Son of the Mob

Vince is surprised once again by Jimmy at his high school: this time in the hallways, as he is opening up his locker. Jimmy tells Vince that he has the six-hundred dollars and has put it in his locker. It turns out, however, that he got the locker number slightly wrong, so Vince and Jimmy must break into a strange girl’s locker to get the cash-filled envelope.

Jimmy draws Vince further into the world of Mafia debt by casually mentioning a friend of his, Ed Mishkin, who owns a coffeehouse and has a “weakness for the ladies” (150). It is because of this weakness, according to Jimmy, that Ed now owes his father money as well. When Jimmy hints that Ed might be planning to kill his elderly great aunt–who is on life support, and from whom Ed expects to inherit money–in order to pay back Anthony Luca, Vince decides once again to intervene.

Vince and Jimmy go out together to Ed’s coffeehouse, and Vince gives Ed the six hundred dollars that Jimmy has just given him. Ed owes Vince’s father nine hundred and fifty dollars in total, and he states that he has “only a C,” so Vince asks Jimmy if he can loan Ed the remaining two hundred and fifty dollars (153). Jimmy reluctantly parts with the cash, and Vince tells the men in exasperation that they need to come up with a budget in order to pay off their debts.

At home, Vince presents the nine-hundred-and-fifty dollars to his father, who is accompanied this time by Tommy and Uncle No Nose. Uncle No Nose happens to have recently beat Ed up, in an attempt to collect the debt. Vince’s father is once again bemused by Vince’s sudden involvement in the family business, but he accepts the money and tells Uncle No Nose that he “gets a pass on Ed Mishkin for a while” (159).

Vince, Kendra and Alex all go to a movie together at the local shopping mall. As they are on their way out of the movie, Kendra spies her father on the upper floor of the mall; her father sees her too, and makes his way down towards the elevator, in order to meet her new boyfriend. Trapped and desperate, Vince blurts out the truth about his own father to Kendra.

Kendra reacts to this news by introducing Alex to her father, in place of Vince; Vince meanwhile hides and meditates on his situation. He later finds Alex, who sourly tells Vince that Kendra is in the bathroom and that the meeting with her father was “a barrel of laughs” (164). When Kendra sees Vince waiting for her outside the bathroom, she runs to him and kisses him passionately; he realizes that she “thinks we’re some kind of cops-and-robbers Romeo and Juliet” (166).

The two of them drive out to Bryce Beach and discuss their situation. Kendra asks Vince to give her a “job description” of what his father does: “What is it that’s so important that my father has to put in fourteen-hour days and run himself into the ground?” (167). Vince demurs, telling Kendra that he tries to stay out of his father’s business. They resolve not to let their dueling families get in the way of their relationship, although Vince privately has his doubts about this.

At his high school, Vince continues to be dogged by homecoming nomination posters for Kendra and himself. His cat website also continues to be filled up with mysterious advertisements for cats. He shows these advertisements to Kendra, who speculates that they might be written in some sort of code.

Though discouraged by his father and Tommy, Vince prints out an Excel spreadsheet for Ed and Jimmy, showing them how they might better budget their money. He meets them at Java Grotto–Ed’s coffee place–and they startle him by telling him that they have no use for his spreadsheet, although they appreciate his effort. They then tell him that they have both invested in a strip club in New York City that is so far draining them of money, but that they expect it to become a “gold mine” any day now (178).

The club is called the Platinum Coast, and their partner is a man named Boaz. Ed and Jimmy persuade Vince to drive there with them, so that he can see the place for himself. Though Vince protests that he is underage, they insist that he come inside the club and meet Boaz. Vince immediately suspects that they want to intimidate Boaz by indirectly letting him know that they are associated with the Luca family.

Ed and Jimmy disappear inside the club, and Vince follows them inside a moment later. Once inside the club, he again encounters Cece, the prostitute whom his brother had hired for Vince in Chapter 4. Cece tells him that the club is not an actual strip club, but a place where she and other women have their “appointments” and where “Boaz and Rafe move swag out of the back” (182). She also tells Vince that Boaz and Rafe “sold about 700 percent of the club to silent partners” (182).

This only strengthens Vince’s desire to protect Jimmy and Ed. He goes back home, where he meets his father, Tommy, and Ray. This time, when he tries to explain Jimmy and Ed’s plight to his father, his father tells him that he has had enough of his intervening. Vince ends up talking alone to Ray, who also tells him (although in a slightly gentler way than Vince’s father) that he should mind his own business. He then offers to set up Vince and Kendra on a date at a romantic restaurant the following night. 

Since his father told Vince to stay out of the situation with Jimmy and Ed, he and Vince are on distant terms with one another. Privately, Vince resolves that he will continue to do what he feels is right.

Vince and Kendra go out on a date at the romantic restaurant that Ray had chosen for them. Because of Vince’s mob connections, they are given the most desirable table in the restaurant, even while there is a long line of customers waiting. Midway through their meal, Vince notices that Ray is there and discreetly checking up on them; however, Ray does not greet them.

After the date, Vince realizes that his illicit cell phone no longer works: “Ray warned me about this. Cloned phones don’t last forever” (195). He throws the phone into the ocean and spends the remainder of the weekend worrying about being out of touch with Kendra. Ray has also disappeared, so Vince cannot ask him for help. He stops by Alex's house with the intent of asking him if he can call Kendra from there, but his friend’s alarmingly messy room and surly mood make Vince realize that this is not a good idea.

When he sees Kendra at school on Monday, he is desperate to apologize to her; however, Kendra is furious with him, for reasons that have nothing to do with his lost cell phone. It turns out that she has seen her father’s photos of him taking money from Jimmy and believes that he is a “loan shark” (200). She is angry because Vince had told her that he had nothing to do with his family’s business. She breaks up with him, and Vince is both despondent and angry: “I curse the FBI for suspecting an innocent kid while six ax murderers run free” (201).