Golden Mafia

Go The Extra Mile

"I'm not asking for money, and Jade is safe. I just need some information. Please don't lie to me, and I won't have to resort to any measures. These should be simple questions. I need to know where Jade's boyfriend is," Astarte said.

"Her boyfriend? That damn bastard," Mylia replied, her voice trembling.

"Uh.huh.." Astarte hesitated, waiting for Mylia to continue.

"Give me the address, now", Neorch demanded, causing Astarte to stare at him in surprise. She then turned to the woman standing near the kitchen table and grabbed a paper from her fridge. "Here it is", she said, handing the paper to Neorch after reading the address. "Go warm up the car. I'll join you in a minute", she added, and Neorch walked towards the front door and left.

"I felt a little safer with him here," Mylia said, as she watched Astarte turn around. "That's normal. Like I said earlier, I want answers and I got what I wanted."

"Let's move to the kitchen," Astarte said, turning towards the kids. Mylia backed up and followed her into the kitchen.

"Tell me what's on your mind. I can sense that you have a lot to share," Astarte said.

Mylia asked, "Is that gun loaded?"

"Yes, it is," Astarte replied.

"what if I didn't tell you what you wanted?" Mylia asked, watching Astarte laugh. "I can show you if you'd like," said Astarte, grabbing Mylia's hand and guiding her outside. Mylia felt a gentle resistance but followed anyway. Outside, Astarte led her to a blacked-out SUV and opened the back door to reveal a rifle. Mylia was taken aback and stepped back into Astarte's arms. Astarte placed her hands on Mylia's shoulders and made it clear that she had to keep quiet about what she had just seen. "Now that we're on the same page, you saw nothing, got it?" Astarte said, slamming the door shut. She then warned Mylia that if she spoke about it, the kids would be in danger. Astarte took Mylia's phone and unlocked it, noticing a message from Jade warning her about Astarte's arrival. "Did you see this message?" she asked Mylia "Yeah, Then you knocked on the door."

"I'll answer for you then," Astarte said, typing back to Jade and closing her phone before handing it back. "How did you get past my passcode?"

"I'm in the mafia. Drink water. Your heart rate is through the roof. I can hear it from here," Astarte said, watching Mylias turn and noticing her mafia badge on her shoulder. Mylia placed her hand on her heart, feeling it race. "How...?" 

Mylia followed Astarte as she headed back into the house and asked, "May I speak to the kids?"

"Can I be present?" Mylia added.

"Of course," Astarte said, smiling before opening the door and watching the kids run from the windowsill. "Hey," Astarte began, but the kids begged her not to say anything further.

"Listen, all I want to say is, don't hang out with the wrong crowd, and don't get involved in gang activities. It's not a fun thing to do, okay?" 

"Do you kill people?" 

Astarte smiled and laughed silently before crouching down to the kid's level and replying, "No, I don't." She watched as the child pointed to her badge and asked, "What's that?" 

"It's my Mafia badge," Astarte replied 

"Oh, really?" The kid questioned

"Well, your sister works for me too," Astarte said with a smile. 

The child was excited and said, "That's so cool!" 

Astarte then stood up and turned to Mylia and said, "You are family, and Jade is part of our family. If anyone is giving you trouble, just call me, okay?"

Astarte walked into the kitchen and took a piece of paper from a notepad. Mylia watched as Astarte grabbed a pen and wrote down her phone number. "Wow, you have great handwriting," Mylia complimented her. Astarte smiled and added her name beneath the number before attaching it to the fridge. Then, she reached into Mylia's pocket, took out her phone, and unlocked it. She added her own number to Mylia's contacts before returning the phone.

"Remember this number. I am always here to help you, even during emergencies like a break-in. Just give me a call and I will make sure to arrange for Jade to take some time off and visit you and your kids. Memorize this number and don't hesitate to contact me." Astarte said as she handed back the phone and walked towards the door.

As Astarte approached the car, she got into the passenger seat. Neorch, who was with her, said, "I thought we were threatening her."

"That's Jade's mother," Astarte replied, facepalming and turning towards Neorch.

"I don't want to upset Jade. I gave them my number," Astarte added

"We live an hour away," Neorch added, puzzled, looking at Astarte as she buckled herself in.

"Ten minutes if I'm driving," Astarte responded.