Little Mafia Boy - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

{Nico}
I walked down the hall way and towards my father's office. One of our maids told me that he wanted to see me immediately. Every possible thing I had done wrong in the past day or so ran through my mind. I licked my lips nervously and knocked on his door.
"Come in." I heard faintly on the other side.
I inhaled deeply and opened the door. I stood still for half a second in shock when I saw my brother sitting there with a wide grin on his face. I closed the door behind me and sat beside Eli and across from my father. "What's this about?" I asked trying my best to ignore Eli completely.
"A couple of Young Turks are causing trouble."
"Meaning?" I asked.
Father pushed his elbows off of his desk and leaned back in his chair. His pale skin from his sickness seemed to glow in the setting sun. "I've gotten word that a group known as 'Zechna' is out kidnapping people from the Mafia. The families with actual power. Mainly, the bosses children."
"What?" I asked completely baffled.  That was the first time I was hearing that some unknown group was going around kidnapping the Mafia families. "ransom?"
Father shook his head, "It wouldn't be as much of a problem if it was just about money. This group is actually torturing and eventually killing them. They make no effort to contact the family."
"Do they have a purpose?" Eli asked.
Father shook his head slightly and then shrugged, "We aren't too sure. Damned bastards actually know how to stay hidden when they want to. The body gets shipped to the family home. It ain't too pretty."
"Why weren't we informed sooner?" I asked furrowing my eyebrows slightly. I figured that since our lives were possibly in danger we would have been told sooner rather than later but then again I should have expected finding out way later. The older generation Mafia always did everything by their books. They always kept everything to themselves like selfish old men.
He sighed rather loudly to show his annoyance and answered, "It was better not to cause panic between the different groups and their families. Even the fat pigs are keeping this information between a select few." He said referring to the cops. "Zechna has been targeting the lower families for now but it seems they've been moving up the scale. Seems they have a rat on the inside. I'm informing you two now so that you'll be careful not to get kidnapped by this trash that is polluting our city. I'm sure you two are aware that you'll only be degrading the family name if you actually get captured. I will not stand for someone coming for my power. You do understand I'm sure?"
I understood more than clear what father was trying to say. If Eli or I were to get kidnapped, fathers reputation would plunder. We're one of the top three families and are expected to lead through example. Getting kidnapped would show the rest of the families that Delacroix is no longer a name to be respected. Getting killed would show that Delacroix is weak and then the estate would be dyed a dark red with the blood of many different people as they all fight for the property. In short, father would lose his power and we would potentially lose our lives for something that could have been easily avoided.
I rubbed the back of my neck catching a glance of Eli from the corner of my eye. He looked completely relaxed. Almost like he was already expecting the news. I looked back at our father and asked, "Is it known where the group operates?"
"There have been several different locations where they've held captives but my connections mentioned that a possible hideout of theirs could be at the University Elisha attends."
My whole head turned to look at Eli. He raised an eyebrow up swiftly and asked, "Victor, with all due respect," Eli said calling him by his first name since he wasn't apart of the group technically so calling him boss would be inappropriate and calling him father would be a sign of disrespect. Since they weren't strangers either it was fine to just call him by his first name. "If I had known there were potential killers at my school, I would go to you first with the information."
"Bull shit." I called out bluntly. "You never felt any loyalty to us. Our death would be perfect for you to take up responsibility as the next head of Delacroix. You wouldn't come to us. You would hold the information to yourself-"
"Brother," Eli said slyly, "I realize you hold a grudge against me for leaving the group but I believe that now is not the time to have a therapy session."
"That's hardly the reason why I hold a grudge against you. Maybe it's all the attempts at my-" I stopped my self quickly. I almost made an accusation of Eli's attempts at my life. My father was staring at me harshly as if he knew what I was going to say. Eli held a smile on his face as if he was just waiting for me to point fingers. I bit my lip so that it wouldn't backfire.
"Attempts of your what, Nico?" Eli said with a small chuckle, "Cat got your tongue?"
"Stop talking. Both of you." Father said. He turned his cold, almost lifeless, eyes towards Eli and shook his head, "I didn't mean it like that, Elisha. However, now that you do know, I would like you to do some investigating as soon as you get back to the campus. Of course, I trust you'll keep a safe distance?"
"I would like to keep a friendly air between us as soon to be business partners and family members. I wouldn't want to upset mother."
"Boss, is that really a good idea? Eli can't be trusted... Sir." I added, "He's a wolf disguised as a human. Sir, I could do it. I look older than my age. I could infiltrate the campus and-"
"Don't be stupid, Nico. You're the main focus here as the next head of the family. If you go to the university campus then you're practically holding a big flashy sign that reads, 'Delacroix Successor', you'd be walking right into the lion's den." Father said and coughed multiple times into his elbow. I winced as his rough coughs echoed through the room.
I knew that he was getting worse and worse. Our doctors still couldn't find what was wrong with him. He didn't have any sign of a known illness in him. No matter how many tests they did on him, they always came back negative. He looked so frail compared to how he did when my mother was still alive. Around the same time that she died was when he started to fall ill. I had a feelings it wasn't a coincidence but I had no proof or any leads to go off of. The only thing I could do was watch my father die slowly before my eyes. I looked away from his appearance and instead focused on the floor.
"I would be honored to help." Eli clarified.
Father nodded and said weakly, "Send the nurse. You two are dismissed."
We both stood up and bowed at our dismissal. I was already on my way to the door when I heard Eli's phone beep and then he spoke, "Victor, I'll be leaving for a couple hours. There's actually something I've been wanting to check out."
I turned around with my eyes narrowed. Father looked up and asked, "How important is it?"
"It's something that has caught my interest dearly."
"Very well. Take Nico and those other two." Father said referring to Sera and Max.
"Thank you." Eli said and bowed one more time as he past by me. As our eyes met, Eli grinned and it sent a chill down my spine.
I followed Eli out and sent nurses into our fathers office. Once they went in and we were by the stairs, I spoke up rudely, "What are you up to? I know you're behind this somehow. I just have yet to figure out how."
Eli stopped and spun around to face me, "What ever do you mean, dear brother?"
"Quit the nice guy act. It disgusts me. I'm not going to accompany you out in the middle of the night so you can plan my murder right in front of me." I said crossing my arms over my chest.
"Oh, I see I've angered you. My apologies." He said as he continued to tease me. "Well, it doesn't matter what you have to say. Let's go. I need you so that I can go check on something."
"Are you even listening?!"
Eli rolled his eyes and pulled me by the collar. I had to clench my fists tightly for control. I had to make sure that I didn't leave so much as a scratch on his face. His mother would be livid and I didn't want to deal with her. "I don't think you understood me so I'll say it again. I need to go out and check on a defenseless little animal. You do not have a say in the matter because if you don't go then you'll be the only one getting in trouble by Victor. You'd be going off the record. I'm sure you don't want to get whipped for not listening to his direct orders, correct? Unless you have some kind of kink I'd rather not know about." He pushed me back roughly with a smile.
I clicked my tongue as I held his gaze. He was right. If I disobeyed fathers direct orders then it would be bad for me. I'd get disciplined and Eli would enjoy every second of it. Reluctantly, I walked past him, and muttered, "Give me a minute." I headed towards Max's room. He laughed behind me as I heard his footsteps start going down the stairs.
Without knocking, I walked straight into Max's room. I froze in my spot completely as I saw Max in only his boxers. The fact that Max was almost naked wasn't what caught me off guard. It was the clear bruises lining his stomach and back. He even had cuts on his legs. He was also frozen. It looked like he was checking his body in the mirror.
I shut the door behind me quickly. "What the hell, Max?" I asked walking towards him. The closer I got, the worse it looked. "What happened?!"
Max shook his head in annoyance. He sat on the edge of the bed as he worked on putting his pants on, "I've told you countless times to knock. What if I was in the middle of jacking off?"
"Then I would have thrown a bible at you." I retorted sarcastically. "Seriously, what happened? A client?" I asked hating the way that sounded. I hated that Max didn't take better care of himself. That he insisted on selling his body when he could instead be going to school. No matter how many times I tried getting through to him, it wouldn't work.
"You would throw a bible at me for jacking off? What should I throw at you for all the shit you've done? A whole church?"
"Max." I said sternly. He was trying to change the conversation but I wasn't going to let it slide. "Answer my question."
He worked on putting his shirt on so I couldn't see his bruises anymore, "Things got a bit serious a few nights ago. It's not even that bad. Stop acting like a worried mom."
"A few nights ago? Not that bad!? Max. You're bruising all over. You look in pain with every movement."
"Well, I'm not in pain."
He was lying about the whole incident. He couldn't look me in the eyes when he claimed it was from a client. He averted his gaze and instead focused on putting his clothes on with as little movement as possible. "and I'm not angry that Eli is living with us for the week." I said with a roll of my eyes. "Don't lie to me. You know I hate liars."
That seemed to get a response out of max. He visibly flinched at my words and then looked at me, "Nico, I don't lie to you. I never have. So, just trust me when I say that it's nothing serious. I can take care of it." He said trying his best to sound reassuring.
I ran my hand through my hair impatiently. I waited a couple seconds and shook my head, "Fine. Get ready. Father told me to accompany Eli somewhere." I trusted Max to handle his own business without me having to pry into his life. I just hoped my decision wouldn't backfire.
"Elisha? Why?" He asked grabbing his phone off the dresser that I successfully bought for Max. He hated receiving gifts from me but a phone was necessary for him to have so he could contact me whenever.
"Long story short: There's a murderous group killing Mafia kids out of enjoyment, Eli's university is a possible hideout, Eli's acting suspicious and wants to go check on a 'defenseless little animal' as he claimed, and a rat or meat eater could be involved." I said referring to a corrupt cops as a meat eater.
"Wait, are you serious?"
I sighed and nodded my head, "Yes. I'll explain everything on the way. Is Sera home?" Max shook his head, "Of course she isn't. Come on. I'd rather get this over with quick." I said as I walked out with max following behind.
We walked down the stairs to see Eli leaning against the wall. "Finally. I was starting to think you'd prefer getting whipped."
I ignored his taunts as I walked out the door and waited for him to take the lead. "Who's the one with the kink?" I asked quietly to myself. I was annoyed that I had to accompany Eli. I was worried about max and I wondered where in the hell Sera was at a time like this.
* * *
"Did we seriously lose him!?" I cried out in frustration to myself. We were by the ocean when we lost sight of Eli. We looked away for one second because we heard a gunshot and when we looked back, he was gone. I sent Max to go check on the gunshot and I looked around for Eli. I couldn't phone him either because the only person with his number was Sera. I never had a need for his number and he didn't have a need for mine. Our only long distance communication was through Sera and occasionally the house workers.
There was a cold wind from the ocean. I sneezed once and groaned in annoyance. The last thing I needed was to get sick. I stopped by the railing and looked out into the dark sea. There weren't many stars out lighting the dark night. It kind of gave a comforting vibe as the only sound heard was the waves crashing on the sand.
I checked my phone to see if Max had sent me message but my inbox was empty. I was tempted to call him but thought twice about it. What if he was trying to be sneaky and my call gave away his location?
I sighed roughly as I watched my breath flow out. It reminded me of when I was younger and would pretend to smoke and thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I laughed softly at the memory. Now, I actually smoked and wished I could stop.
I stuffed my hands into my pocket and turned away from the ocean waves. I was about to call it a night. I would deal with the consequences of losing Eli when I got home.
I stopped as I heard a scream in the distance. It sounded like a male was screaming out of anger rather than terror. It echoed in the silent night as it suddenly stopped and got quiet again. I wasn't sure if it was Eli, Max, or some stranger but I started running in the direction of the scream as soon as it stopped.
I found it hard to run against the wind but I started fearing the worst. I thought about the possibility of Max getting caught by a previous client. There was a time he had a stalker and we dealt with it accordingly but Max was subject to a lot of things similar to that happening. It was something neither of us liked to recall.
I slowed down as I saw a male standing under the lamp post and looking out to the ocean. I approached him carefully and asked as his back was facing me, "Hey, you! Did you hear a scream just now?"
I sure as hell wasn't expecting to see Mikhail as he turned around. "Nico? What the heck? Stalking me again?" There was a light smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"No way." I said with a soft chuckle. I rubbed the back of my neck and asked, "Did you by chance hear a scream just now?"
Mikhail's face flushed into a deep red as he coughed. "Uh, sorry. That was me."
I let out a sigh of relief and walked to stand beside him and leaned my forearms on the railing. "Why are you out here so late screaming your head off?" I asked curiously.
"Just thinking." He said doing the same on the railing. He clasped his hands tightly and sighed quietly. I looked over at him with a soft expression. He looked different tonight than any other day. He looked so far away despite being right next to me. I felt like I couldn't touch him even if I reached out an arm. I suddenly found myself at a loss of words as I stared at him. He turned his head and asked, "What about you? Isn't there like a Mafia curfew or something?" He tried cracking a joke.
I looked away from his eyes as I couldn't form a sentence while looking at him. I bit my lip and shook my head, "Such a thing doesn't exist. I'm out looking for someone." I said vaguely. I definitely didn't want Mikhail involved with Eli. I wanted to prevent them from ever meeting. Eli took everything from me and before I would just accept it without fighting. However, this time was different. I wouldn't allow him to take Mikhail away. Eli would do anything possible to hurt me. I knew the safest thing was to distance myself from Mikhail but even that proved difficult when we often bumped into each other.
"Ohh." Mikhail answered sounding slightly disappointed.
"Everything okay? You look troubled."
Mikhail snickered and said, "Well, I have the Mafia breathing down my neck for the money my father borrowed."
I scrunched up my nose and said, "We haven't bothered you since that first day, you know?"
"I'm talking about you. How is it that we seem to meet every time I step out of my house? It can't just be a coincidence." He said smiling.
"It's fate." I joked. Things like fate and destiny were things I strongly disliked. The concept of those words made no sense to me. My father used them all the time when referring to my future. He said that my future was already written out for me. I hated it. I didn't want to live by some fake destiny. Though, it was hard to rebel against someone like my father.
Mikhail shook his head lightly, "I don't like that word. It implies that a supernatural force decides your life."
I laughed softly and agreed, "It's like you read my mind, Miki."
I was expecting to hear complaints about calling him Miki but he only smiled and looked down at his hands. I was tempted to bring him in for a hug because he looked so frail but I didn't move. I didn't want to ruin his sudden compliant mood.
"Hey." He said suddenly.
I furrowed my eyebrows gently and hummed curiously at him."Hmm?"
"I have a friend.." He said nervously, "He's found himself pushed up against a wall recently. He's not very happy with his life and I don't know how to help him." He tightened his grip on his own hands as he kept talking, "Everyone expects too much out of him. He feels like he isn't in control of his own life. Recently.." He hesitated, "Recently he's found someone- thing. Something that he likes but his parents aren't too happy about it."
He stopped talking so I took it as my turn, "This friend of yours." I said skeptically, "Are you sure he's not just pushing himself too hard?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, it sounds to me that this friend is just too into his own mind. Many times, a person can get lost in others expectations that they start building false expectation."
"You've lost me."
I rolled my eyes playfully. I knew by the way he worded things that he was obviously talking about himself but I thought I'd play along with him. "I'm saying, your friend should open his eyes up and realize the people around him really aren't expecting as much out of him as he thinks. Tell him to take a step back and breathe. Enjoy life. For himself. Not others." I clarified warmly. I wasn't even sure if that got through to him but he seemed to be thinking it over. "You should go home. Do you want me to walk you-" I checked my phone as it rang. Max was calling me. I picked up and turned around to show my back to Mikhail, "Are you alright?"
"Fine. I found Elisha. Where are you- never mind I see you." I heard a whistle and turned to the side to see Max waving his free hand and with his phone to his ear on the top of the stairs. Eli was next to him with an uninterested look. "Let's go. You know that gunshot from earlier? I found a dead body in the alley."
"What? Fresh body?"
"Yeah. Must have been from the same shot. A single bullet to the head."
"Shit. Mikhail is here-"
"He lives close by. He'll be fine. Unless you want Elisha to meet him. You don't have time to play tonight with him, Nico. You've got to report this."
I thought over my options and gave in. "I'm going." I hung up the phone and looked at Mikhail, "You'll be fine going home alone?"
"Of course. I'm not someone you need to worry about." He said with a snicker and turned back to the ocean. "Bye."
He seemed to change again as the atmosphere around him turned cold. "Mikhail. Are you lonely?" I asked surprised with myself for even having said it out loud. He visibly stiffened from my words. He refused to say anything after that which was clear enough for me to guess that he probably was. His father probably wasn't much support since he kind of seemed incompetent to take care of his own health. Mikhail had his friends but I figured he would never bother them with his problems. "Hey, what's your phone number?"
"What?" He finally spoke and only turned his head slightly to look back at me.
"What's your phone number." I tried again.
He seemed to hesitate but as I took my phone out, he told me his number. I recorded his number with a wide smile on my face. I texted his number after putting his name as Miki. I sent him a message saying, 'Now you'll never be lonely.' I heard his phone go off but he didn't bother checking. I chuckled and went to pull his hand out of his pocket and kissed the top of his hand.. "Stay safe."
"I know." He mumbled cutely turning his head away shyly.
I smiled brightly and ruffled his hair before running up the stairs to meet up with Max and Eli. I got to the top and looked harshly at eli, "Where the hell were you?!"
"Sorry, got distracted." He shrugged carelessly.
I glared at him as we walked down the sidewalk. I looked at his hands and asked, "Where'd your red gloves go?"
"Huh?" He looked at his hands and said, "Must have misplaced them" he held a grin on his face that I didn't trust. I looked at Max to see what he thought but it seemed he was more focused on walking normally.
We walked in silence and I couldn't shake the horrible feeling I got in the pit of my stomach. As if something horrible was going to come.