HEALER

(Milan, Italy) “Boss, are you awake?” Julian could hear his aide, Gabriel, saying. Gabriel was expecting an answer now. He had been by his boss’s side for the past two days since he collapsed. Now, Julian was regaining consciousness slowly. Finally, Julian came to his senses. He was shocked to find himself in a hospital and from the look he saw on Gabriel’s face, he knew all was not well. There had to be bad news. “How long was I out?” Julian asked simply. “Two days, boss,” Gabriel replied. He was particularly excited that Julian was awake now. “Did anything happen when I was unconscious?” Julian asked again, thinking he would find the root of the problem. “None, boss,” Gabriel replied again. Julian heaved a sigh of relief. He was prepared to lay down back but he could see Gabriel looking scared. Julian put the pieces together instantly. “Is something wrong with me?” Julian asked carefully. He was hoping that everything would be fine with him. “You have been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, boss,” Gabriel said slowly, almost breaking apart in the process. “Dr. Almond says you have only three months to live.” *** In Italy, Julian was a very rich man. He was someone with enough power and authority. He donated millions for charity purposes and he placed a lot of his wealth in artworks too. He owned several ghost companies but this was what he did on the outside. On the inside, Julian was the head of the Ferrari family. There were one of the most influential families around as they had a huge mafia organization which Julian commanded as well. Of course, they had a lot of enemies too. After Julian had been discharged from the hospital, he had a lot of concerns. With three months left to live, he knew his family would be in grave danger the moment he died. He had to protect them but this could only be done when he was still breathing. With this issue, he came to a conclusion. “Listen up, Gabriel,” Julian took a deep breath. “Call the folks together. We will go hunting.” “What are we hunting, boss?” Gabriel asked for some level of certainty. “Cold-blooded and evil folks like us,” Julian grinned. This was called the eradication mission. Julian led his men to establish a truce with his enemies. For those who rejected his proposal, he sent assassins to bring them down. He did this for every of his enemies except for his biggest rival, Antonio Russo. Antonio didn’t belong to a mafia family. He was a d**g lord with a great number of gangsters under his command. Unlike Julian, Antonio lacked a single bit of decency. He did only two things approximately. The first was killing and the second was sleeping around. He was rich, of course, and he had engaged in several face offs with Julian for separate reasons. It was a great fight between Antonio and Julian but at the end, Julian’s side was more powerful. Julian had a healthy mindset to win too. Antonio fled instantly and Julian prepared to follow. “He has escaped to the United States…” Gabriel reported. There, Julian heaved a sigh. He knew he had to kill Antonio to secure the peace and safety of his family upon his death. “Get a plane instantly. We will track him down over there,” Julian replied. He was going to walk away but Gabriel stopped him coldly. “America is different from here, boss,” Gabriel replied. “It is risky to go there. We will be arrested if we take weapons and we can’t…” “Shh!” Julian cut him short. “Get a plane ticket for both of us. Let’s go together and track Antonio down.” “It’s dangerous, boss,” Gabriel replied. His motive was to stop Julian no matter what it would take. “I will not let you do this. If you get arrested in America, you might be…” “I will be deported to Italy and I will be fine…” Julian reminded. “It is a different story if your life is tampered with. I cannot protect you alone in the States, boss,” Gabriel said carefully. He was aware that he was losing the argument here. This made Julian laugh. “I have three months left, bro,” Julian replied in a stone-cold manner. “I’d rather die fighting Antonio than sit here and wait for death to snatch me.” This was the end of the argument. Gabriel would do as he was told. In a few hours, they would be on their way to the United States. It would be the first time in their lives. Here, the tale begins. *** (New York, United States) “It’s a big fish!” Mia exploded on looking at her laptop screen. Finally, she had found a means to get promoted. Carefully, she put together the facts she had gathered and she prepared to submit them to her superior officer. She was certain that she would be promoted for this. Mia led a double life. On the outside, she was an ordinary coffee shop owner and on the inside, she was an undercover agent belonging to the international crimes division. She was an IT specialist and a hacker too. Mia had sensed something brewing when she saw two Italian big names entering the country. The first, Antonio Russo, was a well-known d**g lord in Italy. The second was Julian Ferrari. His family was the most influential in Italy and obviously, he would not come to the States for no reason. Upon finishing her report, she submitted to her direct superior with a smile on her face. “You are supposed to be an undercover agent. On a sunny afternoon like this, you should be at the coffee shop and not here, Mia,” William replied. William was her direct superior. “I think I just caught a big fish!” Mia exclaimed excitedly. Instantly, William became interested. He focused on her properly. “You should know Julian Ferrari, right?” “I do,” William replied. “Isn’t he that Italian man who donates to charity all around the world?” “Of course!” Mia frowned. “He has done a bit of good to cover up his crimes. It is a known fact that his family is a mafia family who does drugs too.” “What are you heading at?” William asked. He was tired since Mia was going back and forth. “That same man will arrive in our country in the next two hours. We should arrest him instantly and deport him,” Mia said. She was building momentum gradually. “And what good will it do to us…” William frowned. “We could be… promoted…” Mia hesitated for a moment. With the sarcastic look on William’s face, Mia was certain that she was wrong about something. She didn’t need to think too much since William was ready to give her an answer. “If we deport him, it will be nothing big. If something goes wrong, we could be fired for attempting to deport a powerful man,” William explained. “There is a better suggestion.” Now, Mia smiled. “I think I know…” Mia replied. “You should,” William smiled back at her. *** Mia knew what she had to do. She was eager to get her promotion and to do this, deporting Julian instantly was not going to work. She had to stalk him and procure evidence before sending him off. That way, her promotion would come in easily. She waited for his plane to arrive. She had her plans already. When the plane landed, Mia waited right there as different people came out and were being embraced by their families and friends. Finally, she sighted Julian coming out of the plane. He was with another young man who seemed to be someone close to him. She got ready to follow them. It had been a long day for Julian. His aide, Gabriel, was with him, and he was not too worried. “How are the preparations?” Julian asked carefully. He made sure his voice was low so it would not be heard by others. “Our hotel has been booked, and I have got a chauffeur for us as well,” Gabriel replied. “You should relax in the hotel while I meet our men who are here.” “But I told you to bring no others…” Julian said angrily. His voice was quiet but stern. “They are men that have been here for a long time. We will need them in acquiring guns and ammunition and even tracking down Antonio,” Gabriel informed. “Be careful…” Julian warned. Right after, he walked away briskly. As he did this, he observed something strange. “Hey, Gabriel. Do you feel the same way?” Julian asked as he continued to walk. “What do you mean?” Gabriel asked with an inquisitive look on his face. “I feel like I am being tailed. The back of my head is itching, and you know why it does,” Julian replied. Instantly, he worked out a plan with Gabriel. They walked faster now and Mia had to hurry to keep pace. Suddenly, both men disappeared from Mia’s gaze. She ran but had nowhere to go. Finally, she stopped in her tracks. She had been caught.