Neliana
"Waky Waky, baby boy! The sun is shining, the view amazing and your face as ugly as always!" I greet my brother Nic while I rip open the curtains aggressively. Unnaturally, my mood is good. Too good, for my liking, if I'm honest.
Today is the day after yesterday and the day before tomorrow, or for us: a day full of business. After what seemed like a decent, the information about the dead of the French mafia don spread finally around and a mafia meeting has been announced for today.
If I'm going? No.
If they expect me to come? Yes.
If I don't give a fuck? Double yes.
I really don't know, what they want to talk about? I mean, the French don doesn't deserve otherwise. He was an asshole, a fucked up pervert. I'm not sorry at all for killing him and I also don't give a damn fuck about what the other mafias will do now as long as they let their dirty fingers out of our business.
Our mafia has no alliances, no friends and no deals. And nevertheless, we're the most powerful one. The prove that you don't need anybody else to be successful.
Nic makes still no effort in moving.
"I SAID WAKE UP ASSHOLE!" I scream into his ear.
"ARGH!" He groans and tries to cover his face under my blanket. Keyword: tries, because I pull it away from him instantly. He groans again and reaches out for the pillow but I was faster.
Of course.
"Let me sleep, valp ... I'm tireeeed!" He whines and if he wasn't my brother, I would've maybe break in.
"If you think, I would drag you out of the bed, into the shower, then you're very wrong." I say while walking in my closet, searching for a good and comfortable outfit for today. "We have a full planned day ahead from us, so if you don't mind, standing up, I would be very grateful!"
After I still cannot hear any notices from him, I get really upset. "I swear to your fucking life, if you don't stand up within in a second, I'll throw you out of the window with your fucking pajamas on-"
"Okay okay! I'm up, I'm up!" He somehow really dragged himself out of the bed, but still doesn't look so alive. His hair is a mess and his whole face formally scream after going back to bed. I chuckle. "You're fine?"
He just rolls his eyes and answers sarcastically. "Oh yeah! I'm fucking fine after hearing your annoying loud voice as the first thing in the morning!"
"You're welcome, dearest brother!"
"I hate you."
"Our feelings are mutual." I smirk at him a last time before he disappears in the bathroom, leaving me alone.
Bad idea. Very bad idea.
Boring.
It's so boring. Why is my life so boring? Nothing interesting happens. No dying, no murder, no drama. Oh, I could cause some- ah no, bad idea, Mercy. We don't want trouble.
But it's always so much fun, seeing everybody going crazy.
We. Don't. Want. Trouble.
Ah fine, annoying Lisbeth. I won't cause trouble.
Yet.
Maybe, but only maybe, Nic comes out of the bathroom after ten minutes with his bathrobe around like me too and wet hair. Probably took a shower.
Of course he took a shower. Gosh my mind is already driving me crazy. I miss my morning sport session.
"What are we going to wear?" I ask him directly because only the thought about choosing an outfit, making me want to just stay in my pajamas all day.
"Are we planning to go somewhere?" Nic eventually asks back. I just shrugs because I really don't have a glue what we're going to do today. Of course, we have this meeting - even if we won't be there in person, we'll be there. But they won't see us so no need for something special. Not that I also would come in a chill outfit to some important business meeting. I would never.
"I dunno what Mario has for plans."
"Uncle Mario?" Nic frowns confused.
"Yeah. He's the only one home today. Everybody else is wherever. Even Niccolò and Emilio." I roll my eyes at their obviousness. Slowly, I think they want us to find out that something is going on. Not that we already know in what they are involved. „Did you not hear about their family meeting yesterday evening when we should be asleep?"
Of course, I record it on our hidden cameras and watched it in the morning.
"No ..." Of course he hadn't.
"Good, but I have. And Mario is the responsible for us today."
Nic nods in understanding and searches already for an outfit, disappearing in our closet. Only about 5 minutes and a few complaints from my side, we are fully dressed and as ready as you can be for the day. Nic has already complained about my hyper ... but you can't blame me after all, I missed my sport session early in the morning. He has to be grateful since I could have just woke him up, right?
But he made a good choice in our outfits. At least something good in this day, since we cannot stay alone here according to our family. I mean, I wouldn't leave myself alone in a house full of possibilities to cause trouble too. But there is a difference in wanting and allowing.
Anyways.
We both wear green cargo pants with a beige sweater. Classic but fancy. Perfect for a day, when you have absolutely no plan what you're going to do.
I just wanted to take a picture for our social media account, but I couldn't find my phone anywhere. I turn to Nic and ask. "Do you know where my phone is? I can't find it anywhere."
Nic searches for his phone but couldn't find it either. He frowns, equal to me before somehow a light goes on in his head. "Ah, wait. Didn't we just give them to Angolo at the beach?"
My eyes grow wide and the realization rushes over me.
"Right. Because of our phone numbers." I walk towards the door, leading to the hallway. Nic directly behind me. "Then let's catch them up again and see what they did."
Surprisingly, the kitchen was empty. I mean, it's 6 a.m. and Alessandro said only yesterday that everybody should go to work again ... ? Probably, everybody is already gone, and Niccolò and Emilio likely still sleep. Only Mario stands behind the counter as we walked in and greet us both with a big smile.
Gosh, he's too motivated for my well being.
"Good morning, piccoli. (Little ones)" He supports himself with gosh arms on the counter. "I wasn't expecting you yet. You have holidays. I would personally sleep in."
Nic and I just shrug. Sleeping in, is for us nearly impossible since the kidnapping. We should be awake by 2 a.m. each morning and went to bed at 10p.m. You didn't change habits so fast and we're lucky if we sleep for 7 hours in a night.
"Never mind. If you're awake now, what can I get you? My food is probably not as good as Rics or Georgios-„ This caught my attention.
"Georgio can cook?!"
Mario chuckles. "Oh yes. Very good indeed." He has to see our confused and surprised faces. "I know. He doesn't look like this type. Big, muscular, tattoos everywhere. But in the inside, he's such a softie. Don't tell that I exposed him."
"We can't promise anything." Nic says, surprisingly before me. Normally, he's quiet around other people, speaks only around everybody he's comfortable. Mario has to be one of them, which I can fully understand. He doesn't scream out this strict and spoilsport aura like nearly everybody else in this house.
Mario smirks at Nic' comment. "Uhhh. Doesn't expect something else. So what do you want? What about pancakes?"
We nod dismissing. Mario makes within 5 minutes the pancakes and shoves the plates I'm formt of us. Damn it. What does he think I can eat? 5 big pancakes? At most one.
Luckily, I already took my medication and can begin to eat instantly.
"Can we get our phones back? Angolo has to have them since we gave them him at the beach." I blurt out after some seconds of silence between us.
"Oh yes. He told me. Wait." He disappears around the door to the living room before handing us the said phones. "Here."
We take them without one more look at him. There're blocked. Argh, assholes. We gave them our phone in trust and they tried to use it for their own advantage.
Our phones - equal to every other device from us - have a special software which is programmed the way to sense who using the device and for what. Even if the phone is unlocked, you can only use it if your DNA is saved and declared in it from us. Otherwise, the whole system shuts down immediately. Like now.
My facade gets cold again and my good mood disappears instantly. The most important thing everywhere - it doesn't matter whether it's in business or in private - is trust. Trust and loyalty. Trying to do something behind my back, is definitely the contrary from this.
"What did you want from it?" I say coldly while unlocking my phone again. Mario looks surprisingly confused.
"What do you mean?"
I roll my eyes at his stupidness and get instantly scold.
"No eyes rolling." Uh the serious Mario comes out again.
"You know what I mean. You wanted to search trough our phone, don't you? Otherwise, it wouldn't be locked."
"Ah-" Mario chuckles suddenly again. "Now, I understand what you mean."
I think, I've never been more confused than now.
"Lorenzo and Ernesto literally went crazy after they just wanted to shut the contact app and suddenly the whole phone was black with this ... wonderful picture from you. It was really funny to see them so frustrated." Mario shakes his head at the memory. "Very funny. Very funny. Nevermind. I really don't know how this worked but good programming whoever it did."
I exchange a look with Nic, because somehow, on the one hand, I'm pretty sure that at least a bit of his story is a lie and complete bullshit, but on the other hand he sold it to us so good that a part of me believes him.
Normally , I have no problems in saying whether someone lies or not, but slowly I notice that the uncles and elder ones aren't as bad as I thought.
"Li did. She's the best in it." I elbow Nic under the desk. Such a traitor. No need to expose me that much, now each time some strange and annoying prank happened, they are going to confront me. ME. He's done it on purpose.
Of course he did.
His stupid revenge for waking him up.
"Oh really?" Mario asks , playing fully surprised, and you can formally see what he's going to do with this new found information. "Interesting. I didn't know that."
I shrug, still angry, and eat the last bit of the pancake, proud that I finished it but Mario thinks otherwise.
"You cannot be full yet. You've barely eaten."
"But I am-„
"One more?" He pleads me. One more bite and I'm going to spit, so I shack my head, making Mario sigh. "Okay. So, I would have some work to finish too but will be in the living room upstairs if you need me, just come up. Have fun but don't cause any trouble."
Mario points at us both like he already know what we're going to do. As he walks our the counter, walking by us, he ruffs mine and Nic' hair. We groan at the same time and roll our eyes.
"I saw that."
I cannot prevent to roll them extra slowly and hard again. At my eye edge I can see that Nic does it too.
Rules and I are like a football and window. There's just this need to shout trough. Unhealable.
"This will take a lots of work. I see." Mario mutters before finally disappearing in the hallway, leaving us alone.
"Then, let's see how clever the big and dangerous mafia men really are." I say and hop down from the bar chair.
"Our people are ready?" I ask Nic while we walk upstairs again to Nelione' room where our 'private hacking base' is located.
"Yep. Spinster is already there."
I nod and enter the room which was by the way Nelione' walk - in - closet in the past. Now, we built out of it a futuristic control room with the newest technic. It's held in grey and blue, and a lot of computer and screens are located in the whole room. It's beautiful, I guess. Definitely something you can work with. Also, it's burglary secured, so we don't have to worry that either one of our family members or somebody else will ever find it.
I seat myself on one chair in front of the big monitor, Nic on another one next to it. We turn on the system.
"Access to all the cameras in the building should come up each minute ..." Nic tips on the keyboard here and there, until we can see suddenly in each room of the common mafia centre, an invention from over hundreds of years, shortly after the first mafias have arise. It should secure the peace between all of them and offer a neutral meeting location. "Here we go."
Nic rolls with his chair next to my side again and expects the sight in front of us as amused as I do.
It shows the biggest and main meeting room. A big table in the middle of the room with 20 chairs around it. Two for each mafia - the don and the right hand man, but because the French one is dead and we're not present, four are empty.
It's a bit pathetic that only men are in this business, one more reason to be successful as a woman and show them all how powerful we are. The meeting just starts at 6:30 a.m. Now, it's 6:34 a.m. and they all look already very furious about the empty chairs. This will be fun.
"Do we have tone?" I ask Nic without taking my eyes from the scene.
"Of course." He pushes a few buttons and the sound of their voices halls through the room. Luckily, we built it also soundproof.
A servant comes in at the exact same moment. Alessandro turns around and faces him. "And?"
"No sight of them or anyone else. Sorry, Sir."
"Are they speaking from us?" I ask Nic. He just shrugs.
Alessandro and everybody else nod, Fernández looks now the most furious. "Of course, they didn't show up. They never do. Slowly I'm done with them. We cannot just let them go away with this, can we?"
"They don't do something specifically wrong.-" Ševčenko, the Ukrainian Don says truthfully.
"But they ignore every fucking invention. Even now after one mafia is taken down. Likely also from them."
"The problem is: they can. They can do whatever they want and won't have any problems, because of the ways higher power than we all have together." Ernesto states and grabs his whiskey cup. Of course. Man, can't they just survive one day without this fucking substance?! Pathetic.
"The NEM is too powerful." Fernández states through his teeth. And yes, they speak about us. Wonderful.
"Too clever. The NEM is so much cleverer than we are. That's the problem. And because they have no alliances with any of us, they get also in no real trouble if they do something." Dimitriadis, the greek don, improves Fernández truthfully. He's right surprisingly. I'm impressed.
"Do we want to talk further how grate they are or come to the point of this meeting?" Wedelkind, the German don, says angrily and leans back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest and a chewing gum in the mouth. He's on our observation list at the top. A pervert too. Disgusting.
Luckily Alessandro and Ernesto seem to think the same about him. Otherwise, I think I couldn't live under the same roof with them.
"He feels definitely too cool." Nic whispers darkly.
"I hate this guy." I agree with him and take out two bottles of Fanta from the mini fridge under the desk. This meeting will last a bit longer and I cannot survive without a sugar drink.
I give one further to Nic who takes a sip instantly and lays his foots on the desk, enjoying the scene as much as I do.
"Maybe we should take a closer look at his business."
"An undercover mission?" I ask him.
"Would be the best, I guess. If our guesses with the person traffic are right, the best way to proof it, is to be in the exact same situation."
I nod agreeable. "I'll call Bri later. She should organize it."
Bri Karlson is the leader of our WFAG - Woman-Frontal-Attack-Group -, one of our most successful and powerful groups. They are responsible for most of the undercover missions which include nearly all the time some kinds of trade. How I hate this business. I'm only in it because I want to stop it. Not because I like to deal with drugs, weapons and all this perverse men.
Speaking from them, they really begin to talk about the dead of Gabriel Albon and are discussing at the moment my wonderful note which is like a little poem and describes why the person had to die. To just say why would be too easy. This way they have to really deal with it.
"These notes are nonsense, children's stuff." Santos, the Portuguese don, says annoyed.
"I don't think so. Everything they do or did has a sense.-" Alessandro states. At least, he's not as dumb as I thought.
"How can we be sure that the NEM stands behind it? It could be everybody else." Fernández asks.
"The muster of the idea fits perfectly to the picture, we have from them. Unique, special and well thought out. And the notes come always along with these wolf head knives." Ernesto adds and I have to say: my intention worked out. Even if I just start this whole thing because I was boring and wanted to have a bit fun.
I have to chuckle at their conversation. Nic shakes his head, chuckling too.
"You mean the dead of the Russians and the Icelandics is also caused because of them? I didn't know that." Ševčenko is confused.
"We think so, but of course have no proofs."
"Can we see the notes one more time?" Santos asks Ernesto who gives him a sheet with all three poems copied on it.
"We think that they all are from the same person. The second one is directed to woman traffic, we guess because of the masculinist and the different adjectives in it. And the third one maybe children auction. We always had consumption about Albon being involved in this business, but never proofs. Probably the NEM came after him before we could." Alessandro begins to explain. "Of course the words in it are each time different - since the reason for their deads is also different -, but the schema is always the same. A personal declaration and at the end the difference between the outside and the inside."
A few second silence reigns between them. A very thoughtful one. Everybody tries to order the new found information in their heads.
"In my many years of being involved in the mafia, I've never read something like that. Something so well thought out. Or only the idea of doing this." Wójcik, the Polish Don, shakes his head. "It has to be them since they are the newest ones in this business."
I think this were the most serious and best words of Wójcik, I've ever heard from him.
"We need to speak to them." Fernández says and everybody else nods in agreement. My timing.
I log myself in and speak.
"Perfect that I'm present for doing so."
3441 words
A bit longer chapter this time, I hope you liked it :).
See you hopefully next time,
FinLu🦜