Alcazar will be handled." The man from Boston reasoned.

"I think we all know what needs to happen here." Anthony stated.

"And with the support of everyone in the room we'd like to handle the situation since it was a failed attempt against our organization. Also, as an act of good faith, we'd like to compensate Mr. Zacharra for his losses."

All of the men sitting at the table nodded their head including Anthony Zacharra.