23 Oct The Mafia: Chapter Five

*This rough draft is entirely a work of fictional writing*

Papa G and Jane are sitting at a marble table, located in the main meeting room of the family’s estate. The floors are luxuriously lavished with Persian rugs and the only light source in the room stems from a single chandelier that uses lit candles, not electricity to illuminate the surroundings. The walls are decorated with an abundance of family portraits.

Papa G welcomes himself, “Say… thanks for arranging this sit down. It is dubiously appreciated.”

Jane politely responds, “No worries. Avi and I had a nice romantic extravaganza last night – so he woke up a little bit later than usual…if you know what I mean. He should be over here soon.”

Papa G reciprocates the politeness, “Ah, no worries at all. I completely understand. If you don’t mind me asking though…” he briefly pauses then resumes, “So… you’re married to Avi, but you’re also married to Jay and you’re also married to D? Mary and Maria are the same way?”

Jane grins, “Yes and yes.”

Papa G responds, “How does that work?”

Jane continues to grin, “Don’t ask.”

Papa G scratches at his beard, “Interesting… I’m sure it is filled with its fair share of turbulent drama.”

Jane ignores Papa G’s comments and starts slowly writing on a piece of paper. She takes a painstakingly long time to write, which alters the mood of the room to being somewhat awkward.

After about two minutes goes by she folds the paper into a paper airplane and throws it over to Papa G, he catches it, “What is this?”

Jane politely informs, “It is a phone number. Next time you want to meet with the family don’t send some undercover weirdo that you codenamed the mailman to deliver your messages. Simply call that number. It goes to a pager and someone will get in touch with you as soon as possible – think of it as a direct line.”

Papa G puts the paper in his pocket, “My sincerest apologies. You see, I come from more of a traditional method of requesting meetings.”

Jane responds, “I completely understand, but if you wish to meet with our family… we prefer that route the best.”

Papa G starts feeling some type of way, “Listen here sweet cheeks; I truly appreciate your welcoming reception and understand that you have a seat at the big table – but to be quite punctual: I am here to meet with the boss.”

Jane takes out her phone and calls Avi, he answers on the first ring, “Hello my love.”

Jane speaks punctually, “Avi – are you the boss?”

Avi responds, “No, why? While each of the family members can make decisions on behalf of the family, we prefer to enroll in a style of operation that closely mimics a democracy; a system of checks and balances, yet we don’t need laws to enforce that type of integrity and dispersion of power. While we are each capable of making good decisions on our own, we make better decisions when we discuss it together, then we make the best decision through utilizing our respective votes and perspectives.”

Jane smiles, “You explained it perfectly!”

Avi responds, “Thank you darling, tell lil pepe that I’ll be over there soon.”

Jane laughs, “Avi… you are on speaker phone.”

There is a brief silence then Avi continues, “Yeah, like I said tell lil pepe that I’ll be over there to meet with him in a few minutes.”

Papa G speaks loudly, “Hey asshole, the name is Papa G.”

Jane tries not to laugh, “Okay, see you soon.”, then hangs up the phone.

Papa G clears his throat, “Well, anyways, it’ll be nice to have a sit down with you and him, rather than the Karate Kid.”

Jane boldly grins, “In case you did not know, each of the three brother are 3^rd-degree black-belts in different forms of martial arts.” 

Papa G has a surprised look, “Why would they do that? They’ve always had all the protection that they could ever need or want.”

Jane’s skin glows, “It’s actually kind of a cute and funny story. When they were young boys they used to like watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and they’ve been obsessed with martial arts ever since. I think that they initially wanted to be ninjas, and in my opinion – in a rare form of oddity – they achieved that goal.”

Papa G remains surprised, “That is impressive… pointless, but very impressive.”

Avi walks into the room, standing almost six foot four inches tall and 210 pounds of slim-frame muscle. He gives Jane a kiss then takes a seat at the table.

He takes about thirty seconds to slowly pour coffee into a mug.

Papa G initiates the conversation, “Hey, like I was telling sweet cheeks over there, it is nice to be meeting with you rather than the next Karate Kid.”

Avi is un-amused, “I find your constant bigotry to be distasteful and I find your consistent harassment of my family to be rather provoking. However, seeing as you are sitting here today, it can only lead me to believe that there is a sliver of diplomacy on your mind.”

Papa G sits upright in his chair, “Hey now, let’s be respectful here…”

Avi continues to be un-amused; “I think all of my respect went out of the window when you decided to send a goon over to deliver a message to Mary and D… while they were having a private date. That is unheard of in our business and you, out of anyone, should have known that. Also, to be perfectly blunt; I also find it tremendously difficult to take you seriously with a name like Papa G.”

Papa G tries to lighten the mood, “Perhaps I did have a lapse in judgment, but need I remind you who you are speaking to right now…”

Avi responds calmly, “I am completely aware of your stature in the hierarchy of this business – it is the only reason I agreed to this sit down.”

Papa G lights a cigarette, “It appears we are beginning to establish a mutual level of respect, am I correct in my assumption?”

Avi takes a sip of his coffee, “Potentially.”

Papa G feels slightly insulted, “Well, if you did not already know, I’ve worked my way to take over all of the distributers. I now maintain a monopoly over distribution. So I could ‘potentially’ cut your family off.”

Avi takes another sip of his coffee, “Congratulations –it appears that you are really coming up in this world. However, even if you were to ‘cut us off’ that would only affect roughly ten percent of our business. Considering we produce what people sell; you need us, just as much as we need you.”

Papa G responds, “I just have a big problem with your family’s feeling of notoriety…”

Avi quickly replies, “And I have a major problem with your family’s feeling of entitlement.”

Papa G stands up, “Well, it appears that we have approached yet another roadblock in our communication efforts, but I am optimistically leaving this meeting with a feeling that potential compromise is on the horizon. We’ll be in touch soon.” Papa G leaves the room without saying goodbye.

Jane looks at Avi, “I don’t trust a word that motherfucker says.”

Avi agrees, “Go and talk to the four trenchmen. Have them go visit the distribution centers and find out what is really going on.”

*To Be Continued In Chapter Six*