You're Gonna Go Far

3

The small group of the family heads sat around a table in a locked off room. It was only the heads of the families inside with each of their guards protecting them from outside. One older man leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. He interlaced his fingers and leaned his chin forward to rest against his hands. He was the first to speak, "We're all here because of Maroni."

No one said anything, there was just a silent agreement in the room. The man spoke again, "Before this happened, Maroni made it very clear that his daughter, Rinata, was to take his place." He spoke in a low, gravely voice, "Welcome Rinata."

"Please," Rinata said flatly, "Call me Maroni." She paused before saying, "It seems quite rare for us all to get together like this. Even if we all are divisions of the same family."

"Yes. It is," the older man spoke. He was the head of the whole family. "We have an unpleasant situation on our hands. The man who killed Maroni has done some unpleasant things and he needs our attention."

"I understand your loyalty to the family," Rinata said calmly, "But my father's death was not unjustified. The choices he made brought that fate on himself."

"Rinata," the older man started. She glared at him when he refused to call her by her family name. It was his way of treating her like a child. He didn't bother to fix his mistake and kept speaking, "We, as a family, need to make a point. If the Gallaghers are going to take action, we need to take action of our own."

Another member spoke up, "We should hire their own gunman to take out one of theirs."

"But he's not their gunman, he's a hired hand with a large reputation in Japan." Someone else chimed in. Before long, everyone was conversing seriously, going back and forth with ideas and concerns. Only the older man and Rinata stayed silent. Quickly the chatter grew in volume and became less and less productive. The older man sat back in his chair and spoke in a low voice, it wasn't loud, but it resonated through the chatter, bringing all conversations to a halt. "Everyone. Please."

One brave soul asked, "Pirazzi, what do we do?"

"We're going to make Tachibana an offer. One that he won't be able to turn down." Pirazzi continued, in a quiet, calm voice, "And once he's dealt with the head of the Gallagher family, his services will no longer be needed."

Silence fell over the room, they all knew what he meant. And going through with the plan could mean war. But no one said anything, they all had to agree with the head of the family. Rinata was skeptical of the plan. She didn't believe it would ever work or ever be effective, firefights rarely were.