CHAPTER SIX
MELO
"What do I do now, boss?" Rocco asks through the phone.
"Keep watching her. I'll communicate with you if orders change."
Marco makes a disapproving grunt and I look up at him. He's standing by the door, his face, the perfect picture of disapproval. This decision to marry Isabella has proved far more entertaining than I thought it would be.
"And the father? He looked like he was going to grab his gun and do something stupid." Rocco asks and I return my attention to the phone.
"That can't be helped. Hurt him if he does do something stupid but don't kill him or permanently maim him."
"Noted boss."
The call ends and I return my attention to Marco.
"You have objections?"
"You should go talk to her and her father. Make them understand the consequences they'll face if they do something like this again."
"I'm sure Rocco is more than competent to do that. A warehouse was destroyed yesterday and we still have no idea who is responsible."
Marco leaves the door and sits in front of me.
"This is it? You're going to let this go unpunished?"
His voice is incredulous. He can't accept that a man who supposedly brutalized his wife their entire marriage and killed her in cold blood, cannot punish Isabella and her father.
I nod and change the topic.
"Has the cop being to the warehouse yet?"
"Yes, he has. He called this morning and promised to expedite the process."
"Good. What else do we have today?"
"Some of the underbosses have expressed their displeasure at your choice of bride and they have requested a meeting at noon today."
I glance at my wrist watch. That's still a good five hours away.
"Tell them it's none of their business. They wanted a wife and they have one."
Marco clears his throat.
"Spit it out, Marco." I say, my voice getting edgier.
I just want to sit and figure out who is attacking my empire. Isabella, her father, the underbosses, are of no use to me if they can't give me a clue that will help.
"I don't think it's wise sir, to go against your underbosses. They are the glue that hold this whole operation together."
"They surrendered after I killed the Don. They didn't even try to put up a fight. How is that much of a glue?"
"Boss, you killed everyone who put up a fight."
"Not everyone." I say, looking pointedly at him.
I'd always liked Marco when we worked as lowly soldiers. We weren't friends - I didn't have much of those from the beginning - but I respected his work ethic.
"And those I killed, I respect."
"You should at least see them and tell them no to their faces."
"If it means that much to you, then tell them they can come voice their displeasure."
"Thank you."
He stands to leave but stops at the door.
"Why did you spare me?" He asks without turning back.
"You were just doing your job."
He nods once and leaves. I was a lowly soldier, a weapon used for any and everything dirty the Don wanted. I didn't complain, it was a job. Everything was fine, until he fucked my wife while I was lying half dead on the bed. Then he killed her when she ended up being pregnant and pinned it on me. That was the day I snapped. I stormed into his mansion drenched in Maria's blood and shot him in the cock and his eyes.
As expected, his underbosses came for me but most of the soldiers were loyal to me. That helped the battle and helped me focus on killing those I needed to kill. It took two weeks to hunt down everyone who opposed me.
The underbosses do not look happy, which is to be expected but it's still funny that they think they can tell me what to do when they cannot even look me in the eye.
"Bianchi is a risk we cannot afford to take." Johnny says.
My guess is he picked the short straw and is the unlucky one that has to tell me what they're all thinking.
"I know. I'm not taking any risk, Bianchi doesn't have any stake in my empire."
"But his daughter does. She could be sent by her father to spy on our business."
"Then I'll take care of it."
The silence that follows my words is deafening. Slowly, they all start to smile. All except one.
"Julian, know that your disapproval means nothing to me. I am going to marry Isabella Bianchi and none of you can do anything about it."
After that, we talk about a shipment of guns coming in and plans to flip them. Our major source of money is guns. We deal in drugs but addicts are not our biggest clientele. The guns that were destroyed in the warehouse set us back a few millions. Luckily, the client is patient and we don't have to go to war with them.
Replacing the gun isn't a major problem. The problem is finding the person responsible for this before he strikes again.
"This is the end of this discussion. I'll marry the girl."
I leave and Marco follows behind. They can find their way out, I have a meeting with the Chinese triad that I cannot miss. The Japanese gang have become weak and the Chinese want to take their spot. If we help, we get a block.
Loud voices filter in from outside. I pull my gun instinctively and start moving. When I reach the front door, the voices become louder and is mixed with gun shots. Marco stops and finds a window to look through and access the situation.
I pull the front door open and run outside. This is my home and some fuckers are shooting it up. I move fast and duck behind a wall. Two soldiers are dead and the rest are swapping bullets with the attackers. I adjust so I can get a clear view of the two men standing in the back of a truck outside my gate. I line up my aim and shoot. It hits one of the men on the shoulder and he yells out in pain. The driver wastes no time in driving off.
When they leave, I turn to my men.
"Who the fuck taught all of you how to shoot? Why have you been shooting at the air? They were right there! Out in the open and none of you got one hit?"
The door opens and Marco comes out with the rest of the underbosses. A soldier approaches me with a plastic capsule.
"Boss, they threw this in before they started shooting."
I swipe it from his hand in anger, this discussion is far from over. I open the capsule, take out the piece of paper inside and freeze. Written in blood and signed with a
stamp that haunts my dreams are the words "Let's play."