“Then you’re both stupid asses.” Vegas stood his ground.
Orlando reminded him what was up. “Look, I’m the head of this family, and at the end of the day, it’s going to be my call what course of action we take. Not yours.”
“Yeah, okay, little brother. We’ll take your course of action—if you want to get all of us killed. If you haven’t noticed, they’re cherry-picking our top soldiers. As fast as I’m training them, they’re getting killed or injured. This is not some half-ass game, in case you’ve forgotten.” Vegas got up in Orlando’s face.
“Man, fuck you!” Orlando balled up his fists. My brothers were about two seconds away from tearing each other apart.
“Stop it! Stop it right now! You two are supposed to be our leaders and you’re fighting like dogs in heat. What would your father say?” Mom stood in the doorway, dropping the ultimate bomb and silencing us all.
Vegas
25
There was a time when Uncle Lou was alive that I would have turned to him for advice, but with Pop out of commission and Uncle Lou dead, I had to turn to another elder outside of the family. I sought out Minister Farah to ask for his opinion about how best to utilize Johnny’s information. While we both wanted the same thing, Orlando was letting his need for revenge overrule common sense about our predicament. He wanted us to go in guns blazing, like a bunch of street corner thugs, and take out X and his people. Not that I didn’t want to put Bonnie and Clyde to use myself, but we weren’t built for that type of warfare. The Duncans were more like ninjas than samurai. That was why we’d survived when others couldn’t.
“So you think my plan is solid?” I glanced over at Minister Farah, who was sitting on about five pillows so that he could see over the dashboard of his SUV as he drove. We’d just come from staking out X’s little hideaway in Rosedale.
“Very solid. It’ll keep the body count down and give you some breathing room to negotiate. I’m proud of you. It’s a well thought out plan,” he said as he maneuvered the car to the curb. “You know, Vegas, this may not be coming at the most ideal time, with your father being in the hospital, but I have always considered you to be the son I never had,” he said sincerely.
“Minister, I don’t think anyone has ever given me a greater compliment. Thank you.” I leaned over and offered my hand, but he pulled me in for a quick guy-hug. Truth be told, if anything did happen to LC, I knew Minister Farah would be there for me. Other than my family and Marie, he and Daryl had been the only constants in my life.
“Be safe, my son. I will keep you in my prayers,” he said to me as I exited the car.
After he drove off, I headed down the street and cut through a hidden passageway to get to my next stop. When I arrived at a pink metal door, I rapped on it quickly and waited until I was let in by Dexter, the burly bodyguard I’d been considering hiring away from this joint.
“What’s up, Vegas?” He offered his huge knuckles for a fist bump.
I tapped my fist against his. “Nothing much, Dex. She still here?”
“She’s waiting for you.”