CHAPTER ONE- MATEO
2049 Words
f*****g piece of s**t, I should've blown his brains out when I had the chance to.
"What's the holdup this time, Mike?"
"Tony says he wants to shift the meeting to a more ah… public setting" said Mike, nervousness dripping from his face.
"What's that shithead scared for? Wants witness for when I kick his ass?" I replied gruffly, the stiff scotch in my hand no longer felt appealing.
"Mateo… " he sighed, "we need this guy. You know we do. Please stop giving him and me a hard time about this. It's hard enough navigating through without knowing Arabic or Turkish" he said, rubbing his eyes and looking downright stressed.
"Fine. Tell that fucker were on for the evening at whatever this market s**t he's arranged the meeting at. The terms remain same, no arms, no more than two guards. Understood?"
"Understood." Mike says almost too quickly and dashes out of the bedroom to make the call.
Tony Rahmat Shihabi.
One motherfucking piece of s**t. I hated the man's guts and I hate that I have to be stuck here making deals with him. No surprises there though, I guess other than my father and my gun I hated every damn f*****g person and thing, much less Tony. Unfortunately for me, the man was not only resourceful, but his crime family had a monopoly here in the Middle East and there's no way one can procure crude oil products without him knowing.
As I wait for Mike to come back and give me confirmation about the scheduled meeting, I make myself another drink after downing the one in my hand and hope to the almighty for things to go smooth because if anything, and I mean any damn f*****g thing goes off course I'll be answering to my dad, my Don. Giving an explanation to my dad about possibly shooting business contacts would be a conversation I'd like to thoroughly avoid, not just for my sanity but also for the betterment of my life.
These are times I crave for one hard f**k but then again, my dad jumps in the middle of that s**t and screws it over for me. He'd hardwired it into my brain to never f**k before a deal and to always get down and dirty later, and to never, never ever get the night's flavor home. The day a woman would walk into my house with me, she would be no one other than my future Donna, my wife.
Not like I'm dying to get married and start shooting kids into some chick…
"Boss, there's a call for you" said Lorenzo, one of my most trusted guards.
"Who's it?" I ask, not wanting to speak with anyone.
"It's the Don."
Great. Now I have to deal with my dad. Speak of the devil and he shall appear…
I take the phone from his hand and place it to my ear, already anticipating the boring lecture I'm about to receive.
"Son."
"Dad."
"You've reached" he states.
"As a matter of fact, yes I have. You wanted to call and inform me that I have in fact reached where I was supposed to. Thank you, I know now" I say, barely containing the sarcasm threatening to drop venomously from my words.
"Don't you get smart with me. I want this done quickly and without any mess. Just f*****g close this deal with Tony and get back here. And don't you dare go picking fights there, you know we have less power where you are. Am I clear?"
"Crystal."
"Good" he says, then softens his tone indicating that it's not my Don but now dad who will be speaking with me, "be safe son… get back home soon okay? It's getting pretty lonely without you and your shenanigans out here."
"I will dad"
"Stay safe, come back to me. Promise me that…"
"I promise."
It's hard not to get a bit soft myself when my dad gets all emotional and stuff. Yeah we're gangsters, doesn't mean we got no feelings. Especially after we lost my mom… f**k that, do not go there Mateo… forgive a d forget…
Anyways, ever since she's been gone, it's been pretty depressing. She was a pillar of strength, not just for my father but also the family. But then, what's gone is gone and right now this, what I'm up against right now is more important.
Getting in, getting the deal, not dying. Yeah, simple enough.
At half past five in the evening, we all get up and start dressing up. Concealed weapons, vests and communication devices are attached to everyone's bodies except for mine, Mike's and Lorenzo's, as we three will be entering the place where the meet is scheduled. This whole no arms rule was not new though, many dealings have gone haywire in the past, the buyer killing the seller if they don't meet common grounds and vice-versa.
I knew for a fact that Tony himself had lost a brother the same way. That shithead decided to go one on one with some Syrian terrorists and got a bullet put right through his head. His body was found hanging, attached to a pole over a building. Gruesome and sick as f**k.
Getting inside of the rented Range Rover, we make our way towards the Ali farmers market, a local marketplace here in Istanbul for the scheduled meet. Horrible traffic meets us half-way through, putting my mood in a slump already, even before seeing that scumbags face. These are the times I really miss home, both in Italy and our second home and base in New York. Empty roads, most of the time and barely any hawker shits. Those guys are spread out thickly like insects all around. My hatred is more intense towards these men also because most of them turn out to be some kind of spies, always watching…
The armed guards were already in position, spread out all over the marketplace and a few also waiting in a separate van five minutes from the main meet place. I step down from my car at a junction where a few narrow lanes meet, accompanied by Mike and Lorenzo and we make our way towards the intended destination. The marketplace was, as expected littered with locals and tourists and gave me a headache almost instantly.
This is where the highlight of my walks by though, the only good thing in the entire goddamn day. As we approach a small turn in the road, a bicycle rider rams into a wall by mistake, owing to all the pedestrian traffic making all of us halt in our steps too. The holdup doesn't last for more than a few minutes but it's enough to mindfuck all the other people around me as well, so much so that when it clears up, they practically run out of the small and confined space.
A lot of pushes and unceremonious feet jabs happen and in that a small frame bumps into me and I could swear my heart stopped beating for a whole minute. A beautiful redhead had just tripped and fell on me, her perfect little body pressed into my side, her hands holding onto my chest and bicep while her eyes remained tightly shut because of the impact. As the perfect gentleman I am, I turn to the redheaded beauty and pull her into my arms gently, my hands working of their own accord, pulling away strands of her hair from her face and gentle caressing her beautiful, soft cheeks and neck.
Then the little minx opened her eyes and had me by my balls from the get go. Those inky black orbs demanded for my fullest attention, which I gave and felt like they were boring into my soul. Unfortunately, the moment was cut short as this wasn't a cliche Hollywood movie. We both had placed to be and as much as it was tempting to have that little beauty in my arms for a little longer, I couldn't afford to at the moment.
"I'm so sorry Mister, and thank you so much," she said, her voice all soft and breathy, sending shivers down my spine and just as quickly she turned around and left. As she did so, her body brushed against mine for one last fleeting moment and I could swear my c**k twitched in anticipation.
What the f**k! How does some no name chick make me feel like some f*****g horny teenager? s**t! Get a grip Mateo...
Fuckinglace Tony has arranged the meet at is a grocery store at front, simple and easy deception, though very effective. It's a pretty basic one, huge bags of grains are set on the foot of the entrance, making us maneuver around the lot and straight to the back of the store. There stands a single door, which one might think would lead to the back and into the storage space but actually opens up into a huge circular room that holds a secret office for Tony.
There's wind chimes and gemstone laden ornaments all around the room, a large crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling. The room in itself is done in accents of red and gold and clearly insinuates the mentality of these fuckers, thinking they're some kind of Royalty.
Keep your head cool. f*****g control yourself Mateo!
"Ah! My dear friends all the way from America. Welcome, welcome!" Comes the chipper and overly friendly voice of Tony Rahmat Shihabi, and he has that motherfucking smirk plastered all over his face that makes me want to smash his face to bits.
Control… Mateo control…
"Tony."
"Mateeoo" Fucker. That's how it always has been, he never calls me by my name the proper way. He always opens his disgusting little mouth and stretches the 'e' and 'o' in my name like string cheese and that infuriates me even more.
Ignoring the look of complete loathing on my face, he goes on, "How have you been? How is your father… dearest Don… I hear he isn't doing so well. Nice it would be, wouldn't it? You being Don and.."
"Let's get to business Tony. I'm not here to play house with you," I state firmly and a bit rudely even.
"Aha! Yes, yes. I forget… you're all business. You should learn from your dad, you know? A little friendly chatter never hurts" he says, now lighting up a cheap cigarette that I'm sure will be blown right in my face soon enough.
We're served some tea by one of his mistresses and the talking commences. The persistent fucker keeps coming back to the one thing he knows I can't and won't give to him at any cost- a base in New York.
It's not that we don't have any, it's just that I don't trust this man. I have no personal vendetta against Arabs or Muslims but Tony… men like him, misguided f***s, I would never trust them on my soil. To me, and my family both Italy and America are home and no way would this man get any part of it. But at the same time, this deal is important and I know for a fact, won't be sealed without that little bit of cooperation.
"I can't. It is not going to happen Tony, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Kiss your American airline dreams goodbye and talk about the money. I'm willing to pay however much you want, just name your price" I said, giving him my coldest stare and in a fraction of a second I see something like loathing shine in his eyes, a dark gleam.
Tony stays silent for a while, calculating, thinking, just generally measuring his options, then says, "but the Bianchi's are willing to give me all the space in this world Mateo, just one state over in N.J, why would I not give what they want and not what you want, huh?"
"Because Bianchi is a piece of s**t and is blatantly lying to you. His properties and assets are already under the radar of the F.B.I. You move and they'll come after you too."
"The F.B.I… No, I don't think so. You have no use for me then, goodbye, Mateo."
And then s**t hit the fan.
- Writer
