His Corrupt Mafia Queen

Chapter 2: Head Mistress in Charge

We didn’t name ourselves, nor did we have a set-in-tone agenda. Well, not at first. No one ever disclosed what they used to do before I joined the organization. At first it felt like they were keeping secrets from me. Then I became more involved. I was trained heavily in combat, weapons, and technology. They turned me into a soldier. My first mission was to save a group of kids from a hostage situation. All the kids came out alive, but in the mess of things I shot someone. I was scared and backed up against a corner. Now I don’t feel frightened or guilty. Our head mistress took me under her wing. The head mistress was the woman who approached me at the fountain in Italy. Had I known that Francisco was working with her all along, I would’ve gone with her when we first met. She had me change my appearance, nothing too major, my long dark brown hair was now a copper red cut short to drape along my shoulders. Once revealed, everyone said that it suited me better, that it brought out my blue eyes.

As a group, we take down powerful families that bring harm to people. That’s what I was told and we have done exactly that. Saving anyone and everyone who needed help. We are a very large group, with people all over the world. We kept everything in the dark and made sure our identities were hidden. 

In Australia, we operate out of a tech company. The owner was part of our unnamed group. It was Sunday and the building was ordered to be cleared out of anyone who wasn't with us.

“You killed him?” Francisco whispered into my ear. We were walking down a hall that led us to a large room dedicated to office cubicles. It was a sea of them. Isabel and Aaron followed behind us, engaging in their own conversation. 

“I had no other choice” I hissed, not wanting to dive into this topic of conversation again. Francisco was worried about me, ever since Itay, he has tried to get me into therapy, and halt the missions I’ve been assigned to. It felt like he was trying to control me.

Francisco didn’t bother saying anything else, we took in the silence as the four of us were approaching the conference room, where our headmistress, Carmine, was waiting for us. The room was naturally lit by the sun's rays, an oval-shaped conference table that was able to seat fourteen people sat in the center, and a smart board where Carmine stood in front of the room waiting for us to take our seats.

“Nice to see everyone back and alive..” Carmine started with a smile as we took our seats. She wore a tight fitted green dress that ended right above her knees, with her curls slicked back and wrapped in a tight bun. As always, she wore a scarf concealing her neck. There was always something covering her neck, she tells me that it’s a tattoo of a name belonging to a man she would rather forget. Carmine never told anyone about her life before creating this group, even though we had grown so close over the course of the year, I didn’t know a single thing about her, besides her vendetta against a very powerful Italian family.

“Looking good as always, Carmine..” Aaron said with a wink, he was the world’s biggest flirt, and it got him nowhere with the ladies. He and Isabel sat across from me and Francisco.

“Well let's get right into business, Raina, did you get the tablet?” Carmine completely disregarded Aaron’s comment and looked towards me with her dazzling light hazel-green eyes. I raised my body from the seat and nodded as I dug into my purse, which was now stained with a man’s blood. Carmine saw that too, she took the tablet from my hands as I offered it to her. 

“Good job..” With a nod of approval, I sat back down beside Francisco, who couldn’t even look at me. I refrained from showing any emotion, it wasn’t that hard. Part of my training here was to keep my emotions in check, to not let anything get personal. 

“The password is Sydney” Not bothering to focus any of my attention on Francisco, I looked right at Carmine as she typed in the password I shared. She wasn’t bothered by the blood, nor did she see me as a ruthless killer. I was so close with her because she didn’t judge me as the person I came out to be. Carmine inspected the tablet and the contents inside. The only thing that sounded in the room was her fingernails tapping against the screen. She took a few moments for herself to go over the information inside. 

“Alright, looks like another relocation. Raina and Isabel, you two will be sent to London to take down a clan of brothers who are murdering innocent women. Drisco and Aaron, you boys, will be headed to Hawaii to infiltrate a drug lord and his smuggling ring. Once the others get here, I will assign more of them to your groups. This isn’t meant to be a quick job, a few weeks at the least. Let's say in two months we meet up back here?” It was very rare for me and Isabel to be put on the same teams. We found ways to keep ourselves occupied whenever we were assigned to something, whether it was light shopping or carrying out a full investigation. We looked at each other and exchanged smiles.

About six others arrived. They were older and more experienced. They led armed groups into fights, infiltrated shady deals,and went undercover for long periods of time. In my one year here, I only ever met with them twice, but there was a sense of familiarity with them. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. One girl and two other guys were assigned to my team, and two girls and one guy were assigned to Francisco’s team. After the details had been disclosed about our assignments, Carmine sat down at the head of the table. We began talking about other things, families who are on the rise with power. Suddenly my name was brought up.

“Raina’s face is plastered all over Italy, the Asso family wants her head. The authorities are blaming her for the m******e that happened at the hotel.” This wasn’t news to me, I knew that I would be blamed for what happened at the hotel, even though it was Francisco’s doing. They wanted me.

“I’ll get your name cleared, Raina, Francisco had no right to go behind my back and hire a group of miscreants to carry out a job. We don’t hurt innocent civilians. I already had Francisco pay for his acts. It doesn't mean you should suffer” Carmine said, reassuring me. The first week I got here, everyone was shocked and disgusted at how Francisco led a group to kill women and children just to get to me. I was never told what his punishment was though and he never talked about it with me. I just remember him being taken away for a few weeks.

“It’s not because of the hotel. Raina attempted to kill Sebastiano Asso. Do you think that was going to come without consequences?” Aaron started with a shrug, A name I was trying never to hear of again somehow was easily brought up in conversation. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat at the mention of him. That night still burns a vivid memory in my head, the gunshots, Christina’s begging cries, all of it was a part of a past I wanted to desperately erase. Attempted. I was so close to being free of him, but somehow, he survived. I tried to do everything to distract my mind from Sebastian, Christina, and Italy all together.

“Speaking of Aces..” One of the other girls mumbled with annoyance. At first , I didn’t know what she was referring to. The echoing sound of heels from afar alerted us before it penetrated the conference room. A particular blonde who stood six feet high in her stilettos, wearing a white loose fitted dress, busted into the conference room.