Captain – Brothers At Arms #6
Captain: Chapter 7

When they reached the main room, Alfredo was bone tired. He went to sit down and suddenly, he just felt drained. His heart hurt but not in the heart attack way, but because it hurt his soul to deny his own blood. However, as he had told Leon it was the only way to get through to his son and grandsons.

Gina saw his face and went over to him. She knelt beside him and gazed up at him. “Mr. Raggetti, are you okay?”

Alfredo looked at her and said, “I’m not at the moment but I will be when this is over, child. My son and grandsons needed to hear from my own mouth that I am disgusted with them. They may not feel the shame of their own actions but I do. I have always been proud of who I am but I’m not proud of that name now.”

Gina patted his hand and told him, “You did what you had to do. I thought it was incredibly brave of you to do it. Your son isn’t going to find it so easy anymore to even get anyone to listen to his ideas, if you follow through with what you told him you were doing. By listing his crimes and letting everyone know what he did and why he did it. When Leon follows through, most of the doors that were open to him before will now be closed, and he won’t find it all that easy if he ever does get out of prison. This will be his third strike, so he may never get out but if he does, no one will even hear him.”

“And that is what will hurt him the most,” Alfredo admitted. “I will more than likely be dead if he does get out and his daughters won’t have anything to do with him. So one day, he’s going to figure out that family does mean something and that because of his own actions he threw them away a long time ago. I’ll be glad I won’t have to witness that. For better or worse, he is my son. Part of me loves him but I sure as hell don’t like what he’s done with his life. That is a father’s biggest fear. I failed that boy and failed him badly.”

“Like hell, you did.” Desi snarled. “You gave him every chance and every time he did something you didn’t fail him, he failed himself. And in turn, he failed you. Don’t you dare take on his actions, or his shame.”

“The girls are right, mio vecchio amico,”my old friend. Leon spoke up. “There is a saying that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink, well this is the same thing. You raised your sons correctly but Barrett always had another type of life in his head. He thought he was entitled to what his grandfather supposedly had. The way of life where you take what you want. He wasn’t entitled then and he isn’t now. He broke the golden rule, you didn’t. If he wanted something, he just took it, rather than work for it. That is on him. You showed him the only way you get anything is to work for it. You are not to blame. We can raise our kids to follow the rules, but we cannot keep them from breaking them.”

Click looked up at Zeus and said, “Boss, we got more men outside.”

Zeus scowled and asked, “How many?”

“Eight to ten. You don’t suppose these are Barrett’s men do you?”

Gina growled as she lifted her weapon, ready to go at it.

Alfredo raised a hand at her. “Then maybe they should hear it from me. Right here, right now.”

 Leon shrugged. “It is up to you, mio vecchio amico.”

“Si, vecchio amico it is and this is something that has to be done. They need to stop coming here. There is no time like the present.” He got to his feet and nodded. “All I need is a way to reach them.”

Delaney spoke up now, “Grandpa, you cannot go out there. No way!”

Click looked over at him and said, “We have the ability to speak through the monitors if you want. Marty’s IT guys left us a hell of a program.

“Hook it up, Click,” Zeus gave him the word.

Click flipped a switch and plugged in the Mic. He pushed the mic over to Alfredo and said, “Just speak into it.”

Alfredo sat down and paused as he thought about what he needed to say, then he leaned forward and gripped the mic in his hands tightly. He cleared his throat and spoke into the mic, “Gentlemen on the other side of the fence, this message is for you. I am Barrett Raggetti’s father and I am here to tell you, Barrett has lied to you. He told you he had a treasure trove here and that all he had to do was get here and pick it up. Well, that treasure wasn’t his to take. It belonged to the Family and the Family took it back. Yeah, that’s right, Barrett’s grandfather robbed from the Family and left it here for Barrett to come and get it. But we found it first and we did the right thing and returned it to the Family. Leon Vincinti got the gold back that my father, Alfonso Raggetti had been holding for the Family. Along with the money my father stole from one of the vaults that the different parts of the Family had. Yes, he got that back too. Oh and two different sets of gemstones, and more money than I’ve ever seen in my life. My son Barrett has been using this as a storage unit for his own fortune. He robbed a bank and a jewelry store. So when we found that haul, we called in the Marshals and they will be here tomorrow to pick that up. They will also take my son Barrett and his sons Aliyala and Romano into custody. Their brother Vincent is already in the state’s jail system…” He paused to clear his throat as he let out a heavy sigh.

Delaney patted his shoulder as she stood next to him.

“I am disavowing Barrett,” Alfredo went on. “As my son and his sons as my grandsons. I intend to use the media to tell the whole world that Barrett is no longer my son, that his sons are no longer my grandsons. Leon will tell the Family to close all the doors against him. And if Leon calls them out, so many other doors will close to them as well. Who really wants to go against the Family? This isn’t the days of Al Capone anymore but the Family is still important in the underground world. However, the Family will not just sit back and allow any more of these betrayals to happen. Whatever Barrett promised you, it is all gone. He has nothing left and he’s also on his way back to prison. So if you try to come in here and rescue him, you’ll only get yourselves killed and we will shame your entire family because you were stupid enough not to listen. Go home. Find another cause to believe in because my son isn’t one you should follow. If you do follow him, it will more than likely be to hell. He lies and he cheats. He uses his friends and his enemies. He sets people up and watches them fall while he turns around and walks away with the goodies. Do you want your bosses or your women to bear the shame for your mistakes? Because if you die here today, people will go after your families and your bosses.”

Zeus grabbed the mic and growled, “We can see your faces and we got facial recognition running, so we will identify you.”

Alfredo took the mic back and said, “Is he worth risking your life? Because if you try it, you won’t find the men and women here sleeping. We have sharp shooters and snipers on this side of the fence and they won’t give you a warning shot. We’ve also got security men on your side of the fence and they belong to the Family. You really should take a moment to ask yourselves, are you really that stupid?”

Click had been running their photos since they caught sight of them and was putting those faces through the recognition program as well. The printer was now spitting them out.

Leon stepped up to the printer and grabbed a list of the names of the men outside. He took the mic from Alfredo and introduced himself, “I am Leon Vincinti and I call to…” He then read the list of names from the print out, aloud.

Everyone watched the screens as one by one the men started as Leon called out their names.

 When he was done with reading the names, Leon spoke in a cold hard tone into the mic, “I will be making some calls and finding out who you work for. I will also be making my rage known to your bosses. Your bosses will be ruined, unless you leave here immediately. I will not give you another chance.”

They all waited and watched the screens.

The men on the other side of the fence spoke to each other. Then one by one, they moved away. Soon there were only two men left. One of them shouted, “Barrett owes us money. I’m not leaving until I get paid.”

“Then here is where you will die.” Leon growled into the mic. “Sciocchi.” Fools.

Captain grabbed his rifle and went to the steps for the roof. A moment later, the shot rang out and one of the men fell off his feet. The other man turned slowly to see him lying in a heap on the ground. He saw the pool of blood around his head and his eyes rounded. He slowly backed away. Then another shot rang out and he dropped to the ground.

They heard footsteps coming back down the stairs as Captain returned.

Gina smiled at him. “Good shots, Cap.”

The entire room then went silent. No one said a word.

Leon handed Click the list of names. “Cross off those two idiots.”

Click did so and handed it back to him.

 Leon folded the paper neatly and smoothly put the list into his vest pocket. He then reached into the other pocket to get his cell as he made a call to his men, “Grab the two dead losers from the front gate.”

The screens showed his men coming from the trees and they could see them dragging the bodies away.

“I want the money in the ceiling and then I am going home.” Leon looked over at Zeus. “This should just about be over now. You, come with me.” He walked to the door leading down to the cells.

Zeus followed him.

Leon entered the room and came to a stop in front of Barrett’s cell. “Your men finally showed up. Then your father told them he disavowed you as his son and your sons as his grandchildren. He informed them that the money was all gone, returned to its owners. Then I told them to go home before I closed all the doors they hoped you would open. That if they didn’t, I would make some calls and start shutting the doors myself. Imagine our surprise when all but two walked away.”

Barrett sneered. “At least two of them stayed.”

“Do you know why they stayed?” Leon asked. “They weren’t leaving here without their pay. We told them they wouldn’t be getting paid because there was no money left. They should have listened but they didn’t. For their trouble, they were executed immediately. So tomorrow when I get home, I’ll be making some calls. When the rest of your men see what happens after that, they will be glad they left when they did, at least until I call out their bosses.”

Barrett simply shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

Leon’s expression went cold and his steely eyes flared while showing his inner rage not many people got to see.

 Barrett and his sons saw it though. They kept their silence which was the only thing that saved them.

“You have interrupted my pleasure in life for the last ten days.” Leon growled low in his throat. “That is wasted time I shall never get back. And for what? Your games and greed. You and your sons are going to prison, Barrett. It is where you will live out the rest of your miserable life.” He looked over at the sons. “You raped, killed, and pillaged. In the grand ole days in which you all chose to live in?” He gave them a cold smile. “The Family would not have felt that prison would suffice for the lines you crossed, the rules you broke. Your great grandfather hid himself well, so he lived to a ripe old age. You all…” He paused to glare at Barrett, then at his sons. “Will not have the same luck. Just know this… I too like some of the family’s rules of that age. So if you are lucky enough to get out one day, the moment you step out of that prison will be your last moment on this earth. That is my promise to you and your sons. I will tell my son to make sure of that if I am already dead. For once in your lives, you will be held accountable. As for each day you are in prison, you will be watched.”

“You dare to threaten me?” Barrett growled.

Leon stared at him then he laughed. “You see? You have no capacity for learning. You simply need to be ended. I would have done so. However, I wish for you to suffer in any and all ways possible.” He looked over at his sons. “You are young enough to learn, perhaps? Your father is a complete and utter fool. A failure as a father and a man. La sporcizia della terra.” The filth of the earth.

Barrett’s sons had the common sense to lower their heads, as they could not seem to look into Leon’s eyes.

 Leon again swung his cold, hard gaze to Bennett. “I never threaten, as I do not waste my precious time on that. I make promises in blood and I differ from you. I always keep my promises.”

With that, he turned his back on Barrett and walked back up the steps.

Zeus was left behind. “Unbelievable stupidity,” he stated as he slowly shook his head. Then, he too turned and walked up the steps.

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