The Baker And The Queen Pin

Chapter 32: The High Table

~~~Maria

I had left Booker alone and I had cut my phone off. I didn't want to but I had no choice. My father pulled a trump card on me that I didn't expect and now I was at his mercy for the time being. "So, what are we doing?" I ask him, calmly. He smiles with his broken nose that was fixed and says, 'You're going to take me to these locations and we're going to talk." We drove to the first one yesterday and that location was his safety box. He was getting his affairs in order.

The next place we drove to was an old beaten-down Italian shop. The food was pretty good, though. As we sat and eat, he tried to reminisce about family memories and I just looked at him and listened to him talk. I had positive memories of him but I couldn't forgive my father for everything he'd done. As much as I didn't like my father, I knew what he was capable of. I would say I loved him but that was a lie. My father tortured me as a girl and I grew up, fitting in the shoes he had for me. All I wanted was to be far from this yet I am the closest person to it.

It's then that he smiles as he says, 'You have a good man. The way he looks at you, the way he thinks about you, that man is better than most men. They also tend to get themselves killed,' I hear what he's saying and I find myself getting angrier. I knew why he was saying it, 'You know he's a good man,' he says to me, 'You know he's not built for this life. Why not just leave him alone?' The faint smell of a cigarette was on his breath, I remember how much they used to coat our walls. Just looking at this man was a walking trigger.

He keeps talking and I continue to listen, I don't know why but I just wanted to listen to what he had to say. 'That man is good in most cases. He's done everything he can to sustain his life and you've only offered him vain pedigrees. You owe him money, you owe him good sex but what happens when he realizes you have no real value? That the only way you ever succeeded was by killing,' I hear what he's saying and I feel myself getting upset. 'Remember, I may have killed your mother, but you hated her. You hated her because she loved me despite all my faults. Can you truly pretend that's not true, my dear Maria?'

I think about what he's saying and I realize there is absolute truth in it. I did not love my mother to the fullest extent but I did put her on a pedestal and there was another dark truth behind that. I made sure my mother was going to get killed because she was an addict who cheated on my father multiple times. I glorified her because, in my opinion, I'd rather have a whore mother than a rapist and perverted father. He had no problem doing the things he did to me. 'And another thing, Maria. No matter how much you love him, you know you'll never be able to truly give him what he wants. You know you'll never be able to give him a real family,'

I don't know what came over and I hear what he said. I immediately said, "Go fuck yourself. I will love that man to the ends of the Earth and I will be a good wife to him," 'You'll be a good murderer. It's in you. It's in me. It's not in him. Do you really think you'll be able to play family forever?' I look at my father and I look at that snide grin on his face, the fact that I actually broke his nose and cracked his teeth made me happy. 'Nothing to say?' he says with a snide grin. My anger got the better of me as I pull my gun out of my purse.

"What. Do. You. Want?" I say, pointing it up into his face. He smiles as he says, 'You're many things but you wouldn't kill me. You may have devoured your brother in the womb but that's the only family you ever killed,' My hand was shaking, I was truly afraid to kill this man. 'Now, how about you put the gun down, little girl? and listen to what I have to say and I'll be out of your hair?' I push it closer to underneath his chin as I say, "What do you want?"

He smiles and says, 'I'm going to yield what's left of my organization to you. You've already taken control of the entire American sector. I want you to take control of the Russian sector and sit at the high table. The Russians never gave it to you because they felt you didn't earn it,' I think about all the potential opportunities and I realize this was not a bluff. He was dying and I was his only living relative. I put the gun away as he says, 'Good girl,'

'Does it sound like something you want to do now?' he says with a smile. I think about the opportunities I have and I say, "What do you want me to do?" He then smiles and says, 'I want you to come to Russia. We will be making visits to different locations and you'll be carrying out several tasks for me,' "How long will I be gone? A few days?" I think about Booker, I think about how long it's been since I've talked to him, I think about how long it's been since he's had his arms around me.

He soon says, 'You'll be gone for two weeks. I expect that you won't be distracted either,' he says, talking about Booker. "And what if I refuse?" 'Then you can shoot me right here and now but once you do that, the High Table will brand you as an enemy and you will die and so will your negro fiancé,' I saw that this was a situation I couldn't just shoot, or bribe myself out of. Enemies of the High Table are never treated well, they will make sure to make an example, especially for betrayal though there was more of a reason why he was here and I'd have to find it.

"Fine but after that, I don't want to hear shit from you. I swear on my mother's grave, I'll blow your brains out,"

End of Chapter 32: The High Table