CHAPTER TWO

Chiara groaned and rolled over in bed. She stretched to pick up her phone on the bedside table. 

             "Yes?" She answered the call with annoyance in her voice.

             "I see you just woke up. I need you to get Alberto today and close this little issue. You have to prepare for the deal with the Nicolettis." Her dad spoke in his astute voice. She could imagine the frown on his face as he reprimanded her for waking up late. It was one of the problems he had with her. 

          She looked at the time on her phone, it was 9:30am. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

               "Okay, do you want me to bring him to you?" She asked him, referring to Alberto.

              "No, he is of no use to me. Just off him and clean it up." He said and cut the call.

            She sighed and stretched her arms. She went to her home gym and did her usual workout.

             An hour later, she took her bath and dressed up. She strapped her knives on her leg and covered it with her pants. She put her gun in her hip holster and shrugged her jacket on. Ever since she was ten, she never went anywhere without a weapon. It was ingrained in her by her dad.

          Her bodyguards were already waiting for her when she got outside. She entered one of the cars parked in her driveway and her bodyguards entered the other.

          "Jamaica plain." She told Dante, her driver.

*****

     When they arrived at the house, she told her bodyguards to wait outside and she walked to the front door. She knocked on the door and waited.

          "Hello. What can I do for you." A short, petite woman in her midfifties opened the door.

         "It's rude to keep a guest at the door. Don't you think so?" Chiara smiled at the woman.

        "I'm sorry but I don't know you." The woman scrutinized her and looked at the bodyguards standing beside the cars.

       "My bad. I'm a friend of Alberto, Mrs. Torres." Chiara chuckled as Mrs. Torres blanched. 

        "He's not home." Mrs. Torres tried to close the door but Chiara put a foot in the doorway, preventing the door from closing. Her expression morphed to fear and she wringed her hands.

          "Don't worry, I'll wait inside." 

      Chiara opened the door wide and walked in. She went to the living room and sat down. She scanned the room and noticed the family pictures adorning the walls. The home had a homey feel to it, unlike her house.

          "Where's Catherine?" She asked Mrs. Torres who was standing like a statue by the doorway of the living room.

         "She is.. hmmm… she's not in the house." Mrs. Torres looked around the room as she spoke. She deliberately avoided eye contact with Chiara, scared that Chiara will catch her lie.

          "Go and get her from her bedroom and don't try anything funny. One wrong move and you are both dead. Do you understand me?"

          Mrs. Torres nodded her head in a frantic manner and went upstairs. Five minutes later, she came down with a beautiful teenage girl who resembled her. They both had the same auburn colored hair and were the same height. 

            "Catherine darling, come here." Chiara patted the space beside her on the sofa. Catherine walked timidly towards her and sat down with her head bent downwards.

             "I'm rather famished, can you whip up something nice for me, Mrs. Torres?" Chiara watched as Mrs Torres reluctantly left the room.

              "Now, I need you to call your brother. Tell him to come home if he doesn't want to attend your funeral, and try to sound convincing." Chiara held Catherine's chin and caressed her face.

               Catherine quivered in fear as she dialled her brother's number. Her hands were shaking and sweat was gathering on her forehead.

              The phone rang three times before he picked up. 

               "Hello, Fratello." Catherine spoke in a shaky voice.

               "Put it on speaker." Chiara crossed her legs and relaxed her back against the sofa.

               "Your boss is in the house and" Catherine turned to look at Chiara and she gulped. "She said you will be attending our funerals if you don't come home now."

"M****a! Tell her I'm coming. Make an excuse to use the toilet and go to my room. Take the gun in the second cabinet and run." (Fuck!) Alberto said over the phone.

               Chiara laughed dryly and grabbed the phone from Catherine.

               "Wow! You really have no conscience. You are sending your little sister on a suicide mission all because you are scared."

                The line went silent but she could hear his ragged breathing.

                "You have an hour to get here. Try anything stupid and I'll kill your cute little sister and your mother. But I won't stop there, anyone who associates with you will be brutally murdered. Save me the hassle of hunting you down." She chuckled and cut the call.

                Catherine was staring at her in terror, tears were falling down her face and she bit her lips to prevent her cries from coming out.

                Chiara smirked and switched on the television. About fifteen minutes later, Mrs. Torres walked in with a tray. There was spaghetti and tomato sauce with chopped sausages on a plate and a glass of water. She placed it on a small table and put it in front of Chiara.

              "Hmmm… this smells nice. I finally get to see if you are as great a cook as Alberto says." Chiara picked the glass of water and sipped it. "Out of respect for you, I'll let you take the first bite."

              Chiara observed carefully as Mrs. Torres took a bite of the food. She waited a while and when nothing happened, she started eating the food. 

               She was still eating when Alberto barged into the house looking frazzled. She ignored him and continued eating.

            "Thanks for the lovely meal. It was not as amazing as Alberto claims but I'm sure we can all accommodate his lies. After all, it's a habit of his." She held the glass of water against her lips and slowly drank the water. All the while, her eyes were on Alberto, watching him. He shuffled his feet in a nervous manner and looked everywhere but avoided her eyes.

       She placed the glass on the tray and stood up. 

             "We have a matter to discuss, right?" She asked with a blank expression.

            "I have nothing to discuss with you. You are going to let me and my family go or else, an incriminating file concerning your business will be released to the police." Alberto clasped his hands and looked her in the eyes.

            Chiara laughed and the sound reverberated through the room. She walked towards him in a brisk motion and pushed him to the wall. She searched him and removed the gun he had on.

           "I didn't know you were this stupid. No police in this state will risk getting on my bad side, none! But I guess you don't want to die alone." She released him and walked towards the wall where the family pictures were hung.

           "I've gotta say, your family looks adorable. What a shame." She picked up a picture, Mrs Torres, Catherine, Alberto and three other teenagers were in the picture, a girl and two boys.

             "No!" Alberto shouted and ran to her. He knelt down and held her leg. "Please, I didn't do anything. It was a lie, I swear on my mother's life. Please." Tears were falling down his face and he was trembling.

            Chiara chuckled and pulled her leg away. Alberto fell to the ground and he stayed there, sobbing. 

             "I've not yet done anything, darling, save your tears. And I wouldn't worry, your mother's life will be the first to go if any disappointing news reaches me." She walked away and signalled him to follow her.

*****

       Chiara put on rubber gloves and shrugged her jacket off. The plastic tarp made an awful noise as she stepped on it. She squatted to the same level as Alberto. Alberto was on his knees, his hands bound tight behind his back and his feet bound together.

       "You know you just pissed me off. It was supposed to be an easy task, just catch and kill. Now, I have to get the information out of you." She kicked him in the gut and stood up.

        "Not to worry, Darling. I love torture, I see it as an exquisite art." She circled him and grabbed his hair, pulling him to her. "I'm going to enjoy myself, very much." She whispered into his ear and released her hold on his hair.

        She walked over to a table and picked up a glass bottle.

       "I've never been much for science, but I've got to say I love their tools. They are great for little experiments, such as how long it takes for you to talk when your skin is burning." She had a devious glimmer in her eyes as she walked towards him.

          He screamed and tried to get away from her but he fell down. She put her feet on his stomach and smirked. 

         "It's diluted, shouldn't hurt too much." She opened the bottle and poured some on his legs. The acid burned through his pants and started to burn his skin. He screamed as his skin sizzled and she rolled her eyes. She clicked on the earpod in her right ear and pop music started playing. She left him and went to sit down by the table. The music was drowning out the sound of his wailing.

            When the noise from his crying reduced, she paused her music and walked towards him.

              "I'm going to ask you just once, where is this incriminating information?" 

             Alberto cowered from her but he didn't speak. He watched with fearful eyes as she moved closer to him. She pressed the heel of her boot into the burnt flesh of his leg and he began to cry louder. She removed her boot and crouched down to remove the knife strapped on her leg. She unsheathed the knife and stroke his left leg with it.

             "I'd love to see how much pain you can feel on your legs." 

              She was about to stab in the leg when he spoke.

              "I'll tell you." He said in a raspy voice. He was trembling like a leaf.

             She placed the knife back in its sheath and she strapped it to her leg. 

              "I have a file concerning the money laundering going on in the textile industry you own. It's with a friend who lives in beacon street." He said and stared at the concrete floor. Sweat was falling in drops from his head onto the floor.

              She walked to the table and got a book and a pen. She released his bound hands and gave him the book and pen. 

              "Write down the name and address of this lovely friend of yours."

               His hand shook slightly as he wrote it down. She collected the book when he was done and checked it.

              "Let's hope that you are telling the truth. It wouldn't be nice for a whole family to die within a week." 

              "I'm telling the truth, please don't hurt my family." He begged her.

              "Well then, goodbye." She pulled out her gun and shot him in the head. She didn't bother with a silencer since the room was soundproof. She tucked away her gun and pulled off the gloves. She dialled a number and waited for the person to pick up. 

              "I'm done. Come in and clean up." She cut the call and left the room. She walked upstairs and saw her bodyguards standing by the door of the basement.

              As she walked through the industry, she saw some workers. They all avoided eye contact with her and bowed their heads. She ignored them and walked out of the building.

*****

            

             She gave her driver the address and he started the car. She pressed a button by the door which brought up the screen partition between the front seats and the back seats. It was a black screen which allowed her to see the driver but the driver could not see her. She relaxed against the seat and called Logan.

             "I just sent you an address. Get me information concerning the occupant of the address. I want every detail sent to me in the next hour." She didn't bother with pleasantries as she was still pissed at him.

              "Calm down, Boss. I'm not a wizard, give me a little more time." He replied with a playful tone. They had been friends for about six years, since they met in college. He was one of the few people who spoke to her in such manner. Everyone else spoke to her in a respectful and polite manner, as they either feared or respected her.

              "An hour, Logan." She said and cut the call.

            Her mind went to Xavier who was still in her basement. He was handsome and good looking, but she didn't know what to do with him. 

            She glanced at her wristwatch, it was already 4:12pm. He must be hungry, she mused.

              

*****

           When they got to the apartment, the door was locked. One of her bodyguards picked the lock and they entered. Two bodyguards were with her and three were outside the building.

             She sat down and listened to music on her phone. She was quietly humming a song when a message came in. She checked the message, it was a file from Logan. 

             Apparently, the owner of the house wasa police officer and an ex-soldier. He knew Alberto through a high school colleague. He was not that close to Alberto, he just did him a favor. 

           She was checking her work email when the door creaked. She dropped the phone and turned to look at the door. Jones came in with a gun pointed at her.

          Jones was a buff man, he had big muscles, broad shoulders and was about five feet eight inches tall. His short black hair was gelled back and he had a briefcase in his left hand.

             "Who are you and what are you doing here?" He asked as he dropped his briefcase on the ground while carefully watching her.

             "Is that anyway to have a conversation? What would your dear aunt think if she saw you now?" Chiara drawled.

            "She would think I was defending my house from a criminal who broke in."

           "Hmmm… Can't fault your logic there, I did break into your house." She leaned forward, placing her elbow on her thigh and rested her chin on the palm of her hand, pretending to think. 

            Her bodyguards came out of the bedroom and when they entered the living room, they pointed their guns at him.

              "Boys, don't be rude. We are guests at his house and it is inappropriate to point guns at our generous host." She said in a sickly sweet voice and the bodyguards dropped their guns but remained at alert. 

               "I'm sorry about the break-in, you were not at home and I'm just not a fan of waiting, so I let myself in." She stood up and walked towards him, she stopped a feet before him and smiled. He was confused and taken aback by her actions.

               "What do you want?" He asked again.

              "The file Alberto gave you."

              "I'm sorry, but I can't give you the file." He tightened his hold on the gun and she chuckled.

              "Don't worry, you don't have to give me. Just tell me where it is and I'll take it."

             "Get out before I lose my patience." 

              "Glad we both share the same traits. I need that file right now and if I don't get it, your Aunt Linda will have a little accident." She moved closer to him and clasped the hand holding the gun. "Before you shoot, think about her unborn child. You don't want to deprive her of the thing she had wanted for so long, do you?"

              Jones sighed in defeat and let go of the gun and it fell to the ground with a small thud. She kicked the gun away and returned to her seat.

               "Now, I also don't want that to happen, so just give the file and any other duplicate you may have to my boys." She went back to reading her emails and heard footsteps leaving the room. She knew it was Jones and her bodyguards, hence she didn't bother looking up.

               Five minutes later, they came back and her bodyguard, Nick, had some files in his hands. She collected the files and scanned them.

                "Be a dear and burn these for me." She handed the files to Jones. He took them and attempted to leave the room but she stopped him. "Use the fireplace here." She pointed at the fireplace in front of the fireplace below the television. She watched him burn all the papers and she waited until there was no more trace of paper.

                "Can you keep your mouth shut?" Chiara asked him.

                "Yes." He was sweating at this stage and his fist was clenched.

                "You keep your mouth shut and you and your lovely family stay safe. Every once in a while, you give me information and I'll pay you well." She stood up and put her phone in her pocket. "You talk and your aunt dies, you get framed for crime and you have a fight in jail which ends with you dead."

******

        Chiara was tired, she checked her wristwatch and groaned, it was 8:00pm. 

       On her way home, she stopped at a drive through restaurant and bought four hamburgers, five chili hotdogs and two servings of fries. She knew Xavier would be hungry and tired given the fact that he had not eaten all day. She had planned to feed him when she returned from work. She had no idea the work would take that long.

            The exhaustion she felt earlier faded away as she thought of Xavier. She had figured exactly what to do with him.

    

*****