I sighed. “He was right, but if I gave the order to move in and we were wrong, then we were going to get screwed, and that would look far worse.”
“I’m meeting with X tonight, and I’ll find out what kind of help he’s willing to contribute. If weapons are truly coming in in ten days, we’ll be in position to intercept.
He thought that over for a moment. “That sounds good. It’s just enough time to move rationally, but you have an end date. You’ve got to pin yourself down and make moves with confidence. If you don’t, others will think you’re hesitating.”
“Is it hesitating if you’re waiting for the best information?”
My father studied me for a moment. “You know I’m not an impulsive man.”
He hadn’t been when I was a kid, but the million-dollar necklace he’d bought my stepmother on a whim would indicate that might have changed.
“You have to know the difference between careful planning and questioning yourself.”
“And you don’t question yourself?”
“There’s a point where you make a decision and go with it. At that point, you don’t turn back.”
Again, I knew he was right. I knew that for men like us, going into something halfway was likely to be fatal. You went all in, or you might as well not try at all, but I liked research and data. I liked having a clear plan.
As if my father could read my mind, he said, “There’s nothing wrong with planning, but it’s got to be leading to something. I know you’re a strategy guy, but you’ve got to be an action guy too.”
“I’ve been in the middle of the action plenty.”
My father held up his hands. “You have, and I’m proud of that. You’ve been instrumental in every altercation we’ve had for the last five years. That’s why you’re in charge now.”
“You said I was only—”
He brushed my comment aside. “No, I haven’t formally passed on the family legacy, but you know you’re running things, I know you’re running things, and so do our enemies.”
“I took a deep breath and blew it out hard.”
My father smiled. “It’s a heavy weight, but it’s also a privilege.”
I nodded. I believed that as much as he did.
“I’m not saying you don’t know how to take action. I’m not saying I wouldn’t trust you, or that I wouldn’t hope it was you leading the charge if someone came after us directly. It’s not an easy balance.”
“You did a great job, Pop. I want to be as good.”
“You will. Listen to me, then go with your gut. Whoever you think is the lead on moving this stuff, you’re probably right. Listen to X too. Franco Marchesi says X is one of the few men he wouldn’t want to turn against them. Those are big words. He’s an important contact to have.”
“I know, Pop.” As if I weren’t worried enough about the meeting as it was.
He smiled. “Now, if you’re right, and the Landrys are connected—and I believe they are—this whole thing stinks just like everything they put their hands in. So what are you going to do about them?
“You’re really turning this over to me?”
He nodded. “I am.”
I narrowed my eyes, studying him. “You don’t intend to step in before we make our move?”
“I promised Marjorie I’d step back, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“You deserve more time with her.”
He nodded. “I do, and I’m lucky to have sons who can take over for me so I can take that time without worrying the family business is going to fall apart.”
“We want to be here for you, Pop.”
“Good. Now tell me what you plan to do about the Landrys.”
“Every time we’ve gone against them, we’ve stopped short of annihilation, and they’ve come crawling back like roaches when the light goes out. It’s time to take more permanent action.”
He nodded. “I agree.”
“We need to eliminate all the powerful players and anyone who has been directly involved with the gunrunners.”
“Does that include Elandra?”
Elandra Landry was Timon’s wife. He was the family boss, but she was a most unusual wife for our world. She had her hands in as much of the business as he did, maybe more, but we had rules we always stuck by. We didn’t kill women, and we didn’t kill children. In this case, though, things were different than they’d been in any of the other battles I’d engaged in. “I don’t know, Pop. That’s a hard call.”
“Yes, it is, son.”
“And you’re not going to tell me what you’d do, are you?”
“No, not this time. Not right now anyway.”
“If she comes for us directly, if she shoots first, then she goes down with her husband.”
“That is why I always worked hard to keep your mother out of everything I did. Then Marjorie didn’t want secrets between us, and I didn’t want to keep things from her.”