A Matter of Betrayal Ch. 05

"I don't think he realizes he's in a mess, it's all a game to him and the people around him are just the pieces he needs to move so he can win. It's always about winning with Seth." Colin said.

"I know, but it's still hard to believe, even with all Seth has done, I never thought he'd go this far. It's going to break my heart telling Patrick, and poor Sarah, when she finds out I don't know how she will handle it, she's such a sweet woman, she doesn't deserve this,"

"Are you sure you don't want me to tell Uncle Pat?" Colin asked.

"I'm sure," Aileen said. "I have to do this."

"I stand with you in whatever happens. You know that, right?" Colin asked.

"Of course I do," Aileen said, "I want you to be careful though. Don't confront Seth right now; let me see what Patrick says."

"Okay," Colin sighed.

"I love you so much Colin," Aileen said.

"I love you too," Colin replied hugging his mother tightly. Aileen rolled on top of her son, the feel of her breasts squashed against his chest and her wet pussy sliding over his cock immediately brought Colin to a state of arousal. Colin placed his hands on his mother's back and slowly slid them down her silky skin until he was cupping the soft rondure that was her ass. Aileen's hand delicately took hold of his manhood and guided him inside her. The two lovers joined giving themselves over to the rhapsody only they could create for each other.

* * *

The next day on her lunch hour Aileen went to Patrick's pub to talk to her brother. It was still early and there were only a few customers there so they were able to sit down at a table that afforded them a good amount of privacy.

"Pat, I don't know how to tell you this so I guess I'll just come out and say it. Your kid's in with the mob." Aileen began.

"What?" Patrick said almost laughing as if she was joking but Aileen's face was serious.

"Seth has ties to organized crime Pat. I'm sorry to be the one who has to tell you this, but it's the truth." Aileen said grimly.

"What makes you think this?" Patrick asked.

"Colin told me."

"Colin! You know how those boys are, Colin's probably making this up to get back at Seth for that whole fiasco with Sheryl." Patrick said in a tone of dismissal.

"I know Colin and I know he wouldn't make something like this up." Aileen said sternly.

"Somy son's a criminal becauseyour son says so?" Patrick said and Aileen could see his ire was starting to rise. "Of course we all know your precious Colin couldn't be just a little jaded that the girl he liked likes his cousin better so he fabricated this story to slander Seth. Oh no, we all know Colin would never do something such as that!"

"That's right he never would!" Aileen said starting to become angry herself.

"Grow up Leena!" Patrick said, his face turning red. "You've coddled that boy all his life and he's got you tied around his finger. I bet if he told you the sky was green and the grass was blue you'd believe him then too!"

"This is not about Colin," Aileen said trying to keep her temper in check. "This is about your son, you're not blind Pat, you've seen how sneaky the boy can be, is it that far a stretch to believe he'd conspire with criminals to get what he wanted?"

"Oh I think thisis about Colin. He's held a grudge against Seth since they were little, a grudge that you've nurtured! Any time Seth and him got in a scrap as kids he'd come crying to you and you would hold him and tell him how much better he was than that mean and bad Seth. Don't think I don't remember that!" Patrick said fuming.

"Don't thinkI don't remember what it was like back then. Seth tortured Colin and only because he wouldn't allow Seth to control him like he did his brother and sister. Colin stood up to Seth and was ostracized for it; you don't know how bad that hurt him!" Aileen said as her eyes started to water.

"They were kids Aileen, you made too much of a big deal out of it, kids fight every now and then. It was because of you that Colin never got over it." Patrick said.

"You don't make enough of a deal of it!" Aileen shouted as tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks. "I understood what it was like to be mercilessly teased by a sibling growing up, and don't try to tell me Seth and Colin are not brothers because while they lived in the same house that's what they were! Colin loved Seth...and Morgan and Kyle just like a brother would, a brother that didn't get pleasure from teasing his siblings that is, but you wouldn't know about that would you Patrick?"

"Aileen please don't bring this up. I've apologized to you many times over for the way I acted when we were kids. I put a roof over your head and protected you when you were going through your divorce and I got you back on your feet. Don't you think after all that I deserve some absolution for my crimes?" Patrick said.

"But don't you see Pat?" Aileen said as she wiped at her eyes with a napkin. "You're doing it again, this time indirectly by closing your eyes to the way Seth acts. I got Colin out of that house and still Seth had an influence on him, I can only imagine what Morgan and Kyle go through, but at least they have Sarah. I had no one growing up and all Colin had was me, we learned to depend on each other for support, it would be impossible for either one of us to blatantly lie to the other because it would destroy the relationship we have built between us and depend on to survive."

"Leena," Patrick said softly, "I hope you don't still think that all you and Colin have are each other. Sarah and I are your family too and we love you and support you."

"I thought I could count on you Pat, but then I came in here today and we're at each other's throats just like when we were kids." Aileen said with a sniff.

"I'm sorry Leena, but you came in here and the first thing you did was call my son a criminal. How was I supposed to react? How would you have reacted if I said the same of your kid," Patrick said.

"I suppose I would have been livid," Aileen acknowledged. "But Pat, please believe me, I'm not trying to denigrate Seth, he may be in serious danger and you need to know the whole story. Please just hear me out."

"All right," Patrick said, "I'll hear you out."

Aileen spent the next ten minutes telling her brother everything that Colin had told her the night before, about the fixed basketball games and wrestling matches, Seth getting special treatment from public officials, and about his working with at least one of the mob bosses to make sure that they were the only supplier of the drugs that came into the high school. When she was finished Patrick said, "So, Colin got all this information from a spaced out pothead who's had an aversion towards Seth ever since he played a stupid prank on him. Leena, I'm not calling you or your son liars, but I think gullible may be the right word."

"Patrick, it may all be a story, but so much of it fits! If there's the slightest chance there's truth to it wouldn't it be worth it for Seth's sake just to check some of this out. He could really be in trouble." Aileen argued.

"Leena, you asked me to hear you out and I've done that, I think the whole thing is ridiculous. I also think it's time we both got back to work," Patrick said.

"How can you be so stubborn when this concerns the wellbeing of one of your children?" Aileen asked.

"Because I know it's not true," Patrick answered.

"If you're not going to believe me then I guess I'm going to have to talk to Sarah," Aileen said.

"Why would you do that? It would get her upset over nothing!" Patrick exclaimed.

"Because I don't think it's nothing. I believe Seth has gotten himself involved with a bad element of society and could be in danger. If you're not going to take this seriously maybe your wife will." Aileen said.

"Leena, please don't get her involved," Patrick said imploringly.

"You are leaving me with little choice here," Aileen said.

Patrick sighed and it looked like he was deflating right before Aileen's eyes. "Seth knows what he's doing; he's not going to get himself hurt." Patrick said quietly.

Aileen stared at her brother for a moment in confusion, but then the ramifications of what he just said hit her. "You knew!" Aileen accused.

"Of course I knew!" Patrick snapped. "How do you think I..." Patrick stopped speaking in mid sentence.

"How do I think you what?" Aileen asked.

Patrick stayed quiet but Aileen continued to stare at him. This went on for a few minutes until finally, speaking in an undertone, Patrick said, "Look, if I tell you, you have to promise me you will never breathe a word to this to Sarah."

Aileen thought it over. She didn't like the idea that Patrick was keeping secrets from Sarah, especially this one, but in the end she decided she had to know what was going on. "I promise," she said.

Patrick breathed in deep and let the breath out then said, "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to bring up some bad memories."

"Why doesn't that surprise me," Aileen said caustically. "Go on," she said.

"How much do you know about what Dad did for a living?" Patrick asked.

Aileen gulped; she didn't know he was going to bring up their father. "He was a bartender," she said flatly.

"He was more than that," Patrick said.

"Yeah he was a wife and child beater as well," Aileen said. The malice was obvious in her voice.

"Do you want to know this or not?" Patrick asked.

"I don't want to know it, but I think I need to know it," Aileen said. "So he was more than just a bartender?" she asked.

"Yes," Patrick said. "Bartending was his official occupation, but he had another job he did on the side. There was this loan shark named John Biggs that lived in Southside, Dad would sometimes do work for him and a few others."

"By work you mean...?" Aileen asked

"Collections."

"And how did he go about collecting?"

"Well if the mark had the money he would just get it from them."

"What if they didn't have the money?"

"Then...he would have to break some thumbs, once in a while an arm or a leg." Patrick said

"Well that would definitely be up Dad's alley," Aileen said feeling sick.

"Yeah, but it wasn't up mine," Patrick said.

"You did it too?" Aileen said in disgust.

Patrick nodded and said, "I'm ashamed of it, but yes. When I got older Dad started taking me on assignments, he wasn't as quick as he used to be and he needed someone who could chase down the runners. After a few years of this I had gotten sick of it and told Dad I wasn't going to do it anymore. That caused a big fight between us and I didn't see him much after that.

"By that time I had married Sarah and we had Seth and Morgan was on the way. Sarah thought I was just a bartender, she knew nothing about the other job I did. I didn't like hiding things from my wife and I was afraid she would leave me if I she ever found out I did these things. So I quit.

"The thing is, I still wanted to provide a good life for my family and the salary I made as a bartender wasn't going to be enough to do that. Even though I quit working for the loan sharks I had still kept in touch with them. By then John had retired and his son James had taken over the operation. James' operation had grown and he essentially became one of the more powerful Bosses in the neighborhood. When I wanted to open my own place, I went to James and asked him to front me the money."

"I thought you got a loan from the bank," Aileen said.

"That's what Sarah thinks too, but why would a bank give me a loan? I had no collateral, no real credit. The only way I saw to move up in life was to accept the help of James Biggs. The Bosses are always looking for legitimate businesses to launder their money through, so James gave me the money to start up this place and became a silent partner."

"And now that Seth is old enough, he's let in on the family's secret connections," Aileen said. She was feeling very sick now and she thought she may throw up.

"No," Patrick said. "I never intended Seth or any of the kids to find out about the kind of people I dealt with. I didn't want them to get involved the way I did. I wanted a better life for them, an honest life. But Seth...he has a way of finding things out and then using the knowledge to his advantage. Somehow he found out about James Biggs and approached him on his own.

"When I first found out I was furious at Seth for becoming involved with him, but now I see what Seth is doing and I see he is giving himself a future that I can't provide him."

"A future as a criminal? He's dealing drugs Pat!" Aileen said.

"He isnot dealing drugs, Seth has never handled an illegal substance in his life. All he does is make sure that whatever drugs do come into the school come from the same source."

"And that isso much more reputable," Aileen said with sarcasm.

"No matter what, the drugs are going to get into the school and kids are going to buy them," Patrick said. "Seth knows not to use them, but it doesn't stop him from what he always does, take advantage of the situation. Seth has helped make James Biggs one of the most powerful Bosses in town, but Seth isn't going to stop there, he has bigger plans."

"Bigger plans? Let me guess he's going to sell arms to terrorists."

"Leena, my son is a good boy whether you think so or not, all I want for him, all I want for all my children, is to get farther in life than I did. Maybe you haven't noticed, but my business isn't doing as well as it used to. TGI Fridays, Applebees, Ruby Tuesdays, places like those are popping up all over the city and they are taking away my customers and employees! I can't compete with the benefits those corporate chains offer their employees, so I lose my best workers and all I have left are people that I would never even have hired ten years ago. They bring down the quality of my place so the customers I do have left get shoddy service.

"James Biggs knows some influential people and through him, Seth is getting to know these influential people. These people appreciate what Seth is doing for them, they realize how smart he is and they know how useful he will be if given the chance to become an influential person in his own right. The way things are going, he's going to have his way paid through college and have a good career afterwards."

"All thanks to organized crime. Do you know how wrong this is Patrick?" Aileen said trying to get through to her brother. "Seth is deliberately throwing basketball games and getting other kids to do the same in their sports! What about athletic scholarships? Seth may be good enough to get one, why couldn't he have focused on that as a way to get to college."

"You can't depend on getting a scholarship, if Seth shows his merit to the Bosses; they'll make sure he gets through college. The Bosses may be a little less tactful in the way they run things, but when it comes down to the bare essentials, they are no different than the legitimate businesses that run the country." Patrick said.

"What are you talking about?" Aileen asked completely lost.

"Exxon, Ford, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Phillip Morris," he was counting them off on his fingers, "or whatever, the big corporations control the world." Patrick said. "Just like what's happening to my place. The corporations come in and set up their restaurants and all of a sudden I'm being run out of business! The corporations are just more powerful versions of the Bosses and because they are in control, everything they do is legal."

"That's a pretty cynical way to look at things." Aileen said.

"No, it's an honest way. If you want to be somebody you have to get in with the corporations. Seth knows this, we've had talks about it and he knows what he wants to do with his life and he knows how to get it. His work with the Bosses is just a stepping stone to higher goals."

"If anyone finds out he has been involved in organized crime his life is over Patrick!" Aileen said. "If anylegitimate corporation finds out who Seth associates with they won't want to have anything to do with him."

"You'd be surprised Leena," Patrick said. "I told you, Seth knows what he's doing. The Bosseswant him to succeed, they recognize his potential, they will make sure his record stays clean."

"What do you mean they recognize his potential?" Aileen asked.

"Seth has aspirations; he doesn't want to work for major corporations, he wants to use them like he uses the Bosses now. Seth wants to get into politics and the only way to get anywhere in politics these days is to have major corporate backing. The Bosses are going to help him get through college and in touch with the right people, and the corporate world will make sure he gets a good start in politics. With Seth's natural charisma all he needs is the financial backing and he could win any race.

"The Bosses will make sure he gets the funding for his education and then they will connect him with the right people he needs for a legitimate backing in politics. Right now the Bosses and soon the corporations will be investing in Seth's future because they know what a kid like him in the right place could do for them. The Bosses are always eager to help sponsor candidates they believe will be useful to them."

"Oh my God!" Aileen said imagining Seth holding any type of political office. "You mean they are always eager to have another corrupt politician in their pocket and you are okay with this?!!"

Patrick scowled at her and said, "All politicians are corrupt, if Seth can play the game why should I hold him back? Why not support him? I know you don't have a high opinion of Seth, maybe he deserves that from what you've seen, but you don't know him like I know him. He's ambitious and he understands how things work in the real world and knows how to use this to his advantage. He's going to make it farther in life than I ever dreamed I ever could. But deep down he also cares for his family. He's going to open the door for Morgan and Kyle to go to college and have good careers. That's the most important thing to me, my children's future, and I see Seth well on the way to securing that, as far as I'm concerned the ends justify the means. You know, he could do a lot for Colin as well."

"Pat, you're talking about Seth becoming a corrupt politician as though that's something to be proud of and that's sick. I don't know what Colin is going to end up doing but I do know he won't owe any favors to criminals!" Aileen said.

"All politicians are corrupt in one way or another. Like I said, the world is controlled by the corporations, if you want to be somebody you have to play their game,there is no other way. The only way a kid from this neighborhood can get anywhere in life is to do it the way Seth is doing it. Once Seth gets some real power he can start doing good. I know it's a dirty way to get there, but for a kid like Seth, it's the only way."

"The ends don't justify the means Pat!" Aileen said as tears returned to her eyes and she fought down a wave of nausea as she realized that if Patrick could support Seth in what he was doing he wasn't the person she thought he was, or maybe he was still the person he had been when they were growing up. Maybe he hadn't really changed at all. "Pat," she said through her tears, "for your son's sake, please get him off this path."

"He's my boy Leena and I know what's best for him. He's going to be a great man someday, a powerful man." Patrick said with conviction.

"No he won't, he's going to end up either dead or in jail. Can't you see that? Pat, don't let this happen!" Aileen cried.

"It won't be that way, you'll see." Patrick said.

"No I won't see it," Aileen said, "because as long as you support Seth in this I want nothing to do with you or him and I'm going to make sure Colin stays away from both of you as well!"