7: 1989-1990
It was getting colder outside in Europe. The winter of 1989 started. While Vincent and Victor were on the plane to Sicily, the Berlin Wall collapsed. It was all over the news, but in Corleone, the world seemed to be the same as ever.
Only Dominic and Anthony knew about Vincent and Victor’s visit. They picked them up at Palermo Airport, and drove them to the Tommasino compound. Connie was working in a small garden a little bit, when she saw the four men with very dark colored hair step towards them. She had not seen Vincent in a year...but had not seen her son in 10 years! All this time he was wondering around Boston and New York...no one really knew, inside the Family, where he was or what he did. No one seemed to care either. But Victor was used to that. Back in the days when his uncle Mike was still the Don, he was not wanted also. He never liked his uncle...
When Connie saw her son, she started crying a little bit. She stood still and said nothing. When the men came closer she turned away her head, which was covered by a black kerchief as always. She was a bittered woman, gloomy, peacefully and quietly living with her brother on a deserted compound. An old Sicilian lady helped her with the household. Anthony provided most of the income, yet Vincent had Dominic make sure there would be a decent amount of money in the compound at all times to spend. Michael couldn’t care less. He did not care who took care of his dinner, of his clothes, of the household... he could not care wether the garden was maintained or not, whether the rooms would be cleaned up once in a while or not. He talked with his sister sometimes, but only on issues as ‘life’, ‘death’, ‘love’ or other spiritually, earthly subjects. He talked with his son sometimes, about his progression as a singer. Anthony had done some new opera’s, both in Palermo as other Italian, mainland cities. Sometimes Michael would go to a little festival in the towns of Corleone, to watch some puppet shows. He never went back to the Palermo theatre again, though... he never saw the steps, on which his daughter died, again.
Victor started crying too. “Mama!” and he wanted to embrace her, but Connie resisted a bit. And walked away...

Inside the house the maid, a 60 year old woman, made some coffee for all persons. Anthony and Dominic were quite. Vincent comforted his favorite aunt. “Connie, it’s your boy. We have come her for you, for uncle Michael... we wanted to see you. He, wanted to see you. Don’t dissapoint us?” Connie turned around, and looked towards Victor Rizzi...

The next few hours Connie and Victor made a walk in the Sicilian countryside. It wasn’t really warm this time of the year, obviously... meanwhile, Vincent, Dominic and Anthony discussed about the end of the Cold War that morning... Victor and Connie talked about a lot of things. How things went wrong when he was just a little boy. How both of them never wanted to take the first step to make up, and how they both accused the other of being uninterested in the faith of the other... When walking into the town of Corleone, which amazed Victor for it’s beauty and authenticity, they ran into Michael.

Michael was out for a long walk today. It was a nice winter day. In the winter, lots of countryside areas of Sicily were deserted. Michael had a scarf around his neck, and wore an easy fitting suite. He had shiny sunglasses on his face, and most of his hair were grey now. Connie introduced him to Victor. “Victor? Wow, you’ve become a big boy. I have not seen you in, what? 10, 15 years?” “16 to be exact” Victor reacted, “how are you, uncle Michael?” At first he was polite. His uncle responded by saying that things could be better. He have had some physical difficulties in the past, and still needed quite some medication for his diabetes. But considered these facts, he was in good health, and a extremely quiet day like the Sicilian winter days always pleased him. Victor, Connie and Michael talked a bit. About what Vic had been doing all those years and how he became Vincent’s right hand man. “So he tricked you into the Family huh? Satino JR too? Well, it’s nice to see the Family being a real Family again” after which Michael walked on, as if he did not want to spend anymore words on this subject. “You heard what happened today, Victor? In Germany, in Berlin? Have you ever been to Berlin” Victor nodded no. “It’s a historical day, nephew. A historical day! An era has ended, I think. And look, you are reunited with your mother. Isn’t it a special day?”

Later that night, Michael and Connie were sitting next to a fire. “These Family members keep coming back to us, huh, Connie? How many nephews do I have actually? Do you have anymore sons, Connie?” He laughed. He referred to Vincent’s sudden appearance in 1979 on the party of his catholic award. Connie was not amused at all. She was still bittered, still hurt for the fact her children had left them for so many years. “I remember Victor” Michael said. “He once ate an entire birthday cake when no-one else seemed to like it. Enzo still owes me from that one, haha” Connie was still suspicious about the real reason Vincent and Victor came to Sicily. At dinner, no awkard discussions came up. The five men and one woman talked about old family memories.

Victor and Vincent spent a few days on Sicily. Dominic left for Rome while Anthony went for rehearsel in Naples. Vincent and Michael only talked once. During the conversation, Michael did not look at his cousin.
“I heard you killed DiCanio.” “Uncle, Mike, I don’t want you to be a part of this” “What makes you think you can kill a fellow New York Don?” Michael raised his voice. Vincent looked at him, with a little smile coming up, as if he was saying ‘you should say!’, but he kept his mouth shut. “Now I left you in control of the Family years ago, because you were young, you were strong. I thought you’d have the strength to run my Family decently. I left you in control over Neri, BJ, Dominic, all the capo’s. I wanted you to make a fortune for yourself, for your children, for their children, for all of our relatives. For our entire Family. Our Family! I am disgraced to say Our Family to a man like you. I wanted out myself, but I wanted my Family out too. Enough with the killings and the illegal activities, I said. And what do you do? What way do you treat the persons around you?”
Vincent was shocked with this lecture. He was shocked how well-informed Michael was. For five years, he had not ever said a single thing about the Family business. “Uncle Mike, things have changed. I was under a lot of pressure. What could I do? If not him, I would be the one having a tombstone right now!”
Michael said angry: “Oh, is that true? Is that how it is huh? You were under a lot of pressure. You were forced. Forced to kill. Forced to extort. Forced to deal in narcotics!”

Vincent was still for a few moments. Michael had practically replaced about every single statue, photograph or whatever in the room, as he turned towards Vincent for the first time. “Narcotics will kill you, Vincent. It killed my father, and he did not even deal. He refused to go into it, and so did I. Why? Not because we hated the rewards. Not because we did not think it would make us fortunes. Not because we were afraid of the tensed attention from the government, the police if we were dealing in drugs. In fact, I think we could be good at it. Just like you prove right now with that Colombian guy. But we were afraid it would kill us. Ourselves. Our soldiers, our men, would get addicted. They would come home to their wives and children, high and stoned. God knows what people like that do their children! It would ruin their efficiency, that’s for sure. And thén we must start worrying about financial losses, about police investigation, about killings.... Narcotics is evil, Vincent, and therefor my father and I myself too choose not to get involved. I actually turned our business into legitimate activities before leaving you in control. And you just take us back to the damn thirties. Well I have been there, cousin, and it was not such a pleasure as you might hink. I’m sorry to say this buddy, but times have changed, and your way of working isn’t the right one anymore. Stop it, before it’s too late, stop it Vincent! Stop it!”

On the last day of their stay in Sicily, Victor got to speak with Michael alone for the first and only time. “So, are you going back to New York?” Michael asked. “Yeah, we have some business to do, arrange a few things.” Michael shook his head, letting his nephew know he dissaproved. But he continued. “A long time ago, I was in the same situation as you were, Victor. I also hated to see my Family members, my own blood, to be threatened, to be in danger. My father got shot! My brother got kidnapped. My older brother was massacred. I had no choice, but to get involved in it. It changed my life. It ruined my life. I have been ‘arranging few things’ ever since. And look where it took me! Look what it did to me.”
“Uncle Michael, you could have been stronger. You could have turned your back on your Family forever. You were not supposed to become what you have become!” Michael shouted: “How could you even say such a thing? Turn my back...on my Family? Never, ever turn your back on your Family! Your Family is your Family! And it will remain your Family, for the rest of your life” with some cynicism Victor responded: “Wether you like it or not, right?”
“You think it was easy for me? You think I didn’t want to stay out of it? What if you have to, what if you’re forced to? I was, Victor, I was. It was a dangerous time. Me, your uncles, your grandfather, your own father... No one knew who to trust. But us, we were a family. Blood relatives. Brothers. We stayed together, we remained a strong crew. We got through it, we pulled it of. And I managed to supply my kids, my nieces and my nephews...a decent living. We were wealthy, the Family was succesfull and we survived, Victor we survived! I have spent my life accomplishing that, even if it affected my own personal happyness. I have devoted my life to my Family.” Victor interrupted: “And then they took your daugther”
A moment of silence past. Victor continued. “I have no choice either. I felt betrayed by my you know what I don’t even call it ‘my’ family, I call it YOUR family. Your Family did not want anything to do with me. When Kay took me in, you disagreed. When I was broke and homeless and wondering around in Boston, no-one called me. When I was a kid, my mother was away all the time. No one seemed to care. Back in Tahoe, I remember seeing Lucy once in a while. Asking for my mom. And I couldn’t tell her where to go, because I did not know myself. I was forced to go into a life of crime, when I moved to New York. I could not do anything about. Just like you. Vincent gave me a chance to get back on my feet. It’s an honourable job.”
The tension between the two faded a bit when the maid came in to bring them some drinks. The heat was out of the room, it seemed, and they talked ‘small talk’ for a little while. At the end of the conversation, Michael warned Victor. “Willy Cicci backed you up the whole time. If he finds out you quited the active smuggling deal, he might worry about his own income. I think he will come to yóu, Vincent, to ask you if you can change Vincent’s thoughts about getting involved with the Japanese. You do the right thing, Victor, you are the Family’s hope. You can make a difference!”
Victor nodded as Michael left the room. He gave some wise advise. This, from the man who killed his father...

Back in New York BJ Harrison told Vincent he was on trial again. This time one of Santino’s men screwed up. A soldier was, just like Michael said, to messed up from drugs that he forgot where to take it. He was supposed to transport it to one of Cuesta’s men, but instead brought it to an undercover police officer. When he was arrested, and Santino heared about it, he was so mad he wanted to go the police station to beat the soldier up. Al Neri, replacing supervisor of Vincent’s businesses while he was away, had to get an hold of him, so he would not make things any worse than it is. A couple of Corleone capo’s managed to have the soldier not give Santino’s name. In reward, he was promised $50,000 when he came out of custody. When he did, he was shot in the head by one of Santino’s capo’s.

BJ told that Vincent was still a suspect. Not only for interfearance with the caught drug dealer, but also with the murder of him. He was linked to it, and therefore stood on trial a month later.

Meanwhile, Willy Cicci, the former Don of the Corleone Family, who was succeeded by Joey Zasa in the mid seventies, and who was a very old man now, made contact with Vincent through Neri. He said he wanted to talk to him. Victor mentioned to Vincent that he was told by Michael this would happen. “What shall we do?” he asked the Don. Vincent was pleased with his deal with Tanasuke and Cuesta agreed with it. But somehow, neither Michael nor Cicci liked it. The Commission couldn’t realy care, as was Vincent’s intention. His soldiers had not been linked with any crime for months, except for the dumb bastard who was caught and who therefore arranged the next “Vincent Corleone On Trial” newspaper headlines. Vincent told Victor to take care of the Cicci situation, and to take Neri and Santino with him. He would in the mean time discuss the upcoming testimonies with BJ, and Dominic would come over from Rome.

Willy Cicci was in his eightties now. He lived in New Jersey. Since he gave away control over the Corleone crime family in the early 70’s to Joey Zasa, he did not interfear with the business. He was pleased to slowly see it ran by Zasa the way he wanted to, altough he dissaproved Michael turning the other businesses legitimate. When Michael finally retired in 1984, Cicci’s interest ánd involvment in all operations grew again. He was friends with quite some Dons, like Pochettino and Massaro, who was the new Barzini boss after Eugenio Romano was shot in Atlantic City in 1979, by Joey Zasa. John Massaro was originally from Jersey too, and they talked some times.
But mostly, Cicci had Carlo Pochettino come over for cofee some times. Then he heared about Vincent getting his men out of the drug trading business in the NY harbors and providing money and weaponry to Tanasuke. Only a small piece of Cuesta’s shipments to New York kept on going, and Pochettino’s men continued handling these. The rest of the drugs Cuesta delivered went to Kobe, Osaka and Nagoya. The New York shipmenst were not by far enough to make a good living for the Parisi Family Pochettino was running now. He complained and asked Cicci to intercede. He could talk Vincent into changing the deal again. Vincent made his Family a strong one, and them not being active for a long period now made the other Families suffer too. The Commission did not say anything to Vincent, as they were quite pleased for him to drop the narcotics business in America. But Pochettino wanted back to the way it was.
Cicci never went along very well with Michael. Sure, he took care of some jobs for him at first, but after the tragic end of his boss and friend Pentangeli in the late 50’s, Willy Cicci always distrusted Michael a little bit. But who didn’t, in those days? He was pleased to see Michael step out of business in the mid-eighties, and wanted Vincent to run things the way it should be.
Cicci invited Neri, Santino JR and Victor Rizzi to his house to discuss the problem. Carlo Pochettino was there too. They talked a bit about what was to happen. Vincent had instructed the three of them not to let loose any information, and not to accept any offers made by Pochettino and Cicci. He made his decission and it was final. He would have Cuesta and Tanasuke smuggling drugs together, would get quite some money himself from that and would provide both of them with enough arms. There was no business for him left in New York, especially with the trials coming up. Cicci and Pochettino faced Victor, for he was the only in charge of the three. Neri and Santino, they were never more then bodyguards. Like Cicci was, one time, a buttonman. But Cicci avenged and worked his way up in the sixties. Pochettino and Victor discussed for a few hours, but there was no real discussion possible. Vincent made a decission, made an agreement. And it was final.

On the day of Vincent’s testimony, a lot of press was at the courthouse. When Vincent got out of the car at the courthouse, he only had to walk up the stairs, but it took him over a minute to get there. Hundreds of reporters, journalists, photographers and cameramen blocked the way, all asking questions, more like screaming questions. Vincent was guarded by Santino who led the way through the people for his Don. To every question Vincent reacted the same, without giving any answer. Only smiling. The press seem to love his charming way of handling all publicity, and in fact it was true that, as long as he was not yet convicted of any crime, Vincent enjoyed all tv-shows, newspaper reports and magazine covers dedicated to him. Inside the courtoom were BJ and Dominic, guiding Vincent. The evidence of him having anything to do with the drug dealing and the murder was too little to convict him, and once again he survived another trial.

Willy Cicci and Carlo Pochettino informed Victor a couple more times. They said Rogerio Malona and his friend Paulo Ravanelli were planning to take over the harbors and drug trading businesses. They wanted to fill up the gap left behind by Corleone’s step back, by smuggling in drugs from one of Alex Cuesta’s competitors. When Cuesta heared about this, expecting a full scale war in Cali, he informed Vincent to be aware of this. Vincent was suspicious about Pochettino and Cicci knowing this, but in fact was wrong there. Pochettino simply feared his own men, who were running the last pieces of the drugtrade of Cuesta, were going to be killed by Ravanelli’s men (who controled the harbors normally). When Vincent did not want to listen to Cicci, the old man got mad. Meanwhile Neri sent out Santino to see what was going on with Malona in Florida. It was Santino’s first job other than bodyguarding since he joined the team. Victor had some negotiations with Pochettino, who seemed to ease down a little bit, but who was secretly still having meetings with Cicci. Cicci thought of Vincent and his ideas as a major threat. First he stopped the narcotics-businesses for his Family, moving it to Japan, leaving the cooperative Pochettino squad with practically nothing. Then, when his biggest enemies are wanting to take over his position as the biggest NY drug lord, he refuses to fight it, refuses to help the Pochettino soldiers who once fought in harbor-wars for him and refuses (again) to help his Columbian partner stay away from the bullets. Without realy knowing the plans of Malona, Ravanelli and their Columbian contacts, Cicci thought of the dangerous acts of Vincent to be taken away. He wanted Vincent dead. He figured he could talk some sence into Victor Rizzi, who would had full power over the Family once his boss was dead.

Cicci knew Santino JR, Vincent’s bodyguard, was in Tampa. He knew Neri was in Vegas. And he knew Victor Rizzi had never done any serious crime. Vincent himself did not appear in public for over a year now, except for the world trip and public trials. The only way to get to him was through Victor. He asked Victor for a meeting at the Corleone compound. Victor, who like Cicci had no real affection for Michael Corleone (since he murdered his father), still remembered his uncle saying that Cicci will come after them if Vincent decides to pull through the Japanese collaboration. He was aware that Cicci, in their house, would figure out a way to assasinate Vincent. If that would mean assasinating Victor too in order to get to the Don, than so shall it be done. The man himself might be almost 85 years old, but he might have a very scary bodyguard who would try for a suicide attack.
Before the meeting, Victor told all of his thoughts and feelings to Vincent, and he agreed with him. This would be a hit on both him as his consiglieri. In secret, Vincent made a small deal with Pochettino saying Cicci betrayed him behind his back. He also told Santino not to interfear with the Florida Family, and just come back to NY.

On the day of the meeting, Willy Cicci and two young bodyguards came to Vincent’s house. As was arranged, Vincent was not in the room. Victor told he did not want to talk to him. Cicci got a little bit nervous. He followed Victor into a room, when Victor ordered his bodyguards to step out for a moment. When the bodyguards were out, a few of Vincent’s men grabbed them and took them away. Meanwhile Victor listened to Cicci’s words, but never realy heard them. The only thing he could think about was the gun which was in the drawer of his desk he was sitting behind. He knew he had to assasinate Cicci, who never did any personal harm to him and even was on the same level with young Victor, and had a little affection for the young boy. But Victor knew the old man was a serious threat, and had to be shot. When he thought the time was right, Victor got his nerves under control, took the gun out of the drawer, stood up and shot Cicci twice in the chest and once in the head.

A few months later, Santino JR got a call from his sister Fransesca. Their mother died.