"Are you sure about this?" Joan asked with a concerned look as she buttoned my shirt.
"We deal with trust in this business. They all deserve to know" I replied
"I just feel like you aren't fully recovered yet and it might be dangerous letting other people know about it for now"
"The VIPs have been my back bone since I started this business baby. Nothing of such will happen, knowing I'm back will only give them a reassurance"
"Okay, if you say so. I'll trust you on this one"
I pulled her closer as I gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"Boss, the car is ready" Micheal announced from outside the room
"Let's go" Joan said as she got behind me to push the wheel chair. I was going to announce my return to the VIPs today, they needed to know I was back, even though I knew Joan's fear was valid, one way or the other the other business owners were going to find out too especially Arturo, but I had no worry about that. They were never a match for me and would never be regardless of my health condition. I needed to take back my territory that was already divided. Joan only focused on the VIPs but the other smaller cartels who got their products directly from us were scattered already, it was time to bring them all back.
"You all must be wondering why I called this meeting today" Joan announced in front of the members.
"I must say, you exceeded our expectations these past months and we are all impressed. When you came to us we only gave you a chance because of Kelvin, we trusted Kelvin's judgment not you but you proved yourself overtime so of course if the boss calls we have to answer" Judge said with a smile as the other members nodded in agreement
"Well, I thank you all so much for your support so far and for giving me a chance. But there's a bigger news today, there's someone I'd like you all to meet. Someone we all have been waiting for"
The members whispered to each other wondering who I was referring to. Micheal pushed Kelvin in as they all stood in awe
"Kelvin!" Judge shouted in excitement as she rushed over to where I was
"Judge" I replied in a calm voice with a smile
"It's really you in flesh and blood" Judge said as she held my hand
"It really is. I'm back"
"I knew you were one hell of a fighter. Good to see you, welcome"
"Welcome" They all chorused with an applause as they stood for the boss who was back. I took my seat on the big table as Joan sat beside me.
"I must really commend your woman. She did a great job holding the business together while you were away. And you know what impressed me more? She never for once sat on that chair. It was like she was waiting for the owner to come claim it and you did"
"I really do not deserve her" I said as I held Joan's hand looking at her tenderly. She smiled back as she patted my hand gently.
"We will have the celebration for later. There's a more urgent reason why I called today's meeting. Since my absence, smaller cartels who got supplies from us all scattered around desperate to find good products. According to my intel, Jose has been gathering some of them to form alliance. He even got a Mexican boy who could make counterfeit of my products but thankfully Joan took care of that part well and we have the boy with us. He's presently developing a new type of product, something you all haven't seen before and trust me you will be the first to get hold of it when it's ready. The issue now is Jose is still trying all means to reach out to the other cartels, he claims he's forming a revolutionary alliance where they can be bosses of their own and they don't have to rely on bigger cartels for mass supplies. We all know where the problem lies, smaller cartels might be weak on their own but if they form an alliance together they can't be underestimated, they hold the major supplies to clubs,hotels,celebrities, streets and Jose knows that too, he's trying to use them to get to the top, he will make them all answer to him, he wants to control the streets through them"
"I see he's really trying so hard to prove himself to his father's men. But I wonder how far he can go with this, their family is in discord presently. Some of them think he isn't fit for the position and aren't ready to answer to him, the others are trying to get what they can amidst the issue. They are only letting him prove himself just for formality sake. None of them wants Jose to boss over them" Judge commented
"That is why he's trying to wield so much power so they don't have any choice than to bow. Everyone knows the person who should have taken that position is Mario, his father's right hand man. But the old fool gave his incompetent son the whole business before he died, he wants to keep the business in his family. Poor Mario must be feeling betrayed seeing the boy he watched grow become boss over him" Another member said
"If he's trying to get the smaller cartels to form alliance how does he plan to get products? The only way he can at least get mass products is through the direct supplier which are the major cartels in the city" Joan said
"He isn't going to do it with drugs. Jose is planning to go into ammunitions. He made quite a number of friends when he was in the forces. They are going to help him smuggle the ammunitions."
"Do the others know about it?"
"Well he's promised them freedom. They want it at any cost. The drugs business might be taken over by big cartels like us already but it's different with ammunitions. It's a fresh, less competitive business in this city. If Jose is able to pull this off, we might not be able to stop him. All the smaller cartels in the city will see him as their savior and even the few we manage to keep will go running to him the moment they see what he's capable of. It's a new business so they will all be running to get a huge bite while they can, they all we try make a name for themselves before it becomes a big industry"
"How do we stop him?" Judge asked
"Mario. He knows everything about Jose and everything about the family's business. Jose might have taken over the business but Mario knows the in and out than he does and that is why he's desperate to try a new business, he knows he won't stand a chance with Mario if he tries to drag the drug business with him. Mario is the only one who can stop him now. Jose needs a lot of money for this new business, he's going to invest all the money his father left him into it, Mario is the only person who can cut his cash flow, without money his ideas are just mere dreams."I replied
"No way, if there's one thing I know about Mario is that he would never betray his family for anything. Man's loyal till death. Mario is going to be a hard tough nut to crack" a member said
"Well not if we give him the position he deserves. We all know Mario will make a better head of the family. Jose? He's just like a teen hitting puberty right now, he's at his rebellious age. We can't let him have that much power, he will go crazy"
"How do you plan to get Mario on board then?"
"Let him in" I said to Micheal.
A man in his late 50s walks in behind Micheal. He stood and bowed in front of the table. The whole members looked surprised at the sight of who was before them.
"Welcome on board Mario" I said with a proud smile