High Risk, High Reward

No one said a word. They all simply continued staring at Anthony, as if their silence was an acknowledgement of Anthony's new goal.

"The last report we got from our man out in the west," Anthony continued, "indicates that Mayr is still incapacitated. However, we must consider that the last time we got our report was a few months ago. At this time I can't be a hundred percent sure of the situation in the west, so we will have to tread lightly."

The man to the left of Anthony, a hefty man, about 5 foot 9 inches tall, hung his head with an unsure expression. "What's the plan then, boss?" he said as he looked at Anthony concernedly, "We're not sure if Don Mayr is healthy or not, and even if he's not, can we deal with his captains? Each of his 5 captains has multiple subdivisions, with each subdivision having a couple dozen men. Mayr has an army on his side. Not to mention, him and all his captains have to be crazy to some extent! Even the government doesn't mess with them for god's sake! They created a private police organization and their own laws for their region, practically taking all the power away from the government when it comes to their territory, and the government could do nothing about it. That's not even including the fact that their networks across the country far exceed our own. How are we supposed to go against that!?"

Everybody at the table looked around at each other as if they agreed with what the man had just said. "I don't like the fact that John is doubting you this much, boss," said Tommy, "but his concerns are justified."

As everyone continued to look around at each other in doubt of Anthony's plan, Anthony simply sat silent for a few moments.

"12 years ago," Anthony finally said with a determined look in his eye, "I learned a very valuable lesson. The amount of resources you have doesn't determine your victory, what makes the difference is how you use your resources. All you need is the intelligence to create a bulletproof plan and the determination to accomplish a great goal. 12 years ago was when I took over the East-side Mafia. A lot of you should remember what the East side was before then. Who would've imagined that the events that took place were possible? But they did, and that's all thanks to the values I just spoke of."

As Anthony said this, everyone's expressions began changing. They were unsure about the prospect of overthrowing Mayr at first, but Anthony's speech and what it meant gave them confidence.

"Your inhibitions are justified," Anthony continued, "but if we want to progress in this world, risks must be taken. If you prefer to stay under someone's foot because you are too scared to struggle, then you will never become something. We have a golden opportunity right now. Sure, Mayr's enterprise is formidable, but with Mayr gone, they're not even half as competent. If we play our cards right, we don't even have to fight. We can overthrow Mayr just by playing politics."

By this point, everyone at the table was confident. As everyone smiled and commended Anthony, John spoke up again. "How can we be sure that Mayr is no longer in the picture?"

After hearing this, Anthony looked at John, and after a short pause, smiled and said "Here's how". As Anthony said this, a silhouette emerged from the shadow behind Anthony. The silhouette was large and strongly built. The shadow drew closer and closer, and as the person entered the light, his features became visible. The man had a noticeable scar on his lower-left cheek, dark eyes, and thinning reddish brown hair. When the executives saw him their jaws fell open.

"Sammy!?" everyone said with pure shock in their voice.

"I apologize for keeping this secret from you." said Anthony, "The captain that Ento Mayr assigned to oversee our operations still spends most of his time in the East, so I couldn't risk this information getting out. So, for the past few months, I sent Sammy to go live in a remote part of the world under a new name. This was done so that the news of us not killing him doesn't get out."

"Although it's encouraging to have someone as capable as Sammy with us," another one of the executives said, "how is he going to help us gather information? If anything, him being discovered brings on a great risk."

Anthony looked at this man to acknowledge his question. "Everyone in Mayr's crew thinks that Sammy is dead." replied Anthony, "I doubt that they expect anyone to have the gall to lie to them. This provides us with a unique opportunity. I will send Sammy and a few of his most trusted men to survey the west and give us any information that he can get on Mayr's situation. At this time, he is the last person on their radar, therefore, he is the best man to monitor them. In regards to the risk involved with sending Sammy, you're absolutely right, but nothing great can be accomplished without taking on great risk."

Once again, everyone at the table looked around at each other, but this time, their expressions were more confident. They understood that they were taking a big risk, but they were satisfied with Anthony's answer and were willing to take part in his plan to take over the country.

"Does anyone have any more concerns?" Anthony asked. Everyone briefly contemplated and shook their heads. "Great." said Anthony with a big smile, "With that, the meeting's over. Let's enjoy our evening now!"

The men then ordered food and had lively conversations. They ate and laughed over the next hour, talking to each other about their personal lives and businesses.

Once they were done, everyone got up from the table and said their goodbyes. As everyone was leaving, Anthony grabbed Tommy by the arm to get his attention. "Hold on, Tommy." Anthony said as he grabbed his arm. Tommy turned around and asked, "What is it, boss?"

"I just wanted to remind you to deal with those kids from Youngsville by the end of the week." Said Anthony, "Do whatever you have to do. Just make sure it's not too public. The last thing we need right now is a big legal problem."

"Understood, boss," said Tommy, "I'll have this sorted by the end of the week."

-

2 days passed. Mayr had begun noticing that the spies that were watching him were no longer trying to be as secretive. What's more is that they wouldn't have their eyes fixated on Mayr like usual. They began looking around more as if they were expecting someone.

Because of this sudden change in demeanor, Mayr understood that their plan of action had changed. Were they expecting backup? Were they planning on taking him by surprise? Mayr didn't have these answers, but to stay on the safer side, Mayr began moving around in crowds.

The chance of getting away in a crowd increases, while the chance of keeping track of someone in a crowd decreases. These factors were key determinants in Mayr's decision.

-

Another two days passed and Mayr stayed diligent in the way he operated and he instructed Nesh to do the same. However, Mayr noticed that since yesterday the spies hadn't arrived to keep track of his location.

When the final bell rang, Mayr met up with Nesh and asked him to message all the captains and inform them to halt all operations until further notice.

"Is everything alright?" Nesh asked as they walked out of the school and began walking through the streets.

"The spies have been acting weird lately." said Mayr, "I'm not sure what changed, but I want to stay on the safer side to ensure that none of the captains or their men get caught out by mafia henchmen."

"Alright," said Nesh, "but nobody has been bothered for the past few weeks. Maybe the mafia thought of us as small fry and decided not to waste their time. We might be in the clear."

"Not Anthony." said Mayr matter-a-factly. Nesh was confused. How would his friend know how a mafia boss would act? Regardless, Nesh listened to Mayr's instructions and sent a message out to all of the captains.

-

Roughly 30 minutes passed and Mayr was sitting outside of an ice cream parlour with Nesh. As the two of them were enjoying ice cream, Mayr noticed a suspicious character walking towards them from about 100 meters away. Upon closer inspection, it was one of the spies that was spying on him.

This confused Mayr. Why was he walking towards Mayr so boldly? Regardless, Mayr simply sat and waited for the man to reach him.

"How can I help you?" Mayr asked once the man stopped in front of him. Nesh simply sat silent and slightly confused. "I think it'd be best if you two came with me." the man said frankly.

"And why would we do that?" Mayr replied. The man did not respond. A few seconds later Nesh's phone began to ring.

"You should pick that up." said the man. Nesh hesitantly picked up and checked the caller ID. It was Jason, one of Kashi's men. Nesh picked up the phone and asked Jason why he called.

"Kashi, Kris, and Bray were taken by the cops!" Jason said frantically. A look of complete shock came upon Nesh's face. "Since you messaged to stop all operations, Kashi, Kris, and Bray met up to hang out, but got arrested outside a pizza store!"

"For what!?" Nesh asked. "I'm not sure," Jason replied, "but I'm positive that they didn't do anything illegal!"

"Go to the police station and tell them not to say anything!" Nesh instructed, "They have nothing to hold them on!"

"It's no use." Said Mayr. Nesh confusedly looked at Mayr. Mayr raised his eyes and looked at the man who was staring coldly at him. "They're not going to the police station, are they?" Mayr asked.