Nikolai got out of the backseat of his car, it was strange having it parked down the street from the casino.
The new changes had already been communicated to his men, and he had half-expected that a good chunk of them would leave. After all, the reputation he had built was what kept most of them around.
Just like with the Mafia Kings, a retaliation must have been expected by his men, but despite that not happening, most stuck around. A good number was still recovering from the explosion at the casino.
His office had been the point of the explosion; fortunately, it had been empty, but the impact sent rubble falling on those below the second floor. The ground floor had taken the most damage, and the fire had worsened things further.
There were a few casualties, but that was good news considering the scale of the damage. Most were shaken up, covered in dust with occasional first-degree burns, but there were a few unlucky ones who had gotten trapped under the falling rubble.
Firefighters showed up in record time, minimizing the damage even further.
"Has anyone been around here?" Nikolai asked, dark blue eyes fixed on the wreck that used to be his casino.
"None," Fallon replied, his left arm in a cast. "My guess is they’re waiting for you to make a move."
Nikolai walked across the parking lot, black trench coat down to his knees. Hearing that his casino had been blown up and seeing it for himself were two different things. The initial shock wore off quickly, though, his thoughts moving onto other matters.
The establishments around the casino had been cleared out already. He was probably doing the High Council a favor by giving them more places to take over, but he didn’t want them to become collateral damage.
There were still wisps of smoke trailing to the sky despite the fire being put out hours ago. Nikolai didn’t bother stepping into the casino, there was hazard tape around it, and the very foundation of the building had been affected by the blast, so doing that would be dangerous.
He didn’t linger at the casino, he had just wanted to see the damage for himself. There was nothing else to be done in the smoldering rubble.
Davian had been really generous, providing accommodation not just for him, but for his men as well. For now, they were simply recouping, strengthening their connections, and recovering from the High Council’s attack.
The High Council was no doubt waiting for them to make the first move, but Nikolai had no plans for that. Even while in the parking lot of the smoldering rubble of his casino, the main thought in his mind was what to get for Angelo.
He listened to a brief report from Fallon as they walked back to the car; Nikolai usually handled everything by himself, so there was no middleman between himself and his men, everyone absolutely replaceable.
But right then, he had taken a step back from it all, having Fallon spread the news and do everything else. The Alpha had been at the casino when the explosion happened, and he didn’t tell his Mafia King, but he had gotten injured trying to save people.
Fallon’s head was smoothly shaven, a scar running through the bristles on his jaw. His face was usually covered, but there was no need anymore for the wall of masked men who usually protected Mafia King Nikolai at his casino.
"Mafia King Davian didn’t just give us a place to stay, the hostilities between his men and ours have completely dialed down." Fallon murmured as he got into the car, driving off.
"If things continue this way, both Mafia Houses will merge completely and become one." Fallon glanced at his Mafia King’s expression through the rearview mirror as he spoke.
Nikolai knew the answers the other was fishing for, but even he didn’t have them. A lot of things would depend on what steps the High Council intended to take; it was easy to hope that they would choose to back away after wreaking havoc, but they had been chasing after the control of Haines for decades; that wasn’t going to happen.
Perhaps when the war was over, things could go back to the way they were, he could rebuild his casino and run it with Angelo by his side. But either side had enough manpower to keep this going for years; it wasn’t going to be that simple.
Fallon’s observation was more than likely to happen, both their Mafia Houses merging before the war was over. Nikolai should probably pay more attention to the fact that he was neutral to both outcomes, he would still have Angelo by his side regardless so it was all the same to him.
"Have a problem with that?"
Fallon thought about it, he wouldn’t have ever said that their relationship with the other Mafia Houses was neutral, much less good, but he had to admit that the other two Mafia Houses hadn’t hesitated to help when the High Council had taken a swipe at them.
"Just worried for my Mafia House," He muttered. Things had taken a sharp one-eighty in a single day; a few days ago, he wouldn’t have thought he would ever have this conversation with his Mafia King.
The edges of Nikolai’s lips lifted slightly, he hadn’t thought that he had been running something that people were genuinely proud to be a part of. The High Council had done him a favor without realizing it; the past few weeks had mostly consisted of him weeding out moles.
The temporary merge with the Black Mafia House was far from secretive; he wouldn’t be surprised if the High Council were already privy to it. However, a direct attack towards him now would also mean an attack against the Black Mafia House.
Fallon drove him to a bar, it was on Davian’s turf and the workers had been completely replaced by his men. Nikolai didn’t linger long at the bar; it was stil early in the afternoon and Angelo was probably fast asleep but he couldn’t wait to return to the assassin’s side.
Even better was if he got to sneak into the other’s bed, the mere thought made him walk faster out of the bar.