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"So what's the plan?" Jiyong asked as he looked at Romeo.
We were now at the meeting room. Romeo was sitting on his usual seat while Mat, Jiyong, President King, Eric, Mathias and I sat on the seats on the side.
Elizabeth decided not to join us, which I thought was a good decision because I don't think Romeo would be able to concentrate if his mother was with us right now.
"Isn't Antonio's hideout at a warehouse?" Eric asked, and then Jiyong nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I've been there before. My men and I can tell you the exact location."
"Do you think Antonio would even still be there?" Mathias asked.
"I know my uncle. He might be expecting that we already know where he is, but I also know that he won't move out. Looking for a new place to hide will be even more of a problem to him," Romeo explained.
"So we'd just go there and ambush them?" Mat asked. I don't know if he was being sarcastic or if he was being serious.
"We have a lot of men," Eric says.
"But so does Antonio," I reminded them.
"Are the amount of men even important here? My own men aren't fighters, but I can let them help you. But won't our numbers just be a disadvantage to us?" President King asked.
Romeo takes a deep and looks at him, "Whether we have a thousand, or even just ten men. The only thing that's important is to kill Antonio and all the heads of the households that are in Antonio's side. I thought of a plan, and I really need everyone's cooperation," he explains; now looking at all of us.
"We're all ears Don Romeo," Jiyong says with a smirk.
Romeo nods his head, then he loosens his tie and looks at us with a serious expression.
"President King is right, our numbers might become a disadvantage if we all gather at the warehouse. So I thought that it's best if we split up. We have seven households that are under an oath to the Valentino Family. We have the Russo Family and the Roselli Family, in which are still on our side. The DeStefano Family is a strong household who has been with us since the first godfather of the Valentino Family. I called their boss, and he said that he will not side with anyone in this battle. So the only Family that's left, that are actually sided with Antonio are the Alfonzo Family, Costa Family, Gallo Family, and the Lorenzo Family."
(A mafia can be under a Strong Household through marriage or formal and mutual agreements.)
"We'll divide my men, Jiyong's men, and the Russo Family men into four groups. Four of those groups will attack the four households tonight. I trust that Jiyong and Eric can wipe all of their family members entirely," Romeo explains.
"No problem," Jiyong confidently says as he exchanged glances with Eric.
"And the rest?" Mathias asked.
"The Dark Saints are more trustworthy than my own men, so they'll be coming with us to the warehouse. That includes you too Mat," Romeo continues.
"So when do we attack Antonio?" Mat asked, obviously very eager to battle with Antonio.
"We attack as soon as the four groups finish off the four households. If we can take them down before we attack Antonio, then Antonio won't have enough men to fight beside him," Romeo explains, then every one of us started nodding in agreement.
The plan was good, but I can't help but notice that Romeo calls his uncle just by his first name now. Like it was a sign that Antonio wasn't family to him anymore.
"Now gather the men and get ready. We'll start as soon as the sun sets," Romeo explains, then everyone – excluding me – stood up from their seats and placed their hands on their chest as a sign of respect.
"Yes Don Romeo," everyone said in unison before leaving the room.
President King stays for a while and looks back at us, "I know I'm not in the right place to say this but...I think your father will be proud of you."
Romeo doesn't say anything, and I think President King didn't expect him to. So he nods his head and leaves the room with the others.
When Romeo and I were finally alone, I looked at Romeo and grabbed his hand, "Are you okay?"
"No," Romeo quickly answers.
I sighed and squeezed his hand, "We'll end this war. I know it."
"My uncle is a fool to think that he can defeat us. But after this, we just ended generations of families and mafias. Defeating all of them will be our ticket out of this cruel world. But I can't help but think that doing this will only become a greater problem in the future," Romeo tells me.
"We can discuss that after all this ends. But until that time comes, the problems we need to face are the problems now," I tell him.
Romeo takes a deep breath and stares at me deeply, "But what if...those problems become problems our children would have to face instead?"
The question suddenly shocked me.
My eyes widened as I stared back at Romeo, "O-our children?" I asked him.
Romeo seriously looks at me, and then he takes my hand and kisses it gently, "I love you...I hope by now you know that my love for you is far greater than anything in this world."
I looked at Romeo, my eyes suddenly teary for some reason. Romeo and I never really talked about our future, so hearing those words from him somehow warmed my heart.
"I cannot ask for a better man than you Romeo," I tell him, bringing his hand close to my face as I closed my eyes to feel the warmth of it.
"My love..." he suddenly calls out.
I opened my eyes and looked at him. But the moment I opened them, Romeo suddenly asked, "Marry me?"
My heart stopped.
My whole world stopped.
Everything stopped at that moment.
Romeo just proposed to me. And I had to blink just to confirm if I was actually dreaming this or not.
But Romeo then squeezed my hand tighter, like he was scared that I might not answer him.
Tears now poured out of my eyes as I looked at him, "Oh Romeo..."
"I know you don't need my protection. But I will give you my life, like how you are willing to give yours. I will give you the whole world if I have to. Just stay by my side, that's the only thing I ask of you," Romeo tells me.
I reached out for his cheeks to wipe away the tears that are actually pouring out of his eyes now too.
"I am yours, as you are mine...what more do you want me to say?" I ask him, hoping that he'd understand that it was a yes.
But when he smiled; that same smile that he gave me when I told him I liked him. I knew that in that moment, I have fallen in love with him again.
"I love you...my Romeo Valentino," I whispered to him.
Romeo leans forward and gently kisses my lips before pressing his forehead into mine.
"I love you more...my sweet Julien Choi."
*****
I was resting my head on Romeo's chest. He smelled like cigarette and perfume, a scent that I have already gotten used to.
His right hand plays with my hair, while he holds the cigarette on his left.
He exhales the smoke and puts the cigarette on the ashtray. Then he kisses my head and gently moves me so he could stand up.
"Where are you going?" I asked as I looked at him.
Romeo wears his shirt and looks out the window, "It's almost sunset. We need to go," he says before looking back at me.
I nod my head and stood up from the bed. But before wearing any clothes, I walk to him and draped my arms around his neck. Then I kissed him deeply, tasting the cigarette smoke that he just exhaled a few seconds ago.
Romeo's warm hand touches the back of my neck while the other hand touches my lower back. When we parted from the kiss, Romeo continued to kiss my neck, then my collarbone, and stopping at my shoulder.
He grabs my hand and kisses that too.
"It's missing a ring," he says as he looks back at me.
I chuckled and grabbed his hand as well, "How about we get a ring tattoo. Would that be okay with you?" I ask, making Romeo smile.
"A ring tattoo sounds perfect," he tells me, and then just in time, someone starts knocking on the door.
I quickly pulled my hand away from Romeo so I could put on some clothes.
When I wasn't naked anymore, Romeo opened the door, revealing Mat all geared up and ready to go.
"They're ready," Mat tells us.
Romeo and I looked at each other before going to the front where everyone else was waiting.
Eric and Jiyong stood together while the rest of the men stood beside the cars and vans that they'd be using to leave.
"Boss," Eric says when he sees us approaching.
"You guys ready?" I asked as Romeo, Mat and I stood in front of them.
Jiyong looked at us and answered for Eric instead, "I'll be handling the Lorenzo Family while Eric handles the Alfonzo family."
"What about the Gallo and Costa Family?" Romeo asked.
"Mathias will handle the Gallo family, then the rest will handle the Costa Household" Jiyong answered.
"Alright. So the plan is you go to the households while we stay at the meeting room. Call us whenever you defeat the household, and once everyone's done, the rest of us will head over to Antonio," Romeo explains.
"We want the rest of you to follow afterwards," I added, and then Jiyong and Eric nodded their heads as an understanding.
While we were talking, one of the leaders of the Russo men approached us.
"Don Romeo, we are ready," he tells us.
"Okay, ready your positions," Romeo says as everyone stopped moving.
The crowded area became quiet as everyone looked at the godfather of godfathers. The head of all heads, Don Romeo Valentino.
Romeo looks at me first before looking back at the men in front of him.
"Words cannot describe how thankful I am for all of you," Romeo started.
He paused and looked at everyone before he continued, "I have been betrayed multiple times, but now I know the real men who I am willing to fight with. Tonight we end the war Antonio Valentino has started. We might not be able to see tomorrow, but we were able to change history today. Tonight, we end the Valentino Family!"
Everyone shouted in unison, excited as they listened to their Don Romeo's last words.
"My men," Romeo says as he looks at the remaining Valentino men who stayed with him.
"Your fathers, and your grandfathers, had served the Valentino's for years. After this war, you are free men. And I haven't told you this before but...thank you for protecting my father," Romeo says, and I swear I saw a few of his men looking teary.
"Now, as your last and final godfather. The last godfather of the Valentino Family...thank you for your service," Romeo sincerely says, suddenly putting his hand on his chest as a sign of respect.
Everyone was shocked; I could see Mathias looking shocked at the back too. I'm pretty sure not even one godfather has shown such great respect like this to their men before. But one by one, they placed their hands on their chest as well. The V tattoo on their middle finger being shown to Romeo for the last time.
Jiyong, Mat, Eric, Romeo and I looked at each other. Then Jiyong smirked and looked at his last twelve men and shouted, "Let's kick some mother fuckin' Mafia butts!"
"Yeah!" everyone shouted in unison.
"Be careful," I tell my brother as we quickly hugged each other. Then, they joined the rest and started driving out and heading to the households that we hope they will eventually defeat.
Romeo and I looked at each other, then, Romeo looks down at his hand where three rings can be seen.
One ring was a symbol of godfather, one was a symbol of household, and the last one was a symbol for the Valentino Family.
Romeo took a deep breath before removing all three rings and throwing them all to the ground.
"The only ring that will matter would be the tattoo here," he suddenly says while showing me his ring finger.
I smirked and quickly kissed his cheeks.
Mat clears his throat, making us remember that he was actually here with us too.
"It's nice to see that there is still something good in this world," Mat says.
Romeo and I were going to say something, but then we remembered what Mat has also gone through for the past few days.
"President King?" I simply asked.
Mat takes a deep breath and answers us, "He's with madam Elizabeth. They're just at the room, waiting for this battle to end."
"Are you okay? We haven't talked ever since yesterday," Romeo says.
Mat gives us a weak smile and answers back, "I'll be fine. I don't know if killing Antonio will make me fine, but I know that I will be...hopefully sooner than later. The good thing though is that I actually have an uncle and a cousin who I barely even know."
Romeo pats Mat's shoulder and smiles, "Bryson King is a nice man...you'll like him."
Mat suddenly chuckles and says, "Well you wouldn't be close friends if he wasn't."
"We should get a drink after this. Ask Bryson to join us," I say, and then the two nodded their heads as an agreement.
It's funny how we could act like this even though we're at war.
I know it's too soon, but when all this ends, I'm proud to say that I now have gained a real family of my own.
"You've been a good friend to me Mat. You stayed ever since shit happened to me, and you're still beside me even after shit happened to you. I don't know how to repay you," Romeo says.
Mat looks at Romeo and sincerely smiles, "Be my friend forever. Consider that as your payment."
The three of us immediately laughed when we heard Mat say that.
"Consider it done," Romeo replies.
"Maybe you two should become lovers instead," I say as I started walking away.
Mat and Romeo laughs as they immediately followed behind me.
"You jealous babe?" Romeo asked with a smirk as he stands beside me. Mat stands on my right side, and then I placed my arms on Romeo and Mat's shoulder.
"Nah, I trust Mat. And I'm pretty sure he likes pussies more than hotdogs," I said with a smirk, making the two laugh.
"How would you know?" Mat jokingly asked.
"You were more shocked about me being gay rather than finding out Julien's in a gang," Romeo answered instead, then the three of us laughed, forgetting that death might just face us very, very soon.
*****
"They're not calling yet," Mat suddenly says, panic in his eyes as we waited for Jiyong and the others to call to tell us they're successful with the ambush.
"It's only been an hour. Don't panic," Romeo says, but I'm sure he was worried too.
We're at the meeting room. Romeo, Mat, and my phone sitting in the middle as we waited for either one of them to ring.
We were so quiet that the only thing you could hear was our heavy breathing and the ticking of the grandfather clock inside the room.
The longer we waited, the more my heart would start pounding. I was worried about Jiyong. There are still a lot of things that I haven't told him, so I really need him alive.
"I think we should go after-"
Before Mat could even finish, Romeo's phone immediately rings.
Our eyes widened as Romeo quickly answers the call. He puts it in speaker mode and said, "Hello?"
"D-Don Romeo?" an unfamiliar man answered. He sounded so weak that the three of us had panicked expressions on our faces.
"Who is this? What's going on there?" Romeo quickly asked.
There was a pause, and I was so ready to call my Dark Saints if ever this man tells us they failed. But then, the man starts laughing and said, "W-We did it...the Costa Family is defeated."
The three of us almost jumped on our seats when we heard the news.
"Thank god. Good job...good job," Romeo says as he starts smiling too.
Then, my phone starts ringing next. I quickly answered it, but before I could even say anything, Jiyong shouted through the phone, "We did it Julien! We defeated the fucking Lorenzo family!"
"Really?!"
"Is Romeo there? Shit, you guys didn't tell me they'd be tough," Jiyong says before laughing again.
"Good job Jiyong!" Romeo shouted. Making sure Jiyong could hear it.
"We'll give you guys the signal. For now just stay there," I tell Jiyong before ending the call.
"Two more calls to go," Romeo says, and then just in time, Mat's phone rings.
Mat quickly answers it.
No one talks, but we continued to hear gunshots on the background. But soon after, Mathias's voice was heard, "Gallo Family is wiped out Don Romeo," Mathias reported back to us, trying his best to catch his breath.
The three of us cheered again, but Romeo leaned forward and asked, "What's with the noise?"
"We're making sure the ones on the ground are dead," Mathias answered, making Romeo laugh, "You really learned so much from my father."
"I took notes," Mathias suddenly answered. I couldn't see him, but I somehow knew he was smirking on the other end of the phone.
After a few more minutes, the last phone rings. I answered the call and put it on speaker mode, "Eric? What's happened?"
Eric doesn't say anything to us yet, but we could hear that he's saying something to the people he's with.
"Eric?" I called out again.
"Oh boss, sorry. We were just wrapping things up here. There weren't a lot of them here so I'm guessing some of them are with Antonio," Eric explained, making the three of us sigh in relief.
"That's okay. But is Dario Alfonzo there? Is their head there?" I asked him.
"No, he's not," Eric answered with a sad tone.
"It's alright, we'll just give you the signal on when to head over to the warehouse. Thank you for your hard work," I answered before ending the call.
I looked at Romeo who already had a grin on his face. With a gun on his hand, Romeo stands up from his seat and says, "That's our cue. Now let's go kill my uncle."
- END -