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"That's Cute," April said, throwing another punch.
"Important," Harrison emphasized. "If you guys hope to survive, it's important you know all twelve rules."
"Alright," I said. "Go on and list 'em."
"The first four have names," Tom said. "Number one is omertà . It's the code of silence"
"Never ever talk to the authorities," Harrison said.
"Omertà," I repeated. "Got it."
"Number two," Tom continued. "Family Secrets. Members can't talk about family business to non-members."
"So," April said, wiping some sweat from her forehead. "Is this technically breaking that rule?"
Tom shrugged. "There's an exception to every rule."
"Or are you just admitting that we're part of the family now?" I joked.
Tom scoffed and grinned. "Careful what you wish for, love. But no, you're not part of the family."
"But I'd say you're connected enough," Harrison added. "It's in your best interest to hear the aspects of the business that will help keep you safe."
"And it's not like we're telling you about or taking you on jobs," Tom said. "Listing our rules is different than talking about business. I'm pretty sure you can find a list of mob family rules online." We all chuckled, and Tom nodded for us to start our next set. "Number three," he said, "is Blood for Blood. If a family member kills another family member, no one can commit murder in revenge unless the boss -me- gives permission." He said proudly pointing to himself.
"Number four," Harrison continued. "No fighting among members."
"Pretty self-explanatory," Tom nodded. Tom and Harrison shared a look I couldn't make out but they didn't say anything to one another. April and I both nodded, so Tom continued. "Those four are pretty standard in every family," Tom said, "but the next eight have been a staple in our family since my granddad was the boss."
With each punch I nailed against the bag, Tom listed a rule:
"Number five: every month, members have to pay the boss and give them a cut on any side deals. Number six: never be seen with cops. Seven: don't go to pubs and clubs alone. Always bring another family member."
"That's why Tom had to come when we went out that night," Harrison explained. "It kind of just goes with the idea that there's strength in numbers."
"Right," Tom said, then continued. "Eight: always be available for duty. Nine: appointments must be respected. Ten: wives and significant others must be treated with respect. Eleven: when asked for information, the answer must be the truth. And twelve: money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to other families."
After his speech, I didn't hesitate to start asking questions. "Where do the members get the money to pay you?" I asked, exhaust but still punching.
"Any deal that goes down or assignment I give usually involves money," Tom explained. "Whether it's a major assignment or something a family member picks up on their own, I get some of the cut."
"Well that doesn't seem fair," I said with a slight smirk.
"The life of the mafia, baby," he teased. I chose not to let the nickname get to me and instead laughed and rolled my eyes.
"What kind of assignments do you do?" April asked.
"It varies," Harrison answered. "Sometimes we get hired to take someone out, sometimes we work with local businesses and tell them we'll protect them in crime-ridden neighborhoods if they pay us."
"Sounds like a scam," I said.
Harrison shrugged. "Sometimes it is."
"We really do try to be honest in as many areas as we can be," Tom said, "but that's not always possible."
"So you call yourselves a family," April said, "but you and Harrison aren't related."
"Family is just how the mafia refer to each other," Tom explained.
"And you're the boss?" I said pointing to him. He nodded. "What's everybody else?"
"Well," Tom started, "Harrison is my number two. Officially he's called the consigliere. Harry and Sam are considered capos. They each have men under them that they order around who do the work that we don't. That's what Paddy'll be eventually, too."
"Paddy?" April asked.
"My youngest brother."
"How old is he?" I asked.
"15," Tom said. "He'll join when he's 16."
"Wow," I said my eyes growing wide, stepping back from the punching bag for our next thirty second break. "That's young."
"That's when everyone starts," Tom said. April stepped away from her bag as well, and we both drank a bit of water.
"How long have we been doing this?" April asked.
"That was our twelfth set," Harrison said, squeezing April's shoulder. "Good job."
"That was rough," I admitted.
"It'll get easier the more you do it," Tom said. "Now, though, I think we should take five and then start working specifically on self defense moves." He said moving the punching bags to the corners of the ring.
The five minutes went by way too fast, but I didn't complain. The four of us got into the ring, and Tom and Harrison started walking us through a few defenses. "If someone grabs your shoulders or latches their hands around your neck-" Tom did to me as he was describing. "-step back and duck under their arms."
"And tighten your neck," Harrison added. "Give yourself a triple chin." April and I both giggled as Harrison showed us what he meant. "You want to make your neck as hard as you can because it makes it more difficult for them to penetrate you with something." We moved to the next position.
"If they get you in a chokehold," Tom said, putting his arm around my neck while standing behind me, "don't try to pull their arm away from you. Look what happens when you try that." I did as he said, and Tom just lifted me up and walked backwards. "Boom, now you're in the van." I nodded as he put me back down on the ground. "Instead, you're kind of going to do the same thing. The same kind of ducking under them."
"This is more like unraveling from the chokehold," Harrison said. "You're going to want to turn your body in the direction of the opening." He motioned to the arm that wasn't around April's neck. "Step forward with your left foot, back with your right foot, and unravel yourself from my grip." April did as he said, slowly, following along with each direction. "Then," Harrison said, "push me away, and take off."
We practiced those routines and a few others until April and I were sufficiently exhausted. "You girls did really well," Harrison said. Tom nodded along with him and tossed me my water bottle.
"We really appreciate this," I said. "Thank you."
"No problem," Harrison said.
"Whoo," April breathed out, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "I think I need a shower." She looked at Harrison with a devious smirk and sent him a wink, while I gagged and rolled my eyes.
"Oh!" Harrison realised what she meant, his face lighting up. "Right. That's a great idea." April sent me a wave as she and Harrison jogged out of the gym and back upstairs.
"Charming," Tom said with a grin. I laughed and nodded, starting to unwrap my hands. "You really did do well," Tom commented. "I know it's hard, but you're off to a great start."
"You think we'll do this everyday?" I asked.
He shrugged. "I think it couldn't hurt." I nodded and handed Tom my wrap so he could wind it back up.
"How often do you do hand-to-hand stuff?" I asked.
"I come down here about once a day," he said. "If my schedule's free enough."
"No," I shook my head. "I mean, like, when you're actually out there doing stuff."I pointed back.
"Oh," Tom said, furrowing his eyebrows as he finished winding the first wrap. "I don't know. I guess I do more with guns than anything else." I nodded and finished unwrapping my other fist. It was weird having casual conversation with Tom that didn't feel like it was fueled by anger, hatred, and disgust, but I supposed it was something I could get used to.
"Could you teach me?" I asked. He took the wrap and cocked his head to the side.
"Teach you?" He was confused
"How to use a gun," I said. Tom raised his eyebrows before looking down at the wrap to roll it back up. "You don't have to," I said, feeling my heart start to hammer in embarrassment. "I just know guns aren't April's thing, but I, I don't know. After everything that happened last night, it'd be nice to know how to use one in case-"
"I get it," Tom said, cutting me off and nodding. "I completely understand. I, sure, yeah, I can teach you." I gave him a short nod.
"Cool," I said. "Thank you."
"Do you want to start today?" he asked.
"Sure," I nodded. "If you don't mind."
"Not at all," he waved it off.
"I don't really want April to know we're doing this though," I said. "I think it would weird her out."
"That's fine," Tom said. "I'll tell Harrison to keep her occupied for an hour. I'm sure that won't be a problem."
"Great," I smiled, shuddering a bit. "Great and gross."
Tom laughed. "Come on. You can go shower, and we'll make some lunch. You're probably hungry."
"Starving."
After I showered, I changed into some jeans and a black t-shirt that said c'est la vie in small white font. We ate lunch -sandwiches- and Harrison and April went out to get some coffee. It was a good thing I had asked for the day off, because we had no obligation to be anywhere. When they were gone, Tom asked if I was ready to go practice shooting. I nodded, slipped my black Nikes back on, and followed Tom outside.
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