Chapter 128: The Aftermath of The Merge
(ARLO)
I am pleased that Miles has the courtesy to stay in the car despite accompanying me. I feel like I have the free space and liberty to talk to my men. I desperately need that right now.
I arranged to meet them at a restaurant that they use as a front at two o’clock. It is an older building on the other side of town. The restaurant has faded red booths and dark wood panelling. Even its décor is outdated, but I somehow find it comforting. Familiar even. When I was a kid, I used to come here with my father. It was better back then. The booths weren’t as faded as they are now.
One of my captains, Roberto, receives me warmly. "Boss, we were beginning to worry that we’d have to break you out of that mansion." Roberto is a bit older than me, with jet-black curly hair. He was my father’s second, whom my father trusted with his life. I trust him just as much because I know he is a good man.
Good man or not, I don’t want him or the others to learn that I was forced into this marriage with Miles. First of all, it will make me look weak and unable to run the syndicate. Two, they need to be open to the idea of the Sovereign Ring Syndicate being protected by the Triple Triad syndicates. As much as I loathe Sasha with my huts, my men need to believe that I’m cool with the turn of events. They can never learn the truth.
"Sasha and I had a lot to discuss." I begin.
"I can imagine," Roberto says, leading me to the table where the other men are seated. I had requested Roberto earlier to gather ten of my best capos, and he did just that. The captains, each lead a group of men who are my soldiers. They operate in specific territories and do variant activities, depending on where they are.
One of the capos, Walter, hands me a glass of whiskey. "I won’t lie to you, sir, but news about this marriage and merge took us all by surprise." He watches me keenly and I school my face best, trying to not give anything else away.
"It surprised me too at first but later made sense. We need to grow for us to survive. When my father died, we lost some credibility. I too believe that merging us with the Triple Triads will do us all some good." I take a sip of the whisky, wincing slightly as the beverage burns its way down my throat.