Intoxifresh

Chapter Sixteen

Manhattan

USA

Marco Santorini heard the rumble of his telephone and, seeing the displayed name, Wolf, he quickly answered. 'Did you get them?' he asked. If he didn't get them they'd all be in serious trouble, he knew that the Chinese were right on their tail.

'Yes boss, I got them.'

'Any trouble with airport security?'

Jack laughed to himself. 'None at all, sailed right through.'

'And... What about our man, Mr Sampson?' Marco asked, wondering how Simon met his end.

'He was a push over, a pathetic wimp of a man. We won't be hearing from him again,' Jack confirmed.

'Is he...?'

'No, I didn't kill him, there was no need. I could tell right away that this guy is no threat to us, Boss.'

'I hope you're right, Mr Fox. Where are you now?'

'I'm about a half hour from base. You want me to come right over?' Jack asked, knowing he'd impressed Marco.

'Yes, you'd better come here straight away. The earlier I get my hands on those pills, the earlier we can duplicate them and get those bastards out of the picture. We don't know what they're capable of. I'll round up the guys and we'll all see you at the base,' Marco paused for a moment. '...and well done, Mr Fox. I knew I'd sent the right guy for the job.'

'Thanks boss. I'll be there as soon as I can.' Jack said and then ended the call before hailing a cab.

Feeling elated but suppressing the joy in his voice to sound in control, Marco began to make the calls. It wasn't long before his fellow goons began to appear through the dilapidated entrance. Brothers Joe and Gino were first to arrive followed by Stefani Rossi, who had been asked to collect something strong from the local liquor store. He handed two bottles of Russian vodka to Marco. 'These here were free,' he said, smiling as he patted his knife holster, 'and so were these,' he continued as he removed another two bottles from his deep inside pockets. He turned around and sat down next to Joe and Gino.

Marco stood on his usual wooden crate and lit his cigar before exhaling slowly with a contented look on his face. 'Gentlemen, I've just heard back from, Mr Fox. I can confirm that our operation in England has been a successful one.'

'He has them?' asked Stefani.

'Oh yes he has them alright. He'll be here in just a few minutes. To celebrate our success we're all going to enjoy a good drink to test the merchandise.' Marco smiled widely, releasing another cloud of smoke. He had glasses lined up ready for when the time came to test the pills and, he more than anyone else in the room couldn't wait to get started.

The four of them were only half way through their first drink when they were alerted by the sound of footsteps close by. Jack lowered his head to enter the room and Marco shook his hand before passing him a drink. 'How was the trip, Jack?' he asked, looking upwards and standing on tiptoes.

'Ah... it was easy. Had to spend a night in the slammer but the job was straight forward,' he said before taking a large gulp. 'So, what's with all the booze?'

Stefani Rossi held up his glass. 'We're all having a celebratory drink, Jack. Come and join the party!'

Jack took another gulp and smiled. 'Thanks, Butters.'

'It's not Butters, its Butter Knife. Hey, I don't go around calling you Wolfy or...'

'Shut it...' Marco said growing impatient. 'You got the pills for me?' he asked, extending his left hand and puffing his cigar with his right.