4. Find the space ghost

In a dark, almost empty room, a man sat in the center, in front of a computer set. He was dressed in a black expensive suit and his face was covered in a mask. A glass of wine and a cup were on the same table as the computer and a piece of paper carrying a long list of items.

He stared at the video footage of the charity event, watching as Giovanni gave his speech before zooming in on the female that was moving. Somehow, she looked too familiar, but after looking at her face for some minutes he couldn't place where he knew her from, so he swiped, continuing with the video. Nothing looked suspicious so he ended the video, relaxing into his rocking chair. He popped the wine into the glass and took a quantity.

He had made the donation the previous day for multiple reasons. He knew what to expect. He had studied the dynamics of the Palermo crime scene and he knew which card to pull and when to pull it and he had just pulled his first card.

Giovanni Cherisi, Alessio Verrilli, and Romano Rossi, the heads of the different crime families in the city. They were his primary target. He needed them to come out from their shell of comfort. One, two, or all of them were playing very dirty and he had to find out who.

He was sure that by now, all the crime families would be searching for him. He laughed heartily as the thought crossed his mind. They would never find him, except if he presents himself to them, which he was planning to do very soon.

“Were you able to find anything last night?” Giovanni questioned as they made their way to their cars parked outside the mansion. They both lived together in a mansion bought by Giovanni. The biggest in the city. Their garage was filled with the latest cars, most of them being of the BMW brand. Angelo was a lover of automobiles and he fucked with BMW heavily.

“No. Still nothing. I suggest we start referring to him as a ghost. He's a space ghost.” Angelo answered, conceding defeat.

“This isn't you bro.” his brother muttered, shaking his head slowly. They both got into their different cars and sped off. Soon, they arrived at their warehouse where they stored drugs and ammunition. It was one of the different warehouses they had in the city.

“Benvenuto signore” one of his men at the entrance greeted in Italian, meaning “Welcome sir”

“How is it going?” Angelo questioned. His brother rarely spoke, leaving everything to him.

“Everything is in order.” The man replied and they both walked in. They had just taken possession of ammunition worth over two hundred million dollars. They were to sell it and cut their share. They inspected the weapons, and seeing them in fine condition, they walked out.

“Lock up this place and bring the key to me at the bar,” Angelo ordered. Giovanni had already entered his car and was ready to zoom off. They had to be at the bar. Someone was waiting.

“Where is my money!” Giovanni yelled at the man who was kneeling down in front of him with a bowed head. Angelo sat in the office smoking while his two legs were kept on the table. Giovanni was too focused on the man in front of him to bother about that.

“The drugs were stolen from my men. Give me a few days, I swear I'll get your money.” the man pleaded, tears spilling from his eyes. He knew that his life right then was hanging in the balance. He could walk out there alive, or he could be dead within seconds. It was the life they led.

“Stolen, you say!” he laughed with no hint of humor. “Do I look like a fifteen year old?” he questioned in fury.

“No sir.” The man was quick to respond. He was quite older than Giovanni.

“Then tell me why I shouldn't kill you,” Giovanni stated, taking his gun out and cocking it.

“I swear on the mafia, I swear on the three crime families, I'm telling you the truth.” the man pleaded, making him pause.

“Not working” he replied, placing it on the man's head. At this point, his brother got up and intervened, snatching the gun out of his grip.

“Get up,” Angelo ordered, tapping the gun on the man's shoulder. He raced to his feet immediately. He was visibly shaking and was sweating profusely.

“I give you five days to provide the money, or else, I'll come for you and your entire family.” Angelo threatened, making sure to tap the gun on the man's face for visible effect.

“I promise. Thank you for sparing my life.” he thanked again. He knew he had to provide the money. The Cherisi never goes back on their word. He sauntered out of the office, still in fright.

“Why did you stop me from killing that bastard?” Giovanni questioned, his anger departing slowly.

“Cos it's not the right thing to do,” Angelo responded, going back to his seat. “If you want somebody to kill, find the space ghost and kill him,” he added with a smug smile.

Giovanni ignored him and went to his seat behind the table. He sat down on the chair, pulling out a bottle of whiskey from the drawer. He loved drinking. It numbed his pains most times.

“What about the new club you're opening?” his brother questioned after he had taken his first drink.

“Almost at completion. Everything has been falling into place, I'll open it by the end of the month,” he answered. He had been working on opening his new nightclub. He had sunk in quite a huge amount into the project and it was expected to be the biggest in the city. It was his pet project and he took it personally.

“I need a million dollars,” Angelo stated.

“Find me the space ghost and I'll give you two.” Giovanni proposed almost immediately, causing his brother to laugh.

“Make it five and I'll consider it.”

“Go to hell” he responded with a light chuckle.

Alessio stood at the door of the home of Romano Rossi while he was being searched by the Rossi's men. He had scheduled a meeting with the head of the family and was here to see him.

“You men can wait outside here, you go in alone.” one of the Rossi's guards stated after he was done with the search. Alessio looked at the guard in surprise before turning to look at his men. He had arrived with four men who were heavily armed.

“Why can't my men come in?” he questioned, feeling surprised at the audacity.

“You can either go in alone or go back with your men” the guard replied and when he saw the seriousness on his face, he sighed and gave in. He was entering another man's territory without his men for backup. He didn't have the best of relationship with the Rossi family, anything could go wrong inside there.

Holding his head high, he walked in through the door accompanied by the guard. He was dressed in black jeans, a shirt, and a long coat. He had a hat on his head, giving him the complete mafia boss look.

He waited for a few minutes while the guard went to inform Romano of his presence. He took the time to inspect the room. It was his in-house office. A shelf of documents and papers stood at one corner, a drink bar at the other, and a large table towards the end of the wall.

“Alessio Verrilli, welcome to my den.” Romano welcomed him and he walked into his office. Romano was thirty three years old and had ascended the seat after the death of his father six years ago. He was very ruthless and cold hearted. He was yet to be married but was known in the entire city for his fuckboy attitude.

He walked to the bar and took out a bottle of branded scotch, one of his most expensive ones, and served it into two glasses before taking them and returning to the table. Alessio watched his every action with caution. He didn't trust him, none of them in the room trusted each other. Trust was a very difficult thing to earn among the families.

“Thank you for accepting to see me under a short time,” Alessio stated, taking a sip from the glass Romano had served him.

“That is no issue. We are crime families in the same city. These meetings should be made regularly.” he stated after he had drank from his glass. Alessio could read the underlying meaning of his sentence. It was clear enough.

“I'm sure you might already know why I'm here,” he replied, straightening up in his seat. He didn't want to beat around.

“I don't, you might as well inform me,” Romano replied with a smug smile. He knew what Alessio was talking about, he just enjoyed putting his guests on the spot.

“The anonymous man. Do you have anything on him?” Alessio questioned, studying his host's expression. Romano held an indifferent look as he stared at his guest. He had already figured out the reason for the visit.

“If I do, that would be classified information. Don't you think so?” he asked. This time, his smug smile was replaced with a curious look. “Last time I checked, the Verrillis and Rossis are different people,” he added.

“I want an alliance. An alliance between the Verrilli family and the Rossi family. An alliance until we find the anonymous man.” Alessio stated with an impeccable tone.