MAFIA

Chapter One

It was dark. The moonlight shone through the tiny window, but it wasn't enough to illuminate the entire room.

A chair sat near the window, looking more empty than the huge room was. The room was vacant, only specks of dust and bits of dirt lined the cement floor... and blood.

The door to the empty room kicked open, the locks jangling as it did. Two men in black suits stormed in, dragging a struggling man with them. They dropped him in the middle of the room, their footsteps echoing. One yanked off the man's blindfold.

"Where am I? Where have you taken me?" the man frantically asked, the fear displayed clearly in his pale face. "Who are y-"

A sharp blow in the jaw knocked him back on the floor and a small stream of blood came trickling down his chin. One of the men yanked him up by the collar of his worn shirt and growled, "Shut. Up." He then released his shirt, letting the man fall back down on his back, crushing his arms which were bound together by ropes behind his back.

Anger replaced the man's fear. "Do you even know who I am? How dare you treat me like this! I can make your lives miser-"

Another hard punch came at the side of his head, making his head slam to the floor.

The same man in the black suit crouched down to his level and said, "I. Don't. Care." He slowly got up, smirking at the man's petrified expression.

Their footsteps echoed as they made their way to the chair and flanked both sides, putting their hands behind their backs.

Suddenly, the door opened once more letting in a beam of moonlight. A tall young man with short, brown, wavy hair stepped in, wearing a matching black suit with a pistol holster at his side. He was followed in by a red-headed boy in his late teens.

The young man stalked over to the chair and sat down, crossing his legs and arms.

"Who are you?" the beat up man on the floor asked, his voice trembling.

"Oh, I don't think that's a question you should be asking...Mr. Berner," the young man said, his voice deep and dangerous. "Mr. Berner...you should know me pretty well, don't you think?" He tapped his fingers on his knee while he watched the man with the last name of Berner with his intense dark eyes.

Confusion spread across Mr. Berner's bloodied face and squinted his eyes at the man sitting in the chair, but the darkness shielded his face, along with the others. He could only see the outline of their bodies. All of them were pretty tall and had a strong build. Is there no way that I can escape? Mr. Berner wondered. "Do I know you?" he asked slowly.

The young man chuckled. "How about this? Since you're so clueless...does the name, Alexander Hayes, ring a bell?" The men around him twitched at the sound of the name.

"Alexander...H-Hayes..." Mr. Berner said. "I'm sorry, I don't know an Alexander Ha-"

Suddenly, a hand was at his neck, closed tightly. The young man's face was now only a few inches away, his eyes burning with hatred and anger.

Mr. Berner struggled against the hand around his throat and gasped for breath. His eyes widened with fear as the gloved hand clenched tighter and tighter.

"YOU KILLED MY FATHER, KILLED MY MOTHER, KIDNAPPED MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND IMPRISONED ME FOR MONTHS WHEN I WAS A CHILD, AND YOU DARE SAY YOU DON'T KNOW THE NAME ALEXANDER HAYES?" the man roared. He breathed heavily as he glared at Mr. Berner's face, which now paled with realization.

"Y-You're that kid? Alex? You're f-father's name was J-Johannes? One sister, two brothers?" Mr. Berner strained.

No answer came. Instead, the young man released his grip on his throat and went back and sat back down on the chair. After a moment of silence, Alexander spoke up. "Now you know why you're here." Silence.

Mr. Berner scanned his surroundings. The room really was barren, except for the people inside right now. Then, he smirked, seeming as if the whole thing was now a joke. The smirk turned to a huge smile, which led to hysterical laughter. "You were just a kid I picked up from streets who had a father that owed me money big time. You have nothing. And what do you think you're going to do now?" He looked at the three other men standing around. "You think you can do anything now that you have three punks on your tail?! Did you forget who I am?"

"Oh, I know very well who you are," came the reply. "And I know every single detail about you." Alexander's expression darkened and turned murderous. "I know your every move, I know where you live, I know your passions, I know your fears, and I know. Who. Every. Single. One. Of. Your. Family. Members. Are."

Mr. Berner stopped laughing. He turned back to him. "And? What can you do? What are you going to do? What makes you think you can do anything?"

Alexander paused at his words, his expression blank. He then raised a hand and waved his fingers at the red-headed teen. "Flynn," he ordered.

Flynn nodded at stepped towards Mr. Berner.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Mr. Berner asked terrified, now. He scrambled back as far as could as Flynn took another step forward. "What are you doing?" His eyes widened as his back found the cold, hard wall. He was trapped, he had nowhere to go.

Flynn rolled his shoulders as he went up to Mr. Berner, ready to take action. He grabbed Mr. Berner by the collar of his shirt and kneed him hard in the stomach, twice. Then, he swung his fist and struck the guy under the jaw and threw him against the wall, letting him slide down. Blood stained the wall and followed him as he fell with a thud on the floor.

"I heard you were afraid of a man." Alexander examined his fingernails as he said so. "His name is...Spade? Or was his name...Ace? Of Killer Spades? Hmm?"

Mr. Berner let his bloodied head drop on his chest. "And what does the great mafia boss have to do with you? Do you know him? You're one of his minions? Well, what do I have to be afraid of? He's not here anyway."

One of the men in the black suit twitched again at his words.

"Nothing to be afraid of you say?" Alexander got up from his seat, adjusting his black leather gloves. "Flynn, we're leaving." He turned to face the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Berner shouted.

Alexander stopped in his tracks. "Also, you." He turned to one of the men in Black. "Break a bone for every word he says. You're welcome to do whatever you want, but keep him alive." He tapped on the watch fastened on his left wrist. "Let him watch the slow deaths of his wife and children, and all those he love." He stepped out the door with Flynn on his heels. "And let him know how the Ace of Killer Spades really is."

"Come on, Flynn. We got more work to do than this."

The door slammed shut and the last thing they heard was the horrifying screams sounding in the room, and the sickening crunches of bones being crushed.