Family Ch. 03

"Ok, D, thank you." She grabbed her son's hand and looked back at Francisco.

"What are we going to be doing, boss?" Francisco started walking beside me as he drew the cell phone from his pocket. "When do you need Casper here?"

"In one hour, and tell him to bring his boys, we need to get the ball rolling here. Soon, we are going to need to give Elvis some work to do and keep him busy. My brother should be done with his exam by next month and we can begin to try to get Angel out of prison."

...

"Listen, D, about Jessica," Francisco began after he had made the phone call. We were sitting in the office, sharing a drink and a cigarette when he spoke. "Look, if you think it's inappropriate for me to watch her kid..."

"You know, a good friend told me something that has opened my eyes to a lot of things. She said that sometimes we have to sacrifice our principles to sustain our morals. How long have you and Jessica been a couple?" I looked at my friend nearly choke on his drink, "and why am I the last one to find out?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," I replied, trying my hardest to contain my laughter, "Edith hasn't been saying much about Jessica, you have been spending an awful lot of time 'training' her, not to mention how her son calls you by a pet name. Considering Edith and Anais spend all their time together, Edith would have mentioned something about Jessica, but she has not. So it leads me to believe that they know. So, why was I the last one?"

"You already had enough things going on," he replied with complete honesty, "plus I didn't really know how you would react to the news."

"Well, so long as you are happy, my friend," I lifted my glass just as there was a knock on the door, "come in, Casper. Leave your boys outside for now."

"I brought them as you asked, what is the plan?" Casper looked at Francisco and shook his hand, "I do gotta say that things have been really quiet in the neighborhood lately."

"I saw in the news that they found a house full of corpses," Francisco replied, "seems like there was some gang violence in the area. A lot of arrests and drug busts."

"Now," I continued from where Francisco had left off, "now we do what I am best at: divide and conquer. Casper, I need your boys beaten up, not too severely of course but enough so that they paint a convincing picture. With all the families on high alert due to the constant drug busts, there is going to be a lot of questions being asked as to who beat up a couple of thugs. More importantly, they will wonder if whoever beat them up did so for a reason. So one of them will be picked up by one family, the other by another, and the most important one will be the one that gets picked up by Elvis. He is the only one that will really matter."

"Why is he the most important one?" Casper was curious, even Francisco sat at the edge of his seat waiting for the full picture of the plan that was unfolding. "And you are only using three, there are at least seven large families in this area, what about them?"

"We fry the little fishes first," I replied, taking a long drag from my cigarette, "we send one to Los Pepes over on the west side, that one will tell them that he was jumped by the Castellanos over in the south side. The other one we are sending to the Castellanos, they have been itching for a reason to go to war with the Mayates, but that one will say that he was told to accuse Los Pepes, for now. The one that goes to Elvis will say all three of them were attacked by the Mayates and that they were told to say they were attacked by different families. This will make Elvis look closer into the Mayates, which will make Los Pepes and the Castellanos have a sit down and look closer into the Mayates. We are going to be uniting two families to go to war against one."

"Jesus, D," Francisco replied, "this is a confusing plan. A lot can go wrong in there. What makes you so sure that they will unite forces?"

"Elvis will make sure of that," I replied, "when the third informant tells him that the Mayates were behind the attacks, well he will also get some information on some very lucrative business enterprises ran by both of those families. They lose a lot of money and only one family comes out looking strong."

"The Mayates," both Casper and Francisco replied in unison.

"Exactly," I replied, "the Mayates will receive an anonymous tip that they should pull back their resources for a bit. A few CIA raids will come up empty in their territory, this of course will make it back to the Castellanos as a show of goodwill to the CIA by the Mayates. To everyone looking from the outside, it will look like the Mayates are making a power play by trying to get the Castellanos and Los Pepes to go to war with each other. To them, it will look the same, except that the Mayates are working with the CIA to help establish themselves as the strong family in this side of the city."

"What about your own family?" Casper asked.

"Remember," I replied, "we are busy rebuilding our forces, trying to get our leader out of prison, and cleaning house of traitors. The outside family that reaches out to us will certainly be the one that set this whole thing into motion, it will let me know who is responsible for my brother's incarceration and your brother's death, Francisco."

"Still," Francisco replied, "this is a dangerous game you are playing, D."

"It's the Art of War, my friend," I replied, "you should read it sometime. If it all works out according to plan, by this time next month there will be a river of blood flowing in this city, there will be a lot of pain and misery. The money that Edith is finding will be used to help the innocent and rebuild my family's trust in the community. Any questions?"

"What happens after?" Casper asked.

"We'll see who is left standing," I replied, "don't get me wrong, this is going to be a brutal fight. There is no doubt about that, and this attention will bring a large number of badges and agencies with letters for names. We have to keep our business very tight, no crossing the line in anything from this point on."

"When do you want me to send the boys out?" Casper stood from his seat, ready to get the plan into motion.

"This Friday," I replied, "once Elvis begins to look into the Mayates we'll know it'll be time for the next phase of the plan."

"It is true what they say about the Daemon," Casper said, "he is dangerous."

"They say a lot, don't they?" I replied with a laugh, "go take care of your end of things, Casper. Francisco."

"Yeah, boss," he replied as Casper left the room.

"Were you able to get the house cleared?"

"The guys found nothing, sir."

"What about the private investigator?"

He drew a card from his jacket pocket, "here's the one, what do you need this for, boss?"

"Insurance, my friend. Just insurance. Make sure the boys learn the layout of these buildings," I said as I handed him the blueprints I had secured a few days before, "build rock drills so that each of them can navigate the entire building with their eyes closed. Two groups, one for each building, divide the sections as you see fit. They are to train for a raid."

"Whose houses are these?"

"I'll let you know," I replied, "just not tonight. You have enough going on to worry about these little things." I was using the same tone of voice he used when he had told me similar words not an hour before.

"That came back and bit me in the ass rather quick, didn't it?" He laughed as he made his way out of the office.

"Yes it did, Cisco," I laughed, "yes it did."

...

"I saw in the news that you're doing a great job cleaning up the city, my friend," I said as soon as Elvis had stepped out of his vehicle. "Busy, busy."

"I can't help but feel like they are being handed over to us in a platter of sorts," Elvis replied, "I came to check up on your dad's garden, haven't had the chance to stop by for a few days."

"Well," I replied, "it seems to be doing good, I don't know what type of tips you are giving him but things look like they are growing. We are having a small family gathering tonight, you are welcome to stop by."

"Thanks," he replied, "I have a few more stops to make, the local law enforcement is running out of room really fast. So many people are singing that they can't keep up with the deals the prosecutors are making. Do you have anything to do with it, D?"

"Why would you think that, old friend?"

"Just a thought," he replied, "like I said, its like they are being handed to us on a platter. Anyway, enjoy your gathering, tell your father I stopped by."

"Elvis," he turned before entering his vehicle, "thank you for keeping our streets clean."

"Did he just flip you off?" Edith asked as Elvis drove away.

"I was being a smart ass," I replied as I took her in my arms, "how are things looking in there?"

"Your mom is being quiet, which is really weird. Your nephew is playing with Willie and the dog out back, Anais is talking to your dad about which flowers to plant in different areas of the house. Francisco and Jessica are doing the lovey dovey thing," Edith stroked my face as she said all this, "I was getting lonely in there without you."

"There you go again with the bedroom eyes," I smirked, she playfully slapped me, "you girls get some of the side dishes ready, Laura will show you where everything is, have Francisco meet me out here."

"I love it when you get bossy," she replied as she kissed me, "do you need to speak with your brother and father as well?"

"Just my father," I replied, "I could use some fatherly wisdom with what is going to be happening next."

"What's going on, boss? Edith said you needed to see us?" Francisco walked after my father, both have gotten to know each other due to their frequent interactions and had become good friends.

"Elvis is cracking," I replied, "we need to add more pressure in his end. Has Casper given you a report?"

"Well things are going as you hoped," Francisco replied, "no one has reached out to us yet, but the families are turning on each other. Your friend has been rather systematic in his dealings with the families, I don't think Los Pepes have any amount of muscle left."

"I saw on the news that the Mayates were having their own share of problems as well, perceived favoritism has made the FBI put increased pressure on them." My father laughed as he saw the kids chasing the dog around the backyard, "I don't think they will be able to call themselves a family for much longer."

"The Castellanos have clammed up, a lot of their networks have been closed. The heads of their family have left the country, warrants have been issued for their arrest, but I don't think they'll be coming back anytime soon."

"I was expecting a lot of bloodshed would come," I replied, "I am glad that I was wrong in that aspect. But the fact that no one has reached out to us is concerning."

"If you can't pinpoint an outside source," my father continued, "you're gonna have to go back to looking inside to find your rat, son."

"That's what I am afraid of, pops," I replied, "but for now, we still have to keep Elvis busy, there are still too many families fighting for control of this city."

"Don't forget who you are, son," my father placed his hand on my shoulder, "you left for good reasons. Be careful that you don't get caught up in this whole mess while you try to clean up. Have an exit plan, if you are not going to keep that seat in that big house, warm."