Page 129 of Niccolo (Mafia Kings #7)

T he three-story palazzo where we were staying was astounding. Everything was made of white marble, from the walls to the floors to the giant pillars out front. Large arrangements of fresh flowers – roses, irises, tulips, hydrangeas – filled every room like living art.

“The onsite staff will take care of your every need,” Don Severino said, “and my men will guard you with their lives – I swear upon my grandchildren’s souls.

If you need anything, day or night, simply tell one of my men to contact me.

Have a good night’s sleep, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning at the Council. ”

Then he smiled and left us to get used to our accommodations.

A maid led me to my room, which had a balcony that overlooked the western side of the Palatine Hill. The ruins were strewn with the remains of palaces that had long since turned to rubble.

To the north, I could just barely see the Forum – the heart of ancient Roman social, political, and religious life. Stone columns were the only traces of temples devoted to Jupiter and Venus. I could make out the rough outline of the Senate, which ruled Rome before the emperors took control.

In a way, the hill was both the cradle of the Roman Empire… and its grave.

I left my room and went to find Dario. He and Alessandra were in an enormous suite next to mine.

“We should have a meeting,” I suggested. “There’s a parlor on the first floor that looks like it has plenty of room.”

“Gather everyone up,” he said. “I’ll be down in 20 minutes.”

I nodded and left to go tell the Widow, my brothers, and all their wives.

All their wives –

I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around that one.

Twenty minutes later, everyone was seated in a circle in the parlor – except for me. I paced back and forth in the center as I explained what would happen the next day. I spoke in English so that Mei-ling could understand.

“For those of you who have never experienced a Council before, it’s a meeting of all the families of the Cosa Nostra . Typically, only dons and their consiglieres are allowed into the council chamber. Or… a donna, ” I said, inclining my head towards the Widow.

“However, tomorrow will essentially be a trial. Our family has brought charges against Fausto, and the other families will hear us present our side. Dario and I have agreed that I will argue our case.

“Since it is a trial, some of you will be called to testify. You will be seated outside the chamber for the majority of the proceedings, then called in one by one to give your testimony.”

I gave them a summary of who I intended to call.

Our two star witnesses would be Roberto and Rachel.

Roberto had been on a telephone call where Fausto had tried to bribe Lau to kill him…

And Rachel had been hired directly by Fausto to assassinate Dario.

Everyone else was a dicey proposition.

The Widow and Lucia had interacted with Aurelio but not Fausto.

Bianca had seen Aurelio with the Agrellas before the attack in Florence.

None of them had direct evidence implicating our uncle –

So I wasn’t sure I would call them.

My brothers would all be there since it was our family who had petitioned the Council –

But we wouldn’t need Caterina, Mei-ling, or Alessandra. They could remain at the palazzo.

“But what about the Turk taking me hostage?” Alessandra asked.

“Unfortunately, the Turk is the weakest link in our argument. We have nothing definitively linking him to Fausto – unless he mentioned something you haven’t told me.”

Alessandra shook her head glumly.

“Then I fear your testimony won’t be of much use.”

Lars asked, “What about me? Why aren’t I going?”

I didn’t want to tell him the real reason yet, so I simply said, “You won’t be needed to testify, so I’d like you to keep Caterina, Mei-ling, and Alessandra safe.”

“What about keeping you guys safe?”

“We’ll be under Don Severino’s personal protection at the Council. Trust me – there is no safer place in Rome. No one would dare attack us right under his nose.”

Lars seemed dubious, but he let it go.

“How are you going to prove he murdered Papa?” Adriano asked.

“I’m probably just going to stick to him trying to kill Dario and Roberto.”

“What?! WHY?!”

“Because we don’t have the evidence to prove his involvement in Papa’s death.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Adriano said angrily. “You know he hired the old woman!”

“I believe he did, yes. But what I believe and what I can prove are two entirely different things.”

While Adriano fumed, Valentino asked, “Can the Council kill Fausto?”

I explained that death was generally reserved for those who betrayed the entire Cosa Nostra. Say, someone who worked with the police to bring another family down.

Feuds between families – even ones that involved murder, like slaughtering the Agrellas – didn’t merit capital punishment. Business was business.

It was possible, however, that the Council could force Fausto to make financial restitution. They might demand he give us part of his territory.

He could even be formally banished from the Cosa Nostra, although that was unlikely.

It didn’t matter. If we could show he had tried to murder Dario and Roberto, the damage would be done. No one in the Cosa Nostra would ever trust him enough to do business with him again. He would be ostracized – banished in all but name.

And in his weakened state, someone would eventually pick him off.

Of course, that ‘someone’ would most likely be us.

On the other hand, if he won, he could counter-sue for slander. Although unlikely, we might have to potentially pony up tens of millions of dollars.

“You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kidding me,” Adriano snarled.

“I am not.”

“Then you better fuckin’ win.”

“Thanks for your support,” I said drily.

“But I need to warn everyone here: despite two incredibly good witnesses, the outcome is far from guaranteed. The Council is notoriously political and corrupt. There are alliances between various families, and Fausto is a consummate politician. I’m sure he’s already sewn up the votes of several dons – either by promising them support in the future or through outright bribery.

Unfortunately for us, since we need every euro to fight Fausto if we lose, we can’t afford to bribe anyone. The same can’t be said for him.”

“I might be of some help in that regard,” the Widow offered.

“I appreciate that,” Dario interjected, “but I want to try to win this on merit alone. And we may need your financial support if we lose tomorrow.”

The Widow had already made her offer to us privately. I had urged Dario to take it, but he didn’t want to set the precedent of always having to bribe other families for their cooperation, which I more or less agreed with.

He also didn’t want to slip into the gutter with Fausto, which I vehemently disagreed with.

When you’re in a knife fight, you do whatever it takes to win, whether the fight takes place in the gutter or not.

Dario, ever the idealist, overruled me.

I thought it was stupid, but I wasn’t the boss.

The Widow gracefully accepted Dario’s refusal, and I continued the briefing.

“When the Council hears a case, every family gets a single vote. However, the five most powerful –Rome, Venice, Sicily, Naples, and Milan – have two votes apiece. So we need as much support as possible from the Five Families.

“Signora Fioretti is already on our side, so that’s two votes.

“Unfortunately, Don Vicari is less than pleased with us,” I said, and stifled the urge to look at Valentino. “So he’ll probably vote for Fausto out of spite.

“Our father had an alliance with the Amato family of Naples. He supplied Don Amato with money to fight the Camorra – an organized crime group in Naples,” I explained to Mei-ling.

“However, when we lost half our territory to Fausto after Papa’s death, we stopped supporting the Amatos financially…

which may or may not come back to bite us in the ass tomorrow.

“Don Severino of Rome is a toss-up. I expect him to consider the evidence fairly.

“The same can’t be said for Don Camerota of Milan. His vote is always notoriously up for the highest bid.

“As for the smaller families, we have the support of the Oldanis from Genoa, seeing as Alessandra is Signora Oldani’s granddaughter… but for the rest of them, it all depends on whether they’re open to bribery, and how much Fausto has promised them.

“So, with Signora Fioretti and the Oldanis, that’s definitely three votes for our side. Hopefully five, if the Amatos don’t bear a grudge.

“Don Vicari makes two votes against, with four against if Fausto’s bought off Don Camerota. Everyone else is up for grabs. So there’s really no telling how this is going to turn out.”

“You’re telling me that no matter how much evidence we have, and no matter how well you argue tomorrow,” Adriano said angrily, “they might still let Fausto walk?”

I smiled grimly. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

After my rather pessimistic appraisal of our chances, dinner was a fairly somber affair… but the food was delicious, as was the wine. Everyone’s spirits eventually lifted.

As dinner drew to a close, I excused myself early. I told everyone I must prepare for tomorrow.

But that wasn’t what I had planned at all.