43. Irish Calling

Jackson was pacing the floor at the private section of his club. He was thinking hard. From time to time he walked to the table where glasses of cocktails and champagne were placed for him. He drank a glass and carried on walking back and forth. He was thinking about the path in front of him. He had the upper hand because of who he was and his legacy of his family. If anyone struck him, he could retaliate. But it didn't ease the part of him that was disturbed by Vincenzo's abrupt arrival in New York. The young don had sent him a package. It was a box of blood orange which symbolised death in some ways but also it was the souvenir of Sicily. He couldn't know what it meant unless there was follow up. That boy was trouble. He knew that much. He had his father's will and his risk taking spirit. Francesco was a different breed to his peers. There was no one like him. Only time could tell what his son could be capable of.

Jackson had two options. One was to wait and one was to strike to prevent any future confrontations. Dealing with the rosarios was not simple. No Rosario wanted him to live. His feelings were mutual, almost mutual. He only wanted Anna to live. If he trusted for all rosarios to be wiped out with one mission he would have ordered it in a heart beat. But of course they had a large web of networks protecting them. He held Francesco responsible. He was the mastermind. He had tried to get through any loop holes. But there wasn't any.

Francesco did not have Sicilian ties. He had cut off all communication with Sicilians but he was in touch with his least hated uncle, Pietro. He had put in place measures to insure them. There was no way in unless Jackson went into hold a mob war. He could win but only if Francesco died. If it wasn't for Francesco he could be ruling New York.  If it wasn't for Francesco he could have Anna. If it wasn't for Francesco he could sell half the Italian mob families to FBI. The Irish had contacts in FBI. It was easier to bribe them to overlook Irish names. But any businessman with an Italian name was guilty until proven innocent but Francesco had taken care of his allies. He had built a wall that stopped FBI tracing illegal activities. Anyone with loose ties with Francesco could be lamb for the slaughter. He wanted to destroy the Italians. The fire inside him had been ignited even more for revenge after his latest meeting with Anna. She was in New York. He had bumped into her attending a meeting with a fashion company he owned. She had come by to place orders. He had taken the opportunity to monitor her movements. When he had seen her across the building he had become jealous, angry, sick with want. Here she was here in New York defenceless in his building. The call of temptation was strong. He had to murder Arturo. He had to do it. There was no other way around it. But he was torn on going against his decision to wait for the events to unfold. He had unsuccessfully tried to murder Angelia Andovini who he wanted dead to send a message out there and destroy the last of that scum family he hated so much. If she died also his good friends daughter, Reagan O'Reily could unite with Viggo. The attempt on her life had gone wrong. He had to wait. He had to watch when Francesco was going to strike. He wasn't too worried about Vincenzo. If he attacked it was going to be direct. He was going to kill him. But if Jackson went down he was going to take down so many with him. It was a well known fact. Francesco was not going to kill him but he was going to be a phantom hovering above him making him watch his back until he asked for him to pay for his mistake. Francesco could be playing games. He was ready. He had to wait. But he was tempted to go after his temptation. He blamed Francesco for his crisis. If it wasn't for Francesco, then Anna's father wouldn't have dared give her away to Arturo. She was meant to be his. Her children were meant to be his and not Arturo's. Andreas and Amethyst were meant to be his children with an O'Kane name engraved on a locket around their necks rather than having an Agostini engraving. Anna's children were brought with her. She wanted them to attend some college open days in their winter break. Agostini was in Italy. Anna was in New York. If he ordered a hit on her husband she was going to be his. But it wasn't that simple.

A knock came on the door. He stopped pacing the floor "Come in." He then watched the door open and one of his men came in "Sir. It's time. The cars are ready."

He nodded "Dismissed." He looked at his watch as the man left. Tristan was meant to be available that night. There was no way around it. He had told him this was an important night. He had gone to support Vienna. As if that girl needed any more support and protection? He rolled his eyes.

The phone rang. The phone call he expected came within seconds. He picked up the phone and heard Tristan on the other end of the line. "Hi uncle." He was a good time keeper and smooth. Just when he was about to send people to escort him to the meeting point he had called.

Jackson declared "What is your status?"

Tristan said "I will make my way ... with my father. I will meet you there."

Jackson O'Kane raised an eyebrow "He is coming. Is he?" He didn't think Terrence wanted to revisit the Irish Calling meeting. It was what it said in its title. It was a call to all the local businessmen of the criminal underground with Irish blood. The crime lords of the east coast found it hard to arrange to attend short notice callings like this one but made time. The scale of the meeting was large so it was going to held in a conference room that was in one of the hotels owned by the O'Leary family. Irish Calling meetings were to strengthen brotherhood and to unite the Irish families further. This was needed the most at this time. He knew that room could be halved soon if the FBI had their way. The weakest were going to go first and the elite could survive. There were spies in the FBI but if treachery happened and traitors sent evidence over for convicting their fellow Irish there was going to be trouble sooner than expected for some. Unity was the way forward.

Tristan didn't like his uncle's tone about his father's choice of attendance "Uncle. Didn't you expect him to attend? He is Irish first."

Jackson sighed "Well. With your father I never know what's his next stunt. You can't really blame me. Don't be late son." He then put down the phone.

Tristan narrowed his eyes at his uncle cutting off the conversation. But his uncle just didn't have any time for anything these days. He was in a sour and tense mood. He put the phone down and turned to his father "He was surprised you are coming."

O'Neil said "Me too son. Me too." He then walked away outside to his car.

Tristan looked around him "Are you sure you want to come? You were more concerned with the arrangements here. You convinced Francesco Rosario to go home but he is back in hours. You delayed the inevitable father."

O'Neil Opened the car door and looked past his son at Costanzo Rosario who was speaking to some men "Well. Costanzo will handle the matters until I come back. I am an unwanted guest everywhere but I turn up either way. Francesco said I am not invited tomorrow morning but you don't give up on your friends. You let them give up on you. But you never ever give up. I don't even know what happens tomorrow. I have no plans son. It's out of my hands. I have no idea what Antonio has done and don't know what confessions the traitor will put on the table. Costanzo said that Antonio will talk if his sons' life is guaranteed to be protected. But how selective he will be if he is stupid enough to lie or bend the truth is something I can't predict. I also can't know who his secrets will bring into the mix."

Tristan asked "What about Paulo Rosario?"

O'Neil said "What about him. What's the worse that he can do? I am trying to think what he could say or do to hurt Francesco even more so. He should have died years ago. He is on borrowed time." He then got into the car and Tristan followed. The car ride was quite long.

Trista laid back and thought of Vienna. She deserved some privacy at this time with her family. Francesco had chosen to go home with his family for tonight wordlessly and reluctantly. Tomorrow he was going to come back to the lair. Tristan was thinking of being there for Vienna every step of the way.

As they arrived at the hotel in the middle of the night the lines of armed men greeted their cars. The hotel was in the middle of a nowhere in some ways. The gardens and the mini lake around the set of buildings that were retirement villas also owned by the O'Leary family gave the impression that the place was peaceful. Looks could be deceiving.

O'Neil got off the car and was greeted with a tray of Irish cream whiskey. Since there was no host and the place was just a venue. O'Neil decided not to drink. He preferred to be sober and he wasn't in the mood to drink with these people. No one liked him there. It was no secret how many rules in the code of conduct book of the Irish he had broken. He was a rebel. He had married an Italian for a start at the time when Irish girls were bombarding him with love letters. He had broken a lot of hearts including Jackson O'Kane's sisters heart. She was there too with her son, Jonas. Francesco had warned him about tonight in advance. Before leaving for home he had made some threats to him. The usual. But he had also warned him against the O'Kanes. Jonas was the harmless serpent for now but for how long? Francesco had said to him how O'Kane's sister was actually Jackson's sister by blood and not adopted. He never believed it. He needed to see paternity tests. They looked like each other with blonde hair and blue eyes that almost everyone at this gathering had. It was a common feature. But it started to make sense. Maybe the scale of the atrocity was too much to handle and grasp for him. This was a bizzare family. They needed his son because Jonas was meant to become a senator with a clean record. His son got respect for stepping up. That was the least he deserved for covering for the reluctant heir.

He saw familiar faces he hadn't seen in a while. He told his son to go his separate way. He knew he wasn't going to sit next to his son because he certainly didn't want to sit next to O'Kane. He could feel the tension in the room. The Irish traitor wasn't willing to join in with drinking and it didn't go unnoticed.

As he was walking by, O'Leary gave him a strange look and O'Callaghan Commented "You are not drinking?"

O'Neil smiled "I don't want to get poisoned."  He then ignored the shaking of heads and chuckled to himself as he walked around the building killing time instead of networking before the big meeting. He looked around the place and found the secret passage he used to use when he smuggled things to his room when his family stayed here for a city break that was a front for Irish callings. He walked by a room where he played games with others. He was a rebel and didn't follow the rules but he was popular. He just wasn't liked after he turned down sisters of his Irish buddies.

One particular Irish Calling was sticking to memory where there were some outsiders attending. Anna and her father who was half Irish. Roberto was a hit man. He worked for the Italians but he was at times passed around to the Irish to do their deeds. He was the best in what he did. So they let him attend maybe also because he had some Irish blood. It helped.

Anna being the careless teenage Anna had stumbled upon Jackson in a room. He wasn't there from the beginning but entered the room when Anna had slapped O'Kane right in front of the other guys in the room. If he was alone it was fine. But O'Kane didn't take kindly to open public challenges.

O'Kane had looked at Anna with murder in his eyes "Beg me for forgiveness."

Anna had looked at him defiantly "You watch how you speak to me. This girl does not like being talked down to."

That was typical Anna referring herself in third person at times to explain herself. O'Neil had stepped in front of her when O'Kane had been fuming hard. O'Neil had a habit of being the party crasher. O'Kane was going to put on a show to teach Anna a lesson but he ruined the party when he punched O'Kane and pushed Anna outside the room which opened to the public area helping her escape. Of course that meant facing the wrath of O'Kane all alone. It wasn't the first and last time.