KNOX CAPADONNO ARRIVED at Tia Marie’s at half past the noon hour. Dressed handsomely in a black pinstripe suit, he adjusted his tie in his reflection on the front window of the popular eatery before passing through the double doors. Two dapper-looking gentlemen dressed in black tuxedos and white gloves splayed open the doors and nodded at Knox as he entered. Carrying a black briefcase in his right hand, Knox checked the watch on his left wrist as he crossed the dining room. He didn’t bother glancing at the eyes that trailed him across the room, as patrons pivoted their necks to get a better look at him. Cutting through the rows of neatly arranged tables and chairs, Knox bypassed the hostess desk and swiftly ascended the spiral staircase. The graceful sounds of La Petit Minuet swirled through the restaurant as Knox approached the double doors of the Velvet Room. A pair of barrel-chested men with their arms crossed against their dark suits stood guard at the doors, preventing access to any surprise visitors, which is exactly what Knox Capadonno was. No one was expecting his arrival. Their beady eyes were stern and emotionless as Knox approached them. Not allowing the men’s presence to break his cool, Knox cast the duo of stern-looking men an all-business stare.
“Move,” Knox said to the men in a stern tone of voice. There was a cruel hilt to his gaze. “I’m not asking. Move out of the fucking way.”
Knox was always the most polished of the Capadonnos. Each of his words were perfectly enunciated, and when he cursed at someone, somehow the jab felt much more pointed with the absence of the heavy Jersey accent and slang, and the always present letter G at the end of all of his words.
“Some fresh mouth you got for a flashy DA like yourself,” Dino Ragostino said in a thick Brooklyn accent to Knox as he stared him down, eyes trailing from Knox’s stony gaze down the length of his suit, to his fine Italian leather shoes.
“A little far from home, aren’t you?” Knox asked Dino, and then snapped his gaze to Dino’s brother Mario’s face.
Mario stared at Knox, his stone-cold gaze unwavering. Not letting Dino get the best of him, a smile tugged at Knox’s mouth. “I learned from the best.”
“Last I checked, the best called Brooklyn, New York home,” Mario spat.
This earned a chuckle from Knox as he glared back, not cowering away from Mario’s lethal stare.
“Ah, yes… The best. In this life, ever so guarded in secrecy, you somehow think the loudest and most visible mobsters on the East Coast are the best? Truly, if they were the best, they’d manage to operate in a way to keep from landing on the wall of my office. The mark of a true Mafioso is handling business in such a manner that you remain unseen, unheard, and off the radar. You should be like smoke. Move silently. Without a trace of evidence, no trail to follow, but with a display of destruction in your wake. Then, when the first eyes look to the scene of the crime, you’re already gone, vanished into thin air. You’re looking at the best. Now step aside,” Knox said, his voice so smooth, and his eloquent words clearly having an effect on the men.
Suddenly Mario and Dino were mute. Knox glared at both of the men. When he realized that Knox wasn’t budging, Dino asked, “Or what?”
Dino jutted out his jaw as he waited for Knox’s response. A delicious smile creased Knox’s face as he rebutted, “I’ll introduce a few more of your relatives to the New York State Corrections System.”
“Is that a threat?” Mario demanded to know. His gaze quaked with rage. As Knox stared at Mario, he detected the slightest glint of fear looking back at him. Knox’s smile grew.
“You know damn well it’s a promise. Now move aside. I have business to tend to.”
“Mr. Rigatti is occupied. You’ll have to come back.”
Knox clenched his teeth, as the men continued to bar him from the room. Turning around with a look of absolute rage in his eyes, Knox gently placed his briefcase down on the table. With his back to the men, he entered the combination on his briefcase and popped it open.
“What’s he doing?” Mario asked his brother.
Dino, trying to peer over Knox’s shoulder to get a better view, couldn’t see a thing. Knox’s broad shoulders and tall stature prevented him from viewing the contents of Knox’s briefcase. Knox appeared to be shuffling the contents of his briefcase. With his back still turned towards the men, Knox said, “I’m going to tell you one last time. Get the fuck out of my way.”
“You’re a persistent son of a bitch, aren’t you!” Mario spat.
Turning on his heel, Knox popped the magazine into a sleek grey Smith and Wesson .40 pistol. Twisting the silencer into place, Knox raised his arm, thrusting the gun to Mario’s forehead.