a big exhibition space in the Union. The hall had been done up with an imaginary street pattern. Two 'highways' divided it up into quadrants, and all the franchise companies and nationalities had their booths along the highways. Burbclaves and other companies had booths hidden among the suburban 'streets' within the quadrants. Mr. Caruso's Nova Sicilia booth was right at the intersection of the two highways. Dozens of scrubby B-school grads were lined up there waiting to interview, but Mr. Caruso noticed Jason standing in line and went right up and plucked him out of line and grabbed his deltoids. All the other B-school grads stared at Jason enviously. That made Jason feel good, really special. That was the feeling he got about Nova Sicilia: personalized attention.
'Well, I was going to interview here, of course, and at Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong, because I'm real interested in high tech,' Jason said, in response to Mr. Caruso's fatherly questioning.
Mr. Caruso gave him an especially hard squeeze. His voice said that he was painfully surprised, but that he didn't necessarily think any less of Jason for it, not yet anyway. 'Hong Kong? What would a smart white kid like you want with a fuckin' Nip operation?'
'Well, technically they're not Nips - which is short for Niponese,' Jason said. 'Hong Kong is a predominantly Catonese - '
'They're all Nips,' Mr. Caruso said, 'and y'know why I say that? Not because I'm a fuckin' racist, because I'm not. Because to them - to those people, y'know, the Nips - we're all foreign devils. That's what they call us. Foreign devils. How d'ya like that?'
Jason just laughed appreciatively.
'After all the good things we did for them. But here in America, Jasie boy, we're all foreign devils, ain't we? We all came from someplace - 'cept for the fuckin' Indians. You ain't gonna interview over at the Lakota Nation, are ya?'
'No, sir, Mr. Caruso,' Jason said.
'Good thinkin'. I agree with that. I'm gettin' away from my main point, which is that since we all have our own unique ethnic and cultural identities, we have to get a job with an organization that uniquely respects and seeks to preserve those distinctive identities - forging them together into a functionin' whole, y'know?'
'Yes, I see your point, Mr. Caruso,' Jason said.
By this point, Mr. Caruso had led him some distance away and was strolling with him down one of the metaphorical Highways o' Opportunity. 'Now, can you think of some business organizations that fill that fuckin' bill, Jasie boy?'
'Well …'
'Not fuckin' Hong Kong. That's for white people who want to be Japs but can't, didja know that? You don't wanta be a Jap, do ya?'
'Ha ha. No, sir, Mr. Caruso.'
'Y'know what I heard?' Mr. Caruso let go of Jason, turned, and stood close to him, chest to chest, his cigar zinging past Jason's ear like a flaming arrow as he gesticulated. This was a confidential portion of the chat, a little anecdote between the two men. 'In Japan, if you screw up? You gotta cut off one a your fingers. Chop. Just like that. Honest to God. You don't believe me?'
'I believe you. But that's not all of Japan, sir. Just in the Yakuza. The Japanese Mafia.'
Mr. Caruso threw back his head and laughed, put his arm around Jason's shoulders again. 'Y'know, I like you, Jason, I really do,' he said. 'The Japanese Mafia. Tell me something, Jason, you ever hear anyone describe our thing as 'The Sicilian Yakuza'? Huh?'
Jason laughed. 'No, sir.'
'Y'know why that is? Y'know?' Mr. Caruso had come to the serious, meaningful part of his speech.
'Why is that, sir?'
Mr. Caruso wheeled Jason around so that both of them were staring down the length of the highway to the tall effigy of Uncle Enzo, standing above the intersection like the Statue of Liberty.
'Cause there's only one, son. Only one. And you could be a part of it.'
'But it's so competitive - '
'What? Listen to this! You got a three-point grade average! You're gonna kick butt, son!'
Mr. Caruso, like any other franchisee, had access to Turfnet, the multiple listing service that Nova Sicilia used to keep track of what it called 'opportunity zones.' He took Jason back to the booth-right past all of those poor dorks waiting in line, Jason really liked that-and signed onto the network. All Jason had to do was pick out a region.
'I have an uncle who owns a car dealership in southern California,' Jason said, 'and I know that's a rapidly expanding area, and - '
'Plenty of opportunity zones!' Mr. Caruso said, pounding away on the keyboard with a flourish. He wheeled the monitor around to show Jason a map of the L.A. area blazing with red splotches that represented unclaimed turf sectors. 'Take your pick, Jasie boy!'
Now Jason Breckinridge is the manager of Nova Sicilia #5328 in the Valley. He puts on his smart terracotta blazer every morning and drives to work in his Oldsmobile. Lots of young entrepreneurs would be driving BMWs or Acuras, but the organization of which Jason is now a part puts a premium on tradition and family values and does not go in for flashy foreign imports. 'If an American car is good enough for Uncle Enzo… '
Jason's blazer has the Mafia logo embroidered on the breast pocket. A letter 'G' is worked into the logo, signifying Gambino, which is the division that handles accounts for the L.A. Basin. His name is written underneath: 'Jason (The Iron Pumper) Breckinridge.' That is the nickname that he and Mr. Caruso came up with a year ago at the job fair in Illinois. Everyone gets to have a nickname, it is a tradition and a mark of pride, and they like you to pick something that says something about you.
As manager of a local office, Jason's job is to portion work out to local contractors. Every morning, he parks his Oldsmobile out front and goes into the office, ducking quickly into the armored doorway to foil possible Narcolombian snipers. This does not prevent them from taking occasional potshots at the big Uncle Enzo that rises up above the franchise, but those signs can take an amazing amount of abuse before they start looking seedy.
Safely inside, Jason signs onto Turfnet. A job list scrolls automatically onto the screen. All Jason has to do is find contractors to handle all of those jobs before he goes home that night, or else he has to take care of them himself. One way or another, they have to get done. The great majority of the jobs are simple deliveries, which he portions out to Kouriers. Then there are collections from delinquent borrowers and from franchisees who depend on Nova Sicilia for their plant security. If it's a first notice, Jason likes to drop by in person, just to show the flag, to emphasize that his organization takes a personal, one-to-one, hands-on, micromanaged approach to debt-related issues. If it's a second or third notice, he usually writes a contract with Deadbeaters International, a high-impact collection agency with whose work he has always been very happy. Then there is the occasional Code H. Jason hates to deal with Code Hs, views them as symptoms of a breakdown in the system of mutual trust that makes society work. But usually these are handled directly from the regional level, and all Jason has to do is aftermath management and spin control.
This morning, Jason is looking especially crisp, his Oldsmobile freshly waxed and polished. Before he goes inside, he plucks a couple of burger wrappers off the parking lot, snipers be damned. He has heard that Uncle Enzo is in the area, and you never knew when he might pull his fleet of limousines and war wagons into a neighborhood franchise and pop in to shake hands with the rank and file. Yes, Jason is going to be working late tonight, burning the oil until he receives word that Uncle Enzo's plane is safely out of the area.
He signs onto Turfnet. A list of jobs scrolls up as usual, not a very long list. Interfranchise activity is way down today, as all the local managers gird, polish, and inspect for the possible arrival of Uncle Enzo. But one of the jobs scrolls up in red letters, a priority job.
Priority jobs are a little unusual. A symptom of bad morale and general slipshoddity. Every job should be a priority job. But every so often, there is something that absolutely can't be delayed or screwed up. A local manager like Jason can't order up a priority job; it has to come from a higher echelon.
Usually, a priority job is a Code H. But Jason notes with relief that this one is a simple delivery. Certain documents are to be hand carried from his office to Nova Sicilia #4649, which is south of downtown.
Way south. Compton. A war zone, longtime stronghold of Narcolombians and Rastafarian gunslingers.
Compton. Why the hell would an office in Compton need a personally signed copy of his financial records? They should be spending all of their time doing Code Hs on the competition, out there.
