Embers & Ash by T.M. Goeglein

a goal. The organization’s real weapon was its collective belief that all people were driven by greed. And that the intense, selfish desire for
something
—status, narcotics, sex, whatever—placed every human being into one of two categories: either a customer, or someone who could be bought. In the Outfit, the boss has absolute control of how profits are made and spent, which guarantees his control of the organization. Beyond the murders he can order on demand, it is his authority over every dollar that imbues him with power.
    With the gold at her fingertips, Elzy would have that power times four billion.
    She could do anything with it. The Outfit could easily be subdued by purchasing members’ loyalty while paying to neutralize those who didn’t cede to her control. Every shady business could be expanded exponentially, from drugs and gambling to prostitution and shadow construction and far beyond, into territories yet unexplored. Unions could be bought wholesale, along with legions of cops and aldermen, mayors, congressmen, all the way to the White House. If Elzy were crafty enough, her criminal organization could grow from local to global.
    Looking around at the painted bricks, I repeated myself. “It’s ultimate power,” I said, and then in a burst of comprehension, I understood Nunzio’s meaning. “But . . . it’s also freedom. At least for my family,” I said, the words echoing off the walls. “A hundred million in 1951, four billion today. It’s enough, much more than enough, to escape the Outfit forever. It could carry my family so far away, insulate us in such deep secrecy, that no one would ever find us.”
    â€œNunzio was right,” Doug said. “But also wrong.”
    I looked at him, waiting.
    â€œHe assumed the Rispolis would be intact, that if something terrible happened, they could use ultimate power to escape together,” he said. “Your family isn’t.”
    The vault was so quiet that it felt full of ghosts. “Elzy wants the notebook for ultimate power, but she doesn’t know what it is,” I said slowly. “She wants me for cold fury because she knows what I can do. And she wants both in order to take over the Outfit. But what is the Outfit? What has its sole purpose been since day one?”
    Doug answered without hesitation. “To make money. Needs more to make more.”
    â€œI’ll use ultimate power to buy my family’s freedom. As much as she hates us, not even Elzy would turn down a score like this. It’s worth a hell of a lot more than the Outfit and the Russian mob combined,” I said, “and she can have every damn ounce of it.”
    â€œSo you’re going to tell her what ultimate power is?”
    â€œBut not where it is,” I said. “When the deal is done and we’re safely away, then I’ll tell her.”
    â€œHow can you trust her? Not just to make the deal, but to honor it?”
    â€œWhat choice do I have?” I said. “Look, all I know is that yesterday I didn’t have a single bargaining chip. Today, I have four billion of them.”
    Doug hefted the gold bar. “Then we’d better take this. She’ll want to see one of those chips.” When it was zipped inside the backpack we went to the door, stepped out, and closed it behind us. I tried it once to make sure; it opened easily. Doug stared up at the remnants of the ladder hanging from the wall. “So how do we get out of here?”
    â€œI don’t know,” I said, looking around again. “There aren’t any tunnels or—”
    â€œShh,” Doug said, cocking an ear. “You hear something?”
    â€œWhat? I don’t hear any—”
    â€œQuiet,” he said, his head swiveling slowly. “This way, it’s music.” I followed him around the vault in the direction we’d come from, past the electrical box, and he paused.