Rivals at a cost

Something about her.

I stare at the fire illuminating the room while I swirl my glass filled with whiskey. Did she not recognize me? I am after all one of the most feared and powerful mafia leaders in history . Who does not know the Aristeo name!

I am also the CEO of a dozen multibillion dollar companies across the globe. But on the other side, anyone familiar with my name would walk circles around me and my men. So she probably did not know me. If she did not look so innocent and adorable, I would have snapped her neck in front of Aunty Soph. When she ran into me, knocking my cappuccino out of my hand, I could see my men waiting for me to react, I was furious! Something stopped me, when her big brown eyes met mine, I instantly felt calm. She looked at me like I am just someone she bumped into, not Marcus Ameer Aristeo, the youngest mafia leader to ever take over. I was just 16 when I stepped in for my father. This was the first time I was treated normal. She truly amused my men, no one ever dared to tell me what to do, but this woman left me speechless when she said she would not take no for an answer and assumed that I would like to see her bright smile again. To top things of, she even bought me a new cappuccino and told me to go on a date with her! No woman ever paid for me before, my men were cracking up at the scene outside. I did not even know someone could be so arrogant, but to be honest, with her looks and body , I will not blame her. She is absolutely gorgeous ,she does not look like the women I usually get associated with, they usually are tall, skinny and blond with big breasts and blue eyes. She is a lot shorter than me, she looks strong but still feminine. She probably has legs to die for...

I pick up my mobile and call Mike.

"Evening sir, how can I be of assistance?"

"Mike please clear my schedule tomorrow between ten and twelve, I have some matters to attend to".

"Does it maybe include a cute arrogant brunet that left you speechless Marcus? "he laughed at me.

"Mike, just do as I ask!" He sometimes forgets his place, we may be best friends, but I am still a Aristeo.

"I think I was even more shocked at her actions than you Marcus, she truly has a death wish."

He just keeps on going, I swear this man is deaf.

"Fine, I will stop joking around, I will tell your men to wait in the parking."

I end the call. If he were not my best friend and basically family for more than 20 years, I certainly would have fed him to Diablo by now. 

I finally enter my apartment after a long day of pretending, now I just need to create a few fake i********: posts with the photos I took today and then I can report back to Ray.

I post a picture of the cafe and a few more of my tour that include me. Some pictures are breathtaking. Being undercover has its advantages , I get to travel and see extraordinary places, but having a life outside my work is impossible. The only people I have in my life that I do not lie to and trust are my sister, Elsbeth, and Raymond.

Ray is my boss, who also happens to be my best friend and brother-in-law. I met him when I started working with the Bureau ,when I was 18. At a work function he met my sister and two years later, she became Mrs. Raymond Quinn.

I have been portraying Rosanna Biann for over a year now, for the first six months I had to build her life in South Africa since she is a South African software and website developer. I made a lot of great people, but it is not the same if you must lie to them every step of the way. I even had to date this really nice guy and then I had to break his heart when I started to travel. Do not get me wrong, I love my job, I get to save and protect a lot of innocent and vulnerable life's daily. For seven months I had to track down one of the most wanted mafia leaders, he has been tied to most of the human trafficking and drug operations in the United States. I worked as a personal assistant for one of his allies, during that time I arrested about twenty of his men.  

My phone rings.

"Evening Agent Raven".

"Good evening Mr. Quinn. I just posted a few moments ago on i********: about Rosanna's travels here in Italy. Did you receive any new information regarding our suspect?"

"I can confirm that he will be at Vaniglia Arrosto at around 10:am tomorrow, apparently a rare opportunity has shown its face and caught his attention . Do you have the access code for the surveillance systems in Vaniglia Arrosto yet?".

"Yes, I will send them to you now, along with the pictures I took of the shop, I will leave tomorrow at 9 to be there early to study the environment and locate potential problems before Marcus arrives." 

"Thank you, just do not get distracted, today when you bumped into him ,you completely forgot for a moment how to speak, I could not stop laughing " he laughs at me, he always treated me like a little sister, 

he is only five years older than me.

"Very funny Ray, how is my sister doing?" I asked annoyed.

"You know you love my humor Leora, she is fine, she just cannot wait to see you again and to start a family."

"As soon as I get the Leader behind bars,  I will come home. Hopefully tomorrow I will get the information I need during my date."  

The world would be much saver without him, I must act quick before he finds his way into one of the biggest Mafia groups. Apparently, some of them have deals with the Bureau, they stay out of our way and supply us with valuable information regarding mafia that fall under our restriction.

The Bureau then gives them a free pass, but they do not take any responsibility for agents who cross those groups.

"Just do not get lost in his eyes, okay sunshine" he teases me.

"I am going to hang up now Ray, tell my sister I love her" I laugh, he always knows how to make work fun.

"Yeah, Yeah I will, be save Leora, I will check in tomorrow at nine, goodnight". 

"Goodnight Ray"