Shadows Of The Vow

Chapter Three Celebration Of Pending Victory

Antonioni’s POV

Inside my black SUV, cruising through the city outskirts in the dead of the night, my three right-hand men were with me in our car.

The other gang members followed behind in their SUVs, packed in groups.

We were all heading back to our base in the Marina Park Estate.

The time was 8:57pm.

We had first gone to the treasure warehouse to load off our retrieved goods.

The treasure warehouse is a secluded underground where I kept bigger treasures and safeguarded them with modern security-proof technologies.

That's for Spain.

I still have treasure warehouses in Berlin, Russia and Japan.

Smaller treasures worth less than a billion dollars can be safeguarded in the Park's warehouse.

Milo, the chatty and techie one among our gang broke the silence that had lingered in the air for a while.

“Man, that stunt Lorenzo pulled back there… dude’s got some nerves. Who threatens the Shadow King to his face and walks away?” He chuckled.

“We didn't hesitate to put them on the flight. Even Lorenzo and Scales ran as far as their legs could carry them. Initially, they stood there, talkin’ all that fire like they're untouchable.” He said, laughing.

They all burst out laughing, except me.

I just knew it wasn't time to celebrate yet until complete victory was wrought.

Lorenzo isn’t one to back down from a fight easily, he always attacks back. But right now, we’ve got a bigger problem. One of our deadliest clients, Léon Fierro, is missing a shipment. We still believe it’s a mix-up somewhere, and we’ll take care of it soon.

Thank goodness we’ve handled Lorenzo’s ass. But Lorenzo’s ass is nothing compared to the monster that is Fierro.

Diego, the quick-tempered one chimed in from the back seat, sitting up straighter as he talked. “Damn… By the time he sees his empty containers again, his face would be red with fury…”

They all laughed again. This time, I laughed too, really laughed.

Diego continued. “I bet he didn't see that coming. Damn! Thank God this op was a smooth one. Guys, we were well-prepared and I knew it was going to be successful, but not as fast as it was executed. We indeed had our strategies laid out, but everything happened at the speed of light. The X-16 Pulse Retreater is a banger, Hahaha… It's just like killing without spilling blood. Now it's done for Lorenzo.”

“The battle was over before it even started,” Bukky added mockingly, eyes never leaving the road as he drove.

“Yeah, it was.” I agreed with him.

Diego sat up straighter as he was about to talk again; his fingers tapped restlessly on the side of his thigh, like he was itching to pull a trigger.

“If you hadn't held me back King, I'd have lit Scales’ arrogant ass up right there. No cap. Dude has really got some stinking nerves. We out there tryna recover our rightful goods, and there he was tryna finesse us like he owns the night.”

Diego was my high school mate and has been my loyal close friend.

He called me King mostly because that was what I was being called in school those days.

We both were the most dangerous boys in the school, and no student dared cross our paths.

We never looked for trouble, but anyone who invited us didn't go scot-free.

I responded. “It wasn't ideal to shed blood yet, Dee. At least, not the blood of Lorenzo’s right-hand man. If we'd killed him, it would have resulted in drawing a line for a bloody war. I mean, not like I feared that, but I'm not exactly in the right state of mind for that.”

They all nodded in affirmation.

“Yeah, that's true…,” Milo added.

Suddenly changing the topic, Bukky asked, smiling. “Oh, I just remembered. Boss, what about your new wife? Words around the park say she's very pretty.”

They hadn't gone with me to get her because they had to stay back and prepare for the operation. I had gone with my personal chauffeur, two other gang members for my ride, and a good number of boys for added security.

“Very pretty?” I pretended like I didn't know she truly is pretty, scoffing.

“Look, I'm not about to marry her. She ain't my type. She looks rather naive, dumb and clumsy, to mention but a few. I only wanted to get her and use her to satisfy my s****l urges, and then dispose of her when I must have been tired of her. There was no way Edward could have paid me, so he needed to pay with what he had. Something of heavy value.”

“Making sense.” Diego chimed in.

“Hmmm.” The rest nodded in understanding.

“Then we'll meet her tomorrow. Don't hesitate to still introduce her to us.” Bukky added, smiling.

Milo's voice came up again, this time, jokingly and impulsively.

“Congratulations on your shadow marriage then, boss! Dudes, why don't we party hard tonight? I mean this victory, coupled with Boss's new marriage, calls for booze and celebration!”

As if it were a recited line in a nursery rhyme, all of us echoed at once, “Nah, I will pass.”

I abruptly smirked and addressed them firmly. “Okay… listen up, guys. This isn't the time to celebrate yet. Lorenzo's not the one to easily accept defeat, y'all know that. It's time to up our game and tighten security around the Park, especially where our goods are kept. More guards should be sent to guard our treasures because if there are treasures, then there must be guards to guard them. We shouldn't slack now, instead, we should stay awake and alert. We must plan smartly and be many steps ahead of the Vipers.”

They all agreed with me, looking at me with admiration written all over their faces.

“If Lorenzo tries anything stupid then we'd go harder in beating his ass this time. The worst he can do is to rat us out to the cops.” Milo boasted as he brought out a cigarette and lit it as he ended his speech.

“What are you doing, man?! You're gonna choke us all out smoking here...” Diego challenged Milo.

“Yo, yo, man, you gotta stop that, it will suffocate us all.” I bugged him.

“Just this one boss, I promise.”

I nodded in permission.

He wound down the window and curled out some cigarette smoke from his mouth.

We all sighed and ignored him. At least, I was happy he's no longer as worried as he seemed earlier, before the operation started.

“But what else could Lorenzo know about us that he might want to use to rat us out to the cops?” Bukky asked. His face shone against the streetlights, and his hands barely touched the steering wheel in pure mastery of the driving craft.

“Honestly, I don't know, man. But I'm sure he's constantly digging. Anyways, Milo, add it to the agenda. We'll do our research and figure it out.” Thank you for remembering that, man. I had honestly thanked him.

“Okay, boss,” Milo answered, still smoking.

Bukky increased the volume of the music thudding from the quality car speakers. Our car ruled the very lanes we traveled, each turn a quiet demonstration of power and control.

Milo and Diego sang along to the hip-hop jam.

We were almost getting closer to the Estate, but everywhere was still lit as if it were daytime.

Because of the stress I went through, my face was a little pale. And tired. I could tell from the feel of it. It felt heavy.

We dropped off Milo and Diego at their neighborhoods, and Bukky and I headed to the domain.

Bukky lived with me in my dome, organizing things closely. He's very dependable.

I made him start living with me, even though it took him the longest time before he finally agreed.

“See you tomorrow, man.” We hugged and parted ways to our separate penthouses.

I pushed past the hallways and got to my room.

On getting into my room, I was bewildered.

As I pushed open the door, my goodness! There was my mother talking to Annabelle.

“Mom! How many times have I told you to stop speaking with my visitors?”

She looked down like a guilty dog, hands clamped together.

I wasn't buying that face. She usually did that to guilt-trip me.

I came close to her, took her left hand, and dragged her through the door to leave her with the security until one of my girls came to take her.

“Please call Anna to come and take her.”

I was embarrassed. That's how my mother always made me feel whenever she spoke to my visitors.

Growing up, Patty mama was my biggest supporter and cheerleader. She had been sane and believed so much in me.

“You're such an excellent child, Antonioni. I'm sure you'd grow up to be wealthy, son.” She would always say that to me.

I was born in Marseille, Southeastern France. But I was raised in a small town in Namibia, Southern Africa.

I was my parents’ only child, and I was told by my mother that my father had passed from a ghastly motor accident, even before I turned two.

Patty mama had raised me single-handedly, going through all the hustling and bustling just to make sure I got the things I needed in life.

That was in a small town called Okahandja.

I was barely 7 years old when everything changed.

I came back from school one day and searched everywhere for her, but didn't see her.

It was then almost midnight, and it was raining heavily. Meanwhile, she still hadn't been back home.

I was very hungry too, but I cared less about the hunger. I needed to find Patty Mama.

I ran as far as my tiny legs could carry me, calling out to her.

“Patty mama! Patty mama!”

The streets were quiet and empty.

The sound of crickets and security gongs could be heard from afar.

A sleeping dog in one of the shades lazily raised its head, looked at me, and went back to sleep.

My clothes were drenched, and I was shivering from the cold. It seemed like the thunderstorm was taking its anger all out on me.

My breathing too was heavy, and thick vapour left my mouth anytime I opened it.

Frustrated, I decided to run back home. Just before I could step into the house, I saw her sitting by our waste area, playing with the dirts and laughing to herself at intervals.

Horrified and scared beyond words, I hid from her, ran back to one of our close neighbors’ houses, and passed the night.

I dared not tell anyone what I saw, not even the neighbors whom I had spent the night at their place.

I told them Patty mama said she needed to be alone, and I could pass the night at their place.