Page 109 of Niccolo (Mafia Kings #7)

Sofia

B efore things got started in Venice, Fausto’s cell phone rang.

It was Lau calling from Hong Kong.

Fausto put him on speakerphone so I could listen in.

“Mr. Lau, what a pleasant surprise! I’m here with Sofia, whom you met in your office.”

“Ah, yes – hello, Ms. Toscani,” the older man said with his dignified British accent.

“Good news, I hope?” Fausto asked.

“I believe so. The penthouse I put your nephew in is bugged. He just talked to his twin brother a few minutes ago. Though we could only hear one side of the conversation, it appeared to be quite urgent – so urgent, in fact, that Roberto is arranging a private jet back to Italy as we speak.”

“Really,” Fausto said in alarm.

“Yes – but things have worked out in your favor, and just in the nick of time. I withheld the 50 million euros from him as long as I could, but my primary investors voted to end the situation, one way or another. They flew in this morning to meet Roberto – but it appears he’ll be leaving for home empty-handed instead. ”

“Wait – does Roberto not know about the meeting with your investors?”

“No. I was trying to stall for as long as possible, and it seems I succeeded,” the old man said drily.

“Mr. Lau… is there any chance you would reconsider my original proposition to ‘take care of’ my nephew?”

I looked at Fausto in disbelief.

Did he not remember Lau saying, It’s not every day that someone propositions me in a murder-for-hire scheme like a common street thug?

Lau gave an audible sigh of disgust. “As I told you before, Mr. Rosolini, I do not wish to become involved in a Cosa Nostra war.”

I pointed at Aurelio’s video feed on the tablet and whispered, “Roberto coming back doesn’t affect this at all.”

“But why not wipe more of them out while we can?” Fausto whispered back. Then he returned to a normal speaking voice. “What if I told you, Mr. Lau, that the situation with Roberto’s brothers is about to be resolved within the next hour?”

“Really,” Lau said skeptically.

“Yes. My nephews are about to walk into a trap.”

“Interesting. However, it has not yet happened, has it?”

“It’s happening right now.”

“Well, until they are dead, the matter is not resolved.”

Fausto rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Once the matter is resolved, could you be persuaded to accept my offer?”

“There is still the damage to our reputation if we eliminated one of our clients.”

“Once Roberto’s dead, you can say I took over his investment in the Syndicate. For which I would pay a substantial fee, obviously.”

“A substantial fee… I like the sound of that.”

“The only problem is, I need Roberto to stay in Hong Kong. Can you arrange a meeting with your investors and tell Roberto it’s happening? There’s no way he’ll leave Hong Kong if he thinks he can still get the 50 million.”

“…yes… yes, I believe I can do that.”

“Wonderful. I should have news about my other nephews within an hour – two at the very most. I’ll call you as soon as I do.”

“Just a thought, Mr. Rosolini – would you care to listen in on the meeting with your nephew?”

Fausto cackled. “Mr. Lau, I would be delighted.”

“I’ll call you surreptitiously when he arrives.”

“I look forward to it.”