When Night Falls (Complete)

71

ENZO

Enzo is first to arrive at the location. He's escorted through the door by his entourage and is welcomed inside by Idris's men. They lead him into an elevator for the second floor where the meeting will take place.

It's a conference room. Enzo takes a seat while the rest of his men take their place as guards around the perimeter. He checks his watch for the time and finds that he's a little over thirty minutes early. Then he frowns. What kind of host makes their guest wait?

The meeting that evening is to shed light on the Toulour family. He has a theory that the reason the Toulours haven't been able to track down Domenico Ontario is because the informant is no longer who he once used to be. He has completely blended into society. Enzo thinks hiring The Caméléonne may be their key to cracking the code. If there's anyone with the skills to track down a runaway, it's the assassin herself.

But Enzo doesn't get the chance to foster this idea with Idris. The time now reads 10:53 P.M, and there's still no signs of him. He grits his teeth as the irritation begins settling in. Why must he wait for a child?

"Where is he?" Enzo asks Croff who busies himself with his cellphone. "How immature. Is this how your boss handles business?"

Croff gives him a glare that makes him go stiff. "Watch your mouth."

The glare is so suffocating, Enzo finds himself following orders. Until he snaps out of the trance. But he isn't given a chance to reply because Croff storms out the room, probably to further his search for Idris.

Enzo's consultant walks in a couple seconds later and goes to sit besides him, almost as vexed as he is.

"This is ridiculous." The consultant confesses. They have been on standby for almost half an hour, still with no signs of Idris Verdonni.

"This is why children should never be put in charge. He's a disgrace to his late father." Enzo says.

"Idris doesn't measure up to Bruno. His recent underboss was found dead after mere weeks of assuming his position. Bruno would never have let that happen."

Enzo laughs at this. He may not need to plan the Verdonni family's downfall at this rate. He knows the previous Underboss was betrayed by one of their own, ratted out to the authorities and arrested in broad daylight.

The Verdonni family don't need a hand destroying their reputation. They seem to be doing that all on their own.

"No one in that family has enough intelligence."

The consultant nods. "The Verdonni family is slowly slipping."

Yet another statement Enzo agrees with. They're on a path headed towards destruction. He will take great pleasure witnessing their demise, but all that will come after the Toulour family is off his shoulders.

Then comes the moment that kickstarts Enzo's grim fate. "Sir, we have a problem!" A guard of Enzo's says as he rushes through the door. He's breathless and seems to be quite shaken up. "One of the guards noticed ticking from the ceiling. It's been nonstop for minutes now."

Enzo shoots to his feet. "What do you mean?"

"There's a bomb in the building!"

That's all it takes for chaos to ensue. The guards present all flee their post, some scrambling to move Enzo and his consultant away from the room. But the mafia head is currently in a trance. This is no meeting between allied families, but his own death sentence. And he thinks Idris Verdonni is behind it.

Enzo clenches his fists in anger. He has been duped. "That fucking bastard!"

The conference room is soon emptied with Enzo on his way out the building. But he doesn't make it far before the bomb goes off. Not only does the force knock him down the hallway, but the heat scorches his skin and burns it down to the bone. The floor cracks open from the structure's instability, creating a hole which Enzo plummets through and hits the first floor. Rubble from above bury part of his body, along with a metal rod that strikes him right through his abdomen.