Leo Fiero glared around the unfamiliar office, taking in the landslide of documents spilling across the Romano's desk - it reminded him of his father's office, generally disorganised and overflowing with paper.
It seemed neither the Romanos nor the Fieros trusted technology to keep their information safe: computers could be hacked but a conversation couldn't be downloaded.
He surveyed the office, noting that the Romano was watching his every move; they took security more seriously than the Fieros. To the Romanos, everyone was a threat. The Romanos were a threat to everyone in return.
Both men in the room knew that their negotiations were in tatters, barely salvageable - neither could guarantee that the other would not pull out a gun and shoot.
The Romanos were secretive, boasting extreme power while revealing very little; no one knew how far their reach extended - to politics, the police, to high society. Leo hated how the Romano was observing him, hated how he was at a disadvantage to the more powerful family.
"When will he be here?" Leo dared to ask, his tone sharp. The Romano stared at him coolly, making no move to respond.
Luca debated telling Cee's brother that the boss would be here any minute, but decided against it: he never gave out information for free. It was easier to just wait, to hold his cards against his chest and use his poker face.
They didn't have to wait long.
The Romano Don opened the door silently, his calm exterior more terrifying than if he'd shown his fury. Luca caught his eye, his jaw tensing - he'd let his boss down. Niccolò jerked his head sharply, gesturing for Leo to follow him; he didn't wait.
Luca watched the Fiero stride after the Romano Don; both men were radiating power and anger, fighting for the same girl - for different reasons.
Elias folded his arms, leaning against the wall of the boss's office. The Fiero kid put him on edge; he was angry - and that meant irrational - the boy was only dealing with Mr Romano because he had no other choice.
So far, the boss hadn't said a word; merely listened with a cold look on his face and an ominous glint to his eye.
"What can you offer me?" Romano responded coolly, finally, leaning back in his chair. This was the Romano people knew and feared; cold and calculating, looking for personal gain. He had a reputation to uphold: giving out favours would make him seem weak. Charitable, almost. Elias smiled as the Fiero boy didn't respond immediately, tension clear in his shoulders.
"If you help me now, I'll give you the access to the warehouses that you wanted." Fiero was glaring at his boss, bargaining reluctantly - boss would be able to push him further, take more than that-
"Deal." Elias pushed himself off the wall, a frown forming on his face. The kid was desperate - they both knew it. He could push for a better deal, push Fiero for everything he had: bleed him dry.
Niccolò was usually ruthless, pushing his allies to the extremes; he took what he wanted, left no prisoners. Elias rarely questioned his boss (one of the reasons why his boss kept him around) but this? This was out of character.
The Don caught his eye, giving a slight shake of his head; Elias paused, recognising that the boss wouldn't change his mind - as always.
"We leave in half an hour." The boss stood up, looking down at the Fiero boy. "I'll go over fine detail after I get Camilla." Elias frowned. That girl again.
Fiero nodded, the tension in his shoulders lightening. Mr Romano sent him off to a guest room while Elias waited patiently, his eyes following the boss's movements around the room.
"So," he drawled, watching as Romano reclined back in his office chair. "Camilla Fiero." The Don watched him, his expression neutral. "What's so special about her?"
Niccolò leant back in his chair, keeping his gaze impassive. "Nothing."
Elias almost snorted; he'd known the boss for long enough to know when he wasn't quite telling the truth.
"She's an innocent." Elias tipped his head to the side curiously. Surely, if she was part of a family, she was part of their world? "Once the deal with the Fieros is done, I get Angela back in exchange."
Elias nodded, keeping a cool look on his face. "And the Fiero girl?"
"Go back to her mundane life." The boss locked eyes with him. "I heard she's training to be a nurse."
Elias tapped his fingers against his thigh, his expression thoughtful. "Will she keep the omertà?"
The Romano Don nodded absently, unconcerned. "I doubt she'd put her own family at risk too."
Omertà was the vow of silence; no one reveals what happens within the family. Punishable by death.
Elias didn't trust the Fiero girl - she meant trouble for the boss, which meant trouble for him. No person, aside from the Head of the Family, was worth risking so much for. It's what Niccolò had taught him, years and years ago - minimise your risks, maximise your profit; Niccolò lived and breathed his own motto, and yet he was risking far too much for some girl for far too little benefit.
"You could have pushed for a better deal." The Romano Don looked at him, as if seeing him for the first time since the start of the conversation.
"Yes."
"But you didn't." Boss nodded slowly, disliking the questioning.
"What's your point?"
"Camilla must be special." Elias ignored the flicker of irritation that passed across his boss's face.
"Mention her name again and you'll be out on the streets."
Elias winked at Niccolò, holding his palms up in defeat. "Message received, boss." The Don didn't lose the scowl on his face.
"Out," he ordered sharply, returning his gaze to the plans of the Fiero warehouses.
---
Elias relaxed into the soft upholstery, enjoying the clean smell of a new car; Romano was next to him, tense. The plan was simply to raid the Fiero warehouses, causing little disturbance, until they found the girl.
It was simple - but often, the best plans were. Leo Fiero knew all the access codes to get them inside the gates; after that, it was down to them.
Elias and Romano were scouting the lower floors, particularly the basement of the warehouses - the boss had insisted. It was the first place Romano wanted to check: it was unusual, to say the least, but Elias knew not to question.
"What's the plan if she's dead?" Elias spoke aloud casually, noticing his boss clench his fists.
"We'll deal with that if we have to." Romano shot Elias a cold, level look, daring him to ask any more questions.
"The boy doesn't like you."
"I'm not here to be liked." Elias sighed, leaning back. Throughout the years he had known Niccolò, despite every time they had saved each other's lives, he was no closer to understanding the cold man.
Elias watched out of the window as the concrete complex rolled into sight; it looked empty, abandoned.
"We're here," he told the boss, pulling out his handgun in readiness. "Don't get shot again."
Elias saw a grim, dark smile touch his boss's lips for just a second, before it faded to a resolute expression.
The stream of cars and vans rolled through the electric gates without any trouble, filing in neatly. No one stirred. Nothing moved.
As soon as the car had stopped, Elias was out of the car, his eyes flickering across the scene rapidly. There were no cars, no sign of Vin Fiero. Something was wrong.
Elias scanned the upper windows for snipers - for a flutter of a curtain, a movement - anything. Nothing stirred.
"This is a trap," he decided, a frown forming on his usually relaxed face. Niccolò, standing beside Elias, glanced at him, his expression neutral; he nodded once.
Elias didn't hesitate; if the Romano Don knew it was a trap and wanted to go in anyway, there was a reason. He rounded on the two teams - one for the first warehouse, one for the second.
"No Fieros are to be harmed," Elias repeated, reminding his boys of their target. "Find anyone - report back." He trusted his boys to do their duty - as head of security, he'd hand-picked each man. They'd only chosen six men to accompany Leo Fiero; it would be easier to slip in and out.
The Romano Family headed towards the doors, Niccolò striding forward in the midst of his men; the side door was unlocked.
Elias and Niccolò separated off to the left as soon as they were in - the hall smelled of bleach; likely due to a bloody clean up. Niccolò stormed through the corridors, heading towards where the cellar was labelled on the building plans - his face surprisingly calm, but his body rippling with anger.
Elias followed behind hurriedly, cursing under his breath - the boss was marching ahead, as per usual, taking no precautions - not even checking doorways -
Niccolò wrenched open a door, staring into the blackness before reaching for the light switch. As Elias caught up, he could taste the vile scent of rot, of death and dust - of blood - fill the air.
At the bottom of the staircase, there was a corpse. Elias fell silent, staring at the woman - he recognised her to be Marie Fiero, even though she looked nothing like the picture in her file. Her throat gaped open, an ugly, gruesome slash across her neck; her face was frozen in a silent scream. She'd been dead for several days - her skin was ash grey with violent blisters marring her body.
Elias stepped down beyond the doorway, scanning the empty concrete. The boxes against the wall stood untouched, but the floor was stained with blood - several bodies had been piled in a corner unceremoniously.
Elias took it in quickly, ignoring the stiff body of the Fiero, and turned back to the boss.
"She's not here," he informed Niccolò, heading up the stairs. Niccolò nodded, his gaze lingering blankly on Camilla's mother.
It was a message.
Elias followed as the boss turned abruptly, heading back towards the entrance - towards the second warehouse. As they hurried back through the corridors, Elias heard the distinct fire of a handgun echoing through the building. Before he could react, Romano had broken into a sprint, hurtling up the rickety staircase impossibly fast.
Elias followed quickly behind, his gun clenched in his fist. This was not the plan.
"Don't hurt her!"
"Stay back!" Elias heard the unfamiliar voice of a man shouting, the sound of a girl screaming. "Vattene!" Romano screeched to a halt, his hand on his waistband, where Elias knew his gun was tucked. "Get back or I shoot."
The man came into view, his skin olive and his eyes dark with manic fear and aggression. He had his arm wrapped around a girl's neck, half-lifting her off the floor - she was crying incoherently, reaching behind them, struggling. He had his gun pressed to her temple.
"Vincenzo Fiero." Romano spoke for the first time to the brother of the Fiero Don. The man swung around, his eyes latching greedily onto Romano's.
"Romano! Tell your men to back away." Leo, behind Vincenzo now, was reaching towards his gun, his face twisted with anger. Romano gestured impatiently to Leo - two of his six men restrained Leo as he shouted out.
"You son of a bitch- " he began furiously, but he was cut off.
"Caterina," the girl screamed, her eyes wild - Vincenzo was struggling to hold her in place. "Caterina!" Elias took in the chaos quickly, rapidly assessing the situation. Romano wanted the girl safe - she wasn't helping anyone by screeching; if Leo had jumped on Vincenzo, he would have fired, killing the girl - Niccolò wouldn't want that.
"Caterina," the girl gave a piercing cry, tearing at Vincenzo's arm heplessly, "Caterina-"
"Shut up, girl," Vincenzo spat, shaking her roughly; she paid no attention.
"Camilla." Elias almost didn't recognise his boss's voice - he rarely heard him speak in such a low, calm tone. The girl thrashed around a second longer, her desperate eyes searching for his - when she recognised Niccolò's voice, she tried to run for him, but Vincenzo held fast.
"Niccolò," she sobbed, her body going limp. "Caterina - she -" Elias watched as the Romano Don nodded, once, calming her down with a single look.
"Return Camilla to me, and you will leave this warehouse alive." The girl was trembling now, her eyes swollen with tears. Vincenzo shook his head rapidly, panic in his eyes; a panicked man was like a rabid dog - far more dangerous. A cornered man would do anything to escape.
"I'm taking her with me." He swallowed as Romano tilted his head to one side, his eyes blank. Elias noticed how the gun shook in the Fiero's hand.
"Wrong answer."