The Capo Regime's Song (2)
The moment Fabio Carini and the junkie cop were arrested on the spot, everyone inside the gym and Carini’s subordinates naturally pushed back.
“Son of a… fuck.”
But Carini made sure none of them dared to challenge the police. If they did, they’d all get slapped with obstruction of justice and dragged in too. That would only be doing the cops a favor.
“….”
The officers who stormed the scene arrested their boss right in front of the mafia soldiers who, under the Capo Regime’s orders, could neither fight back nor stay silent. The news reached Elena and me immediately.
“…Luke, contact Salmo first.”
“Got it.”
Elena and I reached out to the family’s Consigliere without delay. Anthony Salmo came straight to our hotel from his own territory the moment he received the call.
“Miss, Mr. Luke.”
“Ah, come in. You’ve heard the situation?”
The instant he stepped into the room, Salmo removed the hat he was wearing and carefully held it against his stomach. Then he scanned me, Elena, and Felicia in turn.
“How about it? Think we can fix this?”
When I followed up Elena’s question about whether he’d heard the details, Salmo rubbed a hand down his face.
“Yes. But an on-the-spot arrest…”
His expression made it clear just how troublesome this was.
“What the hell were the guys next to Carini even doing?”
“Elena, if they’d moved, the rest of them would’ve been arrested for obstruction too.”
“I know that, but still…”
Obstruction of justice. It was a charge that didn’t exist in the country I came from in my previous life. The closest equivalent would probably be interfering with a public official’s duties.
“Still, we do have a thread to pull on.”
“What is it?”
“Since it was an on-the-spot arrest, a warrant hasn’t been issued yet. If we move before the judge signs off on one, we should be able to handle it.”
In other words, everything hinged on how quickly Salmo and his colleagues could act.
“First, I plan to make the officers who arrested Carini on the scene retract their statements.”
“…How?”
“We’ll dig into their weaknesses. Take their families hostage while they’re away, or investigate any dirty laundry they might have.”
“You don’t need extra people for that, right?”
After confirming the method, I asked Salmo one final question.
“Yes, my own subordinates should be more than enough.”
“All right, Salmo. Get started immediately.”
“Yes, miss.”
At Salmo’s reply, Elena gave her permission. He rose from his seat at once. From the top floor of the hotel, we watched as he climbed into the car he’d arrived in and drove off somewhere.
“I hope nothing goes wrong…”
“Why? Is Carini the type to run his mouth?”
“No, it’s not that. He’s just… a bit rough around the edges. Most boxers are like that, you know.”
“Hmm.”
I hoped Elena’s worry was unfounded. For now, I decided to head to the Academy’s union office. Elena and Felicia saw me off to the armored car together—very amicably, at least while I was in front of them.
“Boss, shall we head straight to the Academy?”
“No. Let’s go a little further north from the Academy.”
“Pardon?”
“I want to stop by Carini’s territory and calm his men down a bit.”
“Ah, understood.”
I gave the driver all the information he needed. Since the driver was one of the Wolves under my command, he asked no further questions and drove past the Academy toward the north side of River West.
“Boss, we’ve arrived.”
The moment the Wolf in the driver’s seat announced our arrival, the one in the passenger seat quickly got out and opened the rear door for me.
“….”
The gym where Carini had been arrested. I headed inside with the Wolf from the passenger seat. The people inside were focused on their individual workouts, but I could still see varying degrees of anxiety on their faces.
“Underboss!”
Several of Carini’s men who recognized me hurried over.
“We’re sorry. The boss told us not to move, so we…”
“It’s fine. Carini made the right call.”
If Carini hadn’t given that order, his subordinates probably would’ve been arrested one after another.
“The Consigliere will handle your boss’s case.”
“Mr. Salmo?”
“Yes. More precisely, Mr. Salmo’s son.”
Since Anthony Salmo hadn’t been Consigliere for very long, I added the clarification so there wouldn’t be any confusion.
“Ah, I see.”
“Right. So stop worrying. And from now on, be more careful when dealing in drugs. Understood?”
“Yes, understood.”
I made sure they dealt with the broker named Gabriele—the one the junkie cop had mentioned—immediately. Giving them something to do was better for Carini’s men than simply telling them not to worry and to stay put. At least while they were focused on the task, they wouldn’t have time for stray thoughts.
“I can help you anytime from the Academy, so don’t worry.”
That seemed sufficient to reassure Carini’s subordinates. After receiving their farewells, I headed back to the Academy’s union office.
The moment I arrived at my office, Sarina and Cambarra greeted me warmly.
“Boss.”
“Luke, welcome back.”
“What the—Cambarra I understand, but why are you here, Sarina?”
“Why not?”
“You have your own territory, don’t you?”
“They’ll manage fine without me. Besides, like you said, everyone’s supposed to be taking it easy for a while, so it’s fine.”
“…Is that so?”
*
For lunch, I decided to eat at the student cafeteria inside the Academy like the other union members.
“Luke, do we really need to eat here with everyone else?”
“Blending in naturally is what matters.”
More importantly, the student cafeteria at this world’s Academy was surprisingly high quality. Maybe because it was a prestigious school? Of course, given the state of the city, the students had plenty of their own worries. Still… in a way, it was because the Fellini Family’s forces were stationed here. In that sense, the Academy was one of the safest places in the entire city.
“Boss, I think the whole ‘blending in’ thing has already failed.”
“That’s partly your fault too, Cambarra.”
Some students kept stealing glances at Sarina with her short black hair and simple black suit. But more than that, an alligator beastman eating in the student cafeteria was something you rarely saw at the Academy. There wasn’t a single student who wouldn’t be curious.
“S-sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing for that? It’s not like you chose how you were born.”
“Sarina, that sounded even harsher.”
“….”
If we kept this up, Cambarra looked like he might actually choke on his food. Still, watching Cambarra eat was like viewing a nature documentary. Maybe an alligator’s teeth weren’t well-suited for chewing… he mostly just shoved food into his mouth and swallowed it whole.
“Looks like he’s swallowing without even chewing.”
Sarina commented after watching for a while. Cambarra must have noticed our gazes, because he quickly began to explain.
“Ah, we have a separate gizzard pouch in our stomachs.”
“Gizzard pouch?”
“It’s a pouch where we swallow and store stones. So… even if we eat like this, the stones in our stomach will grind the food for us.”
“…Oh.”
Hearing it directly from an alligator himself felt strangely surreal.
“Luke, just eat your food already.”
I’d been so busy watching Cambarra eat that I hadn’t touched much of my own meal.
“Yeah, I should.”
“If it’s too much, should I finish it for you?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
Sarina looked a little disappointed, but I wasn’t exactly a light eater. Compared to the meals I’d had during the training to become a Wolf under my father, this was practically a feast. I was glad Elena had never gone through that kind of training.
“Oh, and what about Carini’s situation?”
Sarina lowered her voice more than usual since it was an important topic. Thanks to all the chatter throughout the cafeteria, it probably wasn’t even necessary.
“It’s fine. I stopped by before coming to the office.”
“You did?”
Luckily there weren’t many people around us, but we still kept our voices low just in case. I told them what I’d said to Carini’s men and what instructions I’d given.
“That broker might have set a trap from the beginning.”
“Maybe. Or maybe the cop was just an idiot.”
Still, the broker who sent such a stupid client to Carini clearly shared some of the blame. Birds of a feather and all that.
We refrained from discussing anything more important in such an open place. Since we’d finished eating anyway, we returned to the union office.
“Luke, today’s the day you’re supposed to be with the miss, right?”
“That’s right. It’s Monday.”
“….”
Sarina seemed very interested in that particular subject. Since it wasn’t a good topic to dwell on, I quickly asked Cambarra about the Gullyman gang’s movements and Sarina about the Lumini family’s.
“Ah, actually, the boss has been badmouthing Mr. Echelloti quite a lot lately.”
“Echelloti?”
Carlo Echelloti. Like Carini, he was one of Elena’s former subordinates who had risen to Capo Regime. It felt like the Gullyman gang had taken the northeast of Greenbug while Echelloti controlled the surrounding area. When territories were that close, it was only natural for friction to develop. There would be clashes over various matters and differences in style.
“Yes. It seems they keep picking fights with us.”
I wasn’t sure if Elena and I needed to get involved in this dispute, but from what Cambarra was saying, Echelloti’s behavior was quite blatant. In times like these, simply giving Elena a quiet heads-up would probably be enough rather than me stepping in directly. After all, Elena knew very well how much the Gullyman gang’s forces could help us.
In a situation where every bit of strength counted, losing the Gullymans over something so ridiculous would be an unbearably painful blow.
*
After leaving the office and returning to the hotel, I immediately reported the matter to Elena.
“Echelloti?”
“That’s what Cambarra said. We can’t judge based on only one side, but…”
“All right. I’ll look into it.”
Even as she said that, Elena finished talking business and immediately pulled me into her arms.
“….”
“What? Do you dislike it when I do this?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that there’s a pretty big size difference between us.”
Sometimes it really felt like I’d become Elena’s personal stuffed doll. When I honestly shared that thought, Elena said that was exactly why she liked it.
Living like Elena’s favorite doll meant I was never bored, but deep down I was still worried about how Carini’s situation would turn out.
The next day arrived, and this time, while I was in Felicia’s suite, I received a call from Salmo.
“Mr. Luke, it’s been taken care of.”
“Good. There shouldn’t be any more problems, right?”
“Yes. The officers who arrested Carini will retract their reports about the circumstances of the arrest.”
That would make it difficult for the judge to issue a warrant. And in that window of time, we planned to pressure the police station responsible for the north side of River West once again.
I could have handled it myself, but I left this matter to Salmo. Salmo and another lawyer immediately headed to a police station located in northern River West.
“What brings you here?”
The moment Anthony Salmo entered the station, he answered the officer who questioned him.
“We’re here regarding the Fabio Carini case. I’m Anthony Salmo, and this is Frank Shindon. We’re both lawyers.”
“Yes. We are Mr. Carini’s temporary defense counsel.”
At Salmo’s words, Shindon beside him responded immediately. But the officer stared at the two lawyers for a long moment before giving a short reply.
“You may leave.”
“Unfortunately, we cannot do that. Mr. Carini has the right to an attorney.”
“He hasn’t been formally charged yet.”
“After being detained for over two hours, he does. According to Hevilly city criminal law.”
When the officer asked, Salmo added the legal basis for his statement. When the two lawyers stood their ground, the officer’s expression grew somewhat serious. Eventually, one of the station’s supervisors appeared in person.
“What seems to be the problem?”
Salmo and Shindon continued to pressure the police with their legal expertise, demanding Fabio Carini’s release before any formal charges could be filed. On top of the fact that the arresting officers had already retracted their reports—making the warrant process difficult—this external pressure was driving them insane.
“Understood. You may take him.”
The lieutenant had no choice but to let the lawyers have their way. Salmo and Shindon retrieved Carini from the station basement. The junkie cop in another room was none of their concern.
“…Thank you.”
The moment Carini stepped out of the station with the two lawyers’ help, he expressed his gratitude. But Salmo redirected the credit.
“You should thank the Boss and the Underboss. Oh, and that broker named Gabriele—your men should have taken care of him properly.”
“That’s a relief…”
The night air in the city was bitterly cold.
“Hoo…”
But what did the cold matter? He was free again. While Carini spread both arms wide to savor his freedom, Salmo and Shindon waited patiently.
Meanwhile, as the three of them stood there…
In North Woodlawn, the Lumini family was going absolutely insane. In the middle of the night, vampires had suddenly begun detonating bombs all across their territory.