When The Mafia Cries

Knights And Airplanes

Carolina Rossi sat in her throne-like seat in the living room of her home and she had a glass of whiskey in her hand. She was intently staring straight at a massive old-school clock that was mounted right in front of her, waiting for the long-hand to strike twelve which was only a few seconds from happening. It was 11:59, midnight was about to clock and yet, no sign that the Red Cobras were going to return her daughter to her.

With every tick that the clock made as the long-hand rotated, Carolina felt her anger rising higher and higher. She couldn’t stand the fact that Gabriella was in the hands of her biggest rival and she was furious that an unprepared brat like Andreas Cimaro had gotten the better of her. Her anger had risen to the very top and as the clock struck midnight with the loud chimes, she roared in anger and threw her drinking glass straight at the device.

Carla suddenly walked into the room and when Carolina saw her, she stood up, hoping her head of security brought her good news.

“Tell me she’s here, Carla. Tell me that worm who thinks himself a snake has brought her back…” Carolina said to the woman.

“I’m afraid not, boss. It seems this Cimaro isn’t as smart as his father was,” Carla replied.

“And it is that stupidity that’s going to get him and his entire clan murdered like the vermin that they are,” Carolina sat back into her throne, “Gather the men and prepare them for war. I will show that boy why they call me the Queen of Kings and he’ll regret the day he crossed me.”

“Boss,” Carla took a few steps closer to a steaming Carolina, “as your head of security, I’ll have to advise against arming our soldiers for war. It’s exactly what he wants and now is not a good time to go to war. The businesses need to be handled with proper care and we wouldn’t want to scare our investors away because we’re at war,”

“Then, what do you suggest I do, Carla? Leave Gabriella with him so he can hurt as he pleases?” Carolina asked sarcastically.

“Of course not, boss. But we do have to be smart about this and if we just start attacking, that’s only going to put your daughter further in harm’s way. You should activate one of the King’s Knights to infiltrate the Red Cobras’ home and retrieve her. After the Knight recovers Gabriella, then we can strike and cut off the snake’s head before he even sees the blade coming,” Carla said.

Carolina considered the idea and realised that it was better than just declaring war and going in all guns blazing. The Kings Knights were an elite team created by her late husband to handle sensitive matters affecting the clan; sensitive matters that needed to be handled with care, precision and finesse. High-profiled assassinations, high-risk heists, search and rescue operations, and things of that nature; that was what the King’s Knights were established for and now, they were needed yet again.

“Fine! Call Lancelot and tell him to send his best man for the job. I want her back as soon as possible and I want her returned safely. Make sure he understands that,” Carolina said.

“Yes, boss,” Carla replied, took out her phone and walked out of the room as she dialled.

**********

Gabriella dashed upright on the bed as she opened her eyes, waking from her sleep which had not been a good one because it was plagued with several nightmares. She was facing the opposite direction from the armchair that faced her bed so she hadn’t noticed if Andre was sitting in it yet again as he occasionally seemed to do. She turned her head and saw that he wasn’t there and she sighed in relief. She wasn’t ready to deal with him today and was glad that she wouldn’t have to.

As she was about to get out of the bed, she noticed that a dress was hanging on the closet and that there was a note stuck to it.

“He did come in here,” she whispered to herself as she stood.

She walked over to the green dress and stared at it apprehensively. She wasn’t impressed by the dress’ beauty, its soft fabric, its flawless stitching, its gorgeous patterns and expert design. She took the note and read it;

There’s something I have to show you so wear this and be ready. Alphonso will be there to take you by nine. – Andreas

Gabriella was confused and quite curious to see what Andreas wanted to show her. Normally, she wouldn’t so willingly obey his commands but after the previous night, after his warning, she decided to just do as she’s told until a better alternative comes along. She looked at the clock beside her bed and saw that she only had an hour to get ready so she went into the shower to have her bath.

.

.

.

Alphonso had taken Gabriella from her room and into a car and now, he was driving her to the place where she was to meet up with Andre. She didn’t know where they were going or what to expect so she was a bit nervous and uneasy.

“Where are you taking me, Alphonso?” she asked the guard but he didn’t answer.

“Hey, I asked you a question. Where exactly are we going?” she asked again and still, he remained silent.

“I see you’re still upset that I pointed your gun at you. Is that why you’re not answering me?”

“I’m not answering you because we’re almost at our destination and you’re about to see for yourself where I’m taking you,” Alphonso answered.

A few minutes later, the guard pulled into a strip and to Gabriella, it seemed like a private plane depot. He drove the car in and pulled up inside a hanger before stepping out of the car and opening the door for her. He gestured at her to walk forward and followed behind her as they walked out of the hanger and onto the strip that had several planes of different sizes parked on it.

Just up ahead, Gabriella could see that one of the planes had people going in and out of it with several boxes and just below the steps, there stood Andre with his arms folded behind him.

“Boss?” Alphonso called out when they reached him.

Andre turned around and when his eyes fell on Gabriella, he was stunned by her beauty and couldn’t take his eyes off her…but he did because he had a different reason for bringing her there.

Gabriella was also stunned by Andre’s aura and his charisma. The way he stood tall and proud, with his arms behind him and a dark scowl on his face did things to her body - dirty things that should never be spoken of. There was just something about her captor that made her knees weak whenever he was around her. She didn’t want to feel this s****l attraction for him but unfortunately, her body was in control of her erotic desires and it burned through her body, making it hellishly difficult for her to hide it.

“Thank you, Alphonso. You can leave us alone and I’ll call you if I need you,” Andre said to the guard.

“Sure thing, sir,” he replied before walking away.

“Why am I here?” Gabriella asked immediately as the guard left. She wanted answers to why he had taken her out of his estate for the first time since he ‘kidnapped’ her.

“You’re here to see the damage your mother causes because of the human trafficking business she had with my father,” he gestured at her to climb up into the plane, “Go on. I’m right behind you.”

She slowly walked into the plane, worried that this was where he was going to kill her. He had told her that he wouldn’t but she had zero trust in his assurances and at this moment, she was desperately praying that he had been honest with her. As she entered the vessel, she was shocked to see hundreds of little boys and girls buckled up in their seats while some of Andre’s workers gave them food. She didn’t understand what was going on and as if he sensed it, Andre proceeded to enlighten her.

“Terrible, isn’t it?” Andre asked.

“What is this? Who are all these children?” Gabriella asked.

“These children are the victims of both our clans. This particular set were stolen from Romania and now, I’m having them returned to their families.”

As Andre spoke, Gabriella felt her heart breaking within her chest. Most of the children were looking malnourished and some of them had injuries that were covered with bandages. It was the saddest thing she had ever seen and the fact that her mother had caused it only made her feel worse.

“The King’s Gold may be a rival but that wouldn’t be enough reason to want to destroy them completely. We can still coexist and go about our businesses without interfering with each other but, this,” he pointed, making sure Gabriella could see his face – his eyes, “this is more than enough reason to wipe them all from the face of the earth. I’ve already begun to abolish this inhumane business in my clan now that I’m in charge but that is not going to be enough. If only your mother would agree to stop in this trade, I would happily give you back to her and try my hardest not to cross paths with the King’s Gold but, Carolina is a stubborn and proud woman – she’ll never agree to stop and that’s where you come in.”

“What do you mean by that?” Gabriella was confused.

Andre moved closer to her – so close that it was almost like he wanted to merge himself into her and he stared directly into her eyes so she could understand the seriousness of the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

“I’m going to kill your mother,” he said plainly and waited for her response.

Gabriella held his gaze and was determined to not back down. If he thought that his words were going to intimidate her and make her shiver in her shoes, then he was sadly mistaken.

“I don’t care what happens to her or the King’s Gold so do whatever you want,” she replied, much to Andre’s surprise.

“You should care because even if Carolina dies, the King’s Gold will live on. It is a clan that has been around for generations and the death of a leader can never be the end of such a great mafia family as that. They’ll need a new leader – one that has a right to claim the seat as Capo and seeing as you’re her only heir, you’re the obvious choice. With you running the King’s Gold and I running the Red Cobras, we can be allies and not rivals. We can end this trade once and for all and there can be peace between both our families,” Andre said.

Gabriella understood now why Andreas Cimaro still kept her around. What he wanted was noble – abolishing the illegal kidnappings and trade of little children, but the only problem with his plan was the part where she would be running things. That was not what she wanted at all.

“I admire your plan to end this evil,” she stared at the kids, “but I can’t help you. I hate being a part of the mafia. It’s something I’ve been trying to escape for as long as I can remember. I don’t want any part of this life, much less to be the one in charge of it. This is the very same reason my mother and I butt heads all the time. I don’t want it,” she responded.

“This is bigger than you, Gabriella,” Andre grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him, “You can’t run away from your birthright so why not use it for good?”

“Good?” she scoffed and snatched her arm from his grip, “There’s nothing good about being a drug lord or an arms dealer or a thug. That’s all the mafia is and just because you want to do one good thing, it’s not going to erase the other terrible things you do. I’ve seen enough. I want to leave,” she said.

“You need to…” he was about to say but she cut in.

“I don’t need to do anything you say. Now, get me out of here. I want to leave,” she shouted.

Andre lowered his voice so the children wouldn’t get freaked out and he stared at Gabriella while being caught in two minds about what to do because of her insolence and passion; punish her OR kiss her!