Chapter 34 The Algerians
"Since your fever has gone away and you're not dizzy anymore, you're fine now. Here's some vitamins. Please take them for a few days to help your body recover," Salvatore says, handing me a bottle of pills.
My father smiles at the news, patting my shoulder. Dante stays by his side and he seems to be a bit distracted. Probably thinking about work stuff. Thank God I'm finally back to being healthy. Now I can finally get back to work. The problems with the Ricci won't solve itself, so that's why I need to start brainstorming about it from today before the function. Everything has to be perfectly planned. The funtion is my only chance to get answers about the family.
"Okay. Thank you, doctor," I say.
"You're welcome," Salvatore says.
Once the doctor is out of my bedroom, I turn to my father and Dante again. Now's the time for us to talk business. I hope my father won't tell me to rest again or anything like that. I'm tired of resting. I've had enough of it.
"Now that's out of the way, let's focus on the Ricci again," I say. My father frowns at me. That's not good. Damn it. I shouldn't have think my father will forbade me from thinking about the problems at our hands.
"You should still rest for a couple more days. Once you've had enough rest, you can go back to think about the Ricci," my father says.
"I've had enough rest. I'm fine now. You heard what Salvatore said," I say.
"I heard him loud and clear. However, it's important for you to rest for now. We'll discuss our plan regarding the Ricci in two days, okay? Two days. All I want is for you to rest for two more days, Sandra. Can you do that for me?" my father asks.
Two days? As if. I'm not gonna do that. If my father won't let me do it, then I'll do it with Dante instead. I'm sure Dante will help me out. It's not like my father will find out about it. He's going to be busy for the next few days so, as long as I have Dante by my side, my job would be easier. I can't think of a plan on my own. Dante's good at planning, so I need him to help me. I'm not going to let my father take Dante away from me for the next few days. He must stay here with me.
"Fine. Then Dante have to stay with me for two more days. No going out with you," I say.
"Alright. Deal. He can stay. Don't forget to eat your breakfast. I'm leaving now. I have to go to the Naples port for today, so I'll be back at night," my father says.
Despite how dangerous it is to leave somewhere far, my father still does it anyway. After what happened a few days ago, I'm worried about his safety. The Romanos could literally kill him at any given moment. However, I can't forbid him from leaving. To him, business matters the most. So, I can only wish for him to be safe wherever he is.
"Okay. Stay safe," I say.
"I will. Dante, keep an eye on her," my father says.
"Yes, boss," Dante says.
My father gives me a quick kiss on the head and then leaves my bedroom. With only Dante left in the room with me, I grin at him. Dante frowns, knowing what's going to come out of my mouth next.
"Okay. I lied to him. Let's talk about the Ricci," I say.
"You heard the boss. You need to rest," Dante says.
"Oh, come on. He won't know about this. I need your help, so help me. Pretty please?" I ask, giving Dante my best puppy eyes. He sighs and then sits next to me.
"Fine. Let's talk about them for a bit," Dante says.
"How do you think should I approach them later?"
"Just make small talks. Maybe you could talk with Valeria first. After that, you can go to Mariano and Fabio. I'm sure both of them will stay close to each other, so it'll be hitting two birds with one stone. What's important is to talk with the two of them, considering they're the ones with the most important roles in the family," Dante says.
"I'm still not sure how to make the conversation seamless. I don't want to sound too interrogative. They will be suspicious of me if I ask them too many questions," I say.
"Quality is better than quantity. You don't have to ask lots of questions, but ask the good ones," Dante says.
"That's the thing. I'm still not sure about the questions," I say.
"We'll figure it out later. Or do you want to brainstorm for them now?" Dante asks.
"It's better to do it now so I can memorise it for the function," I say.
"Alright. I've asked around, and it is confirmed that the Algerians group that the Ricci are working with have ties with the group that works with the Romanos. The one who are working directly with the Ricci are the Nouri while the biggest syndicate who also works with the Romanos is the Boussaid. Well, it's inevitable anyway since the Boussaid are like the leader of all the leaders, if you get what I mean. Everything and all businesses are known by and must go through the highest in the rank first, which is the Boussaid, so the Romanos and Ricci are connected in some type of ways. What we need to find out if the Ricci and the Romanos are actually working together or not. Asking a direct question would be a death wish, so we must work around it until they spill their own secrets," Dante says.
"What should I ask them? I can only think of direct questions right now," I say.
"Let me think," Dante says. He stares at his intertwined hands on his lap, and then he turns to me again.
"This is tricky. Since it will be a function for their front company, it's going to be hard to talk about the illegal stuff with them. So, you should talk with them until they slip up. Maybe you could start the conversation with 'how's your business been?' It's general enough to make them talk about business. Once they talk, keep urging them to tell you more. What matters the most is improvisation," Dante says.
"Right. Improvisation," I say.
Improvise. He's right. Fuck. I'm bad at improvising. This is going to be quite difficult. Maybe I should be with my father while talking with Fabio and Mariano. He'll know all the right words to say. If only I went to every business trip and meeting with my father, I would be better at talking and problem solving. That's kinda my fault for not wanting to be involved in the business, but it's now also my father's fault because he keeps everything about the business away from me and only tells Dante about the things they're working on.
"Yes. Improvisation. Maybe your father could help you with the Ricci. I'm sure he's good at it. I want to help, but I can't because I need to stay as your bodyguard at the function," Dante says.
"Yeah. I'll ask him about that later," I say.
"Good. Now that's settled, you should go back to rest," Dante says.
Here we go again. I've spent the past few days sleeping for hours and hours. Why does he tell me to rest again? Sleeping too much is boring and also tiring. I feel like he's taking revenge on me right now because I was the one who forced him to rest a few days ago. Damn it.
"Oh, come on. I've rested enough the past three days. Are you taking revenge on me because I told you the same thing the past few days?" I ask.
"Kinda, but you heard the boss. Your father wants you to rest for the next two days," Dante says.
"Ugh. Fine. I'll go back to sleep after breakfast. Happy?" I ask.
"Oh, I'm absolutely overjoyed," Dante says, grinning at me. I roll my eyes at him, crossing my arms over my chest with a pout. Despite the expression I show him, I'm smiling on the inside. I don't know why, but seeing him grinning at me like that just make me feel giddy.
Would it be selfish of me to want him to be with me and leave this place together? Absolutely, but still, I wish that we can leave this place together. However, it might hurt him in the end. This is his life. It has always been. Even though I love him, I don't want to take him away from his life. Hopefully, I can talk this through with him, telling him that I know his feelings towards me, but at the end of the day, it will be his decision to go with me or not.