Chapter 4

"I'm sad to say, Kai, but still no luck for us this round. I've already sent out quite a handful of messages to the underground, trying to check if anyone knows Luca or has any connections with him that we might be able to use, but still, that proves fruitless. Although the squad actually started their efforts to locate this Calix Hendrix a couple of weeks ago, it would seem that he is indeed very hard to track down for some reason. I don't even know why, in America, you have managed to bump into him out of nowhere, but now he hasn't even frequented that bar." This was the long but upsetting news that her cousin Enzo handed down to her as soon as he got back from his stint at the grounds.

Kaira grunted bitterly to herself, "Just what the fucking hell is happening to us?" This is the first time during their mission that all of their possible connections and intelligence have led them nowhere. And in all honesty, she is already starting to lose the strength and determination to seriously believe that she is even capable of actually finishing this mission. And Kaira is attributing this whole fiasco to just one thing.

"That fucking marriage seems to be the cause of all of this rotten luck and hardship that I am having. I am already losing all my concentration just thinking about all of that bullshit marriage crap." And that was the truth for her; everything else seemed to have gotten worse for her since her father brought up the arranged marriage thing with her.

"Hey, Kai, take some deep breaths in and follow them with a big sigh of relief out. Remember that we can still get this over with. Show some interest and motivation, will you? We still have this, and you know that." Enzo is attempting to motivate and encourage his cousin, but instead all he got was a murderous glare from her.

And he clearly feels what his cousin is feeling. And regardless of how much he would want to vent his dissatisfaction and disappointment at where their case is leading, Enzo is not able to do so. He surely knows and understands Kaira's complaints, as he himself is also now beginning to feel the strain of their fruitless search for the Heralde clan's heir. This mission is clearly one of the hardest, but he can't show his lack of motivation to his cousin. His cugino would only grow more frustrated and disappointed in herself. Enzo knows so well that it would even bring Kaira to more self-pity.

"Kai, this is certainly not a sufficient reason for me to allow you to continue making a fuss over this. It's not even as though we are experiencing difficulties for the very first time." said Enzo.

"Enzo, I really would like to know anything at all." She wanted to cry and scream and then let it all out, but she can't because Enzo and her are currently in the costa nostra office, and her father will indeed unexpectedly walk right up here if she does that. "How can I be enthusiastic and even hopeful when my life is starting to disintegrate before my eyes? And what's even worse than that is that I have no one else but myself to blame for all of this mess. It's not even half of the day yet, but I am already so overwhelmed that I feel so weary from all of the analyzing and contemplating." She said after taking a long inhale and laboriously exhaling again.

"Take Calix into serious consideration, Kai. We should be able to locate him more quickly if there is something that we are failing to grasp. Do you discuss anything at all in particular?"

That was a really general and expected question, and it should have been simple to answer, but then how does she expect to have a conversation with him when they haven't even tried to speak at all? She was accustomed to encounters without any kind of identity as well as other personally identifiable information. And Calix, though she felt a sense of connection with him, is not at all different. And that's the only thing they did that night—nothing more than the one night she could only have dared to hope they would spend together. But why in the fucking world does it appear to her that the universe is choosing to work against her when she did end up on a mission to encounter the man she made a pledge to only have a one-night experience with?

"Enzo, hardly anything. We had absolutely no conversation." She retorted, "And you know me, I don't really do conversation for pleasure." As she said it, she tried to continue to think about the one night she spent with Calix Hedrix.

Calix Hendrix is the owner of a vehicle that is breathtakingly beautiful and incontestably valued at a billion dollars. He is very much a drag racer; therefore, that is not something out of the ordinary. That being said, she only had that knowledge of him and nothing more. Enzo and her team have also already obtained the very same information, though. So what on earth does she lack in just this aspect, then?

She spoke again to herself rather than attempting to turn to her cousin for the possible answer: "He is indeed a drag racer, and we kind of know all of this already. So what critical knowledge can we extract from that one teeny-weenie fact that we do have about him?" Even after standing from her seat, she proceeded to pace the room in an effort to help find the answer she was seeking in the four corners of the confined space they are in.

Enzo attempts to help by trying to offer his cousin his own view on the matter while rubbing his chin, signifying that he is also deeply thinking about this. "He is indeed a drag racer, of course, and we all know that, but where would racers spend the most of their time? Except for the bars where he usually lets his steam off, the racing track should really be the obvious answer."

"That really is basically it! But where is the specific racetrack where he could have been all this time?" Kaira exclaimed enthusiastically for the very first time since they had started this conversation.

Enzo then suggests, "Then we concentrate on just that essential information. We need to determine the location of the racetrack where he regularly stays and trains and send in men to gather relevant information for us."

"Therefore, that will be a fantastic start for us as well; pretty good job, Enzo." she mused. "We can travel if necessary in order to guarantee we find him."

"Who said you would be traveling, Kaira?" The Don's voice boomed into the room, startling both Kaira and Enzo, both of whom glanced apprehensively at each other as Kaira's father and his men walked through the door. "Where are you two off to again, and why is there a need to leave?"

In response to her father's greeting, Kaira continues to walk over to him and gives him a kiss on the cheek, all the while her father simply pats her shoulders in accordance with her obvious show of affection. "Is there anything that you need from us, papa? Do you have a task for Enzo and me?"

"Figlia, you didn't respond to my question. Where are you and Enzo headed next? Do you really need to travel?" Clearly, she really should not be caught making up lies at this point. She knows her father so well, and they might even get killed when her father finds out what she and Enzo really do.

While flashing a bright smile at the boss, she lifted her head to show her confidence in every word that she would say. "Papa, I just thought that in order for us to form greater alliances outside of the country, Enzo and I will also need to travel a great deal. We can't just sit back and wait here when we can have the chance to explore outside of our zone." she further explains.

Her father's only reaction is an intense gaze. As for her father, she's not sure if he'll take it to heart and succumb to the bait. Being that he serves as both his father and the mob boss, it would obviously be quite difficult to deceive him and play him around. "But if you absolutely require us here, we can defer that trip until a later date. I honestly just want to explore more options and opportunities for us."

"As much as I would like to agree with your point of view, now is not the time." He said, drawing a long breath. "Not so much this time, figlia. There are so many pressing needs that would need to be addressed."

"And what would that be, papa?" She asks once more, hoping that her father's response won't be focused on the impending marriage, which she has been genuinely dreading. "Do the police present any issues for us?"

"No." was just the prompt reply. "Not really that type; the one we would be required to concentrate on is far more important than the police."

More important than the police? Then what could that be? She cautiously tries to ask again, "Then that would be what, papa?"

"Your marriage, Kaira." That gets her attention once more. The subject she is most dreading is already at hand.

"In about two days from now, your fiance and his family will all be here. That is the reason that we don't really need any additional partnerships at this time, so we can stop here anyway. We would be content with just your future husband's family and close connections for the meantime."

How much time had she and Enzo already squandered searching for the Heralde heir when her marriage was already in front of her? Had she truly already missed out on the chance to escape from this? She gasped in the air, unable to speak at that point. "Papa." 

She has so far not spoken a word, but her father already knows what Kaira is considering. "No, Kaira." he asserts, "There won't be any ifs or buts in this. When they arrive, we make as good an impression on them as they do on us, and then we start planning your wedding."

Even though she wanted to, she lacks the fortitude to challenge him at this time. She was really only able to take into account the fact that she had been racing against the clock. Only two days remain for her and Enzo before she loses the freedom she is looking forward to enjoying.

And the words her father said next were already intended to end their chat by saying, "Do very well and make me so proud as always, figlia." The don patted her shoulders one more time and then walked with his men out the door. Kaira and Enzo are left all the more distraught.

All Kaira could say after that terrible conversation she had with her father was, "Doomsday is coming for me, and there isn't any other way to escape it."