South Mountain Pack Ch. 07

The boys continued talking for a while, gradually falling asleep and Anthony was the last one awake. He went back to his earlier thoughts and realized he was as close to these four boys as if they were his brothers. They had never differentiated between him and their brothers and cousins when they were growing up, always including him. He felt that empty feeling inside him get a little smaller with that thought.

At 1 AM, the men did a recon of the tents making sure the youngsters were asleep.

Finally, they could get down to playing poker. The game would start tonight and finish sometime over the weekend. Carlo notified the men that wanted to play and within minutes they were there.

A $500 buy in was required and the total pot for the 105 men entered was $52,500 for the winner take all tournament. There were fifteen tables with seven men apiece and random draw determined your table and the dealers were rotated throughout the tables. They used the 'knockout' rule and as players were eliminated the remaining players were shuffled to new tables, and after three hours, they were down to 10 tables. At 4 AM, they decided to take a 10 minute break to get up and stretch, get more food to eat and do something they excelled at, which was gossip.

"We need to teach Matt and Phillip how to play poker," said Frank. "I know they have a security detail tonight, but I think they would like it once they understand the rules. Matt did say they have been watching some of the tournaments on TV."

"Frank, don't forget we need to have our two new Beta's buy the first round at The Pub after the men's training on Monday evening," said Joe as he lifted his beer at the Whitmer brothers. They both nodded their heads, still euphoric after their promotion.

"So Carlo, when are you taking Frank out for his steak dinner? He did win the bet, the last two teams out there were Vincent's and Lorenzo's," said Carmelo.

"I think it was a draw as far as the bet goes," said George Reeder, whose children were on Anthony's team. "The teams never got to switch. I think with those backpacks the Whitmer's had, Anthony's team would have come out on top."

The debate raged on for several minutes with the men finally agreeing it was a draw, but did say Vin or Lorenzo would have probably won, since Anthony wasn't nearly as devious as they were. Frank and Joe didn't know if it was a compliment or an insult to their children.

Just as dawn was approaching, the men dealt their last hand before the kids woke up. They were down to seven tables and this hand would probably reduce the number to six, depending on the bet amounts.

Frank had a shit hand, a pair of Deuces, the lowest paired hand you could have; George Reeder had a King/Ace and was almost beside himself with excitement; Harold Poffenberger had a Six/Jack; George Hammond had a Seven/Nine, Doc had an Eight/Jack.

The flop, which was three cards turned over, revealed a Deuce, a King, and a Nine. Doc bet $200, which everybody matched, and George Reeder raised another $200, which everybody also matched.

The turn, which was the fourth card revealed was a Seven. The bet was $300, everybody matched until Frank raised $150. Nobody hesitated and matched the bet.

The river card was a Jack. The betting was fierce, calling and raising until finally only Frank and Doc had any money left, everyone else had gone all in.

All of the other men had finished and came over to watch the guys present their cards. Harold turned over pair of Jacks, six high with a smile on his face, until Doc flipped over a pair of Jacks, eight high which beat him. George Hammond was next showing two pairs, Sevens/Nines, followed by George Reeder with his pair of Kings. The last one left was Frank and he slowly flipped his three Deuces over. The total pot was over $8000 and knocked Harold, George Hammond, and George Reeder out of the tournament and Doc only had $200 left.

"Well Gentlemen, when I got that pair of Deuces, I didn't think I was gonna stay in, but I'm glad I did," said Frank with a smile.

"You're a lucky bastard Frank," said George Reeder still shaking his head.

"I stayed up all night to get knocked out by Deuces," said Harold as he laughed, "I should have gone to sleep with my boys and saved myself the aggravation."

"Fuckin Deuces," said George Hammond. "I can't believe I lost to Deuces."

"Yeah, but Frank had three of 'em," said Carlo as he laughed. "Go ahead and turn your chips in for the accounting, Vinnie is waiting and we'll play more tonight. The youngsters should be waking up soon and we need to clean up."

Within ten minutes the signs of their all night card playing were gone, the kegerator being wheeled back into Frank's cave was the last bit of evidence to disappear.

"Mitchell, when is your crew getting here with the food? I'm starving," said Frank.

"Turn around Frank; they just pulled up, now we just need to set it up. They have scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, bacon, Virginia ham, pancakes, waffles, French toast, biscuits, sausage gravy, fruit salad, oatmeal and juices and coffee. You weren't specific in what you wanted, you just said breakfast food," said Mitchell Burns. "We should have everything setup in twenty or thirty minutes."

"I just heard from Matt, the women should be here in thirty minutes," said Carlo.

"Just in time to get the youngsters up and ready to start eating," said Frank then he hollered "food will be ready in twenty minutes, everybody up and get ready NOW."

Within twenty minutes the youngsters were up and ready to eat as Mitchell's crew finished setting up the buffet. They had reverted back to their teams, the young ones automatically going to the older ones, but it was slightly different. Teams had banded together, Frank noted both Carlucci teams as well as Anthony's team together with the young ones included.

The women, little ones and their security detail showed up about fifteen minutes later and the men hurried over and greeted their mates, anxious to scent them after the separation. The first thing they did afterwards was walk over to Matt, Phillip and the security detail and thank them for ensuring their mates safety. Matt, Phillip and the security detail puffed up with pride knowing they had done their Pack proud.

Carlo, Frank and Joe came over and received a full report from Matt and Phillip, when they finished Carlo said, "Well done, your response time in getting the women and children to safety was exceptional. You are both level one Beta's, and as of right now, you are being promoted to level two. Congratulations, you both earned it."

Matt and Phillip were ecstatic over this promotion, without thinking they hugged and kissed each other before realizing what they had done. When they looked at the men surrounding them, no one looked shocked and the men lined up to offer their congratulations by shaking their hands and slapping them on their backs.

"I love you my mate. Being banished from our old Pack was the best thing that could have happened to us. It was beyond every hope and dream for us to be together and we knew we would never advance beyond Omega status. Look at us now, Level two Beta's and responsible for the safety and welfare of our fellow Pack members, but the most important thing is we are together. Always together, until the end," said Matthew as he held his mates hand as they went to get breakfast.

Phillip replied, "I love you too my mate, I can't imagine you not being by my side every day for the rest of our lives. Always together, until the end."

"So what did you all do last night?" Frank asked Rose as they sat together with Joe, Annie, Carlo and Gina eating breakfast.

"Watched movies, drank wine, ate a lot of food, drank more wine, played some cards, drank more wine, ate more food, drank more wine, plotted your demise, drank more wine, had a manicure and drank more wine," said Rose as she looked at Gina and Annie and smiled.

"Wait, wait, wait a minute...plotted my demise? Me personally or men in general?" asked Frank as he looked at his mate.

"Men in general, but you, Joe and Carlo were at the top of our list. Could you pass the salt please," said Rose with a mischievous smile.

"What did I do now? I was with our children all night, protecting them from further harm, and ensuring the future of the Pack. You can't be mad at us because Damian and Maria got hurt, can you? The wooden cover on the dry well rotted out, it's not like we did it on purpose," said Frank. "So what did we do?"

"We feel the women are not utilized to their full capabilities in our businesses. You do know we can do more then cook, clean and bear your children, right?" said Annie as she looked at her mate, Frank and Carlo.

"Wait just a minute. You and Rose are FULL partners at Triple C. The two of you run the office, order supplies, arrange deliveries, schedule the jobs, pay the invoices, do payroll, what more do you want to do?" demanded Joe as he scowled.

"That's my point, Rose and I do all the office work and what do the two of you do?" said Annie looking at her husband.

"What do you mean, what do we do? We are out building and supervising the workers every fucking day. We are getting proposals put together to bid on new projects, meeting with prospective clients, dealing with subcontractors, making sure deadlines are met and dealing with a thousand other things every day," said Joe his indignation evident on his face.

"Exactly our point. All four of us work hard for our business, but do we really need to work that hard anymore? We could use more help in the office and you and Frank could use more help on site. There are lots of young women in the Pack that could use part-time work, who are more then capable of helping us. They could switch work weeks like we have done for the last twenty years while we built our business and raised our families," said Rose as she looked at Frank and Joe. "It's not just our business that has gotten so big we need help either."

"She's right Carlo, I stopped helping you years ago at the store because the demands of being Madame Alpha were expanding and I just didn't have the time to do everything. I could use a secretary to help me with Pack business, and I think you could use an assistant," said Gina with a determined look. "Things aren't like they used to be twenty years ago, the demands on our time are just increasing year by year and we have to delegate some of those jobs to others."

"So how is this our fault? If you needed help in the office, all you had to do was ask, have we ever denied the two of you anything? We upgraded the computers this year like you asked even though we didn't think we needed it, we redecorated the offices last year and put in a reception area, conference room and everything else you asked for, even the kitchen area. Again, how is this our fault?" asked Frank, his expression mirroring his brothers.

"We're not saying it's your fault, but the three of you lead by example. If we hire more women, then other businesses will follow your example. Our company could use at least four women working part-time, at the minimum. The Whitmer and Costello families could use the extra income and we have the work to give them," said Rose as she looked at Frank.

"Alright, so we hire them. Who is going to help Joe and I on site? Also Carlo's assistant, who is that going to be? Just tell us what you want us to do so we can go ahead and do it," said Frank throwing his hands in the air. "You know you always get your way, from the time we were teenagers, I haven't been able to say no to you."

"Okay, here is what we should do. We hire the Whitmer's and Costello's for our office, Carlo and Gina hire Marco and Anna Moretti for their assistants. Both have college degrees and should have no problems with their new jobs, plus they want to buy a house," said Rose with a smile.

"As far as supervisors for Triple C, promote from within. Both Joel and Jerry have been working for you since high school. You rely on them now as foremen, so promote them to site supervisors," replied Annie. "They know more about our company then anybody, except us."

"Okay, we'll do everything you want, as usual. But how is this planning our demise? I don't get that part," said Frank.

"Well, here is the clincher," said Rose with a smile at Annie and Gina. "After this is put into place, we want to go on vacation. A real vacation, not just a weekend at the beach and we know it's going to kill you to go away and leave others in charge."

"All six of us at once?" said Carlo intrigued with the idea. "I think we should be able to work something out. It'll be like we are teenagers dating again, but with much better benefits." Gina smiled at him then hit him on the arm as she blushed.

"Who is going to watch our kids? Or did you figure that out too?" asked Joe.

"Yes we have," said Annie with a smile. "Matt and Phillip would be perfect for the job. We move Gianni, Marcus, Lorenzo and Damian into The Manor House with Anthony and Matt could stay there. Phillip could stay here with the rest of the Clan. We talked it over with them, and they agreed. Any more questions?"

"Yeah, where are we taking our mates on vacation? Do we at least get to voice an opinion or have you already decided?" asked Frank as he started to laugh.

"Well, we talked that over too," said Rose as she laughed. "We will give you a choice of places we've always talked about going and the three of you can decide."

"I only have one stipulation," said Carlo, "It can't be more then a couple of hours away in case something happens since all of us are going. So overseas travel, cruises, and places not easily accessible to an airport are out."

"We already took that into consideration," said Gina. "Here are your choices, New York, Philadelphia and Savannah."

The three men looked at each other and said almost in unison, "New York."

"Good, we figured you would pick New York. We started making a list of places to go, like restaurants, museums, Broadway shows, and the usual touristy stuff too. Oh, and we figured you would want to see a Yankees game, so while the three of you do that, we'll do some shopping," said Rose as she glanced at Annie and Gina.

"We figured the $50,000 one of you is going to win this weekend would cover the cost of the rooms, restaurants, admission fees and tickets for all of us," said Annie with a smirk on her face.

The three men looked at each other and said in unison, "What $50,000?"

"You all are so busted," said Gina as the three women laughed. "Did you think we weren't aware of your 'Super Secret' poker games for the last fifteen years?"

"None of you men can keep a secret to save yourselves, especially when you're bragging about winning a tournament, plus you gossip worse then any woman in this Pack," said Rose as all the women continued laughing.

"We also know some of your 'men's training' sessions are just excuses to play poker and smoke cigars. We can smell the smoke on you when you get home, even when you take showers," said Annie.

"Well shit, what else do you know?" asked Carlo. "Not that there's anything else we keep from you." His eyes slid over to Frank and Joe as he said this and even he had to laugh at the innocent look on their faces.

"We're not telling what else we know," said Gina as the women kept laughing.

"Well, I guess the three of you will be sleeping all day since you were up all night. Protecting our children, I believe is the excuse you gave," said Rose with a smile.

"Yeah, I know I'm pretty well beat," said Frank. "How about the three of you, did you all get any sleep?"

"We were up all night too," said Annie with a smile at her mate. "The boys are planning on taking the girls shopping this morning and then going to lunch and then bowling. That means we'll have the house to ourselves for a while." Joe looked at his mate and a low growl escaped his throat.

"Don't get too excited, the mall doesn't open until 10. We still have two hours until they leave," Annie said as she smiled back at her mate.

"How soon can we get everybody out of here?" Frank asked Carlo. Carlo was busy staring at his mate intently as he asked her, "Is Anthony going too?" Gina nodded her head and Carlo started growling too.

Rose started laughing and said, "Frank, people are still eating breakfast, you can't kick them out. Besides, now would be a perfect time to talk to the Costello and Whitmer families."

Frank reluctantly agreed and called both families over. They discussed the new job offers and they were readily accepted. Joel and Jerry couldn't believe they had received two promotions in the space of several hours.

The male members of the Clan, plus Anthony and Alberto walked over and Vin said to the men, "So, how did the Poker game go last night?"

"How do you know we were playing cards?" said Frank.

"Come on Dad, we've known for years. You won the tournament ten years ago and we got the pools put in. When Uncle Joe won the tournament two years ago, mom and Aunt Annie got new SUV's. We may be young, but we're not stupid," said Vin.

"Plus the bragging the men do is a dead giveaway," said Anthony as he laughed.

"Mr. Whitmer's and Mr. Costello's, we know you were up all night, and so were the women, so would it be okay if we took the young ones with us today? We're going to the mall, out to lunch and then bowling. We'll have them back around four," said Dominic. "We asked Mr. Poffenberger and he agreed to let us take his young ones."

Both the Whitmer's and the Costello's readily agreed, they couldn't remember the last time they had the house to themselves without any young ones and couldn't wait to get their mates alone. They agreed on a time for the young ones to be dropped off at the Carlucci's and hurriedly left to get them ready.

Several hours later, after shopping and lunch at Carmelo's, the youngsters were at the bowling alley and having a great time. Mr. Balducci was amazed at how well the young ones listened to the older ones and he laughed when he saw how they started mimicking their actions. Then he thought about a whole new generation of Carlucci Clones and he groaned, he didn't think the Pack was ready for that.

Promptly at 4 PM, the young ones were dropped off at their homes and they started getting ready for the Full Moon Ceremony.