by Serena Light
"You told me to call the export docks, and tell them to deliver the cargo to Monte Carlo."
Instantly Arcangelo spluttered incoherently, praying to all the gods--he didn't believe in, that he heard him wrong.
"Lorenzo," He chuckled uneasily as he curled his fingers. "You told them to deliver the cargo where?!"
"Monte Carlo," Lorenzo responded uncomfortably as he felt that he had done it wrong given the strained look across his friend's place. "Isn't that where yo-"
"No!" Arcangelo finally snapped as he slammed his hand on the desk, causing everything to rattle. "You fucking had them send the cargo to Monte Carlo! Do you even know who is there?!"
"The French?"
"Fucking Theo Alvarez!" He continued. "My enemy in hold of my cargo! What do you think he'll do, huh? Give it all back if I ask nicely?"
"Well-"
"-No! He will confiscate it and sell it to me at twice the price I bought that shit for!"
"Is it really that important?"
"Important?" Arcangelo guffawed at his words. "That is 10 million euros worth of firearm on those ships! 10 million euros! And you're asking me about importance? It is enough gun power for World War Three!"
"I'm sorry, I'll fix it instantly." Lorenzo tried to console before Arcangelo could continue.
"No, I'll deal with the cargo." He ordered as instantly the other man backed away a step. "Get me the Swiss bank on the phone, I need to ask about my money transfer."
"Yes, sir."
"The Swiss Bank, Lorenzo! Not any other bank! Swiss."
"Yes, sir."
Instantly he dialed the number of the Swiss bank, asking for the man in charge before he told him to hold, watching as Arcangelo growled into the phone, his jaw set so tightly he could practically hear his teeth gritting together. A vein was pulsating in his neck and it looked like he was about to lose his mind.
"Tell me where my cargo is? Still at sea? Hasn't left? At the docks? Where!" He called into the phone as his patience was wearing extremely thin. Instantly his face became devoid of any emotions as he stood straight, squaring his shoulders before slamming the receiver down.
"It's all in Monte Carlo." Arcangelo chuckled darkly to himself as Lorenzo swallowed thickly. "Give me the Swiss bank."
"Here, Boss." Lorenzo rushed as he handed the phone to him, watching him walk towards his windows and looked out as he talked into the phone.
"I'm calling to check in on my money transfer." He informed tiredly as he rubbed his eyes. "The 50 million dollar transfer to my offshore bank account across Doha." Arcangelo clarified.
Suddenly he tensed before he gave them his account number, a dark shadow falling over his face as the room felt ten times colder.
"You did what?" Arcangelo asked calmly into the phone. "Instead of having my money transferred to my offshore bank account, you shifted it into another person's account by mistake and you do not know who?"
"You are telling me you misplaced $50 million? Fifty million dollars. And you misplaced them?" He continued in an eerily calm voice and Lorenzo knew he would blow at any moment. "No, shut up. Here is what you will do. You will find my fifty million and I am sending my men to receive all that money, in cash. They will then proceed to empty out all my other accounts at your bank and I will take it all somewhere reliable, okay? Great. Congratulations on going out of business."
Ending the call, Arcangelo braced himself against the window as he inhaled deeply, trying hard to reign in his temper.
"Lorenzo, take Major and Salv and go to the Swiss Bank," Arcangelo ordered over his shoulder as Lorenzo straightened. "Empty all my accounts over there, including the misplaced fifty million, before having them deposited at the Monarch Douglas Bank. Can you do that or do I need to spoon feed you all the way?"
"No, I can manage," Lorenzo assured with a nod of his head before being dismissed by a wave of his wrist.
The moment the large double doors closed behind him and the sound of footsteps resided into the distance, Arcangelo tore off his blazer in anger, throwing it across the room before harshly tugging at his tie to loosen it from around his neck. Once he had disheveled his appearance, followed by his hair, he lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply and welcoming the bitter charcoal taste.
A knock followed on his door as he blew out a cloud of smoke.
"Come in." He called, feeling his anger abate as he started to roll up his sleeves.
He had expected to see one of his men or even a business partner, but he was not prepared to see Rosalie peek her head inside with a sheepish smile.
"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" She asked uncertainly, referring to the chaos in his office and his disheveled appearance. "We can come back some other time." Rosalie resumed as Arcangelo noticed his niece and nephew uncertainly peak from behind her.
"No, no," Arcangelo assured with a shake of his head, putting out his cigarette. "Come in."
"Umm...okay." She nodded before stepping inside, showing off the white sundress she had on followed by the two children running towards him.
"Hey!" Arcangelo exclaimed with a broad grin as he scooped them into his arms, placing a kiss on their cheeks as they showed them their artwork of the day. "Will you look at this gorgeous masterpiece? Amazing!"
"For you," Claudia spoke with a shy smile as Arcangelo visibly softened with love for the little girl in his arms.
"Thank you." He spoke, kissing her cheek as he settled down with them in his lap. "Let's put this in our special yellow folder, okay?"
"Okay,"
With that, Rosalie watched as Arcangelo retrieved a yellow folder from one of the locked drawers and opened it to show a multitude of arts and crafts which the two had made for him over the years. Quietly, she settled down onto one of the sofas as she watched the three reminisce over the drawings, a soft smile overcoming her face as she gazed at them with fascination.
"Do you two want to stay here?" Arcangelo asked as his phone beeped with an alert.
"Yes, please."
"Alright, why don't you two sit down and occupy yourselves like you usually do? Want me to get the coloring books?"
"Yes!"
Chuckling, Arcangelo put them both on the floor before taking out two coloring books and a box of color pencils. Handing them over, the children ran towards Rosalie as their uncle attended the phone call, standing by his window and speaking in a low voice.
Rosalie colored with the kids for a bit, talking and giggling quietly as Arcangelo become more and more agitated with every successive phone call or personal visit. In the midst of their chatter, the children stopped and stared at their uncle in concern. He was constantly rubbing his forehead, running his hand through his hair and pacing the length of his office.
"Dad," Arsenio called out as Arcangelo looked up at him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He waved dismissively, going over to his table and searching through the pile of paperwork laid out before him.
"You don't look fine," Claudia noted. "Rosalie can help!"
Arsenio gasped in realization as he turned and eagerly nodded in confirmation. "She is very good at helping."
"What?" Their uncle asked in confusion, not having heard what they had said as he was too busy trying to clear his mind.
"Rosalie can help!" The two children squealed with joy as they both respectively grabbed a hand of hers, trying to pull her up as she silently begged them not to.
"Sweetie, I don't think Rosalie can help me with my troubles." Arcangelo chuckled in amusement as he watched his nephew and niece try to push the panicked girl towards him. "Don't bother her, buddy, she's already filling in for Jessie as is, don't put her in an uncomfortable position. You know gentlemen don't do such things to ladies."
"But dad..." Arsenio whined as he pulled away from her. "She helped Major!"
"Yeah! She squeezed his shoulders and Major let out funny sounds!" Claudia giggled as he imitated a high pitched squealing sound.
A laugh burst through Arcangelo at her imitation
as he couldn't get the image of his daunting bodyguard letting out high pitched squeals at a message. The little children laughed with him as Rosalie stared at him in surprise, almost as if though she were seeing something supernatural happening before her, and not a man laughing at something he found hilarious.
"I-I could...massage you, too." Rosalie finally relented timidly, staring at him with wide blue eyes as he looked at her with an amused smile after his laughter. "That is...if you want me to."
"He does!" The children burst as Claudia ran to her uncle, pushing him down on his seat as Arsenio pulled Rosalie towards him. "You will love her!"
Arcangelo looked at his niece with a raised eyebrow as he leaned back in his seat, watching from the side of his eyes as Rosalie made her way behind him. He waited quietly with her at his back, until a hiss escaped him as she squeezed his shoulders.
"Holy-!" He bit his tongue from resuming that sentence as Rosalie apologized profusely. "No. It's alright. It's just been ages since someone last gave me a massage." He assured as she nodded, going back to his shoulders.
She spent the next couple of minutes massaging the stress out of his shoulders as he grunted quietly, as she worked magic with her fingers. Pulling away from him, Arcangelo rotated his shoulders, not believing how good that felt and how nimble he felt.
"Wow." He scoffed in disbelief, momentarily glancing at Rosalie's uncertain expression. "You two are right. She can definitely help me."
The children giggled as he went over to them, sitting on the floor with Claudia as he interacted with them. Rosalie and Arsenio seated across from them, all four interacting and coloring. After laughter and giggles and a couple of games, Arsenio fell asleep with his head on Rosalie's lap as Claudia lay on Arcangelo's chest as he had his back towards the sofa, softly humming into her hair as he soothingly stroked her back.
"You are amazing with kids." Rosalie found herself admitting as her eyes widened in surprise. Suddenly Arcangelo looked up, turning towards her with knitted eyebrows.
"Did you say something?"
"Uh...I wanted to ask how long will I be expected to be here?" She covered up. To be honest, she did have a couple of questions which she felt only he could answer.
"As long as the threat hasn't been eliminated and that is an uncertain time period," Arcangelo informed quietly.
"Are you looking for them?" Rosalie inquired softly, running her hand through Arsenio's hair.
"Yes." He spoke firmly. "I have a team of highly skilled trackers finds them as we speak."
"And you don't know how long I'll be here?"
"No, I can't promise anything regarding the duration of this assignment."
"Also...when can I go back to University?" She asked with a slight glimmer in her eyes, her hands resting on the little boy's back. "I mean...so far it's okay because we have an end of semester break...and I won't be missing out on anything, but that's ending soon and my friends would be worried sick and I don't know if I'm being searched for by the police and then there are my family and I...I really want to ensure that everything is okay."
Arcangelo sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face, the day's events, piled with her inquiries just gave him a headache.
"Look Rosalie." He sighed. "I can see that online classes aren't a viable option so far into your degree, so I'll think about something for your education, okay? As to how far your friends are concerned, they have been told that you took an unexpected vacation with your family and won't be available for the duration of your break, the same story for your family, just that this time you're with your friends."
Rosalie gaped at him in astonishment as Arcangelo sighed tiredly, rubbing his eyes before meeting her gaze again.
"O-okay." She nodded in understanding.
"I'll let you know about your university, okay?" Arcangelo spoke as he stood up with Claudia in his arms, about to head toward the door. "Wait here a moment, I'll have someone get Arsenio."
"No, it's alright." She assured, adjusting the boy into her arms before standing up with his head on her shoulder. "I don't want to disturb him."
Arcangelo gave her a weak smile as they made their way out the door.
Walking up the flights of stairs, Arcangelo pointed to Arsenio's room as he opened the door opposite, tucking in Claudia before going to check on his surrogate son. Seeing Rosalie stroking his hair before tucking the duvet under his chin. Quietly, they both stepped out of the room as he quietly closed the door.
"Thank you," Arcangelo spoke to Rosalie as she gave him a broad grin in response.
"No need to thank me." She waved dismissively, "I enjoy their company."
Nodding, they both stood in silence as Rosalie was about to open her mouth to say something when Lorenzo bounded up the stairs. Uncertainly looking between the two, he fidgeted in his place, as Rosalie excused herself, taking her leave.
Beckoning his acting-second-command to his room, Arcangelo closed the door before turning to the man.
"Everything has been done, sir." He informed professionally. "The money had been withdrawn from the Swiss Bank and deposited into the Monarch Douglas Bank."
"Good. Good." He nodded as he walked towards his window
"Arcangelo," Lorenzo sighed form his place in the middle of the room. "Come on, man. This is bullshit."
"You and I can both see how much I fucked everything up." He continued. "I'm not made for his job, don't you think it's time that you and Vincent talked things out? Like adults? I mean, you two have been together since you guys were born, don't let a petty feud some between you two."
"That's the thing, it's not a petty feud." Arcangelo lied, no one beside him and Vincent knew the plan, the fewer people know, the better. "Vincent broke the oath we made before I took over. On the day Rosalie saved me, I told him to go home and gather his thoughts and instead he goes to a bar and gets drunk and blabbers out to everyone there."
Heaving a sigh, Lorenzo rested his hands on his hips before shaking his head.
"I understand where you're coming from because that was a promise you two made to Helen." He spoke slowly, gauging Arcangelo's reaction. "But, man, I can't do this. I'm sorry, but you'll have to find someone else for this job."
Nodding in understanding, Arcangelo loosened the tie around his neck before removing the cufflinks, his forehead creased in thought.
"I'll be taking my leave now, Boss. It's getting late."
"Yeah, of course," He nodded. "Before you leave, could you do me a favor?"
"Sure, boss."
"Send Salvatore up for me."
Chapter X: Drunken Nights
Salvatore Romano was a man of many talents and even more expertise. Efficient, punctual, quick witted, loyal, and trustworthy. His father worked for Arcangelo's father, but never obtained the position which Salvatore did. And now, Salvatore worked for Arcangelo. He joined the Mafia when he was 23, and now being 35, he had been a part of the Regnante household for 12 years.
Upon Arcangelo instatement, he knew that the man could use help from someone who knew how the Mafia worked. So his goal was to help him from the position of his guard. Having known the Boss for 4 years now, he never expected a promotion, much less the acting-second-in-command.
Today was his first day at his new post. And for this special occasion, he took out his brand new black Armani suit, already feeling powerful as he walked down the hall, his friends giving him a small smirk before bowing their head to him in greeting - as per their custom. Before making his way into the office, Salvatore picked up all the necessary paperwork, flipping through the contents to familiarize himself with, before stalking down the hall.
The doors burst open for him as he entered Arcangelo's office, the fragrance of his boss's cologne lingered in the air mixed with freshly ground coffee and a hint of nicotine. For some odd reason, the various smells combined together did not smell unpleasant, rather felt almost comforting. He momentarily froze as this was the first time he had ever entered this vicinity.
G
uards were not allowed in the east wing, and this was his first time here.
The room was enormous, with carved mahogany double doors at his back and four large African blackwood bookshelves to his left. The floor beneath his polished dress shoes was a light wood and beige velvet sofa set to his right accompanied by a glass coffee table. Behind the sofa set was a table equipped with a music system, a large flat screen T.V and a decanter, a shelf containing CDs and vinyl beside it. A blue Persian carpet was rolled out across half of the office before Salvatore looked up. Gawking at the view before him, the wall in front of him was made up entirely of glass with embroidered grey curtains at either end. The view was exquisite. Showing off the Italian heights in the distance with white capped peaks, birds flying overhead, a snow-covered flower garden before him with a porcelain marble fountain glistening in the winter sunlight.
Shaking himself out of his stupor, Salvatore cautiously made his way across the room, acting as if though there were detonators beneath the wood. Exhaling through his nose he stood before the largest desk he had ever seen. It was polished mahogany with a black office chair. Arcangelo's laptop stood in the center, photo frames facing the seat as stationery items stood at the top, a couple of files beside the laptop with an ashtray on the other side, an empty coffee mug standing isolated at one corner.
With trembling fingers, Salvatore put down the files, inhaling deeply to calm the anxiety brewing inside him. Having nothing to do until Arcangelo arrived he fumbled around with the items on the table, straightening them out as he aligned everything.
"I hope I can trust you to do your job right." A deep voice spoke from behind him as Salvatore jumped in surprise, whirling around to stare at his boss standing in a pinstriped grey suit with a white undershirt and a sky blue tie, his obsidian black hair gelled back and glistening and his blue eyes pinned him down with their cold gaze, a coffee mug in hand with the other casually slipped into his slack's pocket. "Well, can you?"
Swallowing thickly, Salvatore stood straighter, staring directly at him as he nodded. "Yes, sir. I won't disappoint you."