About six to five years ago, after the Knox incident, before I met those two nut job sisters.
Those days I took a noticeable amount of work from folks in little Italy, since I'm supposed to be the peace broker. I was able to remain on good terms with most gangs, and I got to know the district well enough that I could feel something was off when Santoro came out of absolutely nowhere.
Even today, where the Santoro family came from is still a mystery. The most logical theory was they were the combination of several small crews located close to the O'deans and took control of their territory when Knox wiped off the gang. This explains why they're quite open about the whole background, surname, bloodlines matter compared to others. (Though you still got to be Italian as fuck to break the glass ceiling.)
Another reason I know something huge is about to happen was because of Enzo again.
It took me almost 6 months to pay him back. On the day I ended the dues, he grabs my shoulder saying this deserves a celebration and lead me to a rundown pub with neon lights in the shape of Christmas trees even though it was way passed that season.
By that time he had left Nicola's circle to join a smaller crew at north, closer to Saint Alisha. The most notable aspect of this group is it spurns the growing Santoro family.
From the way he talks and interacts with the other members, putting minimal effort into the conversations yet still hangs by the edge of it. A sense of deja vu hit me like a spear through my brain. I found an excuse to leave at midnight, but when I reach for my wallet he stopped me. Telling me it's on him.
Two days later the head of the gang along with his uncle and two cousins were pinned by the cops for attempting extortion of government agents.
The loosed structured gang quickly dissolved the rest of the members scattered around Little Italy. It even made it to the third page of a broadsheets with a snobbish title: An anonymous tip-off toppled over a criminal organization.
Enzo then joins his next crew, this one is located right next to Santoro.
Jumping between gangs like it's a fucking playground is something no one has ever done before in Little Italy. But Enzo did it more times than I can remember, every time there will be a perfectly good explanation for his 'inevitable' departure. It's either the gang was merged or purged by another that came knocking at the most unexpected timing.
The similarity among these crews of the past is that every single one of them was either against or close to the Santoro family and what they stand for.
Enzo's past records aren't pretty, some call him jinxed others think he's a snake for switching sides on a daily basis. But he just so happens to be one capable and eloquent motherfucker that all the.... rumors about him, can be overseen.
The next time I saw him was almost one year after the night at the rundown pub with Christmas neon lights. Once again, I was hired as a mediator by the rising Santoro family for a peace negotiation with the Sartori which is where Enzo currently resides.
It was about some skirmishes on the border. By that time, much like Piao Jie down south the power struggle between factions was almost ending. All that is left are these two, the rest either picked a side or faded in history like Nicola after Enzo left.
The guy who contacted me for the job promised me they've set their mind on ‘ending this in a consonant fashion'.
Truth be told, the Santoros are probably the only ones in the city that can say this unironically without making me laugh. These fellows are diplomats over violence most of the time. With that in mind and the handsome compensation promised, I took the job without much thought. Thinking this would be an easy score.
A week later, standing in the middle of a deserted warehouse close to the ports and tenth street, I checked my watch and found them 12 minutes late. I'm not so sure anymore, especially because the constant shiver down my spine keeps warning me about something's off.
They arrived 20 minutes later with attitude. I still remember the second I saw Enzo sitting in the SUV's driver seat with a grin, every single brain cell in my head was telling me to get the fuck out of there.
And they were right. The satoris came with a very clear intention of starting a war, sending brats and idiots who didn't know better to act like it was a dick measuring contest.
Despite my best effort, there was no way it would end well. 6 minutes in, the Santoro at the far left who was sitting like the le Penseur without uttering a word this whole time flipped the table with one hand before he turned around and walks back to the car with the other two behind him. Though it would be a failed job, I didn't try to hold or persuade them from leaving. Since I were at the brink of quitting this shit too.
But then, one of the satori said. And I quote. "Shit. I would have brought some catnips if I knew I'm playing with a bunch of pussies today."
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The youngest Santoro at the scene. Named Giovanni if I remember correctly, shoot the moron who said it in the gut. Needless to say what happened next.
Two of the satori were killed, one heavily wounded, and the rest rush back to tell their boss who opened fire first.
On Santoro's side, Giovanni was shot four times and bled out on their way to the hospital. Amidst the chaos I got on their ride which took me along back to tell Don Angelo what happened with me being the eye witness. And I did, I told him word by word what everyone said during the meeting. (Ain’t a long one anyway)
He patted my shoulder, said I've done well in a shit show like this. And asked if I'll be interested in some of the more ‘hands on’ types of work in the future, knowing what he was about to do I politely declined.
"Shame. I could use a reasonable man right now." He said.
The next day little Italy was at war. None gave any quarters, both sides knew whoever came out of this knife fight alive would be the one to finally gain full control of this meddlesome district.
So they threw everything they got.
Burning the future days to ensure the other will go down before they do.
Little Italy was an immigrant neighborhood much like piao jie next to it. It's a tight community, the families around town had known each other since they were kids.
And because the Santoro family (more specifically, the Don) didn't see any problems with letting former gangsters of other afflictions join them as long as they were capable and sworn to be only loyal to them afterward. Many Satori men switched sides in the middle of the war. Something that would forever be despised if it was any other gang in the city. But in the eyes of the Santoro family, it's a logical policy. And it works all because of one man.
Angelo Santoro is a financial genius and a born leader among many other things. But most importantly, he's a charming guy who inspired actual loyalty from those that he helped or helped him.
The situation was a deadlock initially like any war this city had ever experienced. They killed some scouts in the corner seat of a food joint, you ride by their shop on the back of a motorcycle with semi-automatics. Same thing different year.
Until four months after the failed negotiation, on a windy night, Enzo ran into me in the city center.
The tides of war changed, the situation became one sided for the Santoro family. As if they suddenly gain knowledge of who will be where at when. As the Santoro became favored in the fight, more Satori's men switched.
5 months later, the head of the Satori family was killed in a barbershop. His last words were.
"Just a trim. I've got a plane to catch."
What's left of the organization were either killed, fled, or joined the Santoros. 10 months after the war started, for the first time in the history of Euforia, Little Italy is under the influence of a single family.
As for Enzo, I'm not sure when exactly he switched sides again. But I know it was before the assassination. And he was quickly favored by the Don and rose in ranks, some say he was the first to be made with a past record of serving under other families.
His reputation as a snake always overshadowed the fact that he's capable and all around. But now with a stage to perform, he's the rising star of the family, climbing up the ladder at an inconceivable speed. Within two years, he rose from a nobody, a jinxed to a Caporegime. Furthermore, because of the characteristics of the Santoro family, Enzo already knew half of its members from the past. He seized the position of influence with ease.
Nowadays he's one of the most well-known man in Little Italy and the most trusted underlines of the Don.
***
On the porch of a tailor shop. A dark green three-piece checked suit hugs his waist to accentuate his rangy figure. With a shirt collar higher than average that covers most of his neck and shining black Oxford shoes without a hint of scuff mark.
A good part of the skin at the back of his left hand is blackened possibly from an old wound. He's got more rings on his fingers now but the mourning ring is still on the index. A hint of pain ignited the nerves around my scar ranging from the edge of my right brow close to my temple to forehead.
His hair thinned, but almost unnoticeable for his dark brown hair color. Subtle lines of wrinkle that weren't there before appear under his eyes. An abnormal angle forms on his nose bridge, courtesy of the fight.
The pale blue eyes reflect a glint. Stoic, confident, self-proclaimed, amused, and the ever-lasting foundation of disdain shines in them. A man who found his position in the world and sees what he earned as what he deserves.
He changed a lot since I last saw him. He wears sophistication, power, and title well. They delude the others. Yet in my eyes, only amplified who he is.
***
"Enzo." I squeezed the words out of my mouth and give him a nod. My grip on the case tightened.
"Lee," He tilts his face upwards towards my right rear as if checking the stains on the ceiling. Then he takes a step forward.
"They said you uh..." his right thumb gently stroke through the rings on the index finger while gesturing a circle in the air a couple of times before he find the right word. "Got wacked ..... ditched in a dirty gutter. Food for the rats."
"Yeah? Did you weep for me?" Enzo lets out a sickening laugh that sounds like there's something blocking air from entering his lungs.
"Rumors are good for a laugh, hard to take as anything else.....until they became the truth. You should know better than anyone." I take a deep breath to surpass the temptation of the sixth of the seven sins. Concentrate to build a barrier around his words.
Maurizio read the room fast. He takes a quick glance back at me and filled the space between me and Enzo.
"Apologies, Mr. Massino. My partner is on sick leave today, I'll be with you after I sorted out Mr. Lee's requisite." With the same approachable voice, it's amazing how dragging the last syllabus of a word longer can make one sounded sincere.
"Don't worry about it." Enzo pick the seat next to the one I sat on, with his leather shoe resting on his right knee he answered. "I always got time for old friends." His blue eyes shifted from Maurizio to me when adding the last two words.
"Well then. Mr. Lee?" Maurizio placed a firm grip on my shoulder with his left hand while the right gestured towards the back. The layer of pressure serves as both an invitation and warning.
Was it that obvious? God, last three months made me lose touch.
"Certainly." I put a smirk on my face and turn around towards the hallway. Although Maurizo seems unconvinced, the hand on my shoulder never let go as we walk through the hallway paved by brown carpets.
Good call, for My grip on the violin case didn't loosen either.