Cast Out as Old-Fashioned, I Watched the Mafia Fall Apart Chapter 06
The first thing I saw was Robbie.
He sat at the bar with his legs crossed, turning a half-full glass of whiskey in his hand while telling the man beside him how generous the new boss was.
“Relax. No more freezing at the docks all night. Kelly says doing the bare minimum is enough, and we’ll still get every cent. Once we clock out tonight, I’ll take you all to the club.”
Beside him, several of the new people Kelly had brought in were either huddled over a card game or leafing through fashion magazines and chatting.
Some of the long-serving meir were slacking with them, cleaning guns and chatting about their families, while a thin layer of dust settled over the stack of manifests nearby.
The entire hall sounded like a tavern, without a trace of real work being done.
“Clack!”
At the head of the group, Colby brought his cane down hard on the marble. The sound was sharp and piercing.
The noise died instantly. Everyone turned in unison, and the moment they saw the group in the doorway, their faces went white.
Robbie’s glass hit the floor, spilling whiskey everywhere.
Kelly forced herself to explain. “Everyone has been working overtime for days and wanted to rest today. That’s… that’s normal enough.”
Colby said nothing and lifted his chin at the accountant beside him.
The duty roster and the attendance records were brought over quickly.
One look told the story. Since I left, every post had suffered missed shifts and early departures, and the worst post had been unmanned for three straight days.
“How much overtime could possibly justify three days off?” Colby’s voice was icy.
Kelly’s voice shook. “That, that post hasn’t needed much watching these last few days.”
“Slam!”
The roster came down hard on the table and the pages flew.
“What do you think this place is?!” Colby’s roar left everyone’s ears ringing. “Are the Family’s posts your backyard? People come and go whenever they please? What happened to the rules?!
“Do you honestly believe the Vincent Family is your own family’s private property?”
Vincent’s embarrassment showed as he stepped forward to smooth things over. “Mr. Colby, please calm down. Ending shifts on time has advantages. Running around the clock costs a great deal and burns through people. This way, efficiency is actually…”
He did not finish. The bookkeeper had already handed over the ledger for the past few days.
The first page showed zero new deals.
After the Soren deal collapsed, Kelly’s team failed to close a single new one.
The numbers on the expense page were even more painful to read.
The fifth. The head of operations took the entire staff to an expensive club.
The tenth. Team dinner, all drinks covered.
The fifteenth. The head of operations released funds for channel development, which was in fact a payout to her own people.
Every post had also submitted padded or falsified accounts, all charged to the Family’s books.
“You have two days to cover every shortfall.” Colby threw the ledger in Kelly’s face, scattering pages across the floor. “If you fail, the Family will deal with you by its rules.”
With that he turned and stormed out with the other elders.
The last of Vincent’s bravado drained away, and he sagged.
That was about as much of the show as I needed.
I took half a step back, meaning to slip out quietly.
Then a strained, tearful voice called after me.
“Iris!”
Vera was standing behind me, her eyes rimmed red, tears running down her cheeks. “Iris, I’m sorry… I was
wrong.
“Kelly forced me into it. She said that if the Grayson deal fell through, she would blame the entire seizure of Freighter Three on me, and by the Family’s rules, they’d throw me into the sea to feed the fish… I had no way out, so I used your name to bring him here. I lost my head…”
