Escape Route (Decode Sequel)

Chapter Ten - Whipped Like Cream.

Lennon. 

“Carlo Salvatore.” 

“Zayn,” he paused, looking at the Italian man sceptically. “Malik.” 

“You think I don’t know who you are?” 

I gulped and looked around the room. I tried to look anywhere but the glaring eyes of Carlo, but mine always found their way back out of curiosity but mainly fear of the unknown if I didn't look. 

"How are you finding gang life Lennon? Treating you well?" His thick Italian accent made it hard to fully understand what he was saying. And what I could understand came across sharp and aggressive even if it was tame conversation. I didn't exactly know what to respond, I looked over to Zayn but his face was completely emotionless. "Paul's a good guy, I imagine it's like the family you never had." It scared me how much he seemed to know and yet I hadn't even heard of him.

"Yeah, I guess." I mumbled timidly.

"If you're gonna kill us can you do it soon rather than draw it out?" Zayn grumbled.  

The room we were sat in was like a kitchen without appliances but the cupboards were all there. We sat at the table in the middle of the room, Carlo at the head and Zayn and I on either side. Several hefty men leant against the counters and lined the presence of the property. It was a villa style place we were taken too, although there was a tower connected to one of the rooms making it look almost medieval. It didn't look very 'mafia' like but I was no expert.  

We hadn't been mistreated however by Carlo or his men. They led us into the house calmly without even pushing us, it was nice not to be treated like a rabid animal but on the other hand it made me question their intent even more. 

"We didn't take you to kill you." 

Our heads both snapped towards Carlo as if he'd offered us the elixir of life. 

"You're not going to kill us?" 

"What do you want with us then?" Zayn questioned, eyeing the mafia leader suspiciously. 

"We saved you from Axel and his faithful bitch maybe you should be a little more grateful."

I had to bite my lip from laughing at his colourful name of Anita, I couldn't agree anymore though. 

"I just assumed you wanted to kill us... Like everyone else these days."

"You're only wanted dead because you're on top. No one else can be number one with you in the way." He was speaking about the South. In reality we were more powerful, tactical and stronger than the other three London gangs after what happened at the warehouse with Sykes, but now the position was evidently arguable. 

"So what are you going to do with us?" I asked.

"We both want the same thing."

"What's that?"

"We all want Axel gone, for good this time."

"I know why we want him dead." Zayn paused. "But what's he done to you to grant himself a death wish?"

"Are trying to stand up for him?"

"I'd rather jump into a tank of hungry sharks than stand up for him. But what's your vendetta against him and why now?"

"Like you, we took the news from word of mouth and our sources in London that Axel had had his comeuppance. But apparently he's not but my sister is still dead."