All the while, he marveled at their criminal instincts. Wherever he looked he saw Gambino in them. Like the gangsters Mattera had known growing up, the pirates worked to avoid violence and fighting. It wasn’t because they were frightened (they weren’t) or believed they couldn’t win (they almost always had bigger crews, stronger fighters, and better weapons than their prey). It was because bloodshed was bad for business. A battle at sea could result in casualties, ruin plunder, even cost the pirates their own ship. It also attracted the attention of the law. To steal quietly always paid best.
