“No. I agree with you, LC. This is serious business, and my son can be an idiot sometimes. Apologize to Mr. Duncan. Now,” he said with a snap of his fingers.
“Sorry, sir.” The young punk apologized directly to me in compliance with his boss’s orders. The words were there, but they didn’t match the feelings behind them. I fixed my eyes on him, imagining giving the order to end his life one day, perhaps one day soon, if I ever saw him again. While he was not a killer, by any means, Harris’s expression told me he shared similar feelings toward Sal’s arrogant son. I made a mental note to add that to the list of out-of-the-ordinary reactions from Harris.
“Harris, is this all Mr. Dash had when his people reached out to you for this meeting? Gossip and rumors? If so, you just wasted my day with this bullshit.”
“No. They insinuated there was more, LC,” my son-in-law offered frantically.
“Sal?” I asked, turning back to my counterpart.
“The Mexicans,” he said. “I’m hearing they’re trying to gain a foothold here, beyond supplying the region. Maybe to cut out the middleman and supply directly. I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to become irrelevant.”
“When you say Mexicans, who? Mexican Mafia? Los Zetas? Cali Cartel?” I asked, intentionally omitting someone.
“No. Somebody based stateside, out west. Alejandro Zuniga is his name, I believe. At least that’s what my men tell me. Ever heard of him?”
Sal waited for an answer, but I hesitated. This all seemed a little too coincidental. A little too contrived. I glanced over at Orlando. His eyes told me he was thinking the same thing.
“Tell me you didn’t hit my shipment,” I said.
“No, but this Alejandro’s people offered it to me. I was about to take it when my son Vinnie over here informed me that you’d put out a bounty on that truck,” he said, shark teeth in full view again.
“So you just turned down two hundred ki’s of dope at fire sale prices. Do I look like a fool, Sal?” My blood started to boil, but I needed to keep it under control if I was to get to the bottom of who was fucking with my product. My mind was flying in all different directions. I couldn’t narrow it down; there were too many people who would love to have control of my territory. Too many people who would be willing to do whatever it took. One of those people was standing directly in front of me.
“No, of course not,” Sal insisted. “Why would I want to go to war with you? Look, we may piss each other off from time to time, once in a while, but we’re both successful men with way too much to lose.”
“And a lot would be lost,” Orlando said not so nicely to Sal. He was definitely more assertive than I’d seen him of late. Maybe he’d finally caught on about just how serious running the family business was, and why I did the things I did.
Sal had a point. I didn’t trust him, but why would he risk everything to go to war with us? It would turn out badly for all involved. “Thank you for passing on this information to me. I’ll be in touch, Sal.” We shook hands. I still didn’t trust him 100 percent, but I was feeling a little more cordial than when Dash and his men first arrived.
“Grandpa!” I heard a tiny voice emanating from the dealership floor. Startled, Dash’s men went for their guns, which in turn made us do the same. It looked like we were about to get that standoff after all. As fingers rested on multiple triggers and everyone took aim, Harris, who was unarmed, looked to me to stop things.
“Stop. It’s my granddaughter,” I said, extending my hand toward the men aiming at us, as well as in the direction of Mariah’s voice. “That’s all.”
“Graaaaandpa!” she called out again. It sounded like she was coming closer to the service bay.
Sal’s arrogant son made an odd facial expression, then whispered something to Sal as he lowered his weapon. Sal nodded at whatever was said.