CS: The Cappollas (Cont. VI)

Max slowly drew himself into the room and sat slowly down into one of the red chairs–velvet. “Heavy amounts of frisking security, they don’t do a thorough enough job, though I doubt that they’d miss a gun. A knife may get through but the gun you’re carrying on your right side would make short work of them. Six-shooter if I’m not mistaken. The size of your arm rest is comparable to a Desert Eagle .50, so I figure you have that as a backup for kevlar wearing folk. You know who I am so you didn’t make any pretenses by wearing kevlar, as did your friend outside sitting in the shadows. Your other bodyguard, Hudson, however, does not trust anything he is told or hears, but only what he sees and was wearing kevlar and made sure I wasn’t packing. Your camera system is intricate, no one would be able to get through without being spotted if they were trying to sneak around, while your house is a labyrinth and one who didn’t know it well would get lose. Baroque period throughout much of the house, not many ways of secret and silent entry. This is a good size and effective fortress, or a very problematic deathtrap.”

Tony chuckled as he puffed on his cigar, “Not bad at all. In fact, I’d have to say you impress the shit out of me son. But you forgot something….”

“Your son and his men are also not too trustful, though I believe Reno also is somewhat jealous at all the attention paid to me. The limo is your weakpoint, riding around in that will get you killed. Unarmored, not too fast, inexperienced driver. Could easily be taken out in a matter of seconds.”

“Very nice,” Tony said with a laugh. “When they told me about you, I didn’t laugh cuz I knew their tone was serious, but no matter how serious they were, they wouldn’t have prepared me for somebody like you. How the hell can you remember and note all that shit?”

“It’s what I’m paid to do, Mr. Cappolla.”

“Tony.”

“I will call you Mr. Cappolla.”

Tony shrugged and chewed on his cigar; he picked his battles carefully and what he was called was a petty battle to fight to win. “Fine. But why do you do it?”

“Why?”

“Yeah.”

“That, sir, does not pertain to my business.”

Tony nodded slowly. The man would talk at length about every detail of a place, person, or object, but wouldn’t even utter four words in a row about himself. That was the way with these people, was it? It didn’t really matter. If a person wanted to be treated like a tool, Tony had no problem doing so. “Then let me ask you, do you take impressions away from people?”

“Of course, sir. Sometimes that is your most valuable asset. Never leave an asset unnoticed.”

“My thoughts exactly, Mr. Barner. So tell me what you think of my various…..assets.” Tony leaned back into his chair and waited to be amazed.

“Hudson is strong and fast. He is well built for his duties and would easily stand up to several good rounds of gunfire, but he is obviously not too bright and obviously extremely wary of all people. He watches too carefully those that he knows to be allies. With his eyes so often fixed on everything, he’ll probably miss something crucial when it comes down to the wire. One must always prioritize, Hudson believes this is not the best way. He believes the best way is to watch everything, this is impossible and it is probably his greatest weakness. That and he keeps his coat buttoned which means he’ll have problems drawing his gun fast if he is ever surprised. Get him a looser suit.”

Tony laughed heartily at this pouring himself a drink of brandy and sipping it slowly. The man liked to taste his liquor and he closed his eyes as he let the smooth drink flow down his throat. “Ahh….that’s good stuff. You know, I used to think that Brandy was the shittiest alcohol on the face of the planet. Then I got rich and found out just how good it can be. Though I suspect it wasn’t the brand of the Brandy, but the amount I’ve drank.”

“Such is the way with many things. Brandy is also a very good cure for many common illnesses. Helps sweat out various sicknesses. Throat problems especially.”

Tony’s eyebrow rose in interest, “Something you learned in your advanced studies?”

“Old family remedy.” Max quickly shifted subjects, “Louis, or as most people call him, Louie, is much more advanced in his priorities. He knows who to watch and why. He picks and chooses his battles. What I know of his past is that his problem lies in the fact that he gets careless when it comes down to violence, which is why he is so intimidating. It is hard to not be afraid of a man who makes all sides fair game when he loses it. This also makes a person either a liability or weak, whichever way it goes with Louie, it’s not good. He’s experienced, however, and that does give him some of an edge and from what I hear about his last problem excursion, he’s also got luck on his side.”

Tony nodded slowly and took another sip, “That’s true. Did you want some alcohol?”

“I rarely drink, sir.”

“We all must choose our poison.”

“Yes sir. Whether we want to or not.”

Tony laughed heartily. It was something somewhat out of place in the man who ran the Cappollas. The laugh seemed fatherly and endearing, not the kind of laugh you expected from a leech and murdering cutthroat. He puffed thoughtfully on his cigar and stared at the various security cameras, “And what about my son?”