Third Person
Domenico held his weapon steady at shoulder heights as he investigated the unusual noise. It was probably just something that had broken away from the dilapidated walls, nevertheless he despised it when something happened without his control. Some might have seen this as some sort of OCD ; he saw it as life insurance. His family wouldn't be where they were if they weren't careful because, contrary to popular belief, they could bleed and die like anyone else. The corridor in front of him was littered with rubble and weeds. What was once the pride of the city was now only a shadow of its former self. Domenico was even a little surprised why these ugly halls hadn't been torn down long ago and replaced with some newly modern loft apartments. Not that he wanted to complain because places like this were just right for what he did: secluded, quiet, a river nearby; within a few moments you could disappear. Whether intended or not.
Just as he was about to lower his weapon, he noticed a shadow in the corner of his eye. The shadow quickly revealed itself to be a human form, running away from him. Those damn Hobos! He cursed as he began to give chase. He briefly considered whether he should call his people over but then decided against it. He loved a good hunt and he knew the area inside out. Whichever path the guy took, Domenico would be one step ahead of him. 'The hobo won't even know what's happening to him!' he thought as joyful excitement rose within him. That was the kind of fun as he understood it. Convincing people, like this worm he had to leave behind, to cooperate was a necessity. This, the hunting, this was what he truly burned for.
But it seemed like this hunt would unfortunately be cut short this time because the hobo turned left and would run straight into a dead end. Idiot. However, as fast as he could run, he was either still young or, more likely, on some kind of drugs. But it wouldn't matter: in a few seconds he would be standing in front of the wall and there was no way for him to get over it as short as he was. Domenico slowed his pace slightly and smiled. It probably wasn't a nice smile. At least that's what he'd been told quite often and he hadn't had the heart therefore to kill Matteo. Yet, at least. That bastard was lucky to be his brother. Domenico's smile turned into a frown. Did the guy not see the wall or did he think he could break through it? So probably a junkie after all, what a shame.
"Just sta- what the hell?" Domenico was stunned to see how the guy first jumped up onto the side wall, pushed himself off and was then able to pull himself up onto the front wall before swinging over. Okay, he wasn't expecting that. The dwarf wasn't 4'9 tall! His adrenaline rush had to be insane to pull such a stunt. Even he, at 6'5, could barely reach the edge with his hands but was still able to pull himself up and landed safely on the other side. The dwarf had achieved a small lead. Domenico cursed himself for his carelessness. Still, he was significantly faster on a straight stretch. His prey seemed to have recognized that as well and turned sharp right into one of the other warehouses. Fuck, there were too many ways to escape there. If he didn't think about a plan, there was a real danger that the dwarf would escape. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
As it turned out he wouldn't have time to think about a plan since the other guy had him running in zig-zags like a ridiculous rabbit. His breaths started to become uneven like his heartbeat did too. The guy kept turning at the very least moments. Was it stupidity and he was trying to wear him out, or was it calculation and he was trying to confuse him? Domenico didn't know exactly but he would bet on the latter because after he turned another corner the hobo was gone. Domenico paused and tried to hear something, but the only thing he heard was his heart trying to pump in enough oxygen and the rain. Fuck, that can't be real! He kicked the wall angrily. Again, he tried to hear something; nothing. He had actually lost him! That was not good. On the other hand: what could the hobo have noticed? There was no way he could have seen anything from where he was hiding and even if he did, there would be no evidence left that could somehow link Domenico to it. Still, if he was honest with himself, it was scratching his ego. If his brothers found out, he would have to listen to it for months. He could already imagine how they would rub this in his face again and again.
Annoyed, Domenico turned left to get outside via the main hall. What a shitty day! Frustrated, he kicked a stone forward and heard it fall into the water. With the constant rain, the old shafts must have filled up again. Sure enough, when he got to the hall he could see the water. But that's not all.
'Seriously?' he thought as he came closer to the huddled figure on the ground. The dwarf didn't seem to notice that he had been found. As if hypnotized, he stared at the water and at the same time pressed himself tightly against the wall. Only unlocking the weapon brought him out of his trance. Fearful eyes looked at Domenico, then became blank, as if all life had already disappeared from them. At that moment Domenico noticed something: it wasn't a dwarf, it was a boy. Fuck, that was still a child! What was a child doing in this area at that time? The boy certainly wasn't any older than 14! He couldn't kill a child. Hard No-Go. However, he could only think of one other alternative and he wasn't sure if it was that much better. But what should he do? He didn't see any other solution popping off.
"Go ahead.", he ordered the boy and pressed his gun into his back as he pushed him out of the hall. He didn't miss how the boy tried to keep as much distance as possible from the water.
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"Domenico, I hope you have a good explanation for why this boy is standing here in our living room and dripping on the floor," Vito told his brother, but was looking at the boy. He was small, must have been quite young, and was shivering in his wet clothes. He hadn't quite seen his face yet because it was fixed on the floor in front of him but he suspected it was just as dirty as the clothes he was wearing.'What was this boy doing here?' He looked questioningly back at his brother, who was staring at him intently.'Long stories that I have to tell you alone.', spoke Domenico's eyes.'I really hope that it justifies why you brought someone from outside into our home!', Vito answers him, still not appeased.
"I'm sorry Mr. Marini." The boy interrupted the silent conversation between the two of them and Domenico wondered how young this boy really was if his vocal change had not yet happen. Instead, Vito looked into bright eyes that looked at him briefly before looking back at the ground. He didn't have to ask what the boy meant; there were enough reasons; but he felt pity for the child. It was a classic case of wrong place at wrong time.
"What's your name, boy?" Vito asked with a sigh.
"Joseph, sir," he answered somewhat hesitantly and wrapped his arms around his upper body.
"Okay Joseph, first you'll go take a shower and we'll get you something dry to wear. Afterwards we'll talk. And don't even think about doing anything stupid, we'll find out one way or another," Vito decided and pointed to one of the people to lead employee Joseph into one of the bathrooms. "Give him something from Matteo, that should suit him best."
Thank God the younger brothers were abroad at the time and wouldn't be aware of this whole situation. There was a silent agreement between Domenico and Vito to keep their brothers out of everything as much as possible, which they largely succeeded in doing. Of course they knew what the two were doing and they received a certain amount of training, but only to be able to protect themselves when the elders couldn't't. This was the main reason why nothing regarding their work was allowed to be taken home. The only thing in this house that had anything to do with their work was their office on the ground floor; everything else was located within the city.
"So?", he asked Domenico with a raised eyebrow once the boy left. While Domenico recapitulated the past events, Vito continued to think about what they should do now. He agreed with his brother; they couldn't harm the boy, but for some reason he didn't want to send him back out onto the streets. The night would be cold and from the looks of the boy it would mean his death. "Let's talk to him first and find out what he knows and how trustworthy he seems to be."
Domenico nodded. He didn't have a good feeling about letting Joseph back out on the street, too. Exhausted, he collapsed onto the sofa and took a piece of bruschetta, Maria had serve on the table in front them. He put his weapon on the table; even if they didn't want to hurt the boy, a little intimidation couldn't be too wrong. Vito also sat down, declined the food offered but asked for tea for the three of them.
"Since when have you been drinking tea?" his brother mocked.
"Since you're going to drink it too. Do you think I haven't noticed that you're shivering too?" Vito looked at him sideways. "I would be delighted if you would change into dry clothes too."
Domenico waved his hand. "Thanks, but for me personally, your delight is my misery. And save yourself what you want to say. The last time I checked, you were still less than a year older than me."
Vito was tempted to snort, but he knew it would only satisfy Nico. "Well I would've been if you would have stayed as long in Mums womb as you should've. Why do you always have to be so stubborn?", he mumbled angrily, but Nico just gave him an air kiss and continued to eat.
The boy came back into the living room at the same time as Maria and, when asked, took a seat in front of the two brothers. This seemed to become even smaller under the piercing gaze of the brothers. His blonde hair was still a little wet, which looked very much like he had cut it himself, and his clothes were way too big for him. His face almost seemed to be hollow without any hope at all. He looked more miserable than Vito had imagine.
"So Joseph, we have a few questions and I would appreciate it if you answered them honestly and looked at me. How old are you?" Vito asked nevertheless. 'Something is strange,' thought Domenico as he looked at Joseph. He couldn't tell what it was, just something about him made him suspicious.
"Fifteen, sir," the boy replied. Vito continued to interrogate him about the night's events, always asked him the same question in a different way to see if Joseph would stumble, but just as Domenico had already suspected, he hadn't seen anything significant.
"You will understand that your presence poses a certain problem for us," Vito began and Joseph became even smaller if possible. He looked fearfully at the gun and then up at Domenico. Vito continued without paying any attention to his reaction. "If you promise not to tell anyone about this evening, then you can sleep here tonight and tomorrow we will call someone to take you back home to your parents or whoever is respo-.""No!" Joseph interrupted him, terrified. "I-I'm sorry that's not possible, Sir."
"Well I'm sure whatever the reason you ran away, we'll be able to sort it out." Vito tried to assure him without much success. Furthermore the boy started to panic more and more.
"No, Sir. I can't go back there. Just let me go and I promise you'll never hear from me again. Really, I'll be fine and if you want I'll leave town right now. You'll never see me again must see, just let me go!" The child looked pleadingly at the two men. "Please." Tears began to fall followed by uncontrolled sobs.
Vito looked briefly at his brother, who was just as surprised at this outburst as he was. Sure teenagers could be dramatic but this was a quite concerning reaction. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. You'll have to realize you can't live on the streets all by yourself. You're a child for Gods sake! I'll call CPS tomorrow and-"
Then something happened that neither of them had anticipated: with an astonishing speed the child reached for the gun on the table, cocked it, held it to his head and pulled the trigger.
Hello again!
Thank you for reading the chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. If you notice any grammar or spelling mistakes, please let me know. Times in particular are not my strength 😇
Anyway: whats your opinion and your first impression of the three?☺️
See you soon 🥳