I put my hand out to take it. I’ve read it a hundred times already and each time I keep trying to figure out who it could be from. It’s not going to hurt to read it again, so I do:
Dear Massimo,
You do not know me. But I know you, and I feel compelled to contact you in light of the information I’ve recently discovered.
There was so much more to what happened seven months ago when the Syndicate was obliterated.
There were more people involved than who you think. So many more who were responsible for the deaths of our loved ones. So many got their hands dirty to end our fathers.
Riccardo Balesteri was just a pawn in a bigger game to eradicate enemies. I urge you not to stand alone but to reform the Syndicate and lead. Be a leader.
It is only with the strongest alliances that you will be able to hunt your enemies, or war will come.
Good luck.
A friend
I pull in a sigh, hand the letter back to him, and shake my head. I still have no idea who the fuck it could be from, but after last night reading it feels different to me.
This guy knew what was going on.
“He knows who the culprits are,” I state and Massimo nods. “He knew what Mortimer did and why.”
“Yeah. I just wish I knew who he was and why the fuck he couldn’t have just come out with whatever he knows.”
“And now we have the other groups to worry about,” I add. “Five more of them.”
“Five more groups, and there was what Wilson said about Italians,” he narrows his eyes and shakes his head. “It’s like talking in riddles. I don’t know if that means the Mazzones, or if the other groups were Italians. I don’t know if the kruv’ omertà was formed amongst the group or if it was one person.”
I sigh and bring my hand to my head. There’s too much to think about and everything feels jumbled when you just have pieces of the puzzle and parts are missing. You don’t know what fits where and what doesn’t.
“Usually the kruv’ omertà is formed with one person, but there’s nothing that prevents it from being formed with more people. It’s just rare Massimo. It requires more than just an alliance. It’s a promise to the death, a promise for life.” It’s a mystery, and if I’m honest that part doesn’t make sense, but then nothing has since our world turned upside down.
“You know what Tristan? I’ve been standing here and I may as well have been scratching my ass because I don’t know shit. I don’t know where to begin to unravel anything. All I know is this, if there’s mention of Italians we’re going to have to assume the Mazzones were involved and are as guilty as the Volkovs. That’s half of the fucking Syndicate.”
Pointing it out like that highlights the gravity of the shit. “No wonder things went the way they did.”
“Exactly. What happened eighteen months ago was an eye opener. Shit happened because potentially half of them were playing sides. Even if it was just Ricardo and the Volkovs, it’s enough. Because of that, those who remained loyal couldn’t do anything to protect themselves. Everything was based on wealth. Money counted for nothing in the end. It couldn’t help them then and money won’t help us now.”
He’s fucking right. The Syndicate was largely based on wealth. They thought unlimited wealth gave them power. It did to some extent. Until someone found a way to turn it against them.
It was the same damn thing when it came to our losses. The D’Agostino family is a powerful family. No one can just take us down like that, especially not with Massimo at the lead and me and Dominic at his side. The only way to get to men like us is to try and turn the people we trust against us. Since trust doesn’t come easy, making a guy we trust double cross us is like tying us up to beat us. That is the only way to get to us and our enemies know that. Mortimer knows that.
“What do you suggest?” I ask.
“I agreed we should reform the Syndicate from the moment I got the letter. Being told to hunt my enemies or war will come was enough to make me want the alliance a syndicate would have. But I’ve taken my time to consider who I want to involve because while I want to keep the structure and the concept the same, I don’t want the same problems so the same shit can happen in the future. I think I can finally make a start at rebuilding, but I’m continuing the hunt. Mortimer is at the top of the list.”
“You know I fully support you. I’ve never stopped looking for that man.”
“I know.”
“If we get Mortimer, it will be a big win. If we get the rest of these bastards then I think I’ll look to reforming the Syndicate with the same vision Pa had for strength.”
I nod my agreement.
We grew up poor, living in shit because Riccardo Balesteri made sure our father lost everything. Pa rebuilt and gave us a legacy with D’Agostino Inc. He took one step further and allied himself with the Syndicate to protect what we had and make us stronger. We can do that too.
The door burst open and Dominic rushes in carrying a wad of papers.