The Mafia's Police Girl

Chaos Underground (2)

Still slumped on the table, Piero only managed to roll his head to the side to glare at Angelo. As the boys continued to tease Piero, I slid closer to Cielo and used my elbow to gently jab at him to gain his attention.

"What in the hell is going on? What are they talking about?"

Cielo chuckled. "Ah, that's right. You don't know much about their private lives do you?"

"Well if I wasn't too busy trying to get them to trust me first, I probably wouldn't be asking you, now would I?" I said with a deadpanned expression.

Cielo simply rolled his eyes, tipping his head backward as he sipped on his drink. "They'll warm up to you eventually Lizanna. But to answer your question, your pal Piero over there has a four year old daughter named Estelle."

I spat out my drink just as he finished and despite my indecency, I turned my head toward Cielo as the residual liquid dripped past my gaped mouth and down my chin. "WHAT!"

Unbothered by that, he continued. "Yep, the moody bastard is a loving husband and father of one. How he managed to accomplish that feat, makes me believe that dreams do come true."

I wiped my chin with the sleeve of my shirt and sat back in astonishment, watching Piero sorrowfully mutter endearing words about his daughter.

"A few years ago, Angelo used to be a member of a small, yet troublesome drug cartel. They called themselves "Il Re", or The King-"

Unbeknownst to our conversation, a slightly drunken Angelo continued to playfully nudge and tease Piero. It wasn't a surprise that immediately afterwards, Piero stood up from his slouched position and charged after his friend.

"His household was extremely destitute; and with him being the eldest, the role of being the breadwinner of the family was shifted down on his shoulders. He was only sixteen when he joined that cartel in an effort to provide for his family...I can only imagine how he must have felt when he made that decision."

My face slackened in sorrow. "Then how'd he end up here working for you?"

Cielo tightened his grip on the beer bottle and through clenched teeth continued once he collected his composure.

"His younger brother, Rollo, was kidnapped and forcefully drugged against his will the same day Angelo announced his departure from the cartel. Those monstrous bastards justified their actions as being his "punishment" for abandoning them... Since then his brother hasn't been the same, psychologically wise. So, in a nutshell, Angelo ended up working for me so that he could lawfully rid his hometown of that corrupt cartel; get justice and urgent medical services for his brother; and to repent for the lives he ruined when he sold their drugs.

It's been years since Angelo has joined us, but I can guarantee you that we honored his request. Those cartel members are til this day still incarcerated, Rollo receives 24/7 private duty medical care and has been making some progress on his road towards recovery. And from Angelo's continued service under my leadership, his road toward repentance has not gone in vain." 

We shared a few minutes of silence after that, after all it was a tough story to swallow. I took a sip of my drink, careful in not letting it spill as I looked over at Angelo. In all the time I've spent with him, this was the first time I've seen him truly lower his guard and relax. His usual flat expression and frown were long gone; in its place was a boyish grin that morphed into thunderous laughter.