chapter 4 The civil war

About a month later I was walking down the street when someone grabbed me from behind. It was so sudden, I had no time to think.

I smell something familiar,  that was a familiar cologne that I recognized very well.

It was Nathan.

"I heard that you had been Made," Nathan said with a large grin. "Wow, congratulations. I guess that means it's safe for me to return."

You had killed a made man from another family. It was a serious thing. I told him to lay low for a few days while I spoke to Neva, 6 Finger listened with a serious expression on his face. He didn't like Nathan and made no effort to hide the fact, but he respected me. He went to a lot of meetings with Don over the next few days.

"It's done," 6 Finger said when it was all over. "The bosses met and they agreed that my friend had no way of knowing that im being attacked by a made man. There will be no repercussions."

It was all over and Nathan was back in my life again.As I'm the chairman of the bazaar board, I got many responsibility. And I became bore with it, so I submit my resignation letter,and it was accepted after much of much debate. Now I m free again, once more I can enjoy life freely along with my friends Nathan.

For my 27th birthday my parents invited me home for a special dinner. Joanne and I arrived. We entered the small house and stood awkwardly in the living room for a few moments. My parents stood back awkwardly, uncertain whether they should hug me or not. They must have heard a lot of rumours about me, although I wasn't certain if they knew I was Made or not. I was just glad that we were on speaking terms once again. They had been very upset during my prison term. The tension was broken when my mom stepped forward and gave me a large hug.

I listened to my parents as they talk.Family was important to my parents as it was important to me. I wasn't even thinking about business when I heard that my cousin Lungliu was looking for a job. She was a smart girl who had gone through college for statistical analysis. I had just the job for her. When I returned home that night, I offered Lungliu a job as a bookmaker. She didn't need to worry about collecting the money, she only had to keep the books. I had hired guards  that would protect her. She happily accepted and used her college education to make us both a lot of money.

Time was passing quietly by as my various schemes continued to earn money for the family and for myself. Jaonne was wonderful. Her work at the museum was beginning to gain praise and her career was really taking off. Now that we were almost 30,she was thinking about having children and starting a family.

Once again I again hooked up again with sangi, that milf, it's  like a parting gift for her.

At Christmas that year, after we had exchanged presents, I  turned to Joanne and said, "Will you marry me?"

She said, "Yes."

Joanne  parents still didn't like me. I was beginning to realize that this was never going to go away. Everyone knew about my prison time and no parents wanted their child to marry an ex-con. She asked me what kind of wedding we should have ?

I arrange for a small wedding.

It was probably for the better. I had no idea how I'd explain my strange "co-workers" to her parents. Who had tattoo all-round , Neva, Don  and everyone else were a little upset that they weren't invited. Nathan was particularly upset that he didn't get an invitation. We exchanged our vows in a simple ceremony without the chaos of a large wedding. Don and the others still sent gifts, which was very nice of them.

The life of a Made man or kakui  was very nice. I found people opening doors for me and letting me go to the front of the line at restaurants and stores. Quite often my meals were on the house. I was 32 years old when Fust, Asin,and Diana suggested an odd heist one afternoon at Apollo bazaar. I.e to rob one private bank. We all agreed and led out a strategy.

Our heist was a success.  We distribute the loots.

The next year we had our first son, we called him Kimmy. I rarely stay at home,  as I was planning for a vacation, one thing turned up. I had to go on a mission for a year.Our mission is too secret, only me and Neva and Don knew about it.

Joanne knew that this was the score of a lifetime. Mountains of untraceable cash. One year was a small price to pay for such success. She kissed me and wished me well before I left.

We got three white vans to transport the six technicians and us four wiseguys. We had suitcases, books, games, and lots of food. The technicians knew what they were getting into and were good natured about it as we searched through their belongings to be sure that no cellphones or other communicating devices were coming with us. Naturally the blindfolds still made them nervous, 6 Finger must have really built their trust to have them allow it.

We arrived at the cottage, which was buried away in a forest several miles away from any civilization. A fourth white van was already there. Diana and Fust had dropped it off a week before. It had all of the stolen machinery in it. The technicians didn't even unpack their personal belongings as they began to unload the machine and set it up in cottage. I helped it in the assembled of the machine. It's was a money printing machine.

There were a lot of parts, and to make things more difficult, many of them were broken. Fortunately, we weren't planning to build the full press. We just wanted to put enough of it together to make money, it didn't have to crank out tens of thousands of bills a minute. The technicians were thankful for my help over the next few months and so were the others, since it meant we might get done sooner.

The technicians were nice people with a variety of backgrounds. Three of them stood out. Buan was a 50-year-old machinist from New Tml He assumed leadership of the small group and kept everyone on task. Singsingliu was a 20-year-old software engineer from tamei, She would be running the program that would give the bills unique serial numbers and connecting the computer to the press itself. Huai, was a skinny man who smoked too much. He knew his way around the electrical side of things and would be a huge asset when it came to wiring the machine.

Close quarters and constant pressure to succeed created a lot of stress. I soon found my eyes wandering to Singsing. Her black  hair and athletic body was stereotypical for a tamei people. And it wasn't long we started to have sexual relationship.

I trusted the others to not tell Joanne about our affair. It was steamy and lustful. When the snow began to fall and we truly became trapped within the cabin, we spent the nights together warm and cozy under the blankets.

We were five months into the project when disaster struck. The machine wasn't working properly and the technicians weren't sure why. They had crafted a few new gears to connect parts that wouldn't fit together in their new arrangement, but they weren't lining up properly.

I knew that there was a lot of tension in the group, but it was Buan who told me about Huai.

"He packed up his stuff," he said. "I think he's going to try to make a run for it. He's giving up."

I made up a fool proof plan to eliminate Huai.

I told Huai that I'd take him home,and my plan was to kill him a few miles away from the cabin. That's the plan i bought it. We got into the van and I drove down the wintry road. I think he still thought he was safe even when I pulled over to the side of the road. I don't think he knew that he was a dead man until I actually had my Magnum .44 pointed at his face. Once he was dead, I rolled his body out of the van and into the ditch.

The technicians were happy that nothing bad had happened to Huai. My con friends knew the truth and they were happy with my work.

The technicians were much more cautious,after that. They knew that their lives would be forfeit if they double-crossed us. It had a mixed effect on production. They worked hard, afraid of what might happen if they failed, but they were also very stressed out and distracted. They made a lot of stupid small mistakes which really slowed things down.

We were in the cabin for seven months and spring was just arriving when we finally worked out all of the glitches. The excitement was contagious as we began to print the money. It wasn't long before we had sheets of cash drying all over the place and piles of it stacked in the corners. The smell of the ink permeated everything, but it was a great smell…it was the smell of success.

We were very close to driving the first load of money back to New Tml when we saw the helicopter. It panicked us all. We didn't want to stop, since we had invested so much time into the venture already. Instead, we began to take extra precautions. We kept the vans clear for a fast getaway, we wiped down everything for fingerprints, we removed all of our personal effects from the cabin and we posted a guard to watch for law enforcement.

It happened the very next day. Diana was on the roof watching and saw the police and CBI and army vehicles in the distance. She yelled down to us and we all ran out to the vans. That was when we knew we had a mole among us. The vans didn't start! Not just one of them, all of them! Someone had sabotaged our getaway.

I  grabbed  one of the box and ran towards the tree,30 lakh,That's how much was in the box. All that cash and it only weighed about 22 kg. Everyone grabbed their bags of personal belongings as they fled the scene.in every direction possible.

I ran like the wind .I  stumbled upon a small cabin with the CBI right behind . I looked around frantically for a place to hide the money. I rushed inside and began to shovel handfuls of cash up the chimney of the wood stove. I didn't get it all hidden, but I got a lot of it. I then ran outside again and threw the remainder of the box into the trees before the CBI and police arrived.I took out my Magnum .44 and flung it into the trees before raising my hands and surrendering too. After a while all the other were apprehended,

We were handcuffed and taken into custody. It was a blur of shouting and questions as we were flown to a detention center. We told them that we were staying at the cabin we had just stumbled upon. It was a good lie, since we had our belongings with us and nothing linked us back to the cabin with the counterfeit machine in it. Luckily, Huai's body wasn't found. I later learned that Diana had gotten word back to 6 Finger and they had cleaned it up.

I never got to speak to Joanne as we were kept locked up during pre trial, although I saw her in the courtroom a few times. I winced when Singsing  mentioned our nightly activities. Luckily it wasn't too graphic, but I knew that I'd have some explaining to do when I got out.I helped to speed things up with my knowledge of legal proceedings.

I was pretty clear cut. They couldn't tie us to the cabin or to the press. Luckily there had been no prints on the money It didn't get into the chimney. It looked suspicious, finding some of the money so close to where we were, but it was circumstantial evidence and wasn't strong enough to be used successfully against us. I gave our lawyers a few tips to clear things even tidier. They couldn't pin anything on us and had to throw out the case.

I never saw Singsing again. She returned to tamei  to forget the entire thing ever happened. The technicians stayed quiet about Huai death. Don paid them for their time, although they didn't get the enormous bonuses we would have gotten had we been successful. It had been a very frightening experience for all of them.

Before I even went home, after I get out from the court, I was sent for,6 Finger- Neva,gathered Asin, Fust,Diana and myself into one room. The news wasn't good. Everyone was convinced that we had a rat. It was a terrible feeling, to know that one of us was working for the CBI. We discuss the fact about it and we are instructed to be more careful,and we are being watched.we depart after a while

Before I go home, I went back to the cabin to see if the money I had hidden was still there. They never mentioned it when trying to put a case together, so I assumed that it hadn't been found. The cabin was still empty, but when I went inside, I saw that someone had used the woodstove while I was gone. I pulled out blackened lumps of burned money, most of it totally useless.

It was amazing that the owner hadn't noticed the blocked chimney. Considering that they had burned up most of my cash, I vaguely wished that it had asphyxiated the person who lit the stove. I had packed it very tight and some of the bills had survived. It took me some time to sift through it and finish burning the money that had been damaged beyond use. In the end, I still had a nice payday from our efforts.

When I finally got home I had a surprise waiting for me. My Magnum .44 was in a box on the kitchen table! Don  had hired someone to search the area and they had found it instead of the police and the cbi. I had a second surprise waiting for me too.

"I'm pregnant again,"  joanne said with a smile.

She must have gotten pregnant just after I left. I could see the swell of her belly and quickly realized why she had been wearing bulky sweaters during the trial. One month later, and I was a father again,We had a girl! She was so small and tiny. It really brought joanne and myself closer together. We named the child Margaret.

After a month, Joanne was at work again, joanne was a joy to be around. Her eyes were enough to warm anyone's heart, except her supervisor at the museum. Mr. Ding was a first class jerk. He was a fussy little man who took great pride in making everyone's life miserable. My sweet soft-hearted wife came home from the museum in tears most nights. The worst part was, she forbade me from doing anything about it!

I went to the museum and smacked around Mr. Ding with an authentic iron bar basically produce mean to beat someone.

I think the old man was more frightened of the possibility that I might damage the relic than of what it was doing to his face. Either way, he agreed to be much nicer to Joanne, in the future.

I told her what I had done and as expected she  was furious! It was easy to forget how meek and mild she usually was. I was forced to sleep on the couch for several weeks. The only upside was the Mr. Ding treated her much better.

As a kakui man, I was beginning to get the attention of a lot of two-bit thugs who wanted to join the family. These petty criminals offered to do nearly anything to become one of us. I thought that the man asking for me at gaidinliu bazaar was another of these, but it turned out that I knew him. It was my old cellmate, lane.

You would think that someone as large and tough as Lane would have no trouble getting a job. The problem was, he didn't know very many people who could use his talents. It wasn't like you could simply search the want ads to find a high-paying job for hired muscle.

I sent Lane to a business I was trying to take over,knowing that he might not return.

The car wash had been giving me troubles for some time. It was on the edge of our territory and the owner was extremely stubborn. He was known to have a sawed-off shotgun under the counter. Lane was strong and looking to make a name for himself, so he went in anyway. Both the owner and Lane were killed in a brutal exchange of gunfire. The owner's son was easier to manipulate and the business was quickly put under my protection. I had used a pawn to take a rook.

One night, while we were hanging out at bazaar, Fust mentioned that the Robi Family was very close to going to war with the Sangpuan Family. I'd never seen an all-out war before, although when Nathan killed that Sangpuan member, it had been close. Fust,said that the New Tml Fire Department would be kept busy tonight as many Sangpuan businesses were put to the flame.

I went off to see jaikam.

"Gaimei the Brain!" he said when I arrived. "So good to see you again. Congratulations on the new baby."

I thanked him and told him what I had heard about the Robi Family.

"I know," he said. "I got this club by spilling the blood of a gangnei associate. But now, it's the Robi Family. It's like we're all fighting for the same piece of nkhui.. Thank you for your concern, but I'm sure nothing will happen."

He couldn't have been more wrong when the sounds of gunshots filled the air. The club was in full swing and people immediately began to run for the doors. There were six of them standing at the entrance to the club. Half of them held guns and the other half held red gas cans.

I come by in ready so I had a surprise for them,the attackers..

Several of Jaikams men stood on both sides of the door as the would-be attackers entered. The gunshots we heard were theirs. The six men fell to the ground, dead, their weapons and gas containers falling to the ground with them.

"Thank you, Gaimei, you're a good friend," Jaikam said with a serious look on his face.

Many of his associates and friends clapped me on the back and thanked me. The next day, 6 Finger Neva  had some harsh words for me. Don  heard of my involvement and wasn't happy. They felt that I was getting too involved with the Sangbuan Family and was afraid that my actions might start a war with the Robi family.

But I never care abit.

A moral flexibility is a real asset in my line of work. Word got out that I was able to do what needed to be done.

It was a rainy and cold autumn night when I ran across the parking lot and into the supermarket. It was after midnight and I was picking up some bread and milk when my phone rang. I had forgotten to get the groceries and Joanne had demanded that I go out and get them, despite the late hour. I ducked out of the rain and answered my phone.

It was Jaikam, asking for a favor. His sister was had just arrived at the airport and needed a ride, but Jeff was taking care of some business. In our line of work, business sometimes came up unexpectedly. He wanted me to drop everything and drive his sister to her hotel. I agreed.

I tossed the milk and bread into the back and went to the airport. I figured I'd drive the kid to her hotel and make sure she wasn't ripped off by a crooked cabbie. I didn't expect that Sungailu  would be about my own age. Sun was witty, sarcastic, and funny as I drove her to the hotel in my BMW. There was a hard edge to all of her jokes. Sun had been living in Dailong,and she brought her tough Dailong attitude with her.

I dropped her off and never saw her again.

Joanne,was sound asleep when I returned with the bread and milk and Jaikam was grateful for my help.

Little Margaret was walking and talking like the healthy three-year-old she was when things started getting even more difficult with joanne parents. They had always hated me, but now that I was showing up in newspapers and on TV as a suspected member of the De Pamei Family,and also listed inthe bingo book of most wanted man list, they felt they had solid reasons for making their life miserable.

I sued the news companies for defamation of character.

I buried them under mountains of lawsuits and paperwork. I knew I wasn't going to win the suits, since they were telling the truth. But it was enough to make their work very difficult and cause them massive legal fees. By making them spending lots of money's aimlessly.I still made an appearance on the news here and there, but not nearly as often. This made Joannes parents happier, which made Joanne  happier. Every family had their share of troubles and we were no different. At least money was never an issue.

Nobody had forgotten about the counterfeiting incident. Everyone was still very aware that we had a mole among us. After the meeting back on the court hearing day, the don had some info it seems. Things came to head when I was 36 years-old.

In a rare break from his privacy and caution, Don  invited several of us to go out for the afternoon on his yacht. It was a beautiful day when Asin, Diana, Fust, Neva and myself met him at Barak river bank. We were told to bring our swimwear and plenty of sunscreen.

The first part of the trip was nice and relaxing. We drove the boat out into the lake, had a few drinks and had a few laughs.

But then, everything changed. I noticed that both Don and 6 Finger were holding their guns.

"When did you flip?" 6 Finger asked the Don.

I pulled out my gun, and I noticed that Asin too pull out a gun,,I shot Asin in the face! It happened so fast, I could hardly believe it as two shots rang out nearly simultaneously. The smoking gun flew from his hand as his head snapped back and his eyes stared up into the blue sky. The second gunshot's origin became readily apparent as Don  clutched his chest with a surprised look on his face. He slumped to his knees as blood poured from between his fingers. Now Don was wounded badly, instead of attending Don ,I search for Asin. As I have a suspicious as he might be the rat.Sure enough, he was wearing a wire. If murdering the Don hadn't been enough proof, this certainly clinched it. Diana was trying to help Don, but it was a losing battle. Don was dead.

Asin,body was wrapped in plastic and chains before being dumped overboard. Sure, you want me to say it? Yes, he was sleeping with the fishes. I could hardly believe that Asin was the snitch. We returned to New Tml with many questions for what this would mean for the De Pamei Family.

To tell you the truth, everything fell into place rather quickly. The kapi got together and discussed who the new Don would be. It was a great piece of luck that the job fell to Four Finger Nelson, the very man that had brought me into the organization. Since he was being raised, we had room for a new top kapi. You'll never guess who got the job. Yes, that was the day I was raised to KAPI of the De Pamei family!

It was just like old times. Very little changed, except that now I had the big office and I called the shots.

Nathan was very excited about my new promotion. I think he felt that this meant that I would suggest he get made. It was still the Don's decision, and unfortunately for Nathan, 6 fingers the new don,hated him. Although Nathan was my friend, I had to agree with 6 Finger. Nathan was a loose cannon and not suitable to get a button.

Joanne was amazed at my new position, and a little terrified. It would mean an enormous pay raise, but I think she mostly hoped it meant I would be home with the family more often.

Late Don son and daughter came to New Tml for Don funeral. I was surprised when I was invited to the lawyer's office afterwards. I didn't know Don  very well, but I had been mentioned in the will of our former don. His daughter  jianrei,was red-eyed from crying, but his son Dingkham aka daniel was well composed. My surprise must have registered on my face when I was given several thousand dollars worth of art, investments, and personal item.

My new life as Kapi,of the De Pamei Family was dominated with one resounding need: money. I needed to make sure my crew was earning enough scratch for me to send up to Don 6 fingers. It made me look at the men and women who worked for me in a new light. Although friendships were nice, it was their earning ability which really mattered. On a regular basis a representative from the Don would arrive, looking for his money. It didn't matter where it came from, he wanted his taste.

Almost a year have past a big tragedy befall upon me,my whole of family, Joanne ,my son and daughter were killed by some street punk. And police term it as a revenge killing or a random act of robbing. And police have no proper lead at all,and they were still investigating.They were burried on our family land,east of Tml.I had swear to find out the culprits.I was devastated,and many from the family came to comfort me, thing began to change after 6 fingers became the new Don.

I met Nathan after a week of the incident and talk about the incidents, at which he handed me a vital information, that the new Don is involved in the shoot out of my family.

I consistently made my payments, in the early days, dipping into my own money where needed.

I was suddenly  and uninterested in what everyone else was doing. I had to be, I was responsible for their earning. I became more violent.

  I reached out to ,jaikam, Nathan and few of my trusted guy.

Jaika,Nathan and me had a secret meeting,at one of my warehouse. For the assassination of people involved in my wife and family.

Diana was one of the toughest members of my crew. She didn't take any crap from anybody. She was a good earner too. She was well established and had a large number of businesses paying her tribute. Unfortunately, her temper sometimes got the better of her. Quite often she would hurt someone so bad that they couldn't do their job, and, in turn, couldn't pay her tribute. It became a vicious circle that ended with no money for anybody. So I included her in my plan.

She wasn't happy to be told what to do, but I was the kapi so she listened. It wasn't like she lost any respect. People were already scared of her and they were paying her the best they could. Her earnings actually went up after our conversation and my share went up accordingly. I promise to give her my post after work is down.

The day was fixed.

The driver shrugged and waited for us to get into my BMW. We followed the limo across town and eventually we pulled up outside of a small Italian restaurant. I parked my BMW and went inside. I soon found myself seated across from 6 fingers , I kept my cool. Diana and Nathan stood against the wall behind me.

"Let me cut straight to the chase," 6 finger said with an angry expression on his face.

He pulled a cloth napkin off the table and revealed a large ungainly assault rifle underneath! Diana and Nathan  instantly put their hands on their guns. The men at the door tensed, putting their hands on their guns as well. This was going to be a bloodbath. I calculated my chances of survival if 6 fingers pulled the trigger. It didn't look good.

I pulled the trigger which I had already position under the table,I shoot 6  finger in the abdomen. He was bleeding lots . The  men at the door drew their weapons at the same time. 6 fingers grabbed the assault rifle and began to lift its deadly muzzle toward my face. But I shot 6 finger and the guards, while dodging their own attacks. I was faster and shot 6 fingers .It was a blur of action, shooting 6 fingers and then diving under the table as the guards at the door shot up the restaurant. I rolled to the left and fired calmly,taking out the guards at the door. Diana and Nathan watched in amazement as I cleared the restaurant of danger.

It was far from over. I could hear members of the de Pamei Family shouting and running toward us from all directions. The back room, the kitchen, the upstairs. I was in the heart of their headquarters and had just shot their boss!

I shot 6 fingers in the head to be sure he was dead,and Nathan he shoots him at the head.

Now confirmed that the newly appointed Don died, after he hold the office for a few months there is a place for the new Don...

I'm 40 years old........

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