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don saluzzo
Things have been difficult without Alberto Saluzzo around to keep his wolves in line. They don't implicitly trust Demetri, but they don't have any other options; he's their first choice's first choice. Besides, the unusual structure of famiglia Saluzzo made it far too difficult to hand over to just any fratello. The blind trust in Alberto Saluzzo to always make the right call without question makes the famiglia an intimidating beast to wrangle.
Not that there are many Saluzzos left at the moment. Many of them have been expelled from Nuova Volsinii pending an investigation into their fraudulent certifications, returned shamefully to Brunello where Alberto awaits the outcome of his investigation. Things would likely go smoother for him if Demetri were to allow him access to the Saluzzo Vino legal team, with intimate knowledge on the unique laws of Nuova Volsinii.
He won't, though. He can't risk the entirety of Saluzzo Vino being deported.
Still, Not a day goes by that Saluzzo wolves don't throw open Demetri's door and start to bark at him for not doing enough to assist Alberto, how he's so clearly aligned with the disgraced Bellone, and every time he answers in the same level tone, no longer even bothering to look up from his paperwork anymore.
"If Saluzzo Vino is tied up with Alberto's personal agenda, all of us will be expelled from the city, and there won't be any wineries left for Saluzzo to attend to by the time our names are cleared. Alberto is a big boy, he can handle a little bit of jailtime. " He looks up, over the top of his glasses. "Or should I tell him you think so little of him?"
He has been at this long enough that controlling mafiosi is as easy as controlling the fingers on his hands. Of course there was nobody else qualified enough to wrangle famiglia Saluzzo but Demetri Certaldo, who has been raised and moulded by famiglia since he was only a pup. He knows their inner mechanisms intimately; of course he will not let Famiglia Saluzzo crumble in Alberto's absence.
He plans to pull it out from under him.
Not that there are many Saluzzos left at the moment. Many of them have been expelled from Nuova Volsinii pending an investigation into their fraudulent certifications, returned shamefully to Brunello where Alberto awaits the outcome of his investigation. Things would likely go smoother for him if Demetri were to allow him access to the Saluzzo Vino legal team, with intimate knowledge on the unique laws of Nuova Volsinii.
He won't, though. He can't risk the entirety of Saluzzo Vino being deported.
Still, Not a day goes by that Saluzzo wolves don't throw open Demetri's door and start to bark at him for not doing enough to assist Alberto, how he's so clearly aligned with the disgraced Bellone, and every time he answers in the same level tone, no longer even bothering to look up from his paperwork anymore.
"If Saluzzo Vino is tied up with Alberto's personal agenda, all of us will be expelled from the city, and there won't be any wineries left for Saluzzo to attend to by the time our names are cleared. Alberto is a big boy, he can handle a little bit of jailtime. " He looks up, over the top of his glasses. "Or should I tell him you think so little of him?"
He has been at this long enough that controlling mafiosi is as easy as controlling the fingers on his hands. Of course there was nobody else qualified enough to wrangle famiglia Saluzzo but Demetri Certaldo, who has been raised and moulded by famiglia since he was only a pup. He knows their inner mechanisms intimately; of course he will not let Famiglia Saluzzo crumble in Alberto's absence.
He plans to pull it out from under him.
no subject
He complies immediately, assuming Demetri is going to give him a bank account to which he can send a hefty repentance, or an address to attend to grovel at the feet of Don Bellone or his pup. His hands shake terribly, but as long as it’s legible, it’s fine; Demetri already knows he’s petrified, and there’s no point in making a poor attempt to hide it.
He looks up to Demetri expectantly, hoping he looks every bit like a man who understands he has done wrong by Famiglia Bellone and is ready to accept his due punishment. He doesn’t expect to get what he asks for so soon.
Without another word, the barrel of Demetri’s gun moves from pointing at his face to pointing at his hand, shooting straight through the back of it. The non-dominant hand… the hand without the pen.
Demetri holsters the gun.
“You work for Famiglia Bellone, Signor,” The coldness in his voice is unexpected, and the man remembers all too late that no bad deed goes unpunished when you get into bed with the mafia. “Only Famiglia Bellone.”
He nods his head, the pain in the hole of his hand excruciating. He can see through to the plasterboard table beneath it.
“Go get that patched up. Carry that pain with you, and every time it aches from now until the day you die, I hope it serves to jog your memory of what happens to you when you try to cross the famiglia.”
no subject
He's only been here once before, looking for Leontuzzo, but he'd been escorted out without so much as being able to get a glance of his good friend. He's certainly never been this far in, wandering aimlessly through the back rooms, but he'd recalled the fire escape map the first time he'd entered; he has a vague sense of where Leontuzzo's office is, and that's the only place he can think of being right now. Not because he hopes he'll throw open the door and Leontuzzo will be sitting at his desk, ready to welcome him in with open arms and stroke his hair as he catches a ten minute nap, but because he's so wound up, the only thing he can think of is Leontuzzo's scent. He just wants to be surrounded by something familiar, amidst navigating something so unfamiliar, in a place he doesn't know, with so many people he doesn't like.
The nameplate on the door still glints in the moonlight, even though the remainder of the office is dim. It seems to almost call out to him, beckon him to enter. It's only by impulse he's come here at all.
He pushes open the door, closes his eyes as the familiar scent of Leontuzzo washes over him, his pounding headache subsiding almost instantly. He takes a deep breath, greedy for the comfort that Leontuzzo's smell brings him.
It's only then that he opens his eyes, scanning the room - and spots Leontuzzo himself, sprawled uncomfortably across a short couch, with his shoes hanging over the arm. He's got a book resting over his eyes, and the slow rise and fall of his chest tells Demetri that he's out cold. His consciousness whisked away by exhaustion and overwork - Demetri can relate to the feeling.
He kneels down beside Leontuzzo, not daring to touch him, resting his head on the couch beside Leontuzzo's chest. He just needs a short break before he gets back to work. He closes his eyes, deeply inhaling Leontuzzo's scent, drifting off into a light sleep. He doesn't think of famiglia Saluzzo, famiglia Bellone, Saluzzo Vino - he thinks of nothing, his weariness washing away like filth during a hot shower.
Far sooner than his body needs, a hand on his shoulder wakes him with a start, and his fingers tighten around the dagger against his thigh on instinct as his eyes fly open, scrambling to a stand -
Lavinia. She blinks owlishly at him in the dim morning light - it must only be just after dawn, and all at once all of Demetri's weariness and fatigue sinks right back into his skin, once chased away by the scent of Leontuzzo and now back in full force.
Both of them look down at Leontuzzo in unison - Demetri to check he hasn't rudely woken him when he's obviously working himself to the bone, and he suspects Lavinia is checking him for injuries, pondering an arrest for the murder of Mayor Bellone at the hands of Nuova Volsinii's biggest new celebrity.
He doesn't bother trying to explain himself - not to Lavinia, not ever, and rubs his face, making his way towards the door while his head spins terribly, and Leontuzzo's office momentarily tilts heavily to one side. He needs to meet the new interim supervisor of the western distillery this morning, and he should have enough time to get there if he leaves now.
Lavinia says nothing to him, watching him leave. It takes him a long time to place her expression - concern, he thinks.