Fish
Fish
Gael had on a pair of black joggers and a white t-shirt while Angela still wore Gael's loungewear from earlier. He sat at the right end of the couch with his legs extended on the floor and his ankles crossed. Angela was in a slanting position, leaning her back against his side, and her legs sprawled on the couch while Gael's arm wrapped around her waist.
They looked quite domesticated and normal—as if they didn't experience what they had in the morning. They were just about to watch Jack's father dressed as a sad clown in a clown festival in Odessa, Ukraine when there was a knock on the front door. A second later, it opened and Rick strode towards the living room.
Angela sat up as Rick lowered to whisper to Gael's ear. "Boss, we found the guy who delivered the package."
Rick didn't have to elaborate. Gael already knew he was talking about the package left at The Phantom's Empire that contained his grandfather's ring. He had already put that at the back of his mind. "Where is he?"
"At the cemetery. Giovanni is already on his way there to meet you."
"Give me five minutes."
When Rick left, Angela twisted in her seat to face Gael. "You're leaving?"
"They found the guy who left my grandfather's ring at the club. I'm meeting Gio there. We'll have to deal with this."
Angela opened her mouth but she didn't really know what to say, so she just nodded. "Okay."
"Will you wait for me to watch the rest of the episode?"
She smiled as she nodded again. Gael gave her a chaste kiss before getting to his feet. "Trigger will stay with you here. I won't be long. I'll be back before you know it." After quickly changing his clothes, Gael, Rick, and Roy drove towards the cemetery.
The eeriness of the dark and quiet cemetery at ten in the evening was palpable. Spring was the best time of the year with its sunny days and cool evenings. And it was still chilly on the 1st of April that evening. After that day's events, Gael was waiting for someone to tell him: "Happy April Fools", but he was definitely not hoping for Novikov's death to be a joke.
He was ready to kill the old man—only to learn there was a long line he had to queue for. 'May he not rest in peace.'
They stopped behind an SUV they knew was one of Giovanni's even though the plate was fake, just like theirs. They were parked near a mausoleum. The three of them climbed out and the cool wind swept through them, making them pull their collars up to their necks. They walked several meters from the car until they saw Giovanni with a few more men ahead of them.
As Gael got closer, he could make out Giovanni and Salvatore's backs, only one light from a portable lamp illuminating faintly around them. There were two more soldiers nearby and then a man on his knees, wearing only boxer shorts. The two soldiers had begun to quickly shovel the freshly covered hole from a recent burial that day. Gael didn't want to know whose it was, but he trusted Giovanni had already done his due diligence.
Giovanni glanced back and nodded as Gael joined him, then Salvatore moved away. Seeing the man on the ground, he didn't look anything special. He had an average face, average height and build, and dark blond hair—and he was shivering but couldn't do much about it because his hands were tied behind.
"He's the guy who left the ring?" Gael probed, his brows furrowing at the man who could barely look him in the eyes.
"Hey, Fish! My nephew wants to know what you did."
"His name is Fish?"
Giovanni chuckled. "I don't feel sorry for you, man. Your name sucks. Go on, tell him." He toed the guy's thigh.
Fish gulped. "Fil Morelli hired me to deliver the packages. I didn't know what was in them, I swear!"
"Same guy who delivered the shoes to me and Sandro," Giovanni confirmed.
Gael folded his arms across his chest. That information was no longer a surprise, considering they already knew it was the Morellis who killed his grandfather.
But then Giovanni urged Fish once more, "Tell him the other thing."
"H-He also h-hired m-me t-t-to—"
Rick grabbed Fish's hair and pulled it back, causing the man to shriek. "Speak properly!"
Fish squeezed his eyes shut when Rick released him again, and he blurted, "He hired me to scare you off that night we rode by your house in Williamsburg with your girlfriend."
Rage surged through Gael's body. This was the guy on a motorcycle that shot at them as they were about to enter the house. If that night went terribly wrong, he or Angela could've died—or both of them. His men tried to chase Fish but lost him in Queens and never found him again—until tonight.
"Salvatore reviewed the tapes Roy gave him a few weeks ago and noticed the similarities between that night and the one from Empire," explained Giovanni. While their soldiers were out cleaning the streets, they saw Fish in one of the Ukrainian bars they took over and caught him. "It didn't take much for fucking Fish here to crack and he sang like a canary."
Probably sensing the murderous aura in Gael, Fish sunk back, his eyes widening in fear and he trembled all the more. "Look, man. I only did what I was told. No one was harmed, right? We didn't kill anyone. That bastard only told us to scare you—"
"Scare us?" Gael scoffed. "With bullets that could've easily killed us?"
Beside him, Giovanni casually threaded a suppressor to a handgun as he spoke, "I was going to handle this quietly without telling you. But I know you've been looking for this fucker who nearly killed you and Angela." He then passed the gun to Gael.
"P-please." Sweating profusely, Fish glanced at the hole less than a foot from him. "I'll do anything! Just let me go! I wasn't even paid for the deliveries. That asshole promised he'd give me the rest of the money he owed me but I didn't see a dime. He's all-fucking-talk! I don't even work for the Ukranians. I was only there today to look for Morelli. I just want my money from the job—"
"You want to get paid for the job Filippo hired you for?" Gael bit out and Fish, the idiot, nodded.
Gael laughed, the sound so cold in the dark cemetery. The packages delivered, he didn't care much—it was a taunt. And if anything, he was actually thankful they got back some of his grandfather's stuff. That ring was an heirloom. But that night of the drive-by when Angela's life was in danger… That, he could never forgive. Today was utterly exhausting and this Fish in front of him was just a dumb fucker.
"Sure. I'll pay you." Gael trained the muzzle on the man's forehead and squeezed the trigger. Fish fell backward on the ground, a hole in his forehead, his eyes open in shock.
The two soldiers climbed out of the hole a minute later. Giovanni kicked the corpse in one hard shove, sending it rolling into the hole, and the soldiers readily covered it with soil again.
Gael and Giovanni turned around at the same time, the two of them walking back to the vehicles. "I'm friggin' starving," Giovanni muttered, patting his tummy.
"There's pizza at home," replied Gael.
"I'm driving."
As they left the cemetery and drove back towards Gael's brownstone, Giovanni asked, "I know I already asked you… But I kinda missed working with you. So are you coming with me?"
Gael knew his uncle was asking him to join him and Sebastian cleaning their territories and claiming the Ukrainians'. He had wanted to stay out of it, but he kinda owed Giovanni lately. So after a few minutes of silence, he answered, "After I make sure Angela's security in Mayne when she flies back tomorrow, I'll join you."
Giovanni's smile reached his ear. He actually seemed excited.
"Any updates on Perry?" Gael probed.
"We might have a lead."
"Would you like me to—" Gael trailed off when Giovanni shot him a scowl. "Alright! Jeez. I was just offering. I'll let you do what you need to do."
Giovanni tightened his hands on the steering wheel. "Will let you know when it's done."
"Hm. How's Malia?"
"I don't know. You want some music?" Giovanni rattled off quickly and did not wait for Gael to answer as he turned up the old rock music loud, drowning out any other noise as they drove into the night. Gael shook his head in amusement, wondering when his uncle would start admitting he hadn't let go of her yet. Perhaps the fool was Giovanni, and not only in April.