Twisted Fixation

Chapter 2

She arrived at the St. George Army headquarters after nearly an hour. It is situated in a remote location of the city to ensure that no citizens come to snoop about. Outwardly, they appear to be an ordinary little construction company, and George has even obtained a business permit and other documents required for it to be regarded as a legal business in case cops or other government officials pay them a visit.

Contrary to its name that seems holy and elegant, St. George is a private military company who takes high risk missions and takes jobs from influential people. The work varies from stealing valuables, guarding an important person, to killing enemies of their clients. Everything is possible as long as the price is right.

At first, Yuri thought that such things only happen in movies but it did not take much before she figured that everything was real. When George found her one night, he decided to take her in and taught her skills suited for the job.

"Where's George?" she asked upon seeing her colleague Edward who is about to take a bite from his sandwich.

"He's in his office. He told me to have you go there once you arrived. From what I heard from Valentin, it sounds like your mother has contacted George."

Yuri's eyes widened at that. She couldn't believe that her mom was able to contact her boss.

By any chance, does she already know what she has been doing and has been turning a blind eye until last time?

"Thanks, Ed. Happy lunch."

Without further ado, she took big steps towards George's office which is on the second floor. Once she was already in front of his door, she knocked twice. When she heard George's voice telling her to come in, she pushed the door open.

She expected to find Valentin with him but surprisingly, he is alone.

"I am sorry to call you so suddenly. What happened to the necklace?"

She shrugged her shoulders and pulled one of the chairs. "Halid took it for ten thousand dollars. I was not expecting that Mr. Mafia Boss is kind of cheap," she said in a disgusted tone upon remembering how Halid even told him that the necklace isn't worth as she expected and ten thousand dollars is the best deal she could give her.

She's been taking some of her goods to him ever since she started her career as a mercenary for SGA so she knows that the man is someone worthy of her trust. After all, she cannot afford to risk bringing her goods to a different dealer especially if she steals from known people. Halid is already risking his life to help her and she wants to maintain her decency as a human by doing business with him regardless if he is lying to her or not.

George laughed at his remark. "Giulia Miller isn't a Costa consort. It appears that you do not know yet but the Costas does not take a non-Italian woman for a lover."

She snorted at that. "But the name Giulia is Italian, isn't it?"

"It is but still, she is an American by nature and not a drop of Italian blood runs in her veins. So more likely that woman is just Giancarlo's plaything. One that he keeps by his side for.. some reasons."

Yuri simply rolled her eyes. What should she have expected? Giancarlo Costa is undoubtedly a mafia boss, yet no one can deny how charismatic he is in addition to being immensely rich. And, in the end, he is still a man who cannot survive without a woman.

Although for her, she would kill him the instant she lay her eyes on him.

"Anyway, let's go back to the reason I called you here today."

Yuri wanted to inquire whether it is true that her mother called but she has this feeling that even if she would not ask him, he would still tell her about it so she waited patiently for what he is going to say next.

"I know how much this job means to you but your mother does not take it well and I am afraid that if you continue to be here, all of the hard work we have done will just go to waste."

She narrowed her eyes as she did not understand what she meant by that. George quickly understood her reaction so he explained a little bit more.

"Your mother threatened to call the FBI if you are going to stay here. As a parent myself, I understand how she feels about you doing this dangerous job."

She let out a harsh breath and slammed the table with her fist. "You know how important this job is for me, George! I cannot go anywhere else! I am also your top agent so it would be a huge loss if you are going to let me go!"

George gave a sad smile at that. "While what you said is true, how about the other people who also work here for their family, Yuri? It's not as if I am doing this because I want to but I know that this is what's the best for everyone. Your mom said that you are going back to Manila."

She laughed sarcastically at that. How could her mom say that when they cannot even afford to move to a more decent apartment and let alone go on a quick vacation? A plane ticket costs around a thousand dollars and they do not even have savings to start a new life abroad.

And with her goal to kill Giancarlo Costa, she is not willing to move far away from him until she makes sure that he has paid for what he did. She knew that Giancarlo Costa was a dangerous man, but she was determined to take him down. She knew that this would not be an easy task, but she was willing to do whatever it takes to see justice served. With every passing day, her determination grew stronger, and she knew that nothing could stop her from achieving her goal.

"It was a long and tiring conversation with her but I was able to convince her to do one last job for the St. George Army and she agreed. I offered her that because you have the opportunity to earn a lot of money if the mission is successful."

She still feels worst about what's happening but hearing the chance of earning huge, she can't help but give her undivided attention back to George.

"Captain Holt called last night and offered a job to us. He specifically said that I should deploy my best female agent for the job."

"What happened to not associating ourselves with the cops?"

"Captain Holt is a close friend of mine, and he has previously offered us different jobs. And each time he does, it is never a simple one."

Yuri didn't respond by encouraging George to keep going. She wonders why this is a high-risk mission since a female agent is required to complete it.

"If you haven't seen the news yet, there have been reports of drugged and r***d women in Greenpoint. Authorities have been looking into it for a while, but their only tip is that these women were frequenting the same bar prior to the crime. While the majority of these women are unlucky, some have barely managed to survive."

She does not know the full story but she recalled seeing the news about that a long time ago. So, is it still happening now?

"You are aware that wealthy bastards own a large number of the bars in New York. As a result, Captain Holt and his team find it challenging to fully investigate the situation because every time they think they are close to finding something, something unfortunate occurs. Two of his men were shot and killed there the last time they were there."

She gritted her teeth. She is the kind of person whose morals are not based on the Bible because she is not a good person herself, but she does not take joy in killing and hurting innocent people.

It doesn't surprise her at all, though. After all, those in positions of power and wealth always rule the world.

"How should the mission go? Should I pretend to be a customer there?"

George clasped his hand together and nodded. "Exactly. But you must go there alone. If you will agree, I will have Valentin prepare your weapons. You also need to dress provocatively. Black hair suits you better so I am thinking of having you wear a blonde wig since the assailants are fixated on blonde women."

"How much money are we talking about here, George?"

He looked at her with utmost seriousness and without missing a beat, he answered. "Five hundred thousand dollars. Complete the mission and you get half of that amount."

Yuri automatically imagined how much money it is. If she will be able to have that kind of amount on her hands, she won't have to worry about her mother's medications for a while and they could even move to a new neighborhood. If her mother would insist on going to Manila, she might be able to send her there considering that a dollar is worth fifty times more in the Philippines.

It is also her last mission as an agent of St. George Army so declining such an offer is not on the table. She is determined to see it through and she is not about to let George down.

"I accept," she said and stood up from the chair.

"There was also another reason as to why I offered this to you, Yuri."

Yuri looked at her boss with a confused expression but George remained passive.

"I got a tip that somehow, Giancarlo Costa is involved in this."

***

Island of Sicily, Italy

"Abbiamo ricevuto la conferma che qualcano sta fingendo di essere te," (We have received confirmation that someone is pretending to be you.) a man walked in the room to tell the news to his boss.

The person behind the table balled his fist and grinned lazily. He had been impersonated before, but this time he could not afford to remain still because the situation did not appear promising. The Costa name would undoubtedly be tarnished if the situation spirals out of control and involves the media.

"Giancarlo, what about the woman who stole my necklace? Aren't you going to kill her first?"

The people in the room stayed silent as everyone knows how their boss is not interested in that even though some of them wanted to retaliate especially two of their colleagues got hurt. But without an approval from their boss, they cannot make any move.

Giancarlo Costa is not someone who tends to waste his time on such trivial things but Giulia assumes that he is fixated on her since it has been a few months already and he is still allowing her to stay with him.

"Your stupidity was the reason why it was stolen in the first place so do not tell me what to do," Giancarlo retorted back coldly and there is an unmistakable edge on his voice.

Giulia was startled, but Favio intervened before she could say anything. He doesn't want to see any bloodshed right now, especially since Giancarlo isn't in the best mood to put up with the woman's antics.

"Cosa dovremmo fare a riguardo? Dovrei preparare tutti?" (What should we do about it? Should I get everyone ready?)

Giancarlo brushed his hair with his fingers and the danger in his eyes was noticed by everyone in the room. Even Guilia who was determined to continue her drama fell silent.

She intends to keep him to herself, so she must tread carefully if she doesn't want to be cast aside.

"Questo è così noioso, finiamolo subito." (This is so boring, let's finish it right away.)

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! :) English was not my first language so please forgive me for any grammar lapses. You are free to correct the Italian phrases as well should their contexts were used incorrectly.