FAILED BUSINESS

Luciano was in the Mustaccio family warehouses. It was an important business. If he could sell his weapons to this family and create an alliance with them, he would dominate the entire market in the area. That was why it would also be a dangerous transaction; he knew that rival mafias would seek ways to stop him. They could not allow him to take more power than he already had.

"Good evening," Luciano greeted the Mustaccio representatives in a serious tone as he approached them. They were waiting for him in the center of the warehouse.

Luciano was dressed in an all-black suit, except for white gloves, which was his trademark within the mafia and which had earned him the nickname "The White Devil". In addition, he was known for his neat and clean appearance, not only to avoid leaving traces when he got rid of his victims but also because it allowed him to maintain the image of power he sought to show. Everything with him always looked impeccable and elegant. He did not like dirt and was annoyed by disorder.

The three gentlemen who were waiting for him at the place were also dressed in suits. Luciano carefully observed them while he and his lawyer stood in front of them to begin negotiations. Luciano noticed that one of his counterparts had a somewhat strange tattoo on his neck. Although he tried to hide it under his shirt, part of it was exposed. The small image that Luciano's eyes could capture looked like a rose. He had no way of knowing what the tattoo was in its entirety, but something triggered his alarms, he felt like he had seen that drawing somewhere else.

The negotiations began and at first, everything seemed normal until he noticed how nervous the man with the tattoo was. The five men started walking towards the Mustaccio offices to formalize the deal. For some reason, Luciano felt the atmosphere was tense. He couldn't explain it, but he had a kind of gut feeling.

"Gentlemen, before continuing, I would like to ask for a moment alone with my lawyer to agree on an important issue," the young man interrupted just before leaving the warehouse to head to the family office.

The three men looked at each other unsure of what to say, but finally, the one leading the conversation gave Luciano permission to have a quick meeting with his lawyer. The boy thanked him politely before pulling his companion's jacket a bit and walking a bit further into the inner part of the warehouse. The other men stayed outside. They looked nervous among themselves as they watched Luciano's movements.

"Something is going on," he assured his lawyer as soon as they were away from those men.

"What do you mean?" the man asked in amazement. He was innocent of the situation. He had not noticed any of the details that Luciano had.

"I think it's an ambush. Someone has leaked our location," he said seriously. The lawyer opened his eyes in shock. "Stay calm," he asked while trying to quickly think of a plan and after a few seconds of silence, he turned to the man and asked "Do you have the gun in the secret compartment of the briefcase?" His lawyer nodded. "Good. I'll tell you what we'll do. You'll give me the briefcase and walk calmly to your car. I'll make the excuse that you went to get an important document that you left there. As soon as you get to the car, you'll leave here at full speed, don't worry about me, I know how to defend myself."

"Are you sure?" he looked at him frightened.

"Yes. I have a plan. It will work, you'll see. Get out of here. We'll see each other tomorrow," he assured him calmly. The man nodded and, trying to stay calm, did what the boy asked him to do.

Luciano took the briefcase and approached the three men again with a smile on his face. He excused his lawyer, saying that the silly man had forgotten an important document in the car, that he would go get it and then catch up with them. The men seemed to hesitate for a moment, so Luciano insisted that they continue without him and assured them that his lawyer would find them later. His counterparts, not very convinced, agreed to the request and, with nerves on edge, continued on their way.

During the next few minutes of the journey, Luciano kept his face fixed forward while discreetly looking around trying to locate a place to hide when the fire started. He was increasingly sure that they were waiting for him, so he cursed to himself when he realized that they were leading him towards an open area, there was no nearby place to hide safely. He hoped his legs wouldn't fail him because he was going to have to run.

At that moment, the screeching of tires on the asphalt was heard loud and clear. It was his lawyer's car, escaping at full speed. The three men realized they had been discovered, so even though they hadn't reached the agreed point yet, they pulled out the guns they had hidden in the surroundings and started shooting.

Luciano ran as fast as he could while deftly taking the gun out of the briefcase. He ran as fast as he could, dodging bullets and taking cover wherever he could find it, while firing his gun at the enemies. Out of nowhere, more men started coming out of different hiding places to shoot at him, it seemed like everyone in the city had agreed to attack him and finish him off. He guessed they hated him more than he thought.

The enemies aimed their guns at him, but very few had the precise aim to hit a moving target as fast as Luciano. In contrast, he was an expert sniper. He was known for his precision with firearms. That's why everyone was afraid of him. He didn't need protection; he knew how to protect himself. While running, he shot at every man who stood in his way. Most of the shots he fired hit the target without any problem. The young man smiled pretentiously. No one could beat him at his own game.

The armed war intensified. Unfortunately for Luciano, there were too many men shooting at him. No matter how many shots he hit, that battle seemed to have no end, and the worst part was that he was running out of ammunition. He had managed to exchange his pistol for a couple of guns he took from his victims, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. Besides, he was covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. He hated that. He felt incredibly irritated.

He kept running and hiding in every place he could find while continuing to shoot, but he couldn't stay in one place for long, they were chasing him relentlessly, and everything was getting complicated. If he didn't find a way to escape from those men, it would be his end.

Luciano ran as fast as he could without looking to the sides, so he didn't know how he ended up in a dead-end alley. He tried to escape, but before he could do so, he received a shot in the shoulder that went through his back. It hurt horribly. He took a deep breath and turned around to shoot the man who was behind him. He hit him instantly. The man fell dead, and Luciano took advantage of those valuable seconds to climb a fire escape and escape before the others caught up with him. He ran across several rooftops before going down another staircase he could see ahead. As soon as he was back on the ground, he continued to run and crossed different streets in a zigzag pattern trying to dodge his stalkers. At one point, he was alone and thought he had managed to escape, but when he entered a silent street, he realized too late that he had ended up inside the lion's mouth.

That street, which seemed deserted, was about to become a battlefield because in just an instant, dozens of men from different hiding places appeared to surround him. Luciano did nothing more than watch as each of those men sent by his enemies pointed a gun at him. He took a deep breath and raised his hands in surrender, letting go of his pistol. He had no escape, this was the final outcome. He closed his eyes, waiting for his fate when he heard the screech of wheels, opened his eyes to see yellow lights approaching him. A gray car appeared out of nowhere, running over several of the subjects who had him in their sights. The vehicle parked in front of him, and the passenger door opened abruptly.

"Get in," the blonde girl behind the wheel shouted at him.