Snake Eyes

Chapter 14

Keeping his back straight, head up, hands folded in front of him, he waited in the office. Of course, he was on time, but his own father was late. The one rule in Cosa Nostra his father could never seem to follow, especially in death. And the waiting was the worst part, but Arackniss knew better. That was part of his father's intimidation tactics; get you in your own head before he gets there so you spill anything you did wrong. He still did it to Arackniss even though it hadn't worked since he was in his mid twenties. When the door opened behind him, he took a single step to the right and turned himself to face his father while the scorpion entered the room and moved to sit in the chair. "Alejandro," He fought the urge to cringe. Not the living name again. "What have you found on the skimmer so far?" He watched his father pull out a cigar and light it before taking a long, deep drag.

"It's based in the upper east magazzino and records show it happens every four to six months. I've got eyes on it and I'm monitoring the shipments going through that specific magazzino. I also spoke to the workers and the foreman gave me a lead, but I want to be 100 percent sure before I name names. No use accusing someone who ain't done nothin'." He watched the Don carefully, mostly eyeing the large tail that waved idly behind the man as he smoked. That was the most dangerous part. "I also have caught Artilluro sneaking into my office and impersonating me to claim the south shop. I believe it might be connected." The tail stopped and Arackniss immediately regretted the decision to mention Artilluro's attempted take over.

"Are you saying that you suspect one of my most trusted men of stealing money from the Family?" He would have bit his tongue and lied, but rule 8 forbade him from doing so.

"Yes, Don." The honest answer had that tail shooting his way and stopping just inches away from his throat. "The magazzino is in Artilluro's territory, he impersonated me by breaking into my office and using my forms to move a shop on the south side into his name instead of Molly's, and he attempted to intimidate me in my own office. I want permission to survey him and see if he does anything linking him to the skimmer, or if he clears his name. To do so, Don, I would need your permission." There was a moment of silence between them while the Don took another drag and slowly filled the room with the thick smoke. Arackniss told himself to stay calm and let what happened happen when the aculeus on his father's tail hooked onto his bowtie. The much larger man pulled him forward slowly, which he complied with until he was a few feet away from the desk and the man released him.

"I heard recently that you've been taking your days off very leisurely, Alejandro." His father relaxed in the chair and turned it to the side, billowing smoke as he moved. "In fact, I've heard that you've even been making personal calls in your office. Now, this information comes from Artilluro, and you have now made me suspicious of his actions. I want to believe both of you, but if he is right, you're letting some dame get in the way of your work." He would kill the wolf spider the next time he saw him. Point blank, he was going to tear that man limb from limb. "You understand how this looks, don't you Alejandro? You saying things about him, and him saying things about you. You're smart, otherwise I wouldn't give you so much responsibility." It looked like they were children pointing fingers at one another. Children, one of the things the Don hated the most, which was of course why he had three of them. "Now I'm going to give you time to find the real culprit of this, and I'm going to allow you to do so by whatever means necessary, however," His blood froze as the man stood and walked around his desk to stand in front of Arackniss. When his father grabbed his chin and forced him to look up at him, he knew nothing good would come of it. "Until this is worked out, you're not allowed to see your girl."

His heart dropped into his stomach, which immediately tightened. He was going to puke at this rate. He couldn't see Pentious? At least, not until this whole ordeal was dealt with. The smile that spread across his fathers face had him checking his own muscles and realizing that he was showing every bit of that pain outwardly. He reigned himself in and forced a neutral expression, but the damage was already done.