- A m a r a R u s s o -
"What the hell is happening?"
"Ask your sister."
Three pairs of steel-blue eyes turned to me in an almost accusatory glare. Yet, I knew that they were just confused as to why their two older brothers were rushing around the house, calling and making orders to everyone.
"What do you mean, 'ask Amara'?" Salvino asked, turning towards Salvestro who was running towards the stairs.
"Go ask her, she knows everything that's going on." Salvestro rushed out quickly, even as he ran upstairs. It took two seconds before I couldn't even see him anymore, his long legs permitting him to run up the stairs three at a time at breakneck speed.
"So... Care to spill the tea?" Santino questioned, raising a brow.
"Uhhh..."
I did not want to explain. It took me hours to understand, and I'd rather not try and explain this entire mess towards my three older brothers.
It was five in the afternoon, and Salvatore and Salvestro were both busy giving out orders and preparing for the worst, even if I doubt it would happen. Since they planned to move Alicia tonight because I accidentally talked to Salvestro about the situation out loud, they made sure to have precautions in place in case they were targeted.
Although one part of me thought that they were taking this to the extreme, another part of me thought that they were making the right decision with acting before the other person does. Since the anonymous people thought that Alicia won't tell Salvatore, they would think that they'd have the advantage when in reality, we technically do... Unless they did put a listening device into our rooms, something none of us think is very possible.
I had stayed for the phone call with Salvestro and yes, I knew the basics of the plan.
The plan was simple. So simple, I feel like they are lying to me and they actually have a secret pl-
Salverstro suddenly came running down the stairs, a panic filled expression on his face.
"What happened?" I immediately asked, all of the boys also turning to see Salvestro.
"I got an alert from one of the monitors." Salvestro said urgently. "There are suspicious men coming straight towards the safe house Alicia is in."
Salvestro didn't need to explain further, my entire being freezing up and my face blanching.
"What?" Santino asked. "What's happening? What's going on?"
"Ask your sister." Salvestro replied hurriedly, already sprinting out of the room. "Amara! I'm going with Salvatore right now to see if we can intercept them. Fuck pretending. We're going to call Alicia about it right now and tell her to prepare for a possible attack."
"So the plan is going to waste?"
"We'll have to play it by the ear. We never expected them to be this fast." Salvestro answered, pausing just a few feet away from the entrance of the living room.
"And also. Sandeo! I want you and the twins to flip the entire house inside out. We have bugs planted inside, and we are going to do a thorough search to get them all out. Teach Amara as well." he added.
"Do I have to come with you?" I asked, my heart beating extremely fast.
"No, stay here and don't call or text either of us." Salvestro answered, and he was soon running out.
"How does she know what's happening and we don't?" Sandeo yelled behind his retreating form. "And why are we doing a search?"
"Just do what I told you to do, and ask her!" Salvestro insisted, "She knows what's happening!" And the door slammed closed and the attention was all back on me.
"What's happening, Amara?"
~
"You know, this sounds very unbelievable, right?" Santino drawled, "If it weren't for Salvatore and Salvestro literally running out of the house like they were on fire, I wouldn't have believed a single word you said."
"You seem very calm for what's happening right now." I commented instead, my palms sweaty and my breathing heavy.
All of them shrugged simultaneously. "Eh," Salvino hummed. "We're quite used to it. They'll be fine, they've done this type of stuff before."
"They have?"
"Well, duh." Santino rolled his eyes at me. "This isn't the first time something like this happened. It's the second, actually."
I didn't question him on what the first time was, instead asking another question. "So why did my explanation seem unbelievable?"
"It isn't your explanation that is hard to believe," Sandeo explained. "But more the fact that you know all of this and we don't."
"Then why are you trusting me on this?"
"You ask many questions, have you noticed?" Salvino remarked, giving me a raised brow.
I flushed under his state, my cheeks burning red from embarrassment. "Yeah, I know..." I mumbled.
"It's fine," he chuckled. "But for the answer to your question, we trust you right now because of two reasons."
"Care to share them?" I asked.
"One, we can't ask Salvestro or Salvatore for clarification, and we'd rather overestimate than underestimate the situation. Two, Salvestro told us to trust in your words, and because we trust Salvestro, we're going to trust you. We also know that our older brothers are perfectly capable of handling a few attacks. It's nothing compared to the other things they've done." he replied simply, in a nonchalant manner.
"I could also be lying." I pointed out, and Santino barked out a laugh.
"You? Lying?" he spluttered, trying to hold on his laughter. "Never happening. We'd spot it in two seconds flat."
That hurt.
"You are so cocky." I grumbled in annoyance, throwing a couch pillow at him.
Santino dodged it, making the pillow land on Sandeo's head.
Sandro turned his head to me, a 'seriously?' expression painted on his face.
"Sorry," I mumbled sheepishly, walking over and dragging the pillow off his face. "Wrong person." I added, and Sandeo nodded, now with an evil glint in his eye.
Uh-oh... I did not like that look.
It wasn't even three seconds after I made that statement, a pillow came sailing at my face, throwing my head to the side.
"Owww," I whined, rubbing the sore spot. "What was that for?"
"Nothing," Sandeo shrugged nonchalantly, "Just checking your nonexistent reflexes." he added with a cheeky grin.
"You are mean." I grumbled, and Sandeo had a really offended look on his face.
The twins seemed to like watching the two of us banter, and they each spotted grins of their own. That was until Sandro insulted them.
"I'm not mean," he defended. "If I'm mean, what would you call the twins? Evil monsters?"
"Hey!" Salving hissed, back sitting up. "Don't say that about us."
"Don't say what?" Sandro retorted. "It's the truth. Both of your attitudes are worse than mine."
I knew that I should probably step in, but seeing them like this seriously made me relax, even if it was just a little bit.
The fact that they were arguing and weren't panicking right now shows me that they are a hundred percent sure Salvatore and Salvestro have everything under control. It helped me calm my racing heart as Sandro and the twins were confident in Salvatore and Salvestro's ability in this field of work.
Honestly, I don't even know why I was worried for them. I just am, even if I also know that they've probably run through these procedures at least a thousand times.
All of my three brothers who were at home right now looked perfectly relaxed, and did not act any different from before. Their constant arguing would mean that there was no need for them to cooperate and work as a team, and that fact made me let out another breath of relief.
If Salvestro were here right now, he would definitely order the three of them to stop fighting like a bunch of street cats-
Order.
Oh fuck.
"Guys!" I shouted, gaining the attention of all three brothers.
"What?" Santino snapped. "Can't you see we're in the middle of something here?"
If I was in a bad mood, I would have snapped back immediately, damn the consequences. But I wasn't... and was actually thinking pretty logically right now. Go me.
"Yes but you can argue later." I said. "Salvestro told us to check the house for listening devices. We didn't do that yet, and we wasted nearly an hour."
If I could've turned back time to video their reactions, I would do so with no hesitation.
Sandeo's jaw dropped to the ground, Salvino's eyes widened into saucers, and Santino turned a ghostly pale.
"Shut, never too late to start, right boys?" Sandeo chuckled nervously, scrambling up from his rested position.
The twins followed his movement, not even retorting with the fact that Sandeo referred to them as 'boys'.
"Come on, Amara." Salvino said instead. "Let's get working."
~
"Why the fuck are there so many of them?" Santino growled, getting up from under Salvestro's work chair and throwing a small, black, circular device into our growing pile of them.
So far, we had combed through the entire mansion, starting from our rooms on the third floor. No one had the key to unlock the door and get into the two rooms that were forbidden to enter though, so we decided to leave that for Salvestro and Salvatore when they got back.
Surprisingly, there were no devices on the third floor, and devices only started showing when we started on the second floor.
Currently, we were combing through all work rooms, and were in Salvestro's. Salvatore had his room locked as well, so he'll be doing his own check when he gets back.
"How can Elena plant so many?" I asked in wonder. "And why won't these things run out of battery?"
Santino had a thoughtful expression on his face as he mulled over my question. "From what I gather, these devices only work for a certain period of time. You can only use it once before it doesn't work anymore. You see how some of them have a mini red light, some have green, and others don't?"
I walked towards the pile, my gloved hands picking away at the devices. "Yeah, but I don't see a red one, and there are nearly no greens left. Didn't you break the red ones?" I asked, looking pointedly at the shattered ones on the floor.
"That's because a red light would signify it would be being used right now, so we disabled them." Santino answered simply.
That's certainly a good way of putting it. He didn't break it, he disabled it.
"From what I gather, a green light means that it still hasn't been used, and no light means that it has." Santino continued. "Which means those ones," He pointed at the devices still shining green. "Still haven't been used yet."
"And those," Sandeo pointed towards the nine devices with no light lighting them up. "Have already been used."
"Yeah," Salvino agreed. "We are going to be keeping them so that Salvestro's can investigate and maybe track the device that is controlling them. And by the way, if we didn't believe you before, we certainly believe you now."
I didn't know what to say to answer his final sentence, instead letting us fall into silence as we continued working on picking all of them out.
"There are so many..." I muttered. "How can there be so many?"
Salvino's expression was grim. "It's because these devices can't be detected through regular means."
At least elaborate.
"What does that mean?"
"These types of listening devices can't be detected until they are turned on by the device controlling them, and it only works once. From the model and the type, I am sure this is one of Samantha's old technologies. All of her technologies are created thoroughly as well, so I'm not surprised we weren't able to spot it earlier on." Sandeo stated logically.
"Samantha?" I repeated incredulously.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Well, Elena too."
"Why in the world would they create these things? And how?" I asked.
"They were trained." Sandeo replied simply, shrugging his shoulders. "Don't know much else."
The whirring of the machine caught my attention, and my eyes snapped towards it.
"So, that thing isn't going to explode, right?" I winced, nearly jumping out of my skin when a loud banging noise came from the mechanism.
"Nope," Santino answered. "This is something Elena made to help detect any sort of device, including ones that shouldn't be able to be found. There is only one of these in existence, and it only works for six hours and only works within a radius of twenty-feet because it is a sample model. It is why we've never used it before. But Salvestro pretty much told us to use it, so, lucky us."
"That doesn't mean it won't explode." I countered, my stomach churning at the thought. I have a big fear of bombs, if you couldn't tell.
"Well, Elena made it." smirked Salvino. "If it does explode, Elena will be six-feet under by tonight."
I didn't want to start thinking of how badly Elena would be injured before being murdered, so I turned my attention to the display panel of the machine.
"So there should be twenty devices in this room." I said. "With four of them on. You destroyed the four of them, and we also found nine that have been used and six that can still be used. Which means that there is still one more."
"Oh fuck," Santino groaned, using his shoulders to scratch the underside of his jaw. "This is going to be hell for my eyes."
"It definitely will." Salvino agreed, already looking tired. "Thank God this is the last room."
"Well, we technically still do have the library." I pointed out, and Sandeo let out a dramatic groan.
"Don't remind us." he grumbled, annoyance flickering in his features right when his phone started to ring.
Sandeo took out his phone, taking a peak at the caller ID before answering.
"Hey Salvestro!" he greeted cheerfully.
"Yes, we're all good. Mhm, yeah we found twenty-nine in total so far, twenty of them in your room. Yeah, are you and Alicia safe? What about Salvatore?"
I leaned in, extremely curious about this phone call.
"She was injured? She's fine though, right?" Sandeo asked urgently, and my panic monitor started up.
Sandeo should really put his phone on speaker so we could all hear him.
"You're bringing someone BACK?" he shrieked, causing all of us to stare at him in shock. Sandeo too, had a baffled expression on his face as he listened intently to what Salvestro had to say.
What. The. Heck.
"Yeah, okay. I'll ask Amara to prepare the beds with one of the twins. Yeah, I'll do that. Got it. 'Kay, bye." Sandeo hung off the phone, turning to us without a serious expression on his face.
"Got it, so Amara and Santino, you two will go to the Medical Bay and set up a bed and the necessary equipment Salvestro will need for stitches. Salvino, stay here and continue searching for the last device. I have a few things to do."
Sandeo didn't even wait for our agreement before striding out of the room. There was no jolly prep to his step, each step filled with purpose as he went to wherever Salvestro told him to go.
Surprisingly, the twins didn't argue, instead immediately following through with Sandeo's instructions.
Weird.
"Let's go," demanded Santino. "We have to do what he said."
The fact that Santino used the word 'have to' instead of 'should' did not go over me. If only they could cooperate like this everyday, life would be perfect. Not. Life will never be perfect so long as you live in the Russo household.
Santino proceeded to grab me by the wrist and drag me out of the room, not even saying a goodbye to his own twin.
I stumbled after him, my short legs barely keeping you with his long ones as he walked towards the Medical Bay of the mansion.
"How do we do this?" I asked when we arrived in one of the rooms.
"It's really easy as it is just set up. Wash your hands. I'll teach you." Santino ordered.
I obeyed without protests.
When I had thoroughly cleaned my hands with soap, rinsing it all away, I walked back to Santino who was also washing his hands.
"Dry your hands on those towels." he said, nudging his head towards a cloth draping over a rack.
"Now we can touch the equipment in the room." he told me. "Go get the sheets from the cabinet over there. We need to start draping it over the bed, and we need to set up the materials Salvestro might need for stitches."
"Like what?"
"Needles, the stitch, which would be called the thread, and some other things I don't know the name of." Santino replied simply, searching high and low and through every single drawer.
"Look for a box." he ordered. "It's rectangular with multiple versions of a needle in it. Salvestro will need that."
This is going to take a while.
~
"What's going on?" I immediately asked when Salvestro came inside, looking all bloodied up.
"After." he answered. Without sparing me a glance, Salvestro was rushing into the house, pushing me aside.
I didn't complain, knowing that having the answers to my growing number of questions were not a priority.
"Amara."
I turned my head to see Salvatore staring at me, a look I couldn't decipher on his face.
"Yeah?"
"You are not to go onto the first floor until tomorrow morning at nine, you hear me?"
I opened my mouth to protest, but one glare from Salvatore had me snapping my mouth shut and nodding my head eagerly in understanding.
"I will tell Santino and Salvino the same thing. Sandeo, Salvestro and I will be doing some Mafia related work, and you guys are not going to be present." he continued.
I just watched him, even as a cool shiver started crawling up my spine. I could only imagine what they were going to do.
Salvatore and Salvestro had arrived not a few moments ago, and I had seen them drag down two people to the forbidden basement.
The two of them weren't even struggling, their bodies limp and unresponsive as two of Salvatore's men literally towed them across the floor and down the stairs of the basement.
I could guess what's happening, but I really didn't want to make my brain hurt more than it already does.
"Now go." Salvatore commanded, giving me a small nudge towards the staircase. "The twins will be with you in a minute, and tomorrow morning, I swear I will explain everything."
"But what about Sandeo? Will he come?"
Salvatore shook his head. "Sandeo is eighteen, legally an adult now. I will not deny him the chance of doing what we do. Whether he wants to participate in what we are doing tonight or not, that choice is up to him to decide. Not me, anymore."
I didn't reply, instead giving a small nod of acknowledgment before slowly trudging up the steps.
I didn't know whether to be excited or scared for tomorrow morning.
***
Okay so let's talk about something, cause there really is nothing to talk about right now. So, recently, I've been reading non-fictions books to help broaden my knowledge about a few certain topics that are supposed to help make you aware of the things you do that can be detrimental for you.
What are you guys reading right now? What's your favourite genre? I've kind of lost interest in fictional books at the moment, which is why I am not trying to find a new genre that suits my interest. Surprisingly, I kind of do like non-fiction books.
Does anyone here enjoy reading non-fictions, or is it just me? I used to dislike it a lot, but I think I'm finding an interest in it. Let me know in the comments!
As always, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. I also wanted to ask you guys something. The bonus chapters are coming to an end soon, and I'm trying to figure out a way to end it. Should I end it on a happy or sad note? I already have it planned, but I wanted to see which one you guys prefer 😏
I hope you all have an amazing rest of your day, and remember that if you ever need someone to talk to, my inbox is always open. Stay safe!
~ CRAZY40429 💋
QotC: Are you happy with the life you are living?
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