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| Meeting Marietta | Started by: MacLeod on Mar 19, '09 17:18 |
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My father wasn't much of a mafioso. Nothing against him- it just wasn't his bag. He went through the motions, made his money, rose through the ranks, sure. But he used to talk about his father, his grandfather, and how they had this fire inside them. A fire that would leave them walking the streets, bleary eyed, in the cool darkness of the early morning. A fire that would let them burn through the paperwork on their desk just to surprise their boss with the efficiency. His voice trembled when he spoke of it, and I think that was because he knew he lacked it. I think near the end he realized that he wasn't going to accomplish anything, so he poured all his hopes and dreams into me. I remember one time he pulled me out of school when I was 16, and wouldn't tell me why. He took me to Luigi's and bought me my first suit. He checked to make sure I had shaved that morning, or if I needed a haircut. I was getting nervous, like maybe we were heading to a funeral. But no. When I stepped out of my bedroom in my first suit, he only looked at me, smiled, and said a single thing. "I am glad you look your best, my son- today, you meet the Godmother". At the time, Marietta had just become Godmother of Detroit. There was talk of a few Dons soon approaching her rank, but at the moment she possessed a singular honor. My father smiled again and led downstairs. A shining new car pulled up on the sidewalk and a large, muscular driver in a suit immediately jumped out and held a door open for us to get in. I was glad. I'd met a few of my father's associates, but none as important as Marietta, so I was looking forward to planning out on the ride over what I would say to her. My father gestured for me to enter first, and as I ducked my head to see the two rows of seats facing each other, I adjusted to sit across from the woman who was already seated. She was around 5'5, with a slight build and blonde hair. Well dressed, but not opulent. I considered myself quite the ladies man at 16, so I flashed her the biggest smile I had and winked at her. She smiled back and laughed softly. She was pretty cute. At least I'd be able to chat up one of Marietta's secretaries before I met her and find out what she's like. I was about to give her a line when my father, thankfully, sat down in the car and stopped me cold. "Godmother Marietta. I present to you my son, MacLeod." I looked at her like she had 8 heads. Luckily, I think she was able to follow my thought process and gave me a couple moments to collect myself by talking to my father. "Keats! So good to see you, and to finally meet your boy. He's got his father's eyes. And his father's smile, too." I recovered quickly and stammered out an "It's an honor to meet you, Godmother". Then I froze and the thoughts flew frantically through my head, trying to remember what my father had taught me. Was I supposed to kiss her ring? Is she like the Pope? I mean, I know she's a lady. Do I kiss her hand? I'm not a knight. Crap. She's staring at me. I have to do something. I ended up taking her hand and kissing her ring. She didn't seem to mind, and seemed generally amused by me. My father wasn't shaking his head at me, so obviously I was doing something right. After we drove for a couple minutes, with Marietta and my father talking and me sitting and listening, she spoke up sharply to the driver. "Stop the car. We've got some quick business to take care of at the next bar on the corner. Keats, why don't you go ask Teddy for that money he owes?" Nodding, my father stepped out of the car, patting the inside of his jacket pocket as he went. We were in a rough area of town, but I wasn't concerned. I was much more worried about having to make conversation with the Godmother. She was asking simple, leading questions and I began to get much more confident with my responses. I was only 16, but I was still a quick thinker, and I could tell she was impressed at least. But as we continued talking, I could see her start to get a little nervous. My father had been gone a long time. After a couple more minutes of waiting, she grabbed her purse and motioned to her driver, before turning to me and speaking. "MacLeod, I'm just going to go check on your father and see what's taking him so long. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. You just wait here and watch the car- Pedro and I will be right out." With that, she turned quickly on her heel and walked with her bodyguard towards the bar my father had gone into. I stayed, leaning against the car with my hands in my pocket. And so the grey clouds marched overhead and the wind whipped chillingly through the caverns between the skyscrapers. I tugged my jacket tighter and tried not to think about what could be happening inside the bar. I was sure it wasn't anything too bad- what stupid jamoke is going to hold out on the Godmother of Detroit? Then I saw them. There were four of them. A few years older than me. Wearing dark suits with long, black trenchcoats. They walked together, like they were part of a single parasite. A couple of the guys were smoking, and the one in the lead smiled when he saw me standing next to Marietta's car. I was hoping that these thugs would recognize whose car it was and walk on by. Unfortunately, I was wrong. "Well, well, well. Whadda we got here? That's too nice of a car to be keepin' to yourself, my friend. Why don't you share it with us? We get a piece of everything 'round here." It was obvious to me that these guys were on the bottom of the mob food chain. I, however, wasn't even in the same ecosystem. Just a 16 year old kid wearing my first suit. These guys may've been scum, but they were bigger than me. I was in pretty good shape-boxing had always been a favorite hobby, but I could never take all of them. I pulled myself up to my full height and poured as much intimidation into my glare as I could. But being in a group has a way of increasing the confidence of idiots, and they just started to walk closer. "Don't got much to say, eh? Well let me tell you something. If you're looking for a fight, stay right where you are. If you're smart, you'll forget all about this car here. Take the bus home." With that, he reached into his pocket and scattered some change over the street. There was no way I was leaving the Godmother's car to these hoodlums. The four men were all within a few feet of me and, as the change spun and rolled on the street I saw their eyes subconsciously follow it. So I moved. I know I didn't have much of a chance if I left them all standing around, so I leaped at the leader and rammed my fist into his throat. The eyes of the other three men snapped onto me. I leaped forward to the next closest thug as the other two began to move. I tackled him hard and smashed him once in the face. As I got to my feet, though, the other two rushed me. I managed to get in a few punches, but nothing devastating. I could feel them pushing me backwards, and I grimaced as my spine slammed up against the side of the car. The two thugs leaned against my arms. Stuck. The leader stood up slowly, gasping for breath. He walked slowly over and stood directly in front of me. I was still pinned with my back against the car. "You know..." he began, but he never got a chance to finish, as I kicked my leg my leg out and my right shoe connected with the side of his head. For a minute I was hopeful he would go down and I struggled to get my arms free. But the two guys on either side of me kept me pinned against the car, and the leader soon rose to his feet again. I could see my footprint on his cheek. He was angry. I saw him reach into his pocket and pull out a gun. Maybe that whole kicking him in the face thing was a miscalculation. He was talking, but I shut him out as he cocked the gun and pointed it at my chest. I heard the roar of gunfire and thought fleetingly of my mother, who never wanted me to get involved in my father's business. I thought about her and my father talking about all their hopes for me- how they thought I had the ability to really make something of myself. Then I wondering why I was still thinking, and opened my eyes. The leader of the thugs lay in front of me with three bullet holes in his chest, looking up at me with empty eyes. I heard Marietta's voice say "Let him go" and felt my feet touch the ground again. Marietta, her bodyguard, and my father walked around the car with their guns drawn. My father quickly rushed to my side and I assured him I was fine. I'm not sure what Marietta said to the other thugs, but the two of them ran off, dragging the feet of the unconscious one behind them. I was still leaning against the side of the car when Marietta approached me. She gave me a restrained smile and straightened my tie for me. "Not bad, kid. Not bad. Sorry we were late- just a little business to deal with. And speaking of..." She turned to address both my father and me. "... if you're ever looking for work, and it's alright with your father. You come see me." The rest of the day was a blur, but I'll never forget the look that my father gave me that afternoon. It was strange. but a little sad. Like he knew that I had done something he never could. Could go places he would never go. Could stare down destiny in places that he would flee. He'd be dead in a month- someone shot him coming out of Marietta's office. But that's a story for another day. |
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| OMFG what a great story mac i loved every word of it and nice ending. | |
| Reply by: LuckyLuciano at Mar 19, '09 17:31 | |
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great read, i really enjoyed that. (: |
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| Reply by: Adieu at Mar 19, '09 17:39 | |
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| Probably one of my favourite stories on here so far, congrats! | |
| Reply by: Mac at Mar 19, '09 19:06 | |
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| That was amazing, an awesome read | |
| Reply by: Juan_Jose at Mar 19, '09 21:04 | |
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| Sweet! I am so saving that on my PC! | |
| Reply by: GinoCeaser at Mar 19, '09 22:40 | |
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| Very nice story, great read | |
| Reply by: waylander at Mar 19, '09 23:19 | |
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| Aweome story, it was a real good read. | |
| Reply by: SilvioCastellano at Mar 19, '09 23:27 | |
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| Very interesting!! :D | |
| Reply by: Drom at Mar 20, '09 10:33 | |
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| very good read Macleod!! Got any more? | |
| Reply by: Dah_Kurlzz at Mar 20, '09 10:45 | |
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That was great, Macleod. I like the set up for the next story- I'm sure it'll be just as awesome. :] |
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| Reply by: Ember at Mar 20, '09 11:37 | |
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| now that was a great story | |
| Reply by: ViolentKilla at Mar 20, '09 22:01 | |
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