6– Back to business

Hunter jerked awake by the sound of his ringtone. He slowly sat up on his couch, looking around his flat as if he had woken up in somebody else's house. It felt like something was different, but he didn't know what. It was quiet, no surprise there. His flat was always quiet, his neighbours too. Whenever he was alone, his flat was always quiet, but his neighbours only seemed quiet because he had sound proof walls.

When Hunter was about to get up from his couch, he noticed that he had a blanket over his legs, and he was naked under the blanket. He frowned, and that's when he remembered. Where's Becca? He got up and pulled on his boxers. His TV was on stand-by. He quickly ran to pick up his phone on his one-seater where he had thrown it last night. The call dropped before he could pick it up. It was Joe. With the phone in his hand, he walked to the kitchen.

“Becca?” He called.

When he got to the kitchen, there was no one there.

“Becca?” He waited awhile just to make sure she wasn't there. He then walked back to the living room and began making it up the stairs.

“Becca?”

He reached his bedroom, which was wide open. There was nobody there. His bed was as messed up as he had left it the day before yesterday when he was leaving. He walked in and looked around, no sign of her. He paused in the middle of his room as he felt a tinge of paranoia creep into his head. He opened his bedside cupboard slowly and pulled out his pistol in one of the drawers. He put on some pants slowly trying not to make a sound. He then put his pistol behind, in his pants. Something didn't seem right. He went to the second bedroom, the door was shut, like it always was. He slowly pushed it open with his hand behind his back, ready to grab his pistol. He stepped into the room slowly and there was no one there.

“Becca?” He called for the last time. This room was always clean and tidy. Everything was still exactly where it always was. He sighed and then shut the door and went back into his bedroom. He sighed, feeling relaxed now and a little disappointed. She really just left without saying anything? He thought.

He sat on his bed and pulled out his pistol and placed it on the bed next to him. He reached for his laptop from his bed and began clicking away. He pressed enter and saw the live camera recording of the living room downstairs. He began rewinding.

He knew that last night was crazy, but he couldn't get the order of how things really played out, he needed to look at his camera. He paused when he saw her sneak out of his front door. He rewinded it to the part where they were both sleeping on the couch. He didn't even know how he fell asleep like that. His plan last night was to wake her up later for round two and then round three and then who knows, round four. He shook his head as he watched himself passed out next to her on the couch. Her head was on his chest, and he had his arms around her. He then frowned when he saw her open her eyes and look up at him sleeping. She then slowly began attempting to get out of his arms. She finally succeeded without him even moving in his sleep. Looking at himself right now, he looked dead.

“Punk ass...” He shook his head at himself. “Falling asleep like that after just one round? Since when?”

She then slowly began putting on her clothes, trying not to wake him. She took the remote and paused the music and then picked up her heels. She tip-toed to the front door and put her hand on the door handle. She then looked back at him and stared for a few seconds. Hunter focused his attention, watching to see what she does next. She then slowly placed her heels next to the door and sneaked up the stairs. Feeling like his heart would beat out of his chest he clumsily and quickly switched to the upstairs cameras and rewinded to see her sneak into his room. His blood was boiling now as he switched to his bedroom camera. When she got into the room, she stood at the door for a while and then walked in. She walked to the bed and pulled off his blanket. As he watched her leave his room with only his blanket in her hands, his heartbeat slowed back down. When he switched back to the living room, he saw her cover him gently with the blanket and then walk to the door. She picked up her heels and walked out the door without looking back again. He watched his front door close slowly. He then switched to the outside cameras and saw her walk down the driveway, barefoot. She walked down the driveway and out into the street. She took a left from there and disappeared. That's as far as his cameras go.

Hunter smiled as he stared at the still frame of his car parked in his driveway.

“You didn't even leave me your number?” He asked. “Really? After all that fire we had?”

Hunter then rewinded back from the time they walked in and watched them together in fast-forward. He paused when they both fell asleep on the couch and then rewinded it again to when they walked into the house. He then watched it again in fast-forward.

“This girl...” He smiled, shaking his head and rewinded from the part when she's in control and stopping when he takes control. He then replayed it again a couple of times.

“This girl...” He kept saying to himself. “How could she not even leave her number?”

It was crazy that he kept rewinding their sex scene, he had never watched himself have sex before no matter how hot the girl was. His house cameras were just for safety.

Ding-Dong!

Hunter quickly set the camera back in real time to check who was at the front door. As he set it back, he kept repeating in his head, “Please be her, please be her.” To his dismay, it wasn't her. It was the mafia boss and his consigliere.

Hunter quickly shut his laptop and threw it back on his bed. He took his pistol and put it back in the draw next to his bed. He pulled on a t-shirt and rushed downstairs. He was about to open the front door but then saw how messy his apartment looked. He quickly grabbed the takeaway boxes and ran to place it on the kitchen island. He ran back into the living room and picked up the blanket from the floor, just then his front door opened, and he was face to face with his boss.

“Brave of you to sleep with your doors unlocked.” Hector King said, stepping in.

Hunter folded the blanket and placed it on his two-seater. “Good morning, sir.” He said as he began picking up his clothes from last night. He didn't do it in rush so that the men wouldn't pick up what was going on.

“Morning.” King responded coming to stand in the living room. “Did you wash your hands yet?”

Hunter chuckled and shook his head. He knew exactly why King was asking that. “No, I didn't.”

King was a little bit of a clean freak. When Hunter was staying with him, which he only did for two months and then could afford his own place, he would always tell him to wash his hands every morning after waking up. His daughter Gaby had already made it her morning routine, so he had stopped asking her.

“Good morning, Bianchi.”

“Morning, boss.” Bianchi responded.

Hunter chuckled politely. “You don't have to call me that.”

“But you are now. Congratulations.” He shook Hunter's hand.

“Thank you.” Hunter told them. “You may both sit down.”

Both Hector and Bianchi sat on the two-seater. Hunter went to sit on the one-seater and placed the clothes he had picked up behind him on the seat.

“So, had fun last night?” King asked.

“You have no idea.”

The men all laughed.

“Good.” King chuckled. “Good because now it's back to business.”

Hunter nodded. “Of cause.”

“You're the new underboss now and you have to take control. You need to raise your head high and take the lead.”

“I've been hanging with you for years and have learnt a lot as a result. I believe I can take up the responsibility that you've given to me.”

“I know you can, but you don't understand. There's a problem.”

Hunter changed positions, becoming more attentive now. “What's the problem, King?”

“As you know, you're only twenty-five years old. And both you and I know that because of your age many people are not happy about your promotion. We are a family, but within every family, somewhere along the line, envy finds his way in. You get it right?”

“I do.”

“Yeah. When members of the family start envying, things become dangerous but the only thing that saves is respect. If they learn to build respect for you, you're safe. Make them respect you. Your age doesn't matter, your position does.”

Bianchi then added. “One piece of advice?”

“Sure.” Hunter said.

“Don't trust anyone, not even that close friend of yours, Joe. The only person you can trust is King. Don't even trust me.”

Hunter smiled.

“He's not joking, son.” Hector added. “Bianchi's loyalty lies with me. I can trust him. As for you, don't trust anyone.”

Hunter was listening.

“There’re men in our family that have been there for longer than you've lived, Hunter. Capos that saw themselves taking that position this year since it's been vacant for 10 years now. Two years after Grayman left, I was thinking of promoting Ray from capo to underboss even though I wasn't really happy about it and then you know what Bianchi here told me?”

Hunter looked at Bianchi and then at the boss. “What?"

"Tell him, Wiseman.”

"I told him that it's better to leave the position vacant than to give it to someone who might not be able to fulfil the needs that that particular position requires. Look Hunter, running a family is no child's play. There’re about six families in our organization. All of which you're in charge of.”

“Because of Bianchi's advice, I left the position vacant, because I knew that whoever I would pick would one day take over the family when I'm not there.” King then smiled. “And you know, it's like God wanted me to wait. Because then you came along. And after I saw how you kept your oath of silence at just 14 years old, without even knowing Ray for six months, right then I knew that you were a gift from above. And so, I kept that position vacant until I saw that you were ready.”

“Yeah, you're right,” Hunter nodded thoughtfully. “All those people in the family are way older than me, so how do I make them respect me?”

“You were picked by me. If you know what that means to you then you should make them see it too. Run this shit.”

“And I will.”

Hector stood up and then Bianchi followed suit. Hunter too stood up.

“So, there's two problems at hand that needs your attention as underboss.” Hector said, fixing his coat. “The Capos came to me because they didn't want to go to you. But I made it clear to them that you're the one in charge over them now and everything goes to you.”

“Yeah...”

“I was only making myself available to them because there was no second in command. But now I want to get back to being a ghost, unless, you know, the ghost has to appear.”

“I'll handle everything.”

“Good. Call a meeting as the boss, between you and your Capos and handle those two issues.”

“Okay, sir.”

“Hunter, remember, if you can handle it, no need to run it by me. I just want to see the money. Hopefully, I'll see an increase.”

Hunter nodded.

“You have a woman in your life, son?” Hector asked him.

Hunter chuckled. “Many.”

The men laughed.

“Well, not your whores, an actual girl. Someone special.” King explained.

Hunter shook his head. “Nah...”

“Good, because you'll need no distractions. Especially since you're starting out.”

“I won't disappoint you, King.”

King nodded slowly, looking Hunter straight in the eye. “I know. That's why I promoted you.”

Now more than ever, Hunter was determined to show Hector how good he was and how capable he was to run the Black Souls. He would do his best to not disappoint Hector, Hunter promised himself this.