Underworld

“And these, are the docks” Brendon’s father said proudly as he pulled into the car pack down at the docklands.

“Dad, I’m twenty three, I know what docks are” Brendon smiled.

The men went into the rather run down warehouse, walked past a number of restored cars from the nineteen thirties and a few of his father’s boats into another larger room where around a table there were another six fathers and their sons sitting.

“Gee, what is this?” one of the sons laughed “Bring you son to work day?” This particular boy was dressed in a black suit and dark sunglasses. He had jet black hair and tanned skin; he looked like he had jumped out of an old mafia film.

“Sorry boys” Brendon’s dad laughed “Brendon here isn’t exactly the best at getting up.”

A few of the boys laughed while one father piped up “That’s gonna have to change boy if you want to fit in here.”

“Jase, calm down a second, give the kid a break” Brendon’s dad almost hissed “Alright, let’s pull up a few chairs and we’ll get started. Siska! Merrick!”

Within a few seconds two boys around Brendon’s age were at the door. One had short light brown hair while the other had long curly dirty blond hair, Brendon recognized then, they were at his father’s party, the Northern Boys.

“Get Brendon and I a few chairs…now! Merrick, stay here.” The Siska boy was of average height and had short brown hair scurried back into the warehouse. Brendon’s father then turned his attention back to the boy with long curly hair “Why are our supplies running out in half the usual time?”

“Sorry sir?” the Merrick boy acted like he hadn’t heard Roberto.

“I said” Roberto’s voice suddenly turned sour “Where are our supplies going?” with that Roberto threw a punch into Merrick’s stomach. Merrick immediately fell to his knees and held onto the spot where Roberto had punched him. Before Brendon could even register what had happened his father had throw a kick into Merrick’s stomach “Tell me where they’re going?”

Brendon glanced around the room; everyone just watched on while his father continued to beat the guy.

Then, the boy who Brendon knew as Merrick began to vomit blood. “W-we’re just ma-making” He stopped speaking to allow more blood to pour from his mouth “We’re making better quality amphetamines, sales have been d-down in the last term.”

Roberto backed away slightly “Next time let us make the decisions on how good the quality is…Siska!” the Siska boy arrived in the doorway carrying two rather heavy looking chairs “Put those chairs around the table and clean up that blood! Then, take your mate to the hospital; tell them he slipped down on the docks! Anyone finds out about this and you see the bay
down there?” Roberto shouted “That’ll be your home!”

Brendon glanced around him at all the other sons in the room none of them were fazed by his father’s outburst. Once the men left the whole room began to laugh “Weak shits” one of the men laughed as Brendon and his father took a seat. Brendon recognized a few of the men, they often came over to their house late at night and they were all at his father’s birthday but Brendon never bothered to find out exactly who they were.

“Alright” another man sighed “We all know what we’re here for, Rob, get us started.”

Brendon never believed the things that were written and said about his father, he had always dismissed them as rumours. They weren’t. Everything that the media and police said was true. Brendon knew that his father had something to do with drugs and that he was a criminal, he knew he was feared but he never thought of his father as a murderer. As it turns out he was, in fact, he had murdered more people than Brendon could count on his ten fingers. That scared him; god only knows what the people in this room were capable of.

There were another five father son couples sitting around the table with Brendon. The Becketts, John and William, both very stern and cold looking then there was the Saportas, Nicholas and Gabriel who preferred to be called Gabe, they were the ones who looked like mafia film characters. Gabe and William were the first ‘couple’ of the group. They were complete contrasts but complimented each other perfectly. Gabe was laid back and pretty easy going, William on the other hand was very serious, Gabe was defiantly the hot head of the group where as William was a lot quieter. Then there was the Barakats and the Garskaths, they weren’t the quietest of the group but they were defiantly not the loudest either. The sons of Mark Barakat and Jim Garskath were called Jack and Alex; they grew up together and were the group’s next couple. That now just left the Wentzs. Their names were Peter and Peter well, Wentz Sr was called Peter and then everyone referred to his son as Pete.

Brendon now knew why his father never told him what he really did as a job, the kids at school were right. Although he loved his father he was as bad as the school kids made him out to be. His father was a drug maker and a murderer, his job was to keep the underworld in line. He decided which drugs would be made and when and where they would be sold. Everyone else did the negotiating.

Although Brendon was no angel himself, he was nothing compared to the other boys. Match fixing; drug dealing and the odd murder made Brendon seem like a fish out of water. He also soon learnt that his father’s work had more rules than a game of over complicated European Handball. Brendon had suffered many injuries during his short reign as European Handball king of Xavier College but high school sport was never this dangerous.

1)Stand by the Cosa Nostra.
2)Never look at the wives of friends.
3)Never be seen with police.
4)The innocent are not to be targets in confrontation.
5)Always be available for duty – even if your wife is about to give birth.
6)Appointments must be respected.
7)Wives are to be treated with the upmost respect at all times.
8)When asked for any information by your Cosa, the answer must always be the truth.
9)The law is ours; we abide by no law but our own.
10)When dealing with the police and undesirables, the code of silence is to be employed.

With every rule told Brendon felt his stomach drop even further to the floor and by the looks of it, he wasn’t the only one.

“B-But dad” Jack spoke up “Jimmy’s becoming a copper.”

Jack’s father sighed and ran his hand through his dark hair “Too bad Jack, rules are ru-”

“But that’s unf-”

“That’s the way it is” Roberto yelled slamming his fists onto the desk “We’ve all had to adapt, so grow some and get the fuck over it!”

When Brendon’s father spoke everyone listened. Everyone knew that one too many blots against their name in Roberto’s books and today might just be their last.