Chapter 7
After they were done making love, Caesar sent Amira and her grandmother home for the day. There were other housekeepers there who could cover their workload for them. He got dressed in a pair of blue bell bottoms and a silk button-up that he left open at the top. The cook, Martina, fixed his usual egg, bacon, and cheese breakfast sandwich for him when he got to the kitchen. She’d been cooking for them since he was younger, and she knew how he liked all of his meals. Caesar sat patiently and read the newspaper until it was finished.
“Anything good in there?”
Caesar lowered the paper in time to see his father taking a seat across from him at the table. He folded the paper and slid it to his father to take a look for himself. At that moment, the cook placed his hot sandwich down in front of him.
“Will it be orange juice or apple juice this mornin’, honey?” Martina asked Caesar.
“Orange juice will be good.”
“Comin’ right up. Mr. King, what can I conjure up for you for breakfast?”
“How about you just make one of those sandwiches for me too? Since you already have all of the stuff for it out.”
“You sure? It’s really no trouble at all.”
“I’m sure. If I knew how to cook a lick of anything, I would make it myself and get you off your feet,” Cassius said, flapping the newspaper open.
“Mr. King, don’t start this again. I am fine.”
“Have you been taking your diabetes medicine?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Have you been drinking enough water?”
“Yes, I have!” Martina said with an attitude and threw a hand on her hip. “Is it me taking care of you, or are you taking care of me?”
“I’d like to think of it as a little bit of give and take. You’ve been with us since Caesar was just a baby. I would hate for anything to happen to you.”
“Well, then you know my fear every day when it comes to you. Now hush up and let me make your breakfast.”
Caesar found himself smiling at the exchange. Martina was the only one who had ever been able to get away with talking to Cassius any kind of way. Probably because she had become more like family. She went on to make his food and poured them both glasses of orange juice. After she brought some grape jelly to the table, she went on to clean the kitchen.
“Did you see this?” Cassius asked, pointing at an article in the paper.
“I just skimmed through it. What’s it say, Dad?”
“Looks like the Mexicans have gotten themselves into a world of trouble. The police found over a hundred guns and explosives in one of Damián Alverez’s warehouses. Five arrests were made.”
“Was Damián one of them?”
“No. I recognize two of these names though. Sergio and Aarón Alverez are his cousins.”
“Still, I would hate to be Damián right now.” Caesar shook his head.
“This is perfect. You know what this means, right? It’s going to be easy to get Damián to fall in line right now.”
“I’m sure his cousins are going to take the fall and not talk.”
“If they follow the same code as we do in our camp, I’m sure they won’t talk either. Still, the Feds are going to be watching Damián mighty close, and if he’s smart, he’s not going to want any more fire under his ass. Fighting me will be the last thing he wants to try, especially since the Italians have agreed to assist in my takeover.”
“That was quick,” Caesar said in a surprised manner.
“Nasir can be very convincing when I need him to be. Once we have the Alverez family where we want them to be, the Chens will be next. Then the Tollivers won’t have a choice but to follow suit. As far as the Dominicans, as I said before, I’ve allowed them to conduct business in peace for long enough. They’ll do whatever I need them to. New times are amid New York, and what a magnificent sight it will be.”
Caesar could tell by his father’s tone that he was excited. He wished like hell that he could join in on the excitement, but he couldn’t. Nothing about it seemed right. It would be different if the other territories were just up for grabs, but they weren’t. The other families had done exactly what the Kings had done for years—built their empires. And Caesar knew how he would feel if someone tried to come and take it for themselves. It would be like losing freedom. He’d done a lot of things for Cassius that he never questioned. But that? It didn’t resonate with him at all. If loyalty to his father meant doing something he didn’t agree with, how would he ever become his own man?
“Dad?” Caesar found himself speaking before he had completely formulated what he wanted to say.
“Hmm?” Cassius asked, looking down at his plate.
“Are you sure there isn’t another way to get what you want? I mean, this seems a little drastic. I’m sure if you talk to the other families—”
“Talk?”
“Yes. As in sit down and have a civilized conversation. Because for as long as I can think back to, I remember a lot of things happening. Fighting. Killing. Plotting. More killing. But never a simple conversation.”
“And do you know why that is? Too much blood has been spilled on all sides. That’s nothing a simple conversation can fix. It’s time for me to go all in and take what’s mine.”
“Yours?”
“Yes, mine.” Cassius paused, spreading jelly on his bread. “I’m going to make Pangea whole again. No point in being a kingpin if I can’t be the king of it all. And once I have all the power, then I’ll go for Staten Island, too. Some might disagree, but for me, a good game of chess consists of every piece falling to one king. Me.”
There it was, the dictator in him rearing its face. Moments like the one Cassius had just shared with Martina sometimes made Caesar forget the kind of man he was. Power fueled him. And he wouldn’t stop until he felt he had it all. He liked to have everyone in the palm of his hand. That way he could crush them whenever he felt like it.
When Caesar first started on the same path his father was on, he wanted to be just like him, especially after his mother was killed. He wanted to be strong and feared, just like Cassius. But even at that age he knew he was sending himself on a path of self-destruction. He would always be a soldier no matter his rank in the game, but control was where true power lay. Control led to a certain level of consciousness that Caesar was destined to reach. He still wanted power, but not for the same reason as his father. He wanted order and peace, not to see more people he cared about die.
“There’s no point in being the king of New York if everyone hates you,” Caesar said under his breath and took a bite of his food.
“Come again?” Cassius raised a brow.
“Nothing,” Caesar sighed.
“Good. For a second there I thought that you were going against me.”
“Nasir . . . do you trust him?”
“With my life,” Cassius said and looked at the diamond watch on his wrist. “Shit. I’m going to be late.”
“For what?”
“Business,” Cassius said, taking a big bite of his sandwich. A glob of jelly fell onto his shirt, staining it. “Dammit!”
“I’ll go with you,” Caesar suggested.
“No, no. I need you to go upstate with Niles and collect some money for me.”
“You’re sending me on penny duty?”
“If fifty thousand dollars is penny duty.”
“Who the hell owes us fifty grand?”
“White boy named Raymond. I gave him some product to take to a buyer in Rochester weeks ago and haven’t heard from him since. The buyer hasn’t either. One of them is lying to me. I need you and Niles to figure out who it is.”
“Got it.”
“And have Pricilla get me a new shirt. I got this damned jelly all over me.”
“I guess that maybe now isn’t the best time to tell you that I fired both her and Amira today because Amira and I are together. Wow, would you look at the time. I better head over to Niles’s house.” Caesar jumped up and hurried to leave the kitchen.
“Caesar! Wait!”
Caesar cursed under his breath and slowly turned around to face his father. He thought he was going to find disappointment there, but instead he saw the hint of a smile.
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“I know you’re not all the way on board with this shit, but I appreciate you for standing beside me. You’re growing up to be a be a good man, probably a better man than I’ll ever be. But one day you’ll see that I’m making the right decision for us.”
Caesar didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded and waved goodbye.
Never let your left hand know what your right is up to.